Existing Digipak Research

Researching into existing products will give us an idea of what kind of conventions we would like to follow or deviate from when creating our own digipak. I will look at some mainstream artists but also some more niche artists to gain an understanding of how debut albums are slightly different to albums by existing artists.    

Katy Perry: Fireworks (Teenage Dream)
This is Katy Perry's single to her song Fireworks which is part of her album Teenage Dream. However I particularly wanted to look at this cover because I think it is helpful for our project in analysing what kind of look and composure we would like for our artist. 

Firstly, the cover is very vibrant as the colours draw attention to the cover. Katy is in the centre third of the cover which suggests her power and her central focus of the cover. The way Katy is standing is a promiscuous shot however it also connotes a sense of power. This effectively means that Katy's image appeals to both genders, ultimately increasing her target audience. Her stance is confident as she has one hand on her hip and the other arm is over her head. The pose is equal to a picture of a model and shows her body well which is effectively what her advertisers want as her appearance is what sells the album and posters. Evidence of this lies in her little clothing and her evident amount of make-up. Her overall costume conveys a futuristic appearance as her clothing appears to be a nylon material and it conveys an art-deco look with its bold colours of orange and purple. This matches with her hair which is purple. Katy image suggests a deviation from mainstream artists even though she is mainstream herself. Her unique appearance suggests her possible deviation from conventions which her audience will be able to recognise and admire for her confidence to experiment with her look. Even though her wig and costume is different her confident stance attracts audience's. It is important to recognise that Katy's body is facing to the side yet her head is tilt back and she is looking at the camera. This is a choice we will have to make for our artist and for Katy this particularly works because she is connecting with the audience which almost transfers her confidence to the audience.
Also consumers are able to identify Katy as the same girl as her other albums by the text of her name. This text is the same as her last album One of the Boys which indicates that this is her trademark and the synergy is able to identify her to her audiences, even if her appearance changes. The text being the same as her other album reassures her former fans that she is still the fun and playful girl of her first album yet attracts new audiences by the more mature picture. The text is in the lower half of the album yet this works well with the eye line so the eye firstly goes to Katy's face and then draws down to her name. The size of the name has the advantage of widening the eyes to the rest of the album cover as a whole. The colourful background relates well to the vibrancy of Katy's appearance and the bright sparks clearly relate to the name of the single- Fireworks. This is written smaller to the right of the cover and it shows the least importance out of the other aspects yet it has the same colours as Katy Perry's name which continues the synergy with the audience. 
Overall I think this is an effective cover which works very well in drawing the eye of audiences. From this cover we will be able to consider the stance of our artists as this appears to have a strong influence on the overall impression of the artist - whether confident or more feminine. Additionally Katy deviates from conventional uses of colour for mainstream videos but in this case it works effectively with the song name and gives a unique impression which singles it out from other possible CD's. 


