Janet Bargmann

DIGIPAK RESEARCH

A digipak is a CD or DVD case, usually made out of cardboard, with several folding panes, and either one or

two spaces for the disk(s). The squares are there for images which relate to both the music video and the poster, so the

audience can understand that they are from the same artist, and will know what to expect.

WHAT IS A DIGIPAK?

EXAMPLES…

In this digipak for James Blunt’s “All the lost souls”, the main theme is the collage of photos to make up another image (his face on the front cover, and the butterfly on the inside cover).

EXAMPLES…

Mika’s 2007 album “Life in Cartoon Motion” has the cartoon feel about it in all three images. The front cover doesn’t have the use of “star image”, but you can still see he is there. His name stands out, so the audience can see who the artist is. There is a common use of bright colours in all three images, which connotes that it is a pop album.

EXAMPLES…

Panic! At the Disco’s album uses the car as a visual motif, as it is on the inside cover as well as the back cover. The setting suggests loneliness. The font is also the same in all three images, so the audience can identify with it.

EXAMPLES…

“Habits” by Neon Trees follows the conventions of a digipak because it has similar colours in all three images, and it is clear they are from the same album. There are also two images of the band, one that looks more relaxed, and the other is clearly staged.

• Overall, a digipak tends to follow the same colour scheme no matter what genre it is from.

• All of the images had at least one photo of the artist. • There is always a barcode, website address, copyright

note, and who the producers are on the back of the digipak, along with the track listing.

This research has helped me in choosing the images for my digipak, because I know the importance of using images that link together for the audience to understand it. The use of colours are just as important in establishing the

genre, along with the font, setting, and the style of the main image.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS…