Digipak Analysis

Digipak AnalysisFarzin Moosa

1. Selena Gomez- For You

Since Selena is looking down connotes that she is rather shy, which also shows that this album may mean a lot to her too. It signifies that her personality is rather caring and loving towards the person/people she has made this album for. For example, it could be for her fans as she wants them to be able to relate to her or it could be because she is expressing her own thoughts and feelings towards a special person. When it comes to her hair, it is tied in a messy bun. This connotes that Selena doesnt really care about how she looks at this moment, she is showing her simple side, since she isnt dressed up in glamorous clothes as well. It illustrates the simple side of her since this album is about experience in life, something that can be relatable to her fans. The colour scheme shown is rather warm and vibrant. For example, on the album cover, there are three colours used which are pink, red and black. The three colours connote the genre of her music as well as the songs which could be featured on the album. The genre is pop and the album includes pop songs which are both happy and sad. Although Selena Gomez is already famous, it is necessary for her to advertise her name since the picture of her shown may not always give away who she is to her fans as well as others who listen to music of the pop genre. The typography is rather bold which can easily be seen by everyone. The font is also in two different colours which may signify two parts of her album, one happy, while the other intense and romantic. The two words For You signify who Selena is as an individual. It shows that she is expressing her feelings in all of the songs of the album, she has written the songs for someone special to her. Because of Selenas album, we are easily able to identify that the target audience when it comes to Selenas songs are teenage girls. Her songs, the colour scheme of the album as well as her style illustrates that her music is mainly relatable to teenage girls. Selena Gomez-For You

The CD disk shows simplicity exactly like the front cover. The CD colours are also similar to the colours used on the front cover. Pink and silver connotes calm, simple, happiness and vibrant. It is also not necessary to include an image of Selena on the CD since the front cover already gives away whose album it is. The image shows Selenas confident side. She is looking directly at the audience which emphasises the title of her album which is called For You. It also emphasises more of her album because it shows she isnt too focused on herself, she is more focussed on the person she has formed this album for. The background vibrant colours also connotes her innocence. The close up of Selenas face signifies more of her facial expressions. For example, it shows more of what she might be feeling, which could be anything such as confidence, sadness and much more etc. It really depends on what the audience sees her as. Selena Gomez-For You (Back Cover)

The font used on the track list is completely similar to the font used on the front cover of the CD.The back cover shows a picture of Selena where she is looking directly at the camera. Not only does the front cover give away who the album is by because of her name, but the back cover shows everyone how she looks. Both the side panels include Selenas name along with the name of the album. The back cover includes the barcode. The record label which Selena is signed to has been shown. This advertises the record label since many popular artists are signed to Hollywood Records.The back of the album is rather intense and vibrant because of the colours used. Selena Gomez (Website)

The artists name clearly written in bold letters on the left side of the websiteThe website promotes her new single first out of everything since it is her latest new song.The colours used are black and white, something to relate to her album since it includes intense songs The lighting used is also rather dull, again relating to the intense them of her album as well as her songs.2. Drake-Take Care

Many artists include their name on the front cover of their album. Since Drake is a rather popular artist around the world, it is not necessary for him to include his name on the album since everyone knows who he is already. When it comes to the colour scheme, the colours shown are black, gold and bronze. The combination of these three colours signify a classical period of time. For example, the gold candle stand as well as the old painting some how relates to his music. He might be addressing his target audience by showing them that his music has no time, his music will never be old. A medium close up of Drake is shown sitting down and looking into the gold cup he is holding. His facial expressions show that he is thinking about something, he could be sad, his personality could be caring thus resulting in the title Take Care. When it comes to mise en scene, Drake outfit his fully black, with lots of heavy gold chains. His outfit signifies his social class, which is high class in this case. When it comes to the typography, the two words Take Care stand out most of all on the album cover. The font represents Drake as an individual who is sweet and caring who is a part of the Rnb/Rap world. Since the font is also italic, it symbolises classic as well as his social class which is higher class. The album cover shows a sense of simplicity. For the fans of Drake, this is easily seen since Drakes simple but caring personality is emphasised through his songs as well as his pictures. Because of Drakes album, we are easily able to identify that his target audience is teenagers as well as young adults. This is because, the colour scheme, the italic writing and drakes style signify that his music is for different ages. Many people can relate to his songs and people from different life stages listen to his specific genre of music. Drake-Take Care

The CD shows simplicity exactly like the front cover of the album. This is because the CD does not include any image, it is entirely one colour. His name is shown on the CD which shows that he still needs to advertise his name to his fans even though it wasnt necessary to do so on the album cover. The image of Drake shown smoking a cigar inside the Digipack signifies his wealth. It also goes against his album title Take Care since he isnt taking care of himself at all by smoking a Cigar.Drake is also looking away from the camera which shows his personality, he focused more on himself compared to anything else around him. The close up of Drake shows the target audience more of who he is as a person. The close up brings the audience closer to Drake. Also, since the setting around him shows that the picture could have been taken at his house, it forms a closer relationship between Drake and his fans. Drake-Take Care (Back Cover)

