A digipak typically consists of a gatefold paperboard or cardboard outer binding, with one or more plastic trays for the CD. A digipak style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums. The purpose of a digipak is that it contains higher quality images and meaning in them which targets the artists fans giving them more information. They normally contain a letter or note from the artist directly to the fans giving it a more personal feel and contains bonus tracks which makes the audience feel like it is made for them. The digipak also contains 6 sides which gives a better opportunity for artwork, lyrics and promotions which helps the artist promote their material and target a larger audience.
I have chosen to analyse a digipak by Gabrielle Aplin because she is a similar artist from the indie genre. She is similar to my chosen artist Birdy and therefore will have similar colour themes and ideas in her digipak to give us inspiration in creating our own indie genre digipak.
Gabrielle Aplin
Gabrielle Aplin is an artist from the indie genre and this is an example of one of her digipaks for her album. "English Rain".
Gabrielle Aplin is represented in many different ways in the digipak but she is mainly represented as a fun and colourful person which is represented by the pastel colours used in front of a dark grey back ground. This shows the audience that Gabrielle is almost a ray of sunshine amongst a gloomy day which will encourage them to want to listen to her material and find out why. It represents her as a happy and optimistic character as she is shown to be holding the colourful umbrella in the darkness. This also represents her as being confident to stand on her own two feet and she is free to express who she is as a person.
The connotations of the digipak represent Gabrielle as someone who is reflecting on her life. This is evident through the isolated setting and long shots which don't show a great deal of her as an artist. This is representing her as shy and vulnerable and she doesn't have the confidence to show her facial expressions and her intentions through the pictures used on the digipak. However with the use of a multicoloured umbrella and pastel coloured balloons this represents her as a happy soul who wants to portray a certain message that she is happy and wants to express herself as an artist to the target audience. The isolated setting shows that Gabrielle doesn't care for being the centre of attention all the time even though she is in the public eye and has a lot of fans and acknowledgement. This could make her more relatable as an artist as their will be people in her target audience who also have this problem and struggle to find a way to overcome it. By watching Gabrielle and understanding that even celebrities and people in the public eye can go through these things then it will reassure the target audience that they can rely on Gabrielle and build a relationship with her as they can sympathise with her feelings.
The colours used in the digipak are mainly pastel colours such as pale pink, turquoise, lime green and lemon yellow. The pale pink colour has connotations of characteristics such as sensitive, tenderness, love, grace, elegance and emotion. These are all conventional as they are characteristics of indie artists as they usually portray themselves in this way to show they are approachable and relatable to the target audience. The turquoise colour connotes aspects such as trust, calmness, faith and stability. This is conventional to the indie genre as the artist usually portrays these emotions and feelings after the hurtful situation they are singing about becomes better and she overcomes this issue. The lime green colour connotes two different aspects of feelings. On one side the green colour could represent jealousy and envy and on the other hand it could also connote naturalness, balance and soothing measures. I believe that the second representation of the colours is more conventional to the indie genre as indie artists usually have a sense of freedom which portrays a hidden message of nature and wildlife and the artist having the freedom to express themselves and be their own person.
Overall these colours are conventional to the indie genre as they have connotations of being calm and peaceful like the artists try to portray themselves in the indie genre. These colours are not too over the top and flashy also representing the indie artist.
The design and layout of Gabrielle's digipak represents her as someone who is not very confident and could be seen as shy and vulnerable. This is evident through the use of two long shots that don't show a lot of Gabrielle and makes it very hard to see any of her facial expressions and body language. This design is conventional to the indie genre as it doesn't represent her as fierce and powerful yet it does present her as innocent and pure which is conventional of indie artists such as Birdy and Ellie Goulding. This type of shot also gives of a sense of mystery and also sets and enigma, this is because the simplicity of the digipak fails to give anything away about her as an artist and her material. She uses simplistic objects such as balloons and umbrellas which are ordinary everyday items which also fail to give any clues or ideas to the target audience about why these may have been used in the digipak. The balloon could represent floating to portray the bad negative vibes that she is singing about drifting away as things get better and the umbrella could represent her shielding away the negative vibes and bad problems that she is experiencing in her own personal life. These representations would also intrigue the audience to find out what is effecting Gabrielle and how she will overcome this. The target audience could also relate to this as they may be experiencing similar things and circumstances which they need reassurance on that things will get better and this is what they could gain from watching Gabrielle's music videos.
