Digipak Analysis

BY DOLVANI NGAVANDJE

Introduction

A digipak is a type of packaging for CDs and DVDs which are made mostly out of plastic. These digipaks are used for special edition albums and these digipaks contain artwork for the album and a holder for the CD itself. The digipaks are made differently for each album because of the type of vibe that the songs on the album give off. The artwork on the digipak will have to relate to the vibe that the album gives off.

JAY-Z Digipak

Artwork

Album cover

CD Slot

CD

Parental Advisory Tag

Track Listing

BarcodeRecord Labels and publishing companies

Credits

JAY-Z Digipak Analysis

Jay-Z in this digipak has been represented as a rebel in his cover image. It seems like this because the cover image looks like it has been spray painted onto a wall which is a sign of someone or a group claiming a territory. This shows that he is being rebellious and claiming what is his and in this case his album.

The font used looks quite urban and modern which could represent new music or also the music of our time. The font is also quite big and bold which tells us that Jay-Z’s music really stands out from the crowd; like there is something about his music that is really bold and outstanding. The genre of music is Hip-Hop mixed with Rock mixed together and by looking at the font style used you can tell that the two genres mixed together create something which is really big and unique and the font style being really big and bold exemplifies that.

Between the digipak and the video there is a correlation between them. The cover and artwork relate to the vibe that the artwork give off. The music gives off a dark vibe but also gives off a rebellious vibe which correlates with the artwork on the cover page.

Eminem Digipak

Secondary images

Album cover

CD SlotParental Advisory Tag

Track Listing

Barcode

Record Labels and publishing companies

Credits

Eminem Digipak Analysis

Eminem has been representing as quite professional and formal because in the cover image he is seen wearing a suit on what looks like a stage with roses by his feet which means he is loved by his audience. The roses are a symbol of love which tells us that he is loved and could also mean that he also a loving and caring person.

The font used in this album cover is big and bold which represents him as an artist being a really big artists. In the artist’s name you can see that there are two E’s and one of them are written the wrong way which could mean that there are two sides to this artist that meets the eye. The title of the album is called “Curtain Call” and this means

The secondary picture is an image of Eminem pointing a gun at the audience which shows that Eminem is a really dangerous and a very intimidating person. You can see that he is directly addressing the audience which shows his connection between him and the audience.

Between the videos and the digipak there is a correlation. For example, in the music video “When I’m Gone” the video shows how much love his family and his fans have for Eminem and he is seen performing on a stage. This correlates with the digipak because the audience throws roses to his feet and you can also see this in the front cover of the album.

Rihanna DigipakSecondary images

Album cover

CD

Rihanna Digipak Analysis

In this front cover Rihanna is represented as a romantic person because of how she looks, the colours used in the image and her facial expression. In the cover poster, you can see that her hair is red. Red is a colour which connotes love, danger and also lust. This gives me the impression that she is a romantic person or she could be a dangerous person.

The secondary images on the inside of the digipak are of her laying down next to red roses. The red roses are a symbol of love and relationships so this links back to the representation of Rihanna being a romantic person. In this secondary image she is wearing a delicate white dress. The colour white is a symbol of purity this tells us that she is very pure and also very elegant because the dress is very elegant as well.

In videos from the songs on the album you do see a correlation between the digipak and the video. She is seen as a romantic and loving person in videos such as “California King Bed” where she is lying in bed with her boyfriend. However, she is seen as a very dangerous person if you do not treat her right like in “Man Down” where she hangs around men with guns and where she shot a man in a train station.