Digipak Analysis

What is a Digipak?

A Digipak is a type of packaging for CD's or DVD's, typically made from a 4 or 6 plate folded piece of cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs. It folds out like a book, rather than that of opening a conventional case. Digipaks are designed to be cheaper and easier to produce than a normal jewel case.

Digipak is a registered trademark of AGI media who originally developed the packaging style, however the term Digipak has come into common use for any similar style packaging, even when produced by other companies or with varying materials.

CD Digipaks were originally seen as limited edition or specialist CD products however, improvements in the development of CD production and CD packaging printing techniques means that CD packaging is now available at much lower prices.

Hotel Cabana Digipak Analysis

When looking at the cover of the Digipak packaging for the album 'Hotel Cabana' by the artist Naughty Boy, there are several features to comment upon.
Firstly, due to the genre of the music being pop, this means that the artist is looking to appeal to a general audience therefore, the secondary colour of purple has been used so that the album colour does not primarily aid one gender over another.
Cabana -  a cabin, hut or shelter situated on a beach or at a swimming pool. 
Furthermore, the imagery on the cover interlinks with the name of the album, showing a silhouetted holiday destination just off the shoreline. Not only this, but when analysing music videos by Naughty Boy, I felt that these heavily supported landscaping. This once again, has been portrayed upon the album cover by making use of environmental imagery rather than a figurative or materialistic image.
The 'Hotel Cabana' album also mimics that of the individual extended plays. Each conforming a silhouetted image on the front of the digipak. One could assume this to be a themed image due to the artist, Naughty Boy never being present within his music videos, but instead being in the shadow to his featuring artists such as Emile Sande.

When considering the typography upon the Digipack, the main title consists of an informal sans-serif font. I feel this would appeal more to am adolescent audience due to the characteristics that the text portray. Also, the use of the colour white (usually symbolic to purity) could represent the singular genre of the artist and the heavily based naturalistic settings that the artist uses. The typography is also a theme font throughout. On the Hotel Cabana Trailer, used to advise the artist Naughty boy, the typography is identical along with the Hotel Cabana logo. This suggests the typography to be a symbolic reference to the artist.

No More Idols Digipak Analysis

Firstly, when looking at the cover of the Digipak for 'No More Idols' the striking image of the bulldog is the dominant feature. Though this may not seem to have any relevance to the artist, a bulldog is a very symbolic, British image interlinking with the origin of British duo. The image is also in black and white, allowing the typography to stand out. The typography is aligned central in a big, bold font, allowing the advertisement of the artist rather than the name of the album. The use of the colour yellow, along with the black imagery suggests danger or a sign of warning. This may interlink with the music within the album, suggesting the intensity of the beat. With the extreme close-up of the bulldogs face, this may also replicate the heavy beat of the music, so much so that its in your face.

Again, the back of the Digipak can be symbolic to caution with the use of the colours black and yellow. Furthermore, this theme is also carried through with some song titles including the lexical choices of ; 'Fire' and 'Blind', typically associated with danger or likewise hazards.
Additionally, Chase&Status aim to target a party audience of a younger generation. This is shown through word choices such as 'Hype' and also 'Flashing Lights', associated with either a partying atmosphere or that of police cars (stereotypically representing teenagers with crime in the media).

Past my assumptions of the Digipak, looking at 3 songs off the album, these were seen to surround issues of crime including; drinking, physical abuse, death. Therefore, the choice of design for this Digipak is extremely relevant to the music within.