The images chosen in Gabrielle's' digipak are mainly long shots with no easy view of her face expressions in any of the images on the digipak. These types of shots portray Gabrielle as an artist who is quite vulnerable and doesn't mind not being the centre of attention even though she is in the public eye. This is conventional to indie artists as the whole concept of the indie genre is to notify the artists talent to the target audience and to also portray a certain message to them about personal experiences that the artist has been through. The use of a long shot also shows the setting of the shot as well and in this case it shows Gabrielle to be standing in a field with some balloons. This is an wide open space which also portrays the theme of isolation in the digipak. This shows that this may be a mature theme that Gabrielle feels strongly about, she may feel alone with no one to turn to whilst living in the hectic life of a celebrity and artist. This type of shot may appeal to the target audience as they feel sympathy towards her as she is presenting herself in this way which may be relatable to some of the indie genre fans. They may be going through a similar situation of feeling alone and they can relate to Gabrielle in this way and not feel as bad about their situation. They can watch Gabrielle in her music video and feel as though like her situations getting better then theirs soon will too.
The only pieces of typography used on Gabrielle's digipak is her name and the name of the album which is named "English Rain". Having only the most important pieces of information displayed on the digipak portrays to the audience that these are the only things they need to know and therefore concentrate and focus on these which is ultimately promoting the album as well as it is helping the target audience to recognise the artist and their work. This type of design is also keeping the digipak simplistic and clean with not too much going on which is also conventional to the indie genre. Indie artists are usually portrayed as artists who are quite natural with characteristics of humbleness and kindness as they try to help their target audience with their heartfelt lyrics and narratives which they could relate to.
The style of language used in these pieces of typography are very bold and simple which are portraying a certain message to the audience; the name and the name of the album. This is almost representing Gabrielle as an artist. This is because Gabrielle writes and performs her music to show the audience who she is and what she wants to express whether its her feelings and emotions or wants to have fun and produce a enjoyable song. She is showing that she is not a complicated artist and with her you get what is displayed on her albums and digipak which gives the audience a realistic representation of who she is as an artist.
The digipak promotes the indie genre is a realistic light as it shows just what the music sounds like in this genre. The digipak presents a simplistic, clean yet colourful light and calm structure which is much like the genre. It shows on the digipak that there is darkness yet also burst of colour which could represent the narratives and the artist in this genre. The darkness could represent the melancholy personal narratives that the artists sing about in their music videos and express their strong feelings about whereas the colour could represent the positive outcomes that the artists have on these situations. It could show to the audience that their is always positives in a negative and by listening to their music you can also find the positive in your own situations and overcome these problems and therefore they can relate and build a relationship with the artist through.
The digipak represents Gabrielle as a sweet, humble and sensitive artist. Through the use of colours, setting, structure , design and layout Gabrielle attracts her target audience by applying the conventions of the indie genre in her digipak. The simplistic and mysterious look of her digipak makes her seem as though she has got a certain message to portray to the audience that they will want to find out more about them as an artist.
The simplicity of the digipak attracts the audience as it almost gives a sense of mysterious and sets and enigma as the audience are left wanting to find out more about the artist and their material. It makes the audience feel as though there is more to the artist than what is displayed on the digipak and this almost promotes the artist as it is intriguing the audience to look deeper into the material of the artist. The name of the artist and her album being presented central in the digipak shows that this is important information giving Gabrielle a sense of power and importance. It makes her more recognisable as an audience for people who see the digipak and aren't already aware of her as an artist. This digpak will intrigue the audience making them more likely to want to watch the material from Gabrielle which may ultimately make them become a fan of hers.
From this planning I have understood how the use of a digipak will attract the target audience and intrigue them into wanting to find our more about the artist and their material. I have taken inspiration especially from Gabrielle's use of setting and cinematography as I believe it worked really well in leaving the audience wanting more and giving a sense of mystery and setting an enigma. I also believe that the use of typography also work effectively as it made me focus on these pieces of information and believe that these were important focus points that I should read and remember. I believe this had a positive impact on me as an audience as I was left thinking about the album and Gabrielle and what her music may portray through the mystery she left of the digipak. I also like the use of pastel colours to include in my own digipak. I believe that they gave Gabrielle's digipak a softer and lighter feel which made me feel calmer and more delighted to look at it as it wasn't harsh and took much for me to take in. I believe I will use pastel colours in my own digipak because it represents the atmosphere of the digipak and also represents the characteristics of the artist which helps the audience to get a better understanding of the material.
This post demonstrates an excellent understanding of what a digipak is and the purpose it has. You have analysed the text in detail and have considered the codes and conventions of the product, by relating back to the indie conventions and how it appeals to an audience.
ReplyDeleteYour conclusion also demonstrates a clear understanding of the various ideas and inspirations that you have gained and how it will help you with creating your own product.