Star Image

In order to make an effective digipak cover I have looked into star image on Album covers; what is common, what is effective and other features which will help me to make my cover.



CD's and Digipacks

With the rise of online sales the number of CD's and albums bought are getting fewer and fewer. Many people now download music illegally instantly and for free off the internet. This is hitting the music industry very hard in terms of sales form their product as they are no longer in total control of the distribution of their own product. Artists are now playing more gigs than ever in order to make more money. The number of festivals in the UK increases rapidly every year. There are now over 500 festivals in the UK every year alone.




However what may still appeal to the public about digipaks is the package they come with. The pictures, images and style which comes with a digipak cannot come with a download. This is why making a striking digipak which stands out from the rest is so important.

There are a few main features of CD's and Digipak's which make them so different;

       CD's;

• Also known as a jewel CD case; the packaging is made up of three pieces of plastic; two glued together to fit the CD and one, hinged being the cover. This format has been used since the compact disc was first released in 1982.
• Problems which can be related to the jewel case are the structures weakness as it breaks and cracks easily when put under pressure due to its brittle nature. 

Dgipaks;

• Digipaks became widely used by record companies in the 2000's as an alternative to the jewel case as it is less brittle and more eco-friendly due to it being commonly mainly made from cardboard.
• They commonly have six sides. The advantage of this is that this gives the artist more space on the case to promote themselves. As lots more music is being downloaded now digipak's, in order to be successfully, have to have something which makes them better than a download and a digipak also offers pictures within the case rather than just a plastic case.

I believe a digipak is more effective than a jewel CD case as it offers more of what they want (interesting images and pictures) to a music buyer who is not downloading digitally.



Layout of a CD case; 


Layout of a digipak;

Font Tests

I have been experimenting with font types in order to find an appropriate font for my artist. Fonts are an important part of a digipak as they are what a potential buyer will read. An interesting and eye catching font can draw attention to your digipak and make it stand out.


Some experiments with  font types;

In order to choose a font which suits best, I have looked into some of CocoRosie's other Digipak covers in order to see what font the band has used.

The writing on all digipaks; although not the same, has a similar artistic slightly Gothic look about it which is in keeping with CocoRosie's image. For these reasons I will be using the last font I experimented with using as I think it fits in with the bands genre and is in keeping with their image.

Ispiration For Digipack

In order to understand how a digipak works I will be looking at some examples and how synergy is used in order to give a brand type to an artist. I have chosen to look at Feist (below) as she is an alternative artist and is similar to the genre of my artist, CocoRosie, therefore they should both have a similar fan base.

Feist - The Reminder Digipak

In order to give her fans what they expect and want from her, Feist's album's must reflect her placement as a leading indie artist. The style of her digipaks reflect her alternative status within the music industry.

There is mostly black and white imagery shown with coloured lines running through several sides of the digipak. Here synergy is used to create a collective unity feel on the digipak almost in the same way as branding.

The simplistic font makes the writing easy to read and the capital lettering makes it bold and clear. The images chosen are familiar images, easy on the eye such as reels of thread and a picture of the lead artist which is very common on digipaks. This along with the warm colour pallate is very typical for the folk genre as this simplistic 'friendly' use of promotion and marketing is easy on the eye for fans and fall within the lines of what is expected for an artist within this genre.