MAINSTREAM DIGIPAK EVALUATIONS

Rihanna - Loud

This is Rihannas 5th studio album which was released on Nov 10th 2010. 

The album mainly boasts red colours throughout, which could suggest connotations of love, lust, sexiness and luck. This could reflect Rihanna as an artist, especially at the time of the release. The album is going to be 'loud', therefore the album design needs to suggest this along with her songs and attitude. 

The digipak presents Rihanna in a very sexual way, using the colour red and lots of Roses. Pictures of her in the booklet inside show her holding a Rose etc making her very feminine, whilst also very sexualised. 

The actual CD has an image of a pastel pink rose transferred on it. This is alot calmer than the dominant reds on the cover, however still keeps the sexual connotations.

Overlaid on the images throughout the pack is lyrics and quotes of her songs that are included in the album. These are written in an elegant italics font similar to the tattoo situated on her collar bone/neck. This reflects her personality in the album pack. I think this digipack clearly shows the target audience of the artist - thought to be an older target group aged maybe 18+. I think this because of the way she is being portrayed sexually and its more likely that this age group would be drawn to her... either as a role model or a sex symbol. I also think this due to some of the explicit references made in the albums songs. 
The font used on the cover and throughout the pack is the same thin writing. It looks very elegant, smart and simple which doesn't clash with the striking images.

As I previously mentioned, the album design could reflect where and how Rihanna feels at the time of realise. For example, the album prior to 'Loud' was 'Rated R', which was released after her very public seperation from boyfriend Chris Brown, who also assaulted her. Therefore the songs in this album may reflect this such as 'Stupid in Love' and 'Cold Case Love'. 

As you can see above, Rihannas 4th studio album 'Rated R', is all black and very dark. Which could link to her personal life at the time, and her not wanting to be in the limelight so much, so she stayed in the dark. You can see by the edgy photo and dark colours that the album is going to contain much more deeper songs. The photo and colour scheme create a moody tone for the album. Then, when 'Loud' was released Rihanna has moved on from this, and ready to show herself again in a sexual and free way.

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One Direction- Up All Night

This is One Directions 1st Studio Album after their X Factor success. The band is made up five male singers and therefore the album cover is a picture of them which works well as they are all shown equally, allowing fans to view them all. This shows that they are all equal and as important as one another in the band.

The main image sees the five boys enjoying a moment together in a sunny setting. It seems to comply the typical ideas seen in other pop album artwork as it portrays this sense of happiness and freedom enhanced by the bright colours and lighting that attract their target audience and help them sell the music. I believe it is vital for a band such as One Direction to feature a picture of themselves (especially their debut album) as they are such an image and icon as they are a band. A lot of people may buy the album because they like the look of the band members. The picture could reflect the upbeat tempo and happy songs. Also their very well known logo '1D' is featured on the album covered, something any fans will be able to recognise and identify with.

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Ed Sheeran - +

Ed Sheerans debut album was released 9th September 2011. The album cover is very minimalistic and basic, featuring a picture of Ed Sheeran and just the album name '+', located in corner. The album cover could reflect Ed Sheeran as an artist and how his main priority is on the music he makes and whats inside the album on the disc, not the design. 

The dominant colour of orange on the album could be reflecting Sheerans distinctive ginger hair, which makes him stand out, and people often recognise him for this. By using this orange it also makes the album easily recognisable. Also, the white on the album could reflect the purity of Sheerans music, and that it hasn't been adjusted by record labels, it is simply Sheerans music he composed, wrote and played himself, without any alterations.

The image if Sheerans face stands out on the album cover, and suggests the album is genuine.