Digipak Research

FUN.

The album cover shows a young female sleeping on what appears to be a desk. The connotation of this is the young female is sleeping because she is young and the desk could be a classroom. This could be suggesting that young people sleep in school/college and dont do much work. It can also be referring to the stereotypes of teenagers and their behaviours. The font of the title is in capitals and also looks like it is blending into the picture behind it. This could suggest that teenagers emotions are transparent, and this could also be ironic because teenagers hold back their emotions and feelings and they just like to sleep a lot. The target audience is young adults aged 16-25. I think this because the message that they are trying to send out on the album cover may not be aimed at a younger audience, or the younger audience might not have experienced the emotions or feelings that the band are talking about. The genre of the album cover looks like it is alternative or indie. The reason for this is because most alternative/indie covers look similar to this, and could be following the stereotype of the genre. It represents young people and the way they behave (when they go out, their relationships and friends). Yes there is some enigma in the album cover. The girl that seems to be sleeping can either be drunk or tired and where she is can be argued, depending on your own opinions. Who the girl is, is also another enigma, because we dont know if she has anything to do with the album cover or if she is just there for the target audience. You cant say anything about the artists from this cover because you cant see them, and unless you have already seen them then you wouldnt know what they looked like just from this cover photo.

Coldplay

The front of the album shows a picture of a French revolution, and over the picture there is writing that says viva la Vida. Viva la Vida is Spanish. It's literal meaning is live the life. It is often used in English to say long live such as viva la resistance or long live the resistance. The title of the song by Coldplay comes from a painting by a Mexican artist from the 20th century called Frida Kahlo. The font of the writing on the painting seems to be paint. It looks like someone has gone over the painting with white paint, as if they have tried to graffiti it, or as if it is a memorabilia of there victory in the revolution. The target audience for this album is for people in their early 20s. I think this because the deeper meaning behind the album cover could confuse the younger generation, and they might not get the meaning that he is trying to portray, and some people in their 20s might known who the artist is or do some additional research on the artist to find out more information. The genre of the of the album cover is indie. It could be portrayed as indie because of the visual representation of the freedom fighters and the fact that it looks like a French revolution. It has enigma because the cover is a drawing of common people holding up a flag on a pile of bodies. It was drawn by a Mexican artist and there is a French flag in the picture, which doesnt make sense because both countries haven't been to war. You can tell, by looking at the cover, that the artist likes paintings and history. If you did further research as a fan then you would see the reason that he chose the picture for, and how the artist inspired him.

Franz Ferdinand

The cover is the name of the band, and is white font on a black contrasting background so it stands out. This could show the audience the name of the band straight away, because not a lot of people know them by face and their name is more recognisable. The font is white on a black background, which is contrasting and stands out compared to other album covers and is more likely to catch the target audiences attention. You wouldnt be able to tell what the genre of the album is by just looking at the cover. Its album cover is the typical convention of a indie album cover because most album covers have either just a name or an artist and a name as well. The typical convention of an indie target audience is aged between 17 25. This is a good target audience because the meanings of lyrics effect people in that age range and those people can relate to the music that is being played, but it can also be enjoyed by a younger or slightly older audience, even if it isn't the main target audience. The genre is indie. I know this because the codes and conventions used in a typical indie album are in this album. The main artist is represented, which means he is the main artist and his name is recognisable that is why its only his name that is on the cover and nothing else. Enigma is created by not showing his face and just having his name at the front of the cover. This could also entice people to look at the album and make them pick it up and look to see if they know who the artist is or to see if there is a picture of him on the back of the album. You can say that the artists name must be well known for him just to put his name on the front cover and not put a picture on the album as well.