By George Blake

Analysis Of A Range Of Digipaks

Coldplay – Mylo XylotoEach piece included in this digipak follows a very similar theme. A ‘graffiti’ style is included as the backdrop of the piece, which in turn has been used as a fairly individual piece of album art that is often associated with the band, as well as being used as a form of promotion for the CD. The name of the band is not included, which incites the idea that the name of the CD may have been used as a form of promotion for the CD, as opposed to selling albums purely based off of the name of the artist. The colour scheme that is employed is significant, as it is completely different to the calm colour scheme employed in their previous album ‘Viva La Vida’, perhaps indicating a change in music style. A modern text style is included throughout the digipak, adding to the visible attraction of the piece.

Paulo Nutini – Sunny Side Up Once again, the same theme is continued throughout each of the three sections to this digipak. Similarly to ‘Mylo Xyloto’, an animated style is used, as this style was also employed in Paulo’s previous album, indicating this may be a style that he enjoys, giving him a persona that may allow for him to recognised by. The bright vivid colours included also make the digipak more eye catching to a potential listener. The front cover shows a character supposedly eating breakfast, which may be a reference to the album title ‘Sunny Side Up’, referring to eggs. The same background is employed throughout each of the pages of the digipak, making the colours recognisable to this album.

A fairly plain colour scheme is employed throughout this digipak, perhaps referencing the calm nature of the performer. The range of images of the artist included, especially on the front page, give the listener a chance to recognise the personality of the artist. A form of cohesion is employed with the range of images of the artist in a grid format, as this follows a very similar theme to the first music video for this album; Kickstarts. The back of the album is fairly plain, listing a range of conventions, including the track list, with an image of the artist covering much of the page. The name of the artist is written throughout the digipak, perhaps indicating that the artist is not particularly well known yet and are still trying to get their name out there, unlike ‘Mylo Xyloto’, where the artist, Coldplay, do not need to put their name on the album as the album title is recognisable in itself.

Example – Won’t Go Quietly