ELLIE GOULDING’S DIGIPAC ANALYSIS.

Beckie Jacobs

HALCYON DAYSEllie Goulding released her album ‘Halcyon Days’ in 2013 and ever since this release, Ellie has become one of the most successful female artists in todays age. The reason for this isn’t just because of her brilliant singing, but also how she presents herself to the public eye and how she advertises herself and her album in a professional and eye catching way.

I was looking at Ellie Goulding’s Digipac for ideas on what we could do to make our own digipac look even better. In this analysis I will be discussing the different ways as to why Goulding was so successful with her digipac for her album and why.

THE DIGIPAC

THE FRONT COVER.Goulding’s genre of Pop and Dance which is similar to ours is reflected in her album artwork on the digipac. On the front cover her hair is spread across her face as if she was moving around and dancing in a club which compliments the dance genre further. The gradient purple effect which is used also makes it look like that Ellie is in a Club which could be what she was trying to portray and was successful. The front cover straight away tells the audience what sort of music this may be and also what sort of artist that she is which follows the codes and conventions of a pop artist with Voyeurism. Like most female pop artists in todays age, it is a competition to look the most sexiest in music videos as this also entises people to continue listening and watching their music/music videos. With her seductive facial expressions and hair flick, she is following voyeurism in her artwork to persuade more people to buy the album.

CLOSE UP SHOTSAlthough part of her face is covered on the digipac, you can still see whom the artist is. This is because this is not her first album out meaning that she is already well known in the public eye and does not need to get her entire face out as her identity is already known by millions. Close Ups are used a lot in Digipacs as it is another way of voyeurism as they usually use make up and things simular on the artist to make her stand out and look amazing and beautiful so people will want to buy it. This is a very stereotypical view however is commonly used in todays society still as it is very easy to judge a book by its cover in the music industry. The album name which is ‘Halcyon Days’ is also smaller than ‘Ellie Goulding’ showing that she knows that people will only need to see her name to buy it. It could also connote that she wants to be recognized by her name and not by the album title.

COLOUR SCHEMEThe colour scheme of purple and the gradient effect has been done throughout the duration of the digipac showing consistency and making an obvious link throughout. I think that the colour of purple makes the album feel mysterious and different to other album covers which are usually bright and colorful to get peoples attention however, this choice of colour is successful because it is so different and creative. Purple also connotes power and strength which could relate to some of the songs which are in the album and gives the audience an insight of what Goulding’s album could be like. The link of purple gradient throughout also gives it a complete look and stands out as it flows right around the digipac. Even the CD is all black with her name and album cover written in purple following the color scheme.

HOW WILL THIS HELP ME WITH MY OWN DIGIPAC.

From looking at this digipac from Ellie Gouldings 2013 album I can see that a color scheme is very important as it helps complete the look and gives it a professional finish. Minimal images worked well for Goulding and when images are used, they are well executed, simple and not over complicated meaning that it doesn't’ make it look to busy.