Digipak Pak Analysis - Miss Miller

There are two main ways in which CD's can be packaged. This is either in a Digipack or a CD plastic case. A Digipack is used for special editions of singles or albums mainly and consists of a gatefold which is usually somewhat of a book style made out of paperboard or cardboard on the outer binding, with one or more plastic trays for the CD. This type of packaging grew increasing popular among both record labels and recording artist in the early 2000's.  

Digipaks compare to CD cases have rather more positives than negatives compared to that of a Jewel CD Case. Digipaks contain higher quality images and they usually have more meaning to them creating a stronger bond with the audience. They also contain a letter or note from the artist to the fans which is give the impression that it is personalized to that individual. Sometimes they do contain bonus tracks, that is not available on the standard CD edition of the album or single. It has 6 sides which allows space for visible artwork, information or promotions which will benefit both the record label and artist, as they will attract audience to buy the products, as it is more collectible, and information is easily accessible, which gives a greater appeal and making it long lasting. On a negative note they are very easily ripped when they are removed or put back into a CD rack which means buyers may not want to look or use at much as otherwise they may damage the product. 

For our chosen artist we will be creating a 6 sided digipack which will include relevant images and information about the artist and the music that they produce. I will be analysing for this post Tame Impala's digipak from their Lonerism album that our chosen song is from. We managed to found a 6 sided one as well with the following images of it and the CD itself below.  

Representation of the artist, The digipak does not give much away about the band in general we only see one picture of the one of the band members which covers 2 sides of the album. He is seen playing a guitar laying on the floor with various cables and audio equipment around the room. It can be said that the artist is seen as one that is quite relaxed and stress free which can be seen by his emotions and body language, as he is smiling and in a relaxing position on the floor looking up as if he is staring at the sky or the audience themselves possible creating a connection and making the digipak feel more personal for them. He also has no shoes on which again reflects the theme of being calm and careless, even stress free. 

Connotations of the digipak, there are numerous connotations within this digipak, around what themes that it promotes. One connotation can be seen on the front cover of a it, as the audience we see a still image of  an area that is unknown but is well looked after and historic, we also see an amount of people doing things such as walking and sitting alike average people. But this is seen through a metal gate that is locked and as seen in the picture to tall to climb and get to where the people are. This is meant to represent a visual image of modern society being cut off by uncontrollable forces that are beyond the reaches of the normal person. Hence the name of the album 'Lonerism' being alone and separated. Another connotation that can be picked up in the theme of symmetry which can be seen on the CD, Back cover and one of the inside covers.  This could represent the themes of perfection, which may be a contradiction of the front cover which is the complete opposite or even the fact that the barrier of the gate has been lifted and promoting freedom and expression.

Colours, there are not are a wide array of colours and filters on the covers of the digipak the main one which is used on one of the covers is an Orange Filter this makes the picture seem different from others that are similar. This may represent the genre that the band is from, this colour expresses the bands main ideas which their music promotes this is to enhance the effects of drugs on the body which may explain the difference which will represent the two states of usage of drugs the taking and side effects i.e. hallucinations etc.  These colours are typical of the Psychedelic Rock genre and attract the audience as they are visually appealing, which in turn may create an incentive for the audience to buy the product. The bright colours contrast with the dark immediately grabbing attention, and enjoying.  

Design/layout, This digipak has a pretty clear layout as each cover has a specific purpose, 

The cover is used to promote the Band and the Title of the Album, while the rest of the covers show the following Artwork, Artist in Setting, Song Titles and Lyrics. The minimalistic approach used is to only give the information that the audience require and no more otherwise the covers will be full of information that is unnecessary.

Choice of images as said prior the images chosen have been clearly and have a direct purpose for the benefit of the audience. As said the front cover is used to have an inferred meaning of the bands album title Lonerism, while another is used to displace one of the members of the band created an added bonus for the audience to see exclusive photos of them, while the rest is filler images and artwork that relate to the front cover which include perfect symmetry.  They maybe be plain and simple due to the fact that the band does not want the audiences to be disengaged from the main message from them that will be within the songs of the album because at the end of the day this is the main purpose for them to actually buy the product, hence why it is so plain.

Typography, there are two types of font used on the album. The first can be seen on the front cover and the cover that displays the song titles. This text is Black and Bold so it stands out to the audience on a light orange background. This is used so it can be easily read with no confusion, it also it very plain but this due to the fact that the front cover has serious connotations and if this is not reflecting in text it may lose its meaning and may not be taken seriously be the audience, and messages that the band promotes will be lost. The same font and style is used on the song titles this is due to the fact that the album is trying to remain constant and not varied but also so that the titles and clear and can be easily read. On another cover we see the same font repeated in a different colour to represent lyrics of the songs on the album this is simple for the fact that otherwise they will not be seen on the dark background and also because they are smaller and harder to read.  

Style of language is an area that has not been clearly considered on this digipak as it has a simple outline of language being Band name, title, song titles and lyrics. It is text that is expected to be seen, this maybe unappealing to some audiences as they may feel that the personal touch from the band has been lost as there is not personal message that they can relate to and further their bond with their idols which is clearly true otherwise they would not have spent the time or money to get the special edition of Tame Impalas Album. 

The research that I have done into the digipak of the Album that we will be re-creating has helped be understand how they work and what is to be included within them, while also what Tame Impalas one looks like and gained a few ideas that we can incorporate into  the newly modelled one include with our own ideas that we have thought about while analysing this one. Also from seeing other digipaks that I own myself I will be able to obtain ideas that may be less conventional from the genre as that is what we are collectively aiming for as a group. This one is quite conventional to the genre but compared to that of the videos  we have seen its actually quite wide of the mark. I also under the content that most defiantly needs to go into the it which includes, Band Name, Title, Title of Songs, Lyrics, Band pictures, artwork and others.