Digipak Analysis:

Digipak Analysis:

                                   

• The front cover is of a man smoking a cigarette, so immediately we know that this is an indie/alternative band because a cigarette is a prop used in a lot of indie/alternative videos and it has connotations of 'edgy'/'cool' as well as 'harmful'.​
•  The man's appearance is quite scruffy which could indicate that he is quite poor, which is a topic that the Arctic Monkeys sing about, as well as other hard hitting topics.
•  The band name is on the front CD cover, so it is easily recognizable. The font of it is curly and quite unexpected and different to the image shown which could suggest that the band are not expected. ​
• The colour scheme is mostly black and white with a green-blue tint, which could signify that the band have mixed ideals and values, unlike The 1975's plain black and white.​

• The back of the CD cover has the same man on the cover.​
• His hand is on his face, as if he could be laughing or crying. This could show that their music evokes emotions, sad or happy, which tells us that their music shares a variety of moods, which is true, for example R U Mine and Fluorescent Adolescent are about two very different topics and I think that this is a unique selling point because it means the audience have got a range of songs they can choose from to like/dislike.  ​
•  There are also titles of producers and other technicalities on the back cover but they are in the top left corner so we aren't distracted by them and we can still see the male. They are in a grey-white so they stand out against the background though which could symbolize how the band stand out against society.​

• ​ ​The CD inlay is plain, besides the CD's actual appearance, of course.
•  The CD has lots of burnt out cigarettes which of course is a genre convention. I think the cigarettes could represent the edge that the band have, even though cigarettes are bad. The 'badness' is the careless attitude that the band want to portray, and it is quite well known for cigarettes to have bad connotations so the idea that the band want an image like this is quite fascinating because they are not conforming to society which is also probably something that they try and achieve through their music.​
•  The CD art also links to the man on the front smoking which could tell us that the genre conventions run a little deeper into the able, so we know what to expect.

•  The inlay shows us a list of the different songs on the album.​
•  The songs are in white, like the producer titles and such, so that they stand out against the dark background so it's easier to spot them. The font is quite small which could indicate that no particular song is more important than the other and we, as the listeners, can choose any we want because they all are just as important with different messages behind them. ​
•  The songs are listed in an aesthetic way, in a list, so that they are pleasing to the eye and we want to read them.

•  The front cover of the digipak is simple and easy to remember.
•  Colours are monotone – just black and white – and I think that this connotes the band’s values, which are either black or white (simple and straight to the point messages) which relates to their music because they tell some strong messages through the choice of lyrics and visuals.
• The font is iconic to the band, it’s how they can be recognised and I find this useful, especially as a fan, because when I see this font I immediately link it to The 1975. It’s also quite unique, with parts of letters/numbers missing, which could represent how the band are different and feel like outsiders.
• The image shows a simple board lit up around the edges by white light and this is something they sue often in their music videos as a prop, for example in the music video for Girls and this too is recognisable.
•  I think the theme of the overall digipak is made up of two parts, on one hand it looks simple so this could be a theme but another theme could be mystery, with enigma created as to why it is so simple. 

• The inlay shows us the producers and other technical people who helped to produce the CD/album.
• It follows the same theme as the whole digipak and I think that this is a good example of coherency and it gives the band a certain identity, possibly that they are coherent in their music style, which I think is true to an extent because although the instruments and tones used for their songs are all individual, the lyrics have deeper meanings, all with different ideas and themes.

• The CD inlay is plain (without the CD disk itself inside). The CD however is matte black with the band name on it in the same font used on the front cover.
• Again, I think that this represents the band as simplistic but this is ironic because their songs have much deeper meanings, which could create the sense that the band are in fact complex and the facade is to get the audience to actually listen to the music in order to find out if they are as simple as they come across.
• Black also has connotations of 'mystery' and 'seriousness', which could link to the previous point about complexity, as black is sophisticated also, and the idea that it is matte black and not shiny black for example, could show that the band are timeless and classic, a connotation of matte colours, in my opinion.

• The back of the digipak is the same as the front, from a different angle. Therefore, it is the same image just from a  different perspective, which could signify that the band's music is quite similar (as mentioned before) and it could also denote that it is the same image and it makes the CD look presentable.
• There is a list of songs on the board shown in the image, telling us what to expect on the CD. It's helpful because the audience can then pinpoint their favorite songs.
• I think that the illumination around the board of songs draws attention to it in a subtle way - we always look to the back of a CD first because we want to read about what we will be purchasing, so this is helpful.
• The colour of the font is a bright white which contrasts with the black background really well and makes it stand out more, which could represent how the band stand out from the 'norm'.

•      Nirvana's digipak shows elements of the typical alternative (more than indie genre). It's very unique and it stands out from other digipaks in my opinion.
•      The front of the digipak shows a baby suspended in water, his expression quite neutral, with his eyes open. It's an image you would not expect to see, which makes it memorable. 
•      The colours are vibrant, blue, which is on the front and back of the digipak. It kind of challenges the genre stereotypes because with the alternative genre, the colour schemes that are associated with this genre tend to be dark. 
•      There is a prop of money on the front cover that the baby is swimming towards to which could represent that the band are 'swimming' towards their 'goal' of earning money for something they love.
•      The baby could also represent how the band started off small and are progressing into something bigger and better - there music career has taken off but like most bands, it took them time to grow.
•      The album is on the front, just to tell the audience the name of the CD they are listening to. It's in the corner of the CD cover because we are supposed to focus on the image more, on how the band became who they did. The font is quite faint but blocky, so it is noticeable but not as important.
•     The inlay is of a (toy) monkey in flames, which, like the CD cover, could represent the band's journey to becoming who they are. The monkey could represent the band and how they have crossed difficult times (represented by the fire) in the music industry but they have never been 'burnt' and they have made it out on top as a successful band.
•      The colours of the inlay are a lot to be compared of the front cover and back cover, with a contrasting red and orange tone to the cool blue of the other CD pages. This could show that the band like to make different points in their songs.
•       There is no writing on the inlay, just an image, so this is the focal point obviously.
•       The back of the digipak is a playlist of all of the songs on the CD. 
•     The colour is the same as the front of the CD, the same ocean blue, which shows consistency and it makes the album look presentable and eye catching.
•      The font is is in white, easy to read again the blue background and it stands out. It is normal for people to look at the back of a CD straight away so the fact that the writing stands out appeals to the sense of 'looking'. 
•      The songs are laid out in a neat fashion, easy to read and presentable, which could show that the band like to present their music in a certain way so that people feel the need to want to listen to it.

