G324 - Analysing A Digipak: Rihanna - Loud

This 6 panelled digipak created for Rihanna's Loud album uses a minimalistic approach to great effect. The use of colour to indicate theme is very evident and yet does its job subtly and accurately. The vibrant red indicates the pop culture that Rihanna is renowned for whilst also connoting themes of love, romance and sensuality. It is also an extremely bold colour which reflects the album's title. The pale pink reflects femininity, appealing to a female audience, whilst supporting the themes of love and sensuality. The white used for the typography on the cover connotes purity and innocence which is juxtaposed with both Rihanna's sensuality and the album's title.

The minimal typography allows the imagery to be the selling point of the album. This is achieved through the powerful emotional imagery used within the digipak. The inside image depicts Rihanna lying across a bed of roses which presents her as being weak yet also sensual whilst the image used for the front of the album presents Rihanna in a sexual and passionate way whilst also causing her to appear vulnerable and innocent. The bold imagery really reaches out to the audience and presents a much more emotional side to Rihanna in comparison to her previous albums. The pale pink rose printed on the CD mirrors the themes of love and romance and it's beauty is reflective of that of the music from the album.

Ironically, the themes of love, romance and sensuality are juxtaposed with the album's title - Loud - which appears to be more of a comment on Rihanna's personality than the music from the album. This is effective as it creates a sense of mystery to the audience, making the album more appealing.

This will help me when it comes to creating my own digipak as it has shown me that the most important thing with the digipak is that it reflects both the music from the album and the artist's personality. It has also shown me that a minimalistic approach can work just as well as, if not better than, busy and complex designs.