The document analyzes and compares the album covers and advertising designs for Arctic Monkeys' "AM" album and The Neighbourhood's "Wiped Out!" album. Both album covers have a black background with white text and a simple white graphic or image in the center. This minimalist, black and white design is intended to attract younger audiences to the indie and alternative rock music styles. While the designs are subtle and leave out band names or photos to create intrigue, the use of the same graphics from the advertisements helps make the albums recognizable to fans.

1. DIGIPACK AND ADVERT RESEARCH
LO1 - TASK C

2. Text at the top centre is the name of the band,
and its placing highlights the importance. Font
is bold but not serious and its shape is wonky,
like waves, giving the album a mysterious and
chilled vibe. Colour of the text is white which
contrasts against the black back ground.
A white squiggly line goes across the centre of the
advert, which makes it stand out. The line looks
like a rhythm strip found on a heart monitor, and
the lines are very rapid, suggesting the genre of
music will be fast paced or will get the listener’s
heart beat pumping. It also resembles a guitar
string, suggesting the music will have a guitar in it.
The line is thick so it looks less harsh and more
artistic, which may represent the band and their
music.
At the bottom centre, the text ‘NEW
ALBUM’ is written in caps; the album name
‘AM’ and date ’09.10.13’ is the only
information given, as well as a white logo
at the bottom centre. All of the text is
written in white bold and is in the centre,
fitting the scheme of the whole advert. It
helps the writing stand out, and is very
straightforward with the key information,
which gives off a confident, mysterious
vibe. Even the album name, ‘AM’ is short
and to the point, which may be because
the band prefers to keep their exterior
plain/simplistic so people focus on their
music instead.
Example 1 – Arctic Monkeys
Genre – indie rock
The album colour is overall quite dark and the
demographics it will attract are probably older
teens or males, although black and white are
unisex colours so it may attract both genders.

3. Background is completely
black, meaning whatever is
on the album cover will
stand out.
The only graphic on the
cover is a white squiggly line
that goes though the centre
of the cover. It’s simple but
bold as the white colour
contrasts with the black
background. This same
graphic was on the album
advert, which make the CD
easily recognisable. By not
having the band name or
their faces, it makes
recognising the band to the
cover harder for people who
aren’t fans or haven’t seen
the album advert before. At
the same time, leaving the
cover plain without any
obvious hints to who the
band is makes it mysterious
and could intrigue potential
buyers.
Example 1 – Arctic Monkeys
Genre – indie rock
By not having the band name or
their faces, it makes recognising
the band to the cover harder
for people who aren’t fans or
haven’t seen the album advert
before. At the same time,
leaving the cover plain without
any obvious hints to who the
band is makes it mysterious and
could intrigue potential buyers.

4. Example 2 – The Neighbourhood
Genre – alternative rock
Text: Name of band ‘The Neighbourhood’
is written in white caps lock. ‘Wiped out!’
is also written in white italic caps lock.
The text stands out against the black
background, especially the album name.
By having the album name in italics with
an exclamation, it makes it seem more
bold and memorable, so people would
remember the name as well as be drawn
to the text. The exclamation mark may
also suggest the music genre is
something loud or fast-paced. The album
title ‘Wiped Out’ is slang for exhausted or
intoxicated/high. This could suggest the
music would be chill, fun or carefree. This
could also appeal to modern or younger
(16-24) audiences who would typically
enjoy those activities.
Image of a palm tree with wavy
lines outlined inside a white
circle. Connotes with relaxation,
paradise and summer. This could
reflect the album’s music or who
it’s aimed for – people who want
chill, relaxed music. Underneath,
there’s an image of an upside
down house which is the band’s
well known logo. This helps make
the album advert more
recognisable. The colours of the
images are only black and white,
sticking with the colour scheme.
This text is larger than the others so
it brings more attention. It has the
name of the album in bold italics,
which stand out. ‘New Album’ and
‘Available Now’ are written in caps
lock and seem urgent, which may
make the audience want to buy it as
fast as possible.
By keeping a black and white colour
scheme, the album appeals to both
genders as they’re unisex colours.

5. Example 2 – The Neighbourhood
Genre – alternative rock
The only text is the band name,
‘THE NEIGHBOURHOOD’ in all
caps and ‘WIPED OUT!’ in all
caps italic. It is in the top centre
of the cover, above the image.
The caps lock fits the music’s
genre, alternative rock, as it’s
bold and alerting.
In the centre of the cd cover,
there’s an image of a palm tree,
bird and wave outline in a white
circle which resembles a sun. It’s
the same image used in the
album advert, so it’s easily
recognisable to buyers who’ve
seen the advert.
At the bottom centre, there’s
The Neighbourhood’s small
logo. This is shown in many
other albums and media
surrounding the band, which
means buyers who recognise
the logo may be interested in
the album too.
Like the advert, the advert
has a black background and
white for the text/images.
These colours have modern
connotations, so it may
reflect on the album’s music
style (the music style may be
modern). The CD is overall
quite dark so may appeal to
mostly male audiences but
also female as the colours are
unisex.
Both Arctic Monkeys’ and The Neighbourhood’s albums
are black and white themed, with all text in white caps
and a white simplistic image in the centre. This may be
due to the style and genre being similar, both are a style
of rock and appeal to younger (teens+) audiences.