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• The overall theme for the ALT-J digipak is a space theme, with dark colours with splashes of brightness to draw our eyes in and interesting shapes.
• The front cover is simple, with the name of the band and the name of the album. 
• The font links to the theme of the overall digipak, as it looks other worldly and is quite fascinating, with triangles as 'A' and it is quite blocky and unique, which is probably how the band want to be seen. 
• It is black, except for the writing which is deep purple, orange and yellow, which creates the semantic field of space and originality. The colours can also link tot he indie/alternative genre conventions because these are the kinds of colours we'd associate with an indie/alternative band.
• The inlay(s) consist of two blank images of space scenes, one image of a triangle using the same colours as the CD cover and the other inlay has writing on it. 
• I think the two plain inlays create a certain aesthetic and it makes the overall digipak pleasing to look at. They, too, carry the theme of space and I think this theme conveys to the audience that the band want to be seen as different and 'out of this world', with original music and unique CDs.
• The inlay with writing on it includes a form of intertextuality as it mentions some words said from 'Johnny Flynn', who is an actor and singer/song writer, which shows that ALT-J want their audience to know where their music inspirations come from as I think it makes an audience feel closer to a band or artist as it's as if we know something about their musical journey if we know why and how they started making music. 
• The font is the same blocky font as on the front and back of the CD cover, in white. It stands out against the black background and it is upside down, positioned in the centre of the 'page'. It kind of makes reading it interactive and it makes us want to read it, because we have to turn it upside down to read it and it creates the impression that it is important and because we get this impression, we then proceed to read it.
• The back of the CD cover consists of a track list.
• The font is white and each song has a number in chronological order next to it. The numbers make it easier for the listener to pinpoint a song they like and they are orange in colour, which again adds to the aesthetic and helps it to stand out. The band are known for their originality and I think the colours really help them to stand out against other bands. 
• The band's record label are on the back of the CD below the song list in the right hand corner in small font which could suggest that the band prefer to make their own choices about their music and appearance so their label have only a small part in it and they don't like to be told how to 'run things'.

• Out of all of the CD covers/digipaks that I looked at, this one from The Killers was my favorite. For me, it is a physically embodiment of the indie/alternative/rock genre as it's edgy, quirky and I think it has a natural, raw element to it that makes it stand out.
• The front cover has the band name in the font that they use for some of their other CD arts, such as the 'Mr Brightside' cover so it's iconic and easy for the audience to recognize, if they are fans or not.
• There is also a woman and a goat and I think the goat plays an important role, possibly to send a message across. The goat/ram wouldn't really be expected on a CD cover, it certainly isn't a genre convention of the indie/alternative genre or a typical prop, so it could represent how The Killers are different and think outside the box with different ideas and beliefs. 
• The woman could be seen as portraying a voyeuristic view due to her lack of clothing although she doesn't look like a typical woman that we'd see in a pop video, dancing around in a mini skirt. She fits in with the band's identity, quite tough looking which could challenge stereotypes that women are weak.
• The overall colour scheme of the digipak is quite muted, with gray, white and black, but they are different shades of these colours, making the overall digipak look quite old, which could represent that it is a CD you'd keep for a long time because it has good songs on it, because the band are good for example. 
• The CD itself has an image of the goat seen on the cover on it, covering most of the CD. I think it's interesting how the CD doesn't have the band name on like The 1975 but it has an iconic image on it, possibly iconic to the band - it is an image the audience are most likely to remember because it's so different and therefore they remember the music too.
• The back of the CD has a full image of the band with the songs that are on the CD below them. 
• I feel that it's a good idea to have the band on the CD digipak because new fans can see what they look like and from the image, the band conform to an extent to typical conventions (messy hair, scruffy looking clothing in neutral colours) however I think that the idea the band are positioned above the lyrics and the lyrics are a lot smaller than the image, the band want people to looka nd focus on them, which could show that they care more about their appearance than the music (to an extent) and this means that they don't completely conform to genre conventions because genre conventions of a typical indie/alternative/rock music group or artist is that they care more for the music, it's all about the music.
• The lyrics are, as mentioned before, small, but they are in white, so they do stand out somewhat against the background, which means they are readable. 
• There are two inlays, consisting of images with no words. One of the images is of the goat, which shows that the goat could be a symbol for the band, something that we can easily link to the band. The other image is of an old petrol pump in the middle of the desert, with a picture of a male on it. Again, this too matches the colour schemes and it fits the aesthetic of the whole digipak. 
• In my opinion the digipak looks quite western and old fashioned, with the retrica colour themes and images used - this could show that the band want to be different and remembered for a long time and that they also produce music that isn't as modern as the sugary pop we get today.