What is a Digipak?
A digipak is a printed card packaging containing a CD. It has between four and six panels with a front cover, back cover, spine and disc impression. The conventions of a digipak is that there are images which represent the theme of the album and the artist; the genre should also be identifiable to fans and potential audiences.
Moreover, most CD front covers have a traditional trademark sign of the artist (logo) or a picture of the artist. The theme throughout the whole digipack in terms of genre and colour is usually consistent.
The elements of a Digipak:
Front Cover
Inside Left: Artist's name, sleeve with booklet
Inside Right: Holds the disc
Back Cover: Listed tracks, barcode, distributor info/recording info, band website, production credits
Spine: Name of the record company/logo, name of band/artist, name of album, serial number
History of a Digipak?
-In 1974, the Dutch electronics company ‘Philips’ began developing a digital optical audio disk
Furthermore, digipaks were one of the first alternatives to jewel cases used for CDs by the majority of large record companies.
Purpose of a Digipak?
-A digipak holds a music CD and usually consist a leaflet with the list of songs from the album and more information as well as photos on the artist/s.
Digipaks come in different forms:
4 Panel Digipak-- the most common and popular
all mockups are from https://www.graphicpear.com/digipack-cd-mockup/
6 Panel Digipak
Plastic Foam CD Digipak
Analysis of Digipaks
Chromatica--Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga's new album 'Chromatica' adopts 1990s house music with cyberpunk elements throughout the songs as well as album covers.
It is important to understand the definition of 'Chromatica' in order to comprehend and analyze its Digipak cover.
'Chromaticism, (from Greek chroma, “colour”) in music, the use of notes foreign to the mode or diatonic scale upon which a composition is based.'
-Encyclopedia Britannica
~Root word “chroma,” defined as a “quality of color combining hue and saturation.” (Hence the use of bright neon colours used on the Digipak cover)
~The album features 12 tracks, each representing a colour from the chromatic scale.
During an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music's Beat's 1, Lady Gaga explains:
“The symbol for Chromatica has a sine wave in it, which is the mathematical symbol for sound, and it’s from what all sound is made from, and, for me, sound is what healed me in my life period, and it healed me again making this record, and that is really what Chromatica is all about. It’s about healing and it’s about bravery as well and it’s really like, when we talk about love I think it’s so important to include the fact that it requires a ton of bravery to love someone.”
"I sort of went back and I said, “OK, well, yeah, it’s inclusivity but it’s really a way of thinking,” you know, it’s not just, “Oh, Chromatica, we’re being inclusive with all the colors, all the people,” and when I say, “All the colors, all the people,” I mean way more than we could possibly fathom."
"I think that we’re actually operating on a completely rudimentary level where we square things off into very simplified colors when actually we’re all extremely different in a vast variety of ways that stem from both, like, genetics as well as epigenetics, like, we’re all completely different and I thought OK, well maybe, Chromatica is a frame of mind. And that is my frame of mind, and I don’t know that I’ve ever made an album that wasn’t on Chromatica in some type of way, meaning like my frame of mind is always a part of my music, and this is just my way of kind of expressing, even in a both literal and abstract way, that, like, making music and putting it out into the world is my perspective on life, and it’s also my gift to the world in the best way that I can, and I think that everyone on any given day is doing the absolute best that they can do, and this is my perspective, and here it is, and it’s always been my perspective, but now I know that it was my perspective.”
"I think what I've learned is that I can view the world in whatever way I choose to see it, and it doesn't mean that I'm deleting the bad things, it just means that I can reframe my life experiences", she said. "I live on Chromatica, that is where I live... I found Earth, I deleted it. Earth is canceled. I live on Chromatica".
This is a very postmodern statement, where Lady Gaga's view on the world is extremely fluid and is constructed by herself rather imposed by traditional perspectives on life---Active audience engagement: 'Active audiences are in control of the way they watch or interact with the media. Gauntlett would argue that active audiences use – or make – media products to craft their own identities.' this further extends to Anthony Giddens' concept of 'Reflexive project of the self' where audiences in a postmodern society are less passive and more in control of what they perceive in the media as well as the construction of their own identity which is fluid and constantly evolving.
-Camerawork: birds eye view, creating a very majestic and dramatic feeling, allowing the audience to have a full view of Lady Gaga as well as what surrounds her which almost serves as a way to look back on her past—which, is what this album is also about; Lady Gaga addresses her past as well as the courage to heal from traumas and to love, spreading positive energy.
-Mise-en-scene: The cover is dominated by lime green and fluorescent pink as well as a rusty metal Chromatica ‘sine wave’ logo. The bright colour shapes resemble a mutated monster due to the symbolic code of the large spiky teeth that aligns the shape. Usually this would create a feeling of alert especially due to Lady Gaga being encircled by it and seems trapped. However the bright pink of the monster is the same colour as Lady Gaga’s hair, therefore generates a sense that the monster comes from Lady Gaga and is one of her well-known ‘personas’ (Lady Gaga embodies different personas such as Jo Calderone for the VMAs). Another reason that the monster appears to be less threatening to Lady Gaga is the logo of the Chromatica tribes on the monster’s teeth.
Moreover, Lady Gaga is wearing an armour thus, creates her image as a warrior. In combination with the green light and gas emitting from the cage as well as the rough rotten/mutated matters around and within the cage. Lady Gaga amongst all the chaos creates an image of power as if she went through a process of metamorphosis, where she heals from her past and transforms into a more powerful being.
-Typography and Language: Chromatica’s font is customized but merges the gothic and cyberpunk style which is significant as it represents progress, development as well as reflecting on the past mistakes.
~Who is the audience? How do you know?
The audience is everyone especially those who feel outcasted due to their differences. This is because one of the highlights of the album is about healing as well as inclusivity and diversity--- uniting everyone with their differences and similarities.
~How/why does this digipak appeal to the audience?
The digipak consists of bright colours with a futuristic style and is more dramatic and unique compared to the other digipaks on the market, it further matches and accentuates Lady Gaga’s known theatrical and over-the-top character. This links to Dyer’s star theory, Lady Gaga’s ‘eccentric’ style is her selling point as she is bold with her expression and challenges traditional common beauty standards and gender performance, her rebellious personality makes her appeal to a large audience.
SOS--SZA
Although this is not a physical digipak cover of SZA's album 'SOS', it is a digital album and I would like to mention this cover as I find it fascinating due to its intertextual reference.
Princess Diana vacation in Italy 1997
SOS is an album about heartbreak, isolation, anger and frustration therefore by paying homage to this photo with Princess Diana is significant. Princess Diana has experienced a great deal of unfairness and inhumanity and equally was pushed to the periphery of the Royal family and very much isolated. This photo captures not only the physical isolation of Princess Diana but also an unexplainable complexity in emotions.
Furthermore, the title of the album 'SOS' meaning 'Save Our Souls' or 'Save Our Ship' reinforces a sense of urgency and desperation within the theme of the album, as a result, the connection drawn from this photo of Princess Diana and the album creates an instant acknowledgement of the sadness and complexities which will be felt in the songs.
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