Digipak Analysis - Bradley

This is the digipak for the album 'Day and Age' by The Killers. They are an indie rock band, hence why I chose this digipak.

On the front cover the band name is clear, bold and bigger than the album name. This might be because the band wants fans to recognize them and to draw in new fans as it stands out from it's size. For our digipak we will probably make the font of the band name bold and big, as this will draw in new members of our target audience.

 For the next two inside pages there are pictures of band members. Fans are more likely to buy the album, therefore most consumers will recognize the band members. Fans also like to see pictures of band members because they are role models, so the digipak provides them with various pictures to associate them with. In each self portrait there is a mosaic portrait. This could give off the impression that it is designed this way to make the individuals look more important. For example in Roman times only people of high importance were drawn or painted in mosaic. For our digipak we will include pictures of the band but they will be pictures of them performing in the music video. By doing this, audience members who have seen the video will be able to recognize the band, furthermore if they have seen the band in the pictures they will be able to recognize the band in the music video as well.

The third double page spread is a photo of the band members and various details about the production of the item. The photo has been put there as it is another example of the way the band is portrayed and it allows the audience to relate to them. For example if fans have bought previous digipaks, they may have seen older photos of the band, so this new photo allows the audience to see how the band's image has changed or not changed. On the second part of the double spread it has the names of the band members, the record company they are associated with, who the digipak was produced by, the engineer, who it was mixed by and assisted by, additional engineering and specific songs, the management of it, booking, legal, A&R administration, marketing, business affairs, business management, mastered by, artwork/painting, band photo, package design, art/package coordination, package production and how to get info on tour dates, fan clubs and more on their website www.thekillersmusic.com.
The purpose of having this information is so that each person involved in creating the music and product gets recognized.
For our digipak we will probably put all the details of the people involved, on one page in a small section like in this digipak. The reason for this is because fans may not be interested in these aspects, so it doesn't take up unnecessary space. However details on how to access to tour dates and gig dates will probably be bigger as they will be more important to this band, as it is not as popular as "The Killers".

The next two double page spreads are also pictures of the band members. By putting them after the photo of the band it splits it up nicely so that consumers aren't just flicking through portraits of the band members the entire time. Again these are there to show the importance of the band members and it allows the audience to recognize them.

The back page includes the Track listing, the barcode, the logo of the record company(vertigo) and the record company's website. It also has the official band website, copywriting details, and the barcode. The purpose of having the company's website is so fans can visit it and it may allow them to find similar artists that they may begin to listen to. The band website has been placed on the back because most consumers will look straight at the back of the product. This encourages more people to visit the website. The copyright details are there just for evidence and the barcode allows electronic notifications of when and where the album was bought. It makes it easier for each store to keep track of how many albums have been bought each day and for what price.
In terms of our digipak we will have the track listing on the back as well, as this is a universal trait for most artists. The barcode will be on the back rather than the front as this is also universal. The copyright  details will be kept to a minimum size as these are not essential for the consumers to see.

Bradley Norris