Digipak analysis

Below there is an example of a digipack by Garbage.

The outside of the digipak are bright colours; such as pink, blue and greens. The colours shown are similar to bright Chinese culture.The blossom colour of the small flowers on the cover help the audience to connote the bright culture of the art work.
 There is a bright pink colour on the outside then the main background seems to be a light blue, in which we can connote is the colour of water and this allows us to assume that the blue signifies a river and the leaves and flowers are possibly floating in the river. The blue could also represent the sky, therefore the flowers and the leaves would be  floating in the air. This allows the audience to get a sense of calmness and serenity from the outside and inside of the digipak. However these colours contrast the music that Garbage create.  Garbage are an indie rock band therefore, the cover being bright colours goes against the conventions of a indie rock bands digipak. As a member of the audience i would assume that the cover would be dark like their music; much like in the Foo Fighters cover (in which Butch Vig {the drummer of Garbage} helped to produce). 

   Butch Vig helped to produce the Foo Fighters digipak 'wasting light'. From this digipak we are able to denote the distressed background; meaning that the background is not 100% black but has some white. This is a factor that matches the typical conventions of a rock bands digipak or CD cover. We are also able to denote the limited by bright colour palette used on the front of this digipak. The audience is able to denote the band member's faces layered over each other and then with colours such as: pink, green, blue and red. The colouring of the bands faces is also connected with the title of the digipak, which is red. The text is also sans-serif, this is a repeated font throughout the digipak. Again keeping the text the same font throughout a digipak is a common convention that is used often. This is due to the fact that when purchasing an album people will assossaite the writing with the album and also - if there is booklet or if the CD - then they will be able to match the CD with its case with ease. 

This is the back of the digipak of the Foo Fighters 'Wasting Light'. Here we see the track list clearly and in a neat list. The track list is a must in creating a digipak, due tot he fact that people want to know what is on the CD and and in what order the songs are in; this allows for simpler hearing. the didgipak must also include credits to the producers and everyone who has worked on the digipak and the music itself. In this paragraph there is also copyrights. There is also the barcode in which is used for purchasing the digipak and to help retailers with stock control. All of these are necessary to create a formal and real digipak. The colour scheme from the front of the digipak has also been continued onto the back of the pack. This is for continuity and allows a member of the public to spot the digipak as Garbage when they see it. On the back there is a distressed tone to the colours and the background being bald is still also distressed. 
Another band that is of similar genre and work to garbage would be the cure. The cure are a rock band that were formed in England in 1976. They are similar and have a strong correlation to Garbage. The cure's digipak that i have chosen is made up of a limited pallet of colours also. The colours used are; reds, blues and black. There is also some white for the appearance of a distressed looking digipak. This correlates positively to the Foo Fighter's digipak. Bother rock bands and both involve a very limited colour pallet with a distressed appearance as a common factor. From this i can connote that it is a typical convention for a rock band to have distressed colouring on their digipak. Because of both of these bands having distressed colouring and comparing it to Garbage's digipak i can connote that Garbage (in this particular digipak) goes against the typical conventions of a rock genre digipak. 

So in this digipak i can denote that the colour red has been used fort he majority of the cover. The red and blue are both primary colours and they attract the audience's attention because they are very bold.  The image on the front cover engages the viewer and the hand drawn effect makes the album seem more personal and that they created it all themselves and that it cannot be recreated or copied by anyone else. Also the hand drawn effect gives the digipak an edgy look; this reflects the music that is created and how the cure are a rock indie band. However this digipak also goes against the typical conventions for a rock digipak. Although using simple colour schemes the track list onthe pack goes round in a clockwise rotation and is very small, therefore to some audiences may be difficult to read. There is a bar code on the back much like all of the other digipaks. A barcode not only is a typical convention but is needed for the help of sales and stock intake. 
 The pixies are also a similar band to Garbage. The pixies were formed in Boston in 1986. The digipak below is for 'Head Carrier' by the Pixies. The album involves a three tone colour scheme. The colours are orange, black and white. Again this seems to follow the general conventions of a indie rock bands. Garbage's digipak kind of follows these conventions with only several colour however the colours are in more detail and the pattern is more planned than in comparison to the other bands. 

Overall from what i have analysed; i can connote that the first digipak of this post (by Garbage) doesn't follow many of the typical conventions of a indie/rock bands digipak. The digipak is several different colours with several different shades; therefore, making it different already to the other digipaks in which use 3 or four colours (all of which are bold and bright) where as in the digipak of Garbage the colours are light and pale. Then in most of the digipaks the CD and the booklet are the same design to the inside and outside of the digipak. Whereas, in Garbage's digipak the colour of the CD and booklet are nearly the opposite. With the outside being light and pale colours, you then open the digipak up to find that the CD and booklet are 90% back. The 'G' on the cover of the booklet is made up of bones and has suddenly taken a dark turn. This would take the audience by surprise therefore, enticing them to read the booklet and to listen to the music because if they are not fans of the ban they would be unsure as to what they would be about to listen to. Also overall Garbage are a unique band that stand up for many groups such as LBGT and feminist organisations. They have also stated that they like surprising people and don't like going along with the typical conventions that they have been given.