Digipak Analysis - Miss Georgiou

A digipak is a a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one of more discs. The difference between a digipak and a CD album is that a digipak has 6 sides, whereas a CD album has 4 and has most of the detail is solely on front and the back. The reason why digipak's have 6 sides is because it allows more opportunity for visible artwork, information (such as lyrics) or promotions. Digipak's usually contain a letter/note from the artist directly to the fans, giving it a more 'personal feel' and insight to their lives. The digipak I have chosen to analyse is Gabrielle Aplin's English Rain album. This is because my artist, Birdy does not have a digipak and Gabrielle Aplin is a similar artist to her. So by analysing Gabrielle Aplin's digipak, this will help assist me with ideas on what to include in mine based on the knowledge I have gained from this research. 

The digipak cover for English rain deluxe edition, shows Gabrielle Aplin in the middle but far away in the distance on a beach. Her name and the album name is near the top, where as the text ' Deluxe Edition' is positioned at the bottom. Firstly, the artist is represented as an introvert, simplistic and innocent through the use of mise en scene. She is represented as an introvert because she is seen alone in a dark setting as the clouds are grey and the sand is black. The greyness connotes quietness, reserved and calmness as it is a neutral colour which could foreshadow that the album is going to be these traits which is conventional to the indie genre, as the songs are usually calm and reserved to the artist and their audience. As Gabrielle is holding a rainbow umbrella, this can show that she is happy when she's alone because the bright colours of the umbrella contrasts the setting. Therefore, the artist is represented as an introvert due to her hiding most of her body with a rainbow coloured umbrella. This attracts an audience as the juxtaposition of the dark setting and her umbrella emphasises her position in the middle, which makes the audience focus on her. The use of this is conventional to the indie genre, as artists usually convey themselves in isolated places however they would stand out from this isolated place with the use of colours or positioning. Also, the umbrella connotes a sense of protection for the artist, as she holds it pointing directly to the camera showing the bright colours whereas her surroundings are dark. This could represent her as not letting negativity get to her through her positive armour which is indicated through the umbrella, and represents her as optimistic as she uses this positivity that she has to get by in the world, even if it is dark or ominous. Furthermore, the artist is represented as innocent through the use of the rainbow umbrella and colourful balloons in the digipak. The use of the rainbow umbrella and colourful balloons portray her as innocent, as balloons and umbrellas are usually associated with children due to the 'fun' aspects with using them e.g playing with balloons. Also, the balloons may represent Gabrielle Aplin as free and happy because balloons connotes happiness, celebration and justice, which therefore shows her as independent. This is conventional to the indie genre as artists from this genre usually are from an independent record label, so the artists are more in control of how they want their music to be distributed and made, that's why indie music videos often convey personal messages from the artist to the audience. In consequence, it'll help build a relationship between the artists and the audience, as they portray themselves as free willed and unrestricted which shows them as powerful and real which the audience could admire about them, and see them as genuine. 
The choice of images for the artist are subversive to the indie genre, especially when presenting the artist. Gabrielle is seen in the digipak twice and in these shots she is seen from a distance through a long shot and a high angle shot. Firstly, in the front cover of the album we see her through an extreme long shot that shows her hiding behind an umbrella only showing her face but from a distance, so its hard to see her facial expressions clearly. The use of this created enigma as you may be able to see her whole body, but not fully as the umbrella is in the way and she is far in the distance. This is unconventional to the indie genre, as artist usually use close shots such as long shots and close ups to promote themselves due to the majority of artists in this genre being unknown. Whereas, Gabrielle challenges this by incorporating a long shot but not showing herself fully, which could represent her as shy and reserved. This shows the impression of Gabrielle not being bothered about the fame and only focused about the music she's putting out, which makes her look genuine and passionate about her music which could make the audience build a relationship with her as they feel she is being real with her music and letting them in without the stardom. The second image, is in the 3 sides inside the digipak that shows a cliff and Gabrielle walking on the beach holding the coloured balloons through a high angle shot. The use of this high angle shot represents her as inferior, vulnerable and oblivious which could also imply that her music showcases her raw emotions and that she is letting her audience in to explore these organic emotions and experiences expressed in her music. This helps build a relationship with the audience as they believe that she is being legitimate and sincere with her music and makes them understand more about her as she is seen as being honest towards them.

