Digipak Analysis

By Nyasha

Good Charlotte- Cardiology• The central image on the front cover is a picture of a mutant type heart

in a tattoo/drawing style. It stands out because the colour of the heart is a bold red against an earthy brown background with a black frame around it. The heart has an eye and trees growing out of it.

• The reasoning for the heart is explained by guitarist Benji Madden as representing that the songs on the album are, "all connected to the heart." Although the font colour remains the same to make the earthy brownish background are two different font styles. The band's name is in an Old English style type of font, this is their logo as it appears on anything relating to the band and all of their album covers. The effect of having this is that it creates a link between their albums and it makes it easier for the audience to recognise their style.

Good Charlotte’s Previous Album Covers

• The title of the album 'Cardiology' is written in a calligraphy style font. Cardiology is a medical specialty which requires a skill and in my opinion calligraphy style writing is done in a skillful manner which links the two things together.

• On the back cover the first half of the picture is an image of the band with four of them sitting them and one standing up, this could be an insight into what the dynamics in the band are. All of them are dressed in black which fits in with the dark colour scheme of the cover.

• Their clothing has connotations of rebellion and attitude, this the image that the band has created (iconography). Even though we wouldn't expect to find this from a pop punk band, the colour dark colour scheme fits into what the band is known for as some of their previous albums use dark colours. However I think that this doesn't reflect their music as it is up tempo and the lyrics are about partying, whereas the impression and tone that this cover sets is of amore heavier sound.

• The second half of the cover are the song title. The font and colour used is simiilar to the one used for the album title. However I think that this font style used on the song titles makes it harder to read what they are. At the bottom of the cover is name of the record label which GC are signed to and websites of the band and of the label's.

Search The City- A Fire So Big That The Heavens Can See It

• Similarly to Good Charlotte's album cover, this cover also features some art work. The art work in this is of an empty run down city. The colours used in this cover are lighter compared to the GC cover.

• The picture suggests an aftermath of a fire. The colour amber/red that is used, connotes the fire and danger and the dirty browns of the sky give it simplicity and suggest that the city is polluted with smoke. All of this reflects the title of the album as it is about causing a fire.

• The band's name is at the top and it stands out because the red draws attention to the band name and underneath it is the album title in black but in a smaller font size.

• This cover differs from the 'Cardiology' cover because the band are not present in the cover, this is something that is common in the genre, as most bands always feature some type of artwork which helps them create their image.

• The art work in this cover could reflect the band's name, maybe the listener is meant to discover more about this 'city' through the songs on the album

Mayday Parade- Anywhere But Here • This cover also features some artwork which fits in with the

conventions. There is a man with a red umbrella walking up a tie which is made to look like a road. This man has so far appeared on all of Mayday Parade's full length albums and on some of the covers for their singles.

• Fans have dubbed the man on the cover as the 'umbrella man'. In his first appearance on their first studio album the umbrella man appears to be faceless, on this cover we can't see the man's face as he has his back towards us and on their most recent album the man's face is shown except he has a mask on.

Mayday Parade’s Previous Album covers

• The mystery of who the umbrella man is has kept fans interested in what the next album cover will look like or whether his face will be revealed. It also creates a continuity between their albums and singles, and it has become the style that the band is known for.

• The cover is mainly in black and white which gives it an artistic feel. The band's name is in red and in large font which makes it stand out. This is how the name of the band usually appears on all of their covers so its keeping within their style.

• The only thing in red on the cover is the band's name and the man's umbrella which could suggest a connection between the two, possibly the man with the umbrella could be one of the band members or someone associated with the band.

• The title of the album is in a small font a the bottom, which draws more attention to the artwork.