Digipak research

Female digipaks and adverts

Hey Boy is of the pop/ dance genre so I have decided to research digipaks and adverts which fit with my genre and target audience, all of which are female singers. There are clear forms of codes and conventions associated with digipaks; often the front cover consists of a close up shot of the solo artist with a plain backdrop, this is so the audiences focus solely on the artist. This is so the audience can connect with the artist and become intrigued by their appearance and then hopefully will buy the digipak.

Katy Perry's Teenage dream digipak

is possibly the best example of a current one on the market today. Katy is a solo artist who is charismatic; this is reflected in the actuall digipak.

The album cover and California girl video were inspired by Will Cottons famous paintings of a world made out of candy and clouds made out of candy floss. This is apparent when you contrast Katy's photograph with a painting by Will Cotton (below.) This show creativity can be created when you are inspired by something or someone else's work. This cover works really well as it reflects the target audience and genre as it is: girly, pretty, fantasy and creative.


Katy has been sexulised on the front of the album cover but yet I believe it is done in a tasteful way as I see it as art but others may see it as unnecessary. This done primarily to widen the target audience by creating a male gaze, as the album is mainstream. A simple but captivating photograph is used of just the artist then illustrated font is used for the title of the album and details such as: featured songs and bar code are shown.The inside of the digipak is fun and quirky; it features Katy dressed in a different theme (queen) wearing elaborate costumes and props. There is a contrast of the girly front cover with the colours: pink and blue to the: bold black background in the inside;This mismatch of theme creates a playful tone to the CD (you do not know what to expect from this CD!) she appears to be all sweet and innocent but she can also be dark. The CD itself fits with the front cover theme of candy by it resemblimling a candy cane. This conveys that Katy is: young, 'sweet', fun and carefree. This attitude would appeal to the young girl audience as every girl loves: sweets, lolly pops etc...


Finally the back cover is simple; it continues with the clouds on the front cover. This is so it is not over complicated for the reader to see the songs on this album. The text is clear and fits with the rest of the theme; looks illustrated and reflects the actual CD with the colours of the candy cane.

I really like this digipak, I feel inspired by this by the: contrast, layout and simplicity. I do not think it reflects my genre too much, I think artists such as: Cherly Cole and Cascada which I will look further into.
Madonna

This didgipak is a great example of a continues theme throughout; here it is the lolly pop. I would argue that it similar to Katy Perry's candy theme but it different. This is a example of creativity, artists can be inspired by others but add a twist to the idea. Madonna is more of a dance genre; this is reflected by the photograph on the back cover. The costume, pose and attitude conveys this and the simple towel prop adds a final touch to the photograph .