Digipak analysis:

Features of a typical Pop/Rock digipak:

Coldplay Digipak:

Front Cover:Graffiti like font to potentially appeal to a younger audience as well as the existing fan base through the current stereotypes placed upon teens for them being affiliated with graffiti and streetwise status.

‘Viva La Vida’ is a Spanish statement meaning ‘live life’ potentially portraying a light-hearted message to the fans, implying that they shouldn’t take life too seriously, they should simply just live it, portraying a positive role model-like figure for fans to look up to.

Despite the fact that ‘Viva La Vida’ is a Spanish reference, the use of a French flag suggests that the intentions of this album is to appeal to an international audience. On the other hand it could be used to create conflict between the two countries shown through the used of violent mise en scene of guns, blades and dead bodies, however this is refuted by the positive ‘Viva La Vida’ translation of ‘live life’. It could also be used to potentially create some sort of political message. The contrast between the death symbol and positive message creates a sense of mixed messages and irony.

The album is predominantly based on the song ‘Viva La Vida’ which talks about ‘ruling the world’ this is also reflected in the album art due to the victorious flying the flag of success whereas those not so lucky are seen dead on the floor; potentially reflecting the imagery of the song.

Inside the digipak – left panel:Each band member is shown in an equal sized shape as the other, this suggests that they value themselves as equal to one another which refutes the media’s perception of Chris Martin being the leading role within the band. It creates a sense that despite the fact that the audience see Martin as being the predominant member of the band, they still remain grounded and see each other as having the same statues as they did when they were initially formed.

The use of lighting within the images connotes innocence between both the band members and their audience, in contrast, it also makes them appear deity-like regarding the fact that the light is shining upon them as though they are a god-like species. However, it could also be incurred that the light appears to be shining down on them that portrays them as being nothing special, linking back to my previous point that they are still the same people they were when they were initially formed.

The monochrome/sepia-like effect to the image, reinforce the simplistic values that the band appear to portray. This contrasts with the image on the front as it is a lot less loud and overwhelming, giving an insight into who the band are as individual people; they invite us into their life through the use of the images used within the digipak.

Inside the digipak – right panel:Regarding the colour scheme, the use of grey and yellow reinforce the simplistic ethos that the digipak as a whole appears to create. The fact hat the font is capitalised on both the band’s name and the songs they are marketing connotes the idea that their identity as a band is just as important as the material they create.

Coldplay is a band known for it’s pop/rock genre, the ‘rock’ vibes are portrayed through the use of the grey background; this connotes the idea that despite the fact that their music/identity may be changing, they are still sticking to their roots regarding the genre of the music they choose to produce. The yellow font contrast with the grey background, connoting the ‘pop’ element of the genre their music revolves around. It also connotes a sense of innocence which appears to be an ongoing theme throughout the digipak as a whole.

Inside the digipak – back panel:The simplistic theme is carried through to the back panel of the digipak to reinforce those initial values that were interpreted previously from the inside panel including the innocent theme that seems to be an ongoing thing for this particular digipak

The barcode is included on any industry standard product to enable it to be sold, it is a common convention on any product that has the intentions of receiving capital. Another common asset of a digipak is the fact that it includes a song list and production details, giving credit to those with some sort of influence in its development.

Licensing information is included towards the bottom of the panel, for legal purposes and give credit to those involved in the production of the album.

Simple dividers in the form of asterisk’s emphasise the simplicity of the album and make the audience aware of each individual song.