Ancillary Task - Digipak Analysis

Front Cover

Inside Panels

Overlapping inside Panel/ Front and Back Panel

I am analysing a digipak of the band ‘Down’s’ album ‘Over The Under’. They are a well-established heavy metal band. Firstly the cover of the digipak if very simple. It features the bands logo in the centre top of the front panel. This is an exceptional place to put a logo as it is easily noticed when placed on shop shelves. There are only 2 colours used within the whole digipak. (excluding the booklet) The colours used are a faded black and a creamy white. These colours have been used to make it look like it is a vintage/classic album giving an old effect. Using these two colours also creates a huge contrast to other albums on the shop shelf. It also shows the bands personality and style of music. It explains to the customer what the music will be like on the album. My first impressions of the CD album cover tells me that it was going to be a very ‘heavy’ album with lots of shouting and extreme guitar solos.

The picture on the front cover is a lion eating a sun with three small stars. This implies many connations’s and gives a reason to why the bands have chosen to use this image. Firstly it shows how there music is almighty and powerful with a hard hitting heavy sound. The logo stays the same through out the whole album, and the bands whole career which has helped them in marketing. The Logo has become an established icon for the band which heavy metal fans will recognise. other than this the album cover is very simplistic. This is to foreshadow that the band are not aiming to become ‘rich’ or extremely famous. They are in the business for making music and want people to enjoy there music opposed to artists like Rhiana or 50 Cent who aim to achieve wealth and fame then most probably boast about it in there music.

On the inside of the digipak there are 3 panels. The first one hold the booklet in place. There is not much design here. From experience of using this product the booklet holder s not very user friendly. It just about s hold the booklet but if the digipak is to be rotated slightly the booklet almost always falls out.

The second panel names the songs which are on the CD. It is very unusual and i have never seen it before. There is an Eye in a spiky shape which is being covered by a cloud, with arms/tentacles coming down with the name of the song. Using an abstract image indicates and tells what the music will be like on the album before they have listened to it. When i first look at it i think, ‘wow, i don’t have a clue what it is suppose to be, but its cool’. This then made me think, i may not understand the lyrics in some of the songs, or what the lyrics mean but it may still be good to listen to.
The third panel is the jewel casing to hold the CD. Some digipaks have a sleeve to put the cd into and others using the plastic jewel case. The plastic jewel case protects the CD more and is more reliable in order of keeping the CD in the digipak during transportation.

On the back there is an image of the band. The image has been edited to make it look like the photo as taken under a black and white filter. The colours blend well together and parts of the image have been smudged in order to get the audience looking directly at the band. Phil Anselmo, the lead singer is in the middle of the picture. The photographer has chose to put him there as he is the bands song writer. He could also be an inspiration to other people in bands or interested in the music and more famous than the other band members.

The back cover, in the same style as the front cover has an image of Phil Anselmo’s face smoking. The font used for the song names os the same font used for the logo and title of the album on the front cover. On the bottom right corner there is a bar code. All albums have one in order to be scanned when being sold. Above that s the logo of the record company that published the album. Along with that are the copy right trademarks and where fans can ind out more information about the band like FaceBook and Myspace.