Digipak Research part 4

Celebration - Madonna:

This is probably one of my favourite digipaks simply because of its punchy and vivid impact that it has upon the viewer. The incorporation of bright colours into the photograph of the female singer gives the image a much more contemporary and urban feeling which reflects the theme of the album as it consists of all her greatest hits. The vivid yellow, blue and red help unify the booklet as these colours are carried on throughout the rest of the pages. The stamp effect which has been used for the title and also part of the front cover image help enforce this urban/industrial theme which is predominant in the booklet's design. I love the vintage effect what has been used for the background throughout the digipak as it refers to the purpose of the album - bringing back old, classic songs done by the female artist but this effect also gives the visual design of the booklet a retro feeling. The print image of her in the centre of the booklet showcases the artist and also ties in with the print design of the front cover. I love the fact that it is placed over some of the wording as it is enforcing the predominance of the artist.

Digipak Research part 3

'21' album - Adele:

What I like about this digipak is the simplicity of its design. The front image of the female singer exudes strong connotations of femininity with her soft facial expression, her natural hair and the little use of make up which shows her natural beauty. The black and grey colour palette adds a sense of elegance and quality to the booklet (therefore reinforcing the feminine theme) but it also introduces the viewer to the album itself - its appearance isn't overly dramatic so therefore this suggests that the album is going to be relaxed, sophisticated but above all, focusing on the singing aspect of the album. I quite like the use of capital lettering for the title as it allows the viewer's eye to be immediately drawn to the title but also the soft edges of the text resemble the delicate nature of the album itself. The colour scheme is carried on throughout the booklet with faint grey colours used for the fonts and background which compliment the neutral photogrpahs of the female singer. I love the photographs used in the booklet as they all exude femininity but what is interesting is that they seem to expose her natural beauty, therefore showing her in a positive light for females around the world.

Digipak Research part 2

Beyonce '4' Album booklet:

What initially drew me to look at this specific digipak was the vivid impact created through the dominating picture of the female singer. The simplicity of the design helps emphasise this image and it is a very empowering symbol for women - it strongly reminds me of the statue of liberty. I love the contrast between the masculinity of the ripped, fur jacket against the femininity of her visual appearance. The soft neutral tone of the background compliments the intensity of the black fur throw across her figure but what it also does is suggest the theme of the album which is simplicity, to therefore create a vivid statement for the album itself. Throughout her booklet there are various photographs of the female singer in unique and individual costuming - what this does is visually attract the reader as the booklet is showcasing the artist in a number of alluring photographic images. What I really like about this digipak is the little text which is used as it therefore focusses more upon the creative, visual aspects of its design - the layout, the images, the font style. Its purpose is more like providing the audience with an in depth experience of the artists rather than simply showing the words to the song.

Digipak Research part 1

A Digipak is a little booklet which usually accompanies any CD, DVD or BD and it is a patented design of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company. The design of a typical digipak evolved from old fashioned vinyl record cases and so therefore the digipak resembles a book-like structure consisting of a paperboard or outer binding which holds the entire booklet together and it encases the CD therefore protecting it from damage. Digipaks were originally used as a cheap alternative to the usual plastic (jewel) case that we are used to today however one major issue with these digipaks was that they were easily vulnerable to abrasion and damage therefore ruining the visual appearance. Licensed digipak manufacturers such as domestic U.S. printer and disc replicator Oasis Disc Manufacturing recommended to other companies that they should apply a coating to the 'raw' paper with a protective UV coating, thus ensuring longer survival against damage.  Major manufacturing companies have sought to reduce their environmental impact and improve functionality of the jewel case by introducing recycled components into its trays, such as recycled bottles. Many printers use recycled or sustainable material for the board stock as well.

Music in the 90's

Hip Hop:
This genre of music came around in roughly 1992, this is when Dr. Dre's album 'The Chronic' which provided a template for modern ganster rap which soon evolved into hip hop. By the mid 1990's hip hop had overtaken other forms of music with its huge commerical sales and advertising, and this was aided by some popular artists such as Fugees and 2Pac. The most signficant point in history for this genre of music was in 1998 when Lauryn Hill released her big debut album called 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'. The album won five Grammy awards and due to this huge success it went on to selling over 19 million copies worldwide. Lauryn Hill was used as the main promotion point for the hip hop genre and helped define what this music is - rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted to musical accompaniment.

Britpop:

Countering this movement of hip hop and rock, Britpop soon emerged from british culture which attempted to reject the themes of youth and freedom that came from popular American music. This genre of british music was heavily influenced by the 60's and 70's disco/hippy culture within the capital due to their relaxed and individual artists and also their unique material. Oasis was the most iconic and popular band within this new form of music as they regularly topped the single and album charts but were the only Britpop band to be able to tap into the American market. Towards the end of the 90's Britpop began struggling to compete with major artists so therefore this marked the gradual decline in this genre to the inevitable break up of groups such as Blur, Suede and Pulp.

Music in the 90's

Pop:

As the same time as pop punk, pop began to emerge in the early 90's. towards the end of the 1990's American teen pop singers and bands started to become very popular within the younger generation such as The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Jenifer Lopez and Destiny's Child. This was the first time in music where artists attempted to target a younger audience (teenagers) and towards the end of the 90's this was replaced by more dance pop music. Due to the huge success of this genre, there was an increase in young, female pop acts which was mainly caused because of the massive impact the British pop girl act 'Spice Girls' had upon the world. 


R&B:

R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk. The music usually incorporates  a polished record production style, drum machine-backing rhythms and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement.This music genre orginated from the arrival of strong vocal, female artists such as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. What was new and interesting about these artists was that their music focused much more emphasis on melisma which therefore became a trademark of this genre. Janet Jackson's fifth album 'Janet' was the first major breakthrough for this genre as it sold over ten million copies worldwide therefore resulting in global advertising for this type of music. 

Music in the 90's

Towards the beginning of the 1990's music started to become hugely diverse with many different trends emerging, such as alternative rock, grunge music and the growth of hip hop and teen pop which started in around the 80's.

Alternative Rock:

This form of music came about due to the continual success and popularity of grunge and brit-pop. It emerged into mainstream music roughly in the first few years of the 1990's and because of the massive public interest in this genre of music, the music industry soon became very enticed by alternative rock's commercial possibilities so therefore major labels were soon competing to acquire certain bands including Jane's Addiction, Dinosaur Jr, and Nirvana. The most commonly asscociated band with alternative rock is The Red Hot Chilli Peppers who became very important in the rise of this music genre due to the release of their album 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' which brought worldwide attention to them but also the musical genre. Alternative rock consists of various subgenres that have emerged from independent music, such as grunge, Britpop, indie pop, and indie rock. The common theme throughout all these bands is the ethos of punk rock. 

Pop Punk:

The pop punk genre of music emerged into mainstream in the mid 90's however it struggled to become emergent before this because the genre was not commercially viable for labels to take it on. The major breakthrough for this genre was in 1997 when the pop punk band 'Blink 182's' was signed by a record label to therefore promote them into the mainstream. both of these factors therefore influenced the arrival of some independent music labels such as Lookout! Records and Fat Wreck Chords. The band which made pop punk popular amongst mainstream music was the Californian band 'Green Day' who released an album called 'Dookie' in 1994, which sold 10 million copies in the United States and 20 million copies worldwide. Another band called Offspring soon after that released an album called 'Smash' which sold just as well as 'Dookie' and because of the success of these two albums, major labels soon became very interested in this new music genre.