Digipak Analysis

Mumford and Sons

This digipak is for Mumford and Sons' 'Sigh No More' album. The cover, which shows a full establishing shot of the band and location is simple, yet visually pleasing, and stays within the indie, folk genre conventions. The colours, lighting, location and costume all emphasise the indie, folk sound of the album and define their image, assuring fans of the content of the album which is represented by the bands image, such as the costume, showing the indie folk image that the band have established through their career. The posing of the members show their casual, laid back style, which follows the folk genre conventions. This could further imply the content of their music, of being vocals and instruments, and involves less computerised technology. The font found on the digipak is the same throughout, and has a traditional and simple style, reflecting their music.

The front cover is a key feature of the digipak, as it is what draws in consumers. Fans will judge whether to buy the product depending on how the cover portrays the band and represents the inside content.

The back is similar, with the image of the back of the shop window, which shows the continuity of the product. The image is simplistic and aesthetically pleasing, and the overall feeling of the band suggested by this product is that they are an independent, small band. The back also contains what is typically found on the back of digipaks, a record label, and barcode.

The inside follows the same conventions, with the band in the shop windows. Each member is shown the same size and with the same focus and space in the composition. This suggests that each member of the band is equal and brings equal qualities and contributions to the band and their music, as well as showing their individuality and independent image.

The left inside panel a s simple symbol, which adds to their sense of 'small-time' artist image, as well as following the aesthetic of their digipak. It may be that they have already established a fan base, so that they feel additional information would be unnecessary and clutter the image. 

Nick Lowe

I have decided to analyse this digipak of Nick Lowe's 'At My Age', from this site.

The cover on the bottom right shows an animated art cover, with a simple, minimalistic image, which continues throughout the digipak, with its simple, aesthetically pleasing photographs, that presents a similar image and consistency with each other. The colours, shots and props reinforce the expected genre that fans will get from buying and listening to this album.

Bombay Bicycle Club

This is the digipak for Bombay Bicycle Club's 'A Different Kind Of Fix'.

The front cover is an illustrated image and based on the album title and element of 'fix', and the psychedelic patterns suggests a reference to the anti-establishment culture of the 1970's. The use of 'fix' in the title gives us an indication into the album art, which focuses on the brain and senses.

The album title is clearly shown on the plain front cover in a simple font, with the band logo is also shown in much smaller font. The logo means that fans will recognise the logo and be inclined to buy, and could also mean that the albums target audience is those who appreciate art and what could further be implied by the album, which associates the band and the genre and unique style of music together. The little branding found throughout the digipak suggests that they have already established an audience.

The overall digipak uses similar muted, earthy colours which reinforces the vintage, indie genre of their songs. The art of the front cover clearly separates the album from those of pop album covers, clearly stating that the cover will attract listeners of this genre. The front of the digipak continues its designs through to the back, where the track list is clearly placed with simple font. This continuity is found on the inside of the digipak too, where the illustration of the front cover can be found on the case of the CD, as well as the CD itself. 

On the back of these digipaks, they all contain barcodes, record labels and copyright information, typically found on all digipaks.