Digipak ResearchBy Ryan Semanshia

What Is A Digipak?A digipak consists of the artwork and packaging that accompanies CD singles or CD Albums. The majority od digipaks are produced in a book-fold style, meaning that once opened the CD itself is made accessible along with the adjacent artwork which may or may not have been inspired by the CD Compilation. Digipaks are more commonly appearing as paperback sleeves and covers as opposed to the more generic plastic CD casing.

Digipak OriginsThe first ever Digipak was created by “MeadWestVaco” and their product is patented and trademarked. Their design quickly began to gain popularity with both artists and consumers which led to the creation of a multitude of digipak designs and adaptations. This enabled other artists, labels and manufacturers to create their own digipaks whilst respecting the nature of MWV’s patent on the original design. Today Digipaks are extremely common, being deployed for most physical CD’s and albums.

How Do Artist’s Benefit From Digipaks?

The digipak acts as a visual representation of the albums media content, this is most effectively explained by Kanye West when asked about the creative processes involved in creating a digipak, to which he replied simply, “I have to make sure that this artwork looks like how the album sounds”. Varying from artist to artist, some choose to include their likeness within the artwork whilst some prefer to pursue a more abstract style relating to the music. An effective digipak helps the artist by promoting the album and enabling the project to appeal to a larger audience due to their eye catching nature, artwork also contributes to the consumers listening experience.