The back cover of the album is rather plain and simple which is similar to the CD. The back of the album includes the track list along with the producers names, executive producers names as well as the music companies. The font of the track list is simple sans serif, this makes the track list easier to identify, also the colour used is similar to the colour used on the two words Take Care.The album title is shown in the side panels, along with Drakes name. The back cover also features the barcode as well as the production company name. Drake (Website)

The website features Drakes signature in order to show fans what his signature looks like. The website itself is rather plan and simple. This is similar to his album cover as well as the CD. Hes one of the artists who puts more into his music compared to the advertisement of his music.The website includes the name of his latest album at the centre; in order to attract a mass audience The website features all the different information which will be beneficial to fans of Drake. For e.g. Tour Dates, Videos and Music. It keeps them up to date on everything about Drake. 3. Taylor Swift-Speak Now

The colour schemes used on the album cover are purple, white and gold. All three of these colours show a combination of magic and fantasy. This is also emphasised through the sparkly dust used around the album cover which shows that the album songs will be rather magical. Shes sending a message to her audience that it will almost be like as if her fans will be going into a new world by listening to her songsThe typography used in this particular case is italic which emphasises more of her magical album. The font represents more of who she is as well, for e.g. mysterious, confident, happy etc. When it comes to mise en scene, Taylors dress shown is a purple long dress. Again, the dress also emphasises more of her album because it shows her album is a fairy tale, something magical, its like going into another world. The mid shot of Taylor Swift in the purple dress looking away. Her facial expression shows how much confidence she has. This also emphasises the title of her album Speak Now as her facial expression shows that she isnt afraid of anything.For the people who are big fans of Taylor Swift will know what is expected from Taylor Swift when it comes to her albums. For e.g. she is more likely to add mystery, adventure and magic to her albums; thus resulting in the magical dust on her dress. Because of Taylors album, we are easily able to identify that her target audience is most likely to be teenage girls. This is because the colour scheme, her own style, the typography all signifies more of who she is. This makes it easier for the audience to be able to relate to her.Taylor Swift-Speak Now

The CD emphasises more of the album. For example, since the title of the song is Speak Now and there are eight hands formed altogether, it shows that Taylor is uniting with her fans. She is showing them that they are not alone, that she will be there for them with her music. The image of Taylor looking away shows how confident she is. She is focused more on things around her rather than herself. It also relates to the confidence illustrated through the title of her album Speak Now. The background shows an art piece. It emphasises that her music is a piece of art, it is another world, something which she can personally relate to. The grey, red, and gold colours used also show that her music could be relatable to different ages. For e.g. even though it is targeted at teenagers, different aged people could possibly relate to it since the lyrics as well as the songs can be relatable to anyone. Taylor Swift-Speak Now (Back Cover)

The back cover is quiet similar to the front cover. For example, the font is quiet similar since it is italic at the front as well as on the back on the track list. Similar to the front cover, Taylors picture is similar. For example, she is wearing a sparkly strapless dress and looking away from the camera. Both the side panels include Taylors name as well as the name of the album.The various types of colours as well as the frame used shows the theme of the album which could be a magic/fairy tale theme. The back cover also includes the bar code along with the record label name which Taylor is apart of Big Machine Records. The production company name is also featured in order to inform everyone who will be distributing the album.Taylor Swift (Website)

The website features Taylors name in bold as this website is all about her, flashing her name in a bright colour makes it stand out. Her latest single is advertised on the website first as it has recently been released and therefore needs to be promoted. The colour use of black and white is rather important in this case because her latest single is set in the olden days. This is also one of the reasons why she is dressed like an actress in the 70s/80s, with heavy jewellery and perfect curls in her hair. The typography used is rather bold as well, same as the one used on her name. This makes it easier for fans who use the website to search for things they need. For example, music, tour and event dates etc. 4. J Cole- Cole World: The Sideline Story

The two main background colours shown are black and gold. The combination of these two colours bring makes J Cole stand out more which is the whole point since it is his album. The two colours also signify more of who his genre of music as well as his album is aimed at. For example, since the album shows J Cole sitting in a changing room around school lockers, it shows that it could be aimed at teenagers. The typography shown is rather bold especially his name JCOLE. Even though the title of the album is shown in the corner of the album cover, fans of J Cole are easily able to identify that it is his album. The font represents more of who J Cole is as a person for e.g. tough and strong. When it comes to mise en scene, his clothing gives away more of his personality. For example, he is dressed rather casually, in a baseball jacket which connotes that he is quite young, it also signifies more of his social class which could be middle class. Also, the picture is taken at a school which shows that his target audience is mainly teenagers as well as young adults, as his songs could be relatable mostly to that particular age range.A long shot shown of J Cole looking directly at the camera. His facial expressions connote more of her album title For example, because he is looking directly at the camera and since the title of his album is J Cole-Cole World: The Sideline Story, he is telling his fans that this album is about him, it his story, it is his experience and all the songs could possibly be relatable to his fans. J Cole:The Sideline Story