Kelly Clarkson: Stronger
Kelly Clarkson's album Stronger is her fifth studio album which indicates Kelly already has a large fan base. This means that the cover of the album may not have a great influence on the profit of her album as existing fans will by her album regardless. However for new audiences the album has some conventions that my group need to consider when we design our digipak for our artist. 
The first impression of the album cover is that the majority of the cover consists of Kelly's face. Around two thirds of the cover is a close up shot, leaving a third of space. It appears that both Kelly and Katy Perry both have stances in which they are facing sideways yet their head is looking at the camera. This possibly suggests a convention to mainstream album covers, which perhaps connotes a genuineness of the artists as it suggests more of an action shot as they are 'caught' in their action. This may be an effective way of advertising as they draw audiences because it gives the impression of intrusion which appeals to audiences who adhere to the users and gratification theory of celebrity admiration. Therefore Kelly looks at the camera which suggests the idea of an invitation to look at the album. Kelly has quite a genuine look that is evident in most of her albums and even reflects her songs. This is suggested by her natural make-up and her hair is down suggesting her casual down-to-earth appearance. As the shot is quite close, her costume is not really visible however we can identify a black vest top which continues the casual look and this may even indicate a more rock style in the album. Additionally what is evident from the cover is the fairly simple colour scheme and Kelly's image in greyscale. This seems to be a common convention in album covers such as Beyonce's and it may again depict a genuine look for the artist, which will appeal to audiences who are not too concerned with appearances. The greyscale however does give a more serious or poignant feel, in contrast to Katy Perry's vibrant image, which may relate to the songs on the album possibly alluding to a break up of a relationship. However the greyscale image is contrasted with the colour gold. Kelly's hand is up to her mouth and placed around her hand is golden bracelets and one that goes across the hand to a ring (similar to the one we used in our video!) The eye's focus is drawn to this as it is in gold and it gives a sophisticated look to the image. To coincide with the gold theme Kelly's name is at the very top of the CD in bold capital letters connoting a more confident aspect of the cover supported by the name of the album - Stronger. However there is a contradictory sense in the image to the album name as Kelly's hand is to her mouth and is biting her thumb. Therefore, like the colour scheme, there appears to be two tones to the album - her confidence in being stronger yet still a hurt shy personality. 
I think this album cover shows a more matured side to the artist. As it is Kelly's fifth album the cover does not have to be particularly effective. It merely presents Kelly in preparation for her songs and gives a sophisticated look. I think this album helps us to determine the colour scheme and message we would like to go for, particularly because our artist's song has similar topic to Kelly's. I like the use of greyscale with colour which enables the advertisers to draw the eye of the audience to wherever they want to draw attention and we could consider this as a possible idea for our digipak. 


Adele: 21
Adele is an English artist who is considered to appeal to a more niche target audience. Therefore I thought that it would be helpful to compare her album cover to the mainstream artists I have looked at to distinguish any differences. The first impression of the album cover is that it is in greyscale. However unlike Kelly Clarkson's, the cover is a lot darker with more emphasis on the shading as the majority of the cover is in darkness. The light appears to be coming from the top left which casts a shadow downwards. This effect depicts Adele being under a spotlight which draws associations to ballads and more poignant songs which relates to her album being formed by her going through a break-up. Similar to many mainstream albums, Adele's face is the main focus and the shot is quite close-up which establishes the artist. Her composure consists of her tilted head resting on her hand which connotes a distressed stance, possibly relating to the message in the album. Her tilted head may also suggest her uneasy emotional state and I think this image strongly appeals to females who have possibly gone through a similar break-up situation. It appears that although a serious pose there is a sense of the target audience associating with Adele's experience which is possibly why the image is in greyscale and her face does not look dramatically photo-shopped so to suggest her genuine character. This album cover deviates from mainstream covers in that the artist does not look directly at the camera. The fact that her eyes are looking down supports her emotional state yet it also leaves an enigma for audiences to approach her songs to understand her story. Therefore the shading is effective here in creating the poignant atmosphere and as the picture is solely a black shadow at the bottom of the cover, this is were the eyes are drawn from the diagonal line created from the shadows. Adele's name is in white which starkly contrasts with the dark and it is in capitals suggesting a boldness to draw attention to audiences. The album name 21 is next to this and it appears to be in a soft colour so that it does not take influence away from the face. 
What is interesting is that on the back of the album there is another close up of Adele's face however this time she is looking directly at the camera. This style deviates from many album covers as there is usually a longer shot than on the front cover, however it appears to work in the use of greyscale which makes it feel quite intimate so that audience (particularly females) can relate to her. Also the image on the back seems to introduce the song names as Adele only takes up one half of the back cover and this also conveys the intimate songs to Adele which may appeal to audiences. 
Therefore I think although a more niche album, it is quite effective in attracting an audience. I particularly like the strong use of lighting and how it deviates from mainstream covers by having the artist looking directly at the camera on the back cover. I think we could consider doing something similar to this however as our song is more woman empowering than Adele's songs, we may have to be careful of making it relate to our artist's personality. 


This research has been very helpful in enabling me to understand conventions of existing album covers on the market. It appears looking directly at the camera is a common convention and it is particularly important to consider where the eye is drawn to with the space provided. I think our aim now is to design and create a digipak that accurately reflects our artist's sound and personality.