This powerpoint analyses the typical conventions of DigiPacs of my choice. I also looked at what makes them effective and how i could use this in the creation of my own DigiPac.

1. DigiPac Analyses By Joe Chamberlain

2. Vampire Weekend’s DigiPac Album Cover The artist’s name is written over two lines, in capital letters and in a white font. This is quite retro and fits in with the vintage theme of the DigiPac. Like in music magazines, there are three main colours that run through the DigiPac and they are white, yellow and dark grey/black. This colour scheme helps to achieve simplicity in the magazine, which, again, is very conventional of the indie/alternative genre. The image on the front cover has no link to the band itself whatsoever – it is a family photograph of Ann Kirsten Kennis. The image is completely abstract, which is conventional of the indie/alternative genre. The image was taken in the 1980’s and so has a vintage effect with preppy styling. To achieve similar effects to this with today’s modern camera technology, you would have to lighten the shadows in Photoshop and use the contrast/lightening tool. There is a continuity of font at the bottom as it is placed centrally and is in the same bold, white font as the other writing. It is also worth recognising that the album’s name is only one word and I think that our band should have something similar.

3. Vampire Weekend’s DigiPac Back Cover The back cover follows the colour scheme of the front cover, displaying only black and white, abiding the white, yellow and black/dark grey theme. There is also a use of mathematic paper effect in between the songs on the track list. The words are also spaced out randomly – showing no meaning to them other than to fill the space they have. This abstract/random layout of words shows disjuncture within the indie/alternative genre. The barcode is nearly always displayed on the back cover, along with the recording studio, telling the audience that the band is under “exclusive license” to the studio and stating legal copyrights etc.

4. Vampire Weekend’s DigiPac This DigiPac simply tells your all of the lyrics of all of the songs that are listed on the back cover and in the correct order. The same font is used throughout the whole DigiPac which gives a sense of continuity and professionalism. The use of mathematical paper is used throughout the DigiPac as well as on the back cover. The simplicity of this DigiPac makes it quite abstract. The centre page of this Digipac is different to the rest of the pages as it contains a photo of all the band members. The photo is edited and the members are put in layers over the top of each other and they are all slightly faded to give a retro and vintage style, which is quite simplistic (along with the rest of the DigiPac). Finally, the back page of the Digipac is simply just mathematical paper with nothing else on it. This is very simple and helps to show the continuity throughout the pac. All photos and lyrics take up full pages and make full use of the space they have.

5. Vampire Weekend’s DigiPac CD Vampire Weekend’s DigiPac is nicely finished with their CD which uses the mathematical paper idea and uses it in circular idea. The track list is written on the CD and the black and white part of the colour scheme is carried on throughout. The same fontis used as the rest of the DigiPac to show continuity. This CD also blends in well with the back cover of the DigiPacas they both use the mathematical type paper effect.

6. Arctic Monkey’s DigiPac Album Cover Similarly to Vampire Weekend’s album cover, the Arctic Monkeys have chosen to have a single image of one person, which is in the centre of the album cover – however, this person does belong to the band, unlike Vampire Weekend. The band member is smoking and the picture had been edited so that the photo has a retro effect. The band member is also wearing a shirt, suggesting he is sophisticated, however, he is performing an unsophiscated habit – this contrast shows a rebellious side of the band which intrigues the potential audience. The name of the band looks as though it has been added as an afterthought and on the actual album cover, it is a sticker. The font used is different to the back cover, however, all letters are in the lower case and this does stay the same on the back cover.

7. Arctic Monkey’s DigiPac Back Cover The back cover, again uses black and white imagery with the same band member, except this time he is facing away. The band member is central to the album cover and does not take up all of the space, unlike the Vampire Weekend cover. The track list is all in lower case letters, as the sticker is on the front cover. The cigarette may even be the same one as the front cover which shows continuity throughout the covers. The barcode is situated on the back of the album and in a corner – this is a common convention of DigiPacs. Also, the recording studio is stated on the back, along with their website. Wording is kept to a minimum on this album cover, as I think that Arctic Monkeys let their music do the talking.

8. Arctic Monkey’s DigiPac This is the Arctic Monkey’s DigiPac. It contains no writing (except the back page of the pac, where it says all the thank yous). There has been no writing used and just photography of everyday experiences of their life in Bolton, such as catching a bus/taxi or going to the shops. The middle page features a double page spread, which is very similar to the front cover, but is more of a mid-shot than a close-up. This Digipak is quite busy, despite the simplistic front cover and use of minimal lettering. All the photography shows one main point of focus and the black and white theme is completely ignored. This makes the Arctic Monkey’s DigiPac quite rebellious in some respects.

9. Arctic Monkey’s DigiPac CD The CD from the arctic monkey’s follows the theme of the back and front covers of the album – cigarettes/smoking. The image is in black and white, as the front and back covers are, just the DigiPac itself contains some coloured imagery. This CD looks as though it is an ashtray and names faintly around the circumference of the CD track names and the record label.

10. The Libertine’s DigiPac Album Cover The Libertine’s album cover follows a colour scheme of red, black and white with two of the four band members displayed in the image. The artist’s name is in the centre of the album cover in bold lettering which is of a font similar to that of a ransom note. The font abides the colour scheme of the album and keeps the cover looking busy, despite the fact it is only made up of an image and one layering of writing. The artists appear to be drunken or under the influence of drugs, which gives them a rebellious appearance and makes them suit the Rock and roll lifestyle – intriguing their audience.

11. The Libertine’s DigiPac Back Cover The back cover of the Libertine’s digipac is made up of an image of all the band members with a sepia effect and one white column displaying the barcode and the track list, along with special DVD features (which comes free with the album). Displaying the barcode on the back of the DigiPac is a common convention and I will definitely be using this in my Digipac. The image shows the four band members as a group and the sepia colouring and their dress sense makes the picture have quite a vintage effect – which is commonly used in the indie/alternative genre. The back cover uses the same font as inside the DigiPac, however, this is different to ransom note style font on the album cover. The recording studio and legal rights of the album are stated on the rear cover, which is a convention used on most CDs and i will be using on my DigiPac.

12. The Libertine’s DigiPac The DigiPac of The Libertines uses the same layout on every page. There is a red band along the top of the page which states name of the song, using the same font as the back cover and the rest of the DigiPac, however, the writing is in white – which abides the red, black and white colour scheme throughout the whole DigiPac. The writing has abstract angles in which the font is placed – this adds to the ransom note effect on the album cover. Each song’s lyrics take up a whole page. The back page of the DigiPac simply has an autograph-style font with “Libertine” written on it and below it are the legal rights of the album and who the tracks belong to – the recording studio is also stated.

13. The Libertine’s DigiPac CD The Libertine’s CD has the same ransom note-style font as on the front cover of the album, except this time, the colour of the black and white on the font and the background is swapped over, so the font is now black instead of white and the background it now white instead of black. The same font as the digipac is used to list the track names and the recording studio is named. The CD is black and white, which abides the red, white and black colour scheme. This shows continuity throughout the whole DigiPac.

14. Album Cover Inspirations