The CD shows an illustration of a basketball court. Since the title of the album is J Cole: Cole World-The Sideline Story, it creates a message that basketball could be his favourite sport or that it personally relates to his own story. It also shows that his fans will be forming a personal relationship with him since they will be finding out more about his own story and personal life. The close up of J Cole shows the audience more of his personality and who he is as a person. It shows his facial expression, since he is looking down; it expresses that he could be sad, mysterious, lonely etc. J Cole: Cole World: The Sideline Story

The colours used on the back cover are quiet similar to the colours used on the front cover. For example, there is a gold spot light shining on J Cole to make him stand out on the back cover. The font is also similar to the font used on the front cover. Also, the name of the songs are in the colour white in order to make them stand out. However, the artists who have been featured on the songs are written in red, as well as a smaller font. The side panels also include the name of the artist which in this case is J Cole along with the name of his album. The picture of him shown looking away from the camera makes him look mysterious as well as in his own world. The back cover includes the barcode as well as the record label name which J Cole is signed to as well as the production name which is distributing the album. Not only does the gold spot light make J Cole stand out but the simple black background does too. This connotes his personal style.J Cole (Website)

The typography used on his name stands out the most since it is in white as well as big letters. Also, since the background colour is quiet dark, it makes it much easier for his name to be identifiable. Picture of him shown makes it easier for people to recognize who he is. Also, relates to his music too. The picture of him looking away from the camera makes it look as if hes in his own world. Also, since he is sitting on a roof, it could connote that his music is about his life. Different labels used for everything fans need to search for. It makes it easier for them to find things they need. For example, photos, tour dates, new songs. The dark lighting used on the website relates a lot to his album. It could signify that his music is rather intense, dark and mysterious. 4. Ariana Grande-My Everything

The two colours used are a combination of black and white. The two colours signify more of the genre of her music which is pop as well as contemporary RnB. Also since in the olden days, before there was any colour on television, the use of the two colours black and white may illustrate that Arianas songs are timeless. His songs could be aimed at a mass audience such as teenagers, young adults, adults etc. When it comes to the typography , an italic font is used as well as a bold font to emphasise her name therefore everyone is easily able to identify who the singer is. Along with this, it emphasises the genre of her music which is pop. When it comes to mise en scene, Arianas outfit is fully black as well as short which emphasises more of her social class which is high class since she is wearing white high heels. Even though Ariana is dressed in short clothes, and the colours of the album are black and white, the album still shows simplicity. This connotes that her personality as well as her songs are similar to her album cover. Even though Ariana is not a teenager, her songs are easily relatable to teenagers since her songs are mainly aimed at teenagers and young adults. The best theory for this particular album would be Laura Mulveys theory-The Male Gaze. This is because Ariana is shown wearing short, revealing clothes which can not only attract women as it will influence them to dress like her but it will attract men too. Ariana Grande-My Everything

The CD emphasises more of her album in various ways. For example, it shows her winking at the camera, with the title of the album on top called My Everything. This connotes that she is rather mysterious and secretive because she could be talking about a person who is special to her but trying to be secretive about it. A long shot of her is shown sitting on the floor and looking directly at the camera. The white baggy jumper she is wearing emphasises her innocence because white illustrates innocence. The black high heeled boots she is wearing also emphasises the confidence she she has within herself, she is rather open, not shy like many artists are shown to be through their songs. Ariana Grande-My Everything (Back Cover)

The side panels include Arianas name as well as the name of the album which is My Everything. The back cover is quiet simple and plain exactly like the front cover of the album. Unlike the front cover, the entire track list has a bold simple sans serif font. This particular font was used on the track list in particular in order to make it stand out and recognisable by the fans who buy the album. The back cover also includes a barcode along with the record label name which has signed Ariana Grande. Ariana Grande (Website)

The typography used on her name is unique compared to all the other labels on the website.The website advertises her latest album on the home page rather than anything else. This is beneficial to her, as it will bring in a mass audience and sell more copies of her album.The colours black and white and purple and white are exactly the same as the colours on her album. It makes it rather relatable, as well as shows the theme of her music. For example, black and white could signify classical, while purple and white could connote pop. This is relevant as her music includes some of both genres. The website features all the social networking sites which Ariana Grande uses. This makes it easier for fans to follow her and keep up with her latest updates on her music. The End