There are two CD's included in the digipak, one with an image of rainbow coloured umbrella shot from above and the other with colourful balloons. The choice of images are two props. The use of having the iconography that portray vibrant vibes and happiness suggest to the audience that what they're going to listen to will cheer them up or make them happy as it contrasts the rest of the album which is dark. Also, having iconography as the image on the CD's instead of the artist, shows that Gabrielle does not care to be seen and is only focused on making her audience happy with her music. The CD illustrates the playful ideology of the album through the images of balloons and the bird eye view of an umbrella. The use of the pastel colours represent her as delicate, feminine and the season spring which could foreshadow what the album will include. Furthermore, the pastel colours connote calm and peacefulness which could foretell how the songs will be on the album. In relation, to the pastel colours they represent the artists girlie and feminine personality, making the album a more personal creation due to it illustrating elements of her personality which the audience can acknowledge.  

The colours in the digipak are black,grey, white and multi pastel colours (e.g yellow, pink and blue of the balloons and umbrella). The dark colours are used in the setting which seems to be a sea side and cliff, and the bright colours are seen on the artist through iconography, balloons and umbrella. The use of the dark colours gives a feeling of a gloomy, dark, unpleasant day, but for Gabrielle she seems to be happy in this atmosphere as she is jumping about in the rain with her umbrella. This connotes that she brings life to a gloomy, dull day which portrays her in a positive light, which the audience could cherish about her as an artist. The use of this attracts the audience because it makes her stand out and shows her as a happy person even when its a bad day. The back of the the digipak is grey and dark grey. This seems very dark and gloomy which connotes the representation of a rainy day as it gets grey when it rains which also relates back to the title of the album "English Rain". 

Her name and the album name are seen at the top of the digipak cover and the CD's. The use of the the typography being placed at the top continuously promotes the artist as her name is seen in capitals where as the album title is in lowercase. The purpose of her name being in capitals is so that it grabs the audience attention and reminds them of her name, so that they wont forget. This is conventional to the indie genre, as it helps promote the artist name as indie artists are usually low key, for example Lorde placed her name at the top of her Pure Heroine album. Moving on to the typography, there are two types of ways in which the same font is seen in this digipak. Firstly, the artists name is in the quirky font but capitalised to show importance to her name and make sure it grabs the audiences attention. However, the album title 'english rain' is in lower case and looks cursive which gives a personal touch to the album, as it suggests its her own handwriting. The use of this cursive font for the album title represents her as patriotic as its in a handwriting font which implies that she is proud of the being English, and rain is usually associated with the UK's weather.

Furthermore, we see the typography that looks handwritten and states 'Gabrielle x'  above the umbrella on the sand. The typography looks as if it was her actual signature which gives a personal finish to the digipak as it illustrates that her album is personal and how she is willing to share it with her fans or audience. Also, the use of having 'x' below her name further connotes the personal, intimate senses as x are seen as kisses and are often used when people are showing love to someone. This could be interpreted as Gabrielle showing love to the audience through her music and makes it seem more exclusive to them as they feel like they share a bond with her. Therefore creating a relationship between the artist and audience through the signature and 'x' as it shows her dedication to her fans and how she values and cares about them. 
The style of language that is used in this digipak is quite vague and simplistic. The majority of the language used is straightforward as it just states her name throughout the digipak e.g front cover, CDs and the back cover. The use of this is to promote the artist throughout and get straight to the point so that it doesn't make the audience feel like their wasting their time. Also, the only other language that is used in the digipak, is the album title it self 'English Rain'. The adjective English connotes her patriotically as it emphasises on where she is from and makes it look more personal. The adjective is accompanies the noun Rain as it describes it as being something from England and also could attract the niche audience of English people as they can relate to her with experiences with 'English Rain' as it tends to rain a lot in this area. Therefore, by using this basic style of language it makes the audience intrigued in what is included in the music so they will listen to it to find out the further hidden meanings behind the title 'English Rain'.

