Digipak Analysis

  

The following digipak is from the artist Jack Johnson who is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer, filmmaker, musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. The main purpose of a digipak is to entice an audience in order for them to purchase the product in which the artist is a part of. The digipak is personal to the artist including images that represent the artist and their music. Overall a digipak allows the audience to feel more connected with their favoured artist and in turn enjoy their music more so because they can relate to it.

A digipak differs to a CD album due to the vast amount of additional images we as a consumer are provided with.

A digipak will generally have 6 slides and as a group we will create this and produce a digipak including a front cover, welcome page, cd design, two images and  a back page.

Finding a digipak with 6 slides from an artist within the indie genre proved to be very difficult therefore we had to analyse a digipak of four slides from the artist Jack Johnson.

A digipak will need to represent the artist in order to gain success through sales.

This specific digipak by Jack Johnson shows the chilled and laid back atmosphere of the artist which is conventional of the indie genre. This is shown by the specific colours and designs. The colours mainly used are yellow and black which can suggest a vibrant yet melodic album. The colour yellow connotes  happiness, hope and imagination.
The front cover of the digipak shows a large oak tree which are often shown as wise and humble which may represent the songs within Jack Johnson's album. The front cover is very simple with only the tree, the figure representing the artist and also his guitar. The simplicity of the cover is conventional of the indie genre as their music and music videos are generally basic as the main priority is the music.
The man's silhouette is dressed in very casual clothing of a t-shirt and shorts showing his relaxed view on life. He is picking a leaf off of the tree which symbolises the thoughts and feelings he is experiencing and maybe reaching to the tree for advice as they tree is known for its wisdom. 
 On the inside cover there is an image of the artist holding a guitar, the central instrument to his music which allows his music to have such soft and easy listening music. Therefore this is stereotypical to this Indie genre as this is what an audience would expect from an Indie artist digipak as it uses examples of the conventions. For example the use of the guitar and the simplistic low budget location.

The artist is not completely visible in the images which is unconventional of the indie genre as after research that I have conducted I have come to realise that the artist is usually seen throughout their digipak such as artist's like Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding. This digipak is also conventional to the Indie genre due to the rural location in which the digipak is set.  Throughout the digipak naturalistic images are seen throughout whether it be in the form of trees, leaves and trunks. This, along with the contrast of yellow and black, show how the artist is happy to break conventions of his genre and create his own style. Therefore this may suggest his music may have certain factors that do not conform to the Indie genre. Jack Johnson is represented as a possibly inferred shy character with a hidden personality which could be a reason as to why audiences choose to buy his product in aim to get to know the ways in which he expresses his emotions: through his chosen art form of music of the Indie genre. 
The colour yellow connotes optimism, happiness, hope and imagination. These emotions are evident within the album in certain songs. However there is a juxtaposition of colours as the yellow is connected with the colour of black which has many dark and harsh connotations such as death, grief and danger. There is also a dark green colour which emphasises the natural themes. The overall design of Jack Johnson's digipak shows his personality as an artist and how he enjoys the simple things in life which are shown by the use of images. The simplicity of the digipak shows that the artist is not an attention seeking artist and will be happy with a niche audience who truly find his album entertaining and valuable.

The images used throughout the digipak are included to engage a particular kind of audience as they go well with the vibrant colours.

The front cover contains an image of a tree which shows nature and freedom. This may suggest the freedom Jack Johnson has as an artist within the Indie genre. On the inside cover of the digipak is an image of Jack Johnson holding an acoustic guitar which introduces the audience to the artist and in addition, informs them of his musical abilities, typical of the Indie genre as most Indie artists use instruments and live music rather than record studio sounds. 
The font used throughout the digiapak is also simple and relates to the themes of Jack Johnson. The font is a standard original font which is also black showing simplicity. This relates to the indie genre due to the simplicity against the vibrant yellow colours, showing character underneath the simple music and lyrics. 

The style of the language used persuades the audience from the Indie genre as certain word choices entice them. For example 'In between dreams' shows the work and struggle that needs t be done before certain dreams are reached.. This could suggest that this album is full of songs that show a realistic vibe with the reaching for dreams. Other lexis that is evident within the digipak is the silver box containing 'Special Edition', this will entice an audience as they will feel that this edition of the album holds something different and more valuable that the original edition. An audience need to be told that they are purchasing a product that is 'special' showing that this is exclusive and will include special features about the artist and songs which a fan will really appreciate.

This digipak of Jack Johnson's, an Indie artist who appeals to a niche audience, much like our chosen artist Nina Nesbitt initially attracts an audience via the vibrant yellow colour which is a motif throughout. 
Jack Johnson's digipak is a great example of how an artist from the Indie genre uses a digipak to promote themselves and their music. This artist uses simplistic and naturalistic images to entice its audience to buy the album which is shown to be easy listening through the themes presented. The colours that are presented throughout the digipak connote certain feelings and emotions that are portrayed within the chosen singles on the album. A convention of the Indie music genre is that the music is the main priority and this Is shown as the artist is seen very little and not very clear however the guitar is seen twice showing the importance of the instrument.

The research I have conducted into the Jack Johnson's digipak will help me when it comes to creating a digipak for my chosen artist. I now have a greater knowledge into digipaks and how they can entice an audience through particular designs, layouts and images. Through looking at Jack Johnson who is an artist from the Indie genre, I now have a greater understanding in to the Indie genre and what kind of themes and images run through their digipaks in order to entice an audience. I think that by conforming to the Indie genre, the digipak will be successful in the way that it will attract an indie audience however by breaking the conventions it will show character from the artist.