Digipak Analysis

Graduation

The bling and the classic type of clothing suggests what genre this music will be. Commonly bling and the type of shoes and clothing will convey a hip-hop/rap genre.

Here you can see the bear that features on many of Kanye West’s albums, this is an iconic symbol that tells the audience whose Digipak they are buying.

The vast array of colours and shapes appeals to the audience and makes it stand out much more, and gives it a more psychedelic feel. In addition to this, the use of having a cartoon on the front cover makes it more interesting for the audience, as it is more unconventional and different to the usual covers you see in this type of genre, of the artist as the central focus of the image and it being more dark and mysterious

Here we can see a bunch of people who are graduating, and celebrating, this not only gives off a good feeling to the Digipack, but also relates directly to the album name ‘Graduation’, which helps promote the album even more and increase its profit.

The image of the sky and the sun dawning highlights a positive tone for the Digipak and enforces this idea of progression. Moreover, it could be argued that it represents the dawning of Kanye West’s new album, making it more of a collectable. This is further reinforced with the bear, as it represents his Kanye’s work, making it more appealing.

American Gangster

The use of the light in the background creates this sense that Jay Z (who we can assume is the centre image) is almost this Godly figure, and creates almost this hopeful tone, that he is there. In addition to this, having Jay Z as the centre image adds resonance to his image, and signifies him as the most important thing in the frame.

The chairs on the tables in the background suggest that he is in a closed restaurant or bar. It could therefore be argued that this creates almost a sinister tone, and that Jay Z may be hiding his real character from the world. The fact that he is somewhere after closing implies that he is hiding in the night, and that he has a secret to keep, possibly his false character, and that he is in fact this criminal, or an American Gangster, hence the title of the album.

The use of the smoke in the background seems to imply that either there is more people there, and that Jay Z is about to confront them, or that Jay Z is creating the smoke, creating this sense of rebellion, and that he is encouraging his fans to be rebellious.

The use of the Parental Advisory badge also shows that there is ‘explicit content’, keeping with the effect of the Digipak cover.

The use of the suit that Jay Z is wearing could be interpreted to highlight this sense of class to the album. However, it could in fact be interpreted as this stereotypical gangster in America, similar to the mafia, who also constantly wear suits.

Alright Still

Here you can see that Lily Allen is wearing much jewellery. This is done to promote wealth, and possibly Lily Allen’s wealth. In addition to this, it could be argued that the jewellery is bling. It is not common to see a women promote this type of trend, it is mostly seen from male artists, however, the style of the music and the artist suits this fashion very well, further emphasised by the use of the parental advisory label, sticking to the trend of that particular genre and her image.

The use of the speaker pouring out music suggests Lily Allen’s love for it. Also you get the sense that her music will be almost comical, as it is a cartoon that is coming out of the speaker. Furthermore, the use of what we can assume to be someone’s hand doing a rock hand gesture, suggests that the music on the album is enjoyable, and will make you happy.

The direct mode of address is usually done from the solo artist straight on, however, here you can see that Lily Allen is angled to the side. This makes the direct mode of address more subtle, which could be argued to be more appealing to the viewer.

The album name Alright Still is easily recognisable, due to its bold red and white colour, which stands out in the grey colour of the album. However, the option to put it in the background of the frame, adds resonance to the artists name in the top left. It would seem that this is of a greater importance in the picture, suggesting that the album is more about Lily Allen herself, than the music. Furthermore, the font used is very bold emphasising this point further.

Discovery

The use of the stars in the background of the centre image relates to the title of the album well. It implies that the artist has been discovering the universe, and the use of the purple in the frame endorses a happy tone, whilst relating to the colours in the vast universe.

You can also see Tinie Tempah’s use of bling as well, which fits in to his genre of rap well, bling and expensive jewellery is a common element used in the frames of rap artists. The use of the sun glasses in the frame also relates to this idea of bling, yet it also could be argued that he needs them to see, as there is a strong light coming from around him.

The idea to have Tinie Tempah as the centre image highlights him as the most important thing on the album. In addition to this, the use of the light shining down on the artist again reinforces this idea that he is the most important thing in the image, and also could be argued to give off this almost holy feel to the album.

Also in the centre image is what seems to be a city that the artist is holding. The use of the light that is in the city makes it seem as though it is glowing, implying that it has much power strength. Furthermore, the fact that Tinie Tempah is holding the city, suggests that he has discovered it, on the other hand, it could be argued that Tine Tempah is a part of the city, due to them both covered in the light.

Relapse

The album name is listed in the bottom left of the frame, and is meant to represent a prescription of drugs given by a doctor, who is Dr Dre. This relates very much to the title and purpose of the album, which is related to drugs and Eminem’s recovery after his time in rehab. In addition to this, you can see that there is a 3 instead E at the end of the album title. This maintains the personality and the image of Eminem, as he always puts an 3 toward the end of his name. This keeps in place the same image that we have of Eminem. In addition to this, we can see that it is prescribed to Marshall Mather's, who Eminem goes by the name of in this album, again maintaining Eminem’s image, as he changes his name for every album.

The idea to use pills to make up the image of Eminem implies that pills have taken over Eminem, and they now make him who he is. The use of the different colours which are mostly red could be argued to represent the pills as a deadly substance. We can also

see that Eminem is the centre image of the frame, which is commonly seen on rap albums, as they wish to be the main focus. Also there is almost a harsh look from Eminem, and a direct mode of address, which makes the album more personal to the his fans.

The idea to have a black background implies that there is almost a dark tone to this album. Furthermore it could be argued that this resembles Eminem’s emergence from darkness and rehab.