The digipak promotes the indie genre in numerous ways. Firstly, the grey scale filter that is seen in the setting that she is in is conventional to the indie genre as it gives the audience a hint of what is to be included in the album in terms of themes that are quite depressing through the use of the colour. This is because of the connotations with the colours grey,black and white and these connote  that there is going to be an emotional scenario included in the music video. Therefore, this promotes the indie genre as black and white filters are used to show a flashback or scenario of what has happened in the artist life, which helps convey the narrative or concept that's being shown. In addition, the digipak promotes the genre through the use of setting which is a sea side. This location is a natural setting that the audience can relate to if they have been to the sea side as well. This promotes the genre as indie music videos stereotypically have a natural setting so that it conveys realism and relates to the audience. 

The ways in which the digipak promotes the artist is through typography and iconography. Firstly it promotes her through the typography as it simply states her name on the front cover, CD's and the back cover. On these places her name is in capitals and this promotes her as it stands out from the other typography and catches the audiences attention by being positioned either at the top or the middle. This is commonly used in the indie genre, for example Lana Del Rey has her name printed at the top of her Born to die and paradise deluxe edition albums. Also, the digipak includes her signature at the back which promotes her as it gives personal feel to the digipak, that appeals to the audience as they'll think its authentic and will want to buy it. In addition, the artist is promoted in this digipak through the use of iconography used e.g colourful umbrella and balloons. The colours portray a sense of positivity and happiness which implies that the artist feels this way in the album. Also the use of the colours promote the artist as lively, cheerful and vibrant which shows her quirkiness and promotes her personality through the iconography. 

Finally, the ways in which the digipak attracts the audience is through the positioning of the artist, typography and colours. The digipak attracts the audience through the positioning of the artist as Gabrielle is positioned in the middle from an extreme long shot in the front cover. The use of this highlights her importance in the frame as she is seen far away in an isolated setting which makes her the focal subject. Therefore, by having Gabrielle positioned in the middle but seen from a distance, this creates a sense of enigma and makes the audience intrigued to see her clearly so it'll attract them as they will want to find out more about her since she is not clearly shown.Moreover, the long distance shot is subversive to the indie genre, as you'd expect to see the artists through close up shots where you can see the artist clearly, however Gabrielle challenged this by making herself stand out from others through making her appearance not vivid. Also, the colours attract the audience especially through the contrast of the dark,gloomy setting with the vibrant pastel colours seen from the iconography. The use of this juxtaposition attracts to the audience as it creates a sense of excitement and curiosity to why it contrasts each other, so they will listen to the songs to see whether it links with the themes expressed on the album. Lastly, the typography attracts the audience, specifically through the signature. This is because it shows her actual signature that gives a personal touch to the album, appealing to the audience as they feel as if it is a gift to them which is intimately done, building a relationship between the artist and the audience. 

This analysis has helped me gather inspirations on what to consider including when planning my own digipak. I've learnt that iconography can be very vital when representing the artist and the themes that may be included in the album. For example Gabrielle Aplin used umbrella to show protection from the world and balloons to symbolise freedom which some of her songs could be about being free. Also, this analysis has prompt me with the knowledge on how colours are important when making a digipak, as they help connote different meanings that can represent the artist. For example, Gabrielle Aplin's digipak use of pastel colours connote calmness, relaxation and soothing, which could suggest that the artist is these traits or her music gives a sense of sanity. One thing I defiantly will try to include in my digipak, is the use of typography of the artists name being the biggest font and positioned at the top. I think this is essential for our digipak, as its a debut album and the use of this will reveal her name to the world and exaggerate her debut. I may even consider including our artists signature in the digipak or having a small letter inside for the fans. This is because I believe this will have a big impact on the sales, as the audience will be intrigued to see what the artist says in the digipak and also feel a bond with the artist as it is sentimental. Overall, this post will help me with my digipak planning as I've gained further knowledge on what to include in an Indie digipak to make is successful and conventional to the genre.