Digipak Analysis.

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DIGIPAK ANLYSIS.

Transcript of Digipak Analysis.

DIGIPAK ANLYSIS.

ICONIC SIGNS: Some digipacs contain iconic signs where audience’s

understand and relate to what they see. An example of this is the album for the 2009 Michael Jackson concert tour “This is it.” The digipak shows the legendary silhouette of Michael Jackson with different images making up the inside of that silhouette. The images are stills taken from the movie, of the same name, that documented Michael Jackson on his return to the stage. Due to Michael’s legendary moves and stills when audience members come across this digipak on the shelves of popular record stores they will instantly know the album is by Michael Jackson. Therefore, appealing to a mass audience instantly due to his fan base being so huge globally. This means that from a producers point of view the posthumous album, released 4 months after his death, appeals and stands out most with an iconic sign such as his legendary dance move.

INDEXICAL SIGNS: Some digipaks are seen as indexical. This means that they would require further

analysis to fully understand and appreciate the meaning behind the album artwork.

An example of this is for the indie folk band “Of Monsters & Men” with their debut album “My Head is an Animal.” The digipak is seen to be indexical as all we are given is a retro picture of a man on a beach with a shed being engulfed by sea in the background. Upon analysis and research, fans of the band begin to understand that the picture was taken by one of the band members (Brynjar’s) grandfather of his friend, while on holiday. The picture was originally in black and white and was found in an old family album and given colour. Therefore, they were trying to make a statement that much like the picture on their debut album their music is timeless. It also suits the style of mystical and folk music as it has a vintage feel throughout the album.

Another example is the debut album artwork for Imagine Dragons’ debut album “Night Visions.” This image was taken a few years before Imagine Dragons brought the picture to be their new digipak cover. They state the picture appealed to them due to its individuality and they thought it complemented their first major single “Radioactive” beautifully.

SYMBOLIC SIGNS:

Symbolic signs are sometimes seen on digipaks. Symbolic signs have a meaning that must be culturally learned. For example, on the cover to the Florence and the machine album “LUNGS” the artist is seen lying on the ground with a pair of lungs located on her chest; where her lungs would be located. This is a symbolic sign as most people have came across an x ray or picture in lungs at some point in their life, meaning most people know what they look like. The artist has deliberately shown a pair of lungs underlying the text of the album to make the digipack show symbolic signs.