Analysis of digipaks/CD covers- Conventions 1

From what I have researched, I have found that there are many conventions for CD covers. for the front cover, these include:

• A simplistic colour scheme
• A simplistic design
• Few to no characters (letters/words)
• Hidden meanings
• Bold, simple fonts for the band/artist name.

For the back of the cover, these conventions include:

• Name of the band at the very top
• Name of the album underneath
• List of songs, usually in the centre
• Barcode in the bottom right/centre/left
• Name of the record company
• Owner of the copyrighted material
• Distributor of the album

The inside of the CD case will have a matching colour scheme to the rest of the cover, a very plain/no background, and very little to no text at all. The spine of the CD cover may have the name of the band/artist, name of the album and will share the same font as used beforehand in the rest of the product.

 

This front cover has a simple colour scheme of black and gold, which is often associated with luxury and wealth. Drake is a wealthy person and appreciates luxury items such as the gold chains he is wearing, or the jewellery on his wrist. This front cover is made so that the focus is on Drake, and demonstrates his star personality. He follows the typical conventions of a rapper as he is wearing gold jewellery which also give his power and status. The name of the album 'Take Care' has a feminine typography, which is not what we would usually expect from Drake, as he has previously used very large impact fonts on his digipaks. The shot is focusing solely on Drake, which could suggest that this album will focus on something very specific too, such as his love life, for example. Like many other artists, Drake has not put his name on the front cover, as his star persona is iconic, and does not need any introduction.

 

 

The back page of the digipak maintains the black and gold colour scheme from the front cover, which makes it consistent and fluid. The text is very simplistic and easy to read for any viewer, and the smaller text at the bottom shows the names of the people who worked on the project. in the bottom left you can see the logos and names of the distributors, record label and other companies who helped bring this album to life. Along the spine (either side of the cover) we can see the name of the artist, name of the album and logos of some of the companies who are presenting the album.

 

This is the first inner image of the digipak, which shows Drake juxtaposing the name of the album 'Take care' as he is clearly not taking care of himself by smoking a cigar. This may also represent his star persona and gives him a 'bad boy image'. The colour scheme is consistent through this image too through the use of black and gold.