Digipak Analysis 1,2& 3

Fall out boy


The imagery of this digipak shows that the characters clearly have a relationship; the fact that one is an actual bear and the other is a character in a bear suit shows a connection between the two. ‘Folie a Deux’ is French for ‘a madness shared by two’ this is represented on the cover by the positioning of the characters. Similarly, it also means a rare psychiatric syndrome in which symptoms such as paranoia or delusional belief is passed one from one individual to another. This suggests that the artists have created an album based on the madness of human beings.


This digipak uses very simplistic colours which is a common convention of album covers for the rock-pop genre. The use of very basic colours makes finding the meaning behind the album more difficult and therefore you are much more reliant on pragmatics. I don’t think that the meaning behind the imagery is evident after a first glance. An example of this would be that sometimes simple colours can be a connotation of madness; people tend to associate simplicity with problems with the mind. The colours used on the bears show that they are familiar with each other; it could also suggest they share the same state of mind as each other. Also the name of the album ‘Folie a Deux’ is the same colour as the bear suit, signifying that the album is about them two characters. The band name is in a white font, this could suggest that the artists are attempting to distance themselves away from the madness of the album itself. Additionally, the spine colours are all different; this could suggest an ever changing state of mind is present with this digipak.  


Also, the back cover connotes to the idea of being mad as the characters are shown to be a mirror image of each other, this could be very confusing for the audience. Halls theory of encoding and decoding is evident on this product as it’s up to the audience how they decide to decode the message behind the images.  Also the track names could also represent insanity, for instance some of the song names ‘Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet’ uses incorrect grammar choices, and the random capitalisation is a modern discourse structure that is evident on the track list. This could be seen as a representation of the randomness of the characters minds as the album indicates insanity. The track ‘w.a.m.s’ is written in lower case letters whereas the others are all capitalised, this is basically reversing the norm and going against typical conventions of track lists that the fans will be used to.

The colour red seems to be dominating the digipak, this could represent that insanity is about to take over the person who is exposed to the album. Similarly on the albums spine the same font is used that is on the front of the album, this is often a convention of album formats as it enables browsers to easily find the album. 

Nicki Minaj


This digipak visualises the reoccurring motif of the artist. Nicki Minaj is a current and very popular solo singer who is well known for her love of neon bright colours. The colours used on the digipak make it easy for her fans to relate to the album as they can associate the colours used with the colours that are represented with the artist herself. The album is part of the hip hop genre and therefore is aimed at a much different audience than the Fall Out Boy album is. The colour pink is associated with the Nicki Minaj as it’s the colour that she wears most in her videos, it’s also the name of this album, therefore emphasising that pink is her colour and this is her album so if you like it then it’s the kind of music for you, if you can relate to the artists passion for colour.


Everything on the digipak fits with the context and conventions of the artist herself, for instance her clothing is very luxurious and a common reoccurring trend that is associated with the artist. She likes to create her style through visual aspects, for example by wearing extravagant outfits that come across to the audience as being wild and out of control, the message behind this could be, don’t be afraid to be different, be whoever you want to be even if it isn’t the norm.


Mulvey’s theory of male gaze is evident on this digipak as the creator is using the artist’s attractiveness in order to visually draw in the demographic audience which wouldn’t really come across as being part of the target audience in any other aspect.


The simplistic font and text size enables the artist to remain being the centrally anchored image and therefore the sole focus of the digipak and not the lettering or wording. The word ‘pink’ is written in pink colouring to match the connotations of the word, the fact that it is in a separate font could be seen as a way of reminding the audience that the artist is part of this album as pink is associated with Nicki herself. Furthermore, the font is written in a very typical ‘girly’ fashion, it’s very cursive and feminine, some very typical conventions of the artist.


The back of the digipak follows the exact same colour scheme as the front cover, the colour pink again is a big influence over this current record, this makes the album itself obvious to its desired target audience. Her perfectly straight hair and athletic body figure will attract an audience for her appearance as well as her music; this is very similar to other female artists such as Katy Perry and Rihanna. The track list itself is very simple and muted; this keeps the focus on the artist and also adds a sense of innocence the album as the pale colours are all associated with feminism. The record labels and institutions are anchored into the bottom left hand corner so that they are one of the last things the audience sees, this is done so that the focus is on the music and the artist and not the record company its self.

Finally the album has other typical conventions, such as the record company’s details, the record label and a barcode. These discourse markers are found on all albums as they make them easier to be identified it also is a way of advertisement for the record companies as they know that all the fans of the artists are going to see their name on the back, therefore expanding their fan base.


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Arctic Monkeys

 I have looked at digipaks from three different genre types; this one is from the indie genre. The cover itself is very simple and very basic. The only thing that stands out on the cover is the text; the idea behind this is so that it grabs the attention of the fans because it’s so plain. The quote on the front cover is positioned perfectly in the centre of the page so that the audience’s eyes are automatically drawn to that arrangement. The use of bold block capitals contrasts massively with the cream coloured background of the digipak; this makes the quote itself noticeable to an audience member interested in the album.

The back of the digipak is very similar to the front cover; the back is cream with a very similar font style to the front. The album seems to have gone against regular conventions of merchandise by putting the name of the band ‘Arctic Monkeys’ on the back of the album and nowhere on the front. This is evidence of the bands individuality and personality coming out for their fans to see.

The name of the album is ‘suck it and see’, this has been used in order to add a hint of humour to the album for the fans, this again could be some of the artist’s personality coming out. The quote could have some connotations which are not suitable for young audiences; therefore I think that the name of the album makes the target audience much more 16+. The songs on the track list are very simply written, they are in a column, a very typical way or arranging tracks, there is nothing unusual about the layout of them. The column is right in the centre underneath the artists name so that its one of the most obvious things to the audience so that it creates a strong selling point.

The inside of the digipak is one large image which stretches along the two sides; we have used this technique in our own digipak for ‘Love strong’ by Christina Perri. The image is of the band in an open environment, it looks as if they are on a hilltop. There is a distorted, colour grain effect over the image which makes it difficult to get a clear picture of the band members, this technique is intended so that they are not revealing themselves fully to the audience, and this fits with the album being very simplistic. The framing of the band shot is perfect as it’s more to the right hand side; this enables the audience to admire the bands surroundings as well as the artists. The image in the centre is very colourful compared to the front and back which is very neutral, I think that this is a representation for sometimes you have to look for what’s inside of something and not just what’s on the outside as colours come from within. This is just my interpretation for this digipak.