G324 - Analysing A Digipak; Ryan Schmidt - Black Sheep Run

Initially, I was going to analyse a digipak from the same genre as my artist. However, this became an issue as I was unable to find any digipaks for a folk artist that were suitable. Therefore, I decided to analyse a digipak for an artist whose album cover looked as if they could be a folk artist; Ryan Schmidt.

This 4 panelled digipak created for Ryan Schmidt's Black Sheep Run album uses a dynamic approach to enhance it's appearance. The use of earth colours makes the album appear to be a folk album which is misleading as Ryan Schmidt is a pop artist. Despite this, the artists name stands out through the cleverly created contrast between the dark brown and the pale background. The use of the earthy tones allows Ryan Schmidt's album to appear relatable and calming for a relatively young audience, most probably between the ages of 15 and 25. The white typography used helps to connote the innocence of the artist as well as the expected innocence of the audience.

The selling point of this digipak is the professionally styled use of photography within the design. This is made clear by the way in which the photographs used have been accentuated by being bordered and therefore made to stand out from the background image used on the album cover. The theme of innocence is continued throughout the photographs used to create the digipak. This is effective as it creates an ongoing style for the artist. Due to his lack of fame, this is important as it helps to begin to create the star image that he will be recognised for throughout the remainder of his career in the music industry.

The image used on the front of the digipak shows Ryan Schmidt stood next to a busy road which indicates his lack of fame whilst also reflecting his innocence through the calm and humble look upon his face. The image used on the back of the digipak shows Ryan to be avoiding the gaze of the camera. This is effective as it insinuates that he is uncomfortable within the public eye which reflects his innocence in terms of being a part of the music industry. This also presents him as being down-to-earth and relatable to the audience. The other images do not include Ryan yet still mirror the tones of the other photographs, creating a link which is not otherwise obvious. The printed information on the CD itself helps to connote Ryan Schmidt's lack of fame also as it insinuates that the most important aspect of the album is the artist himself, what is music is titled and which record company gave him the opportunity to succeed.

This analysis will help me when it comes to creating my own digipak as it has helped to highlight the importance of ensuring that the digipak reflects both the music genre and and the artist. It has also shown me that a more complicated design can work extremely effectively if it is considered completely. Finally, it has shown that the digipak created for an artist helps to reflect their star image and maintains a style throughout.