Digipak AnalysisLana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey is an artist who’s music focuses on indie pop. Her album ‘Born to Die’ was released January 27, 2012. Lana Del Rey’s music appeals to a indie and vintage styled young adults.

The front cover displays a simple medium close up of Lana’s face and outfit. By applying a medium close up it frames the audience to the Lana’s beauty and voyeuristic feature. This is a common feature seen within the indie genre to allow record labels to create representation of the artist. The simplicity of the design allows us as the audience to focus on Lana’s vintage style seen within her outfit, hair and make up. Lana’s wavy hair, nude lipstick and pout is a common feature seen with her albums, posters and adverts. It has allowed her to create a visual style which is a high demand seen within the record label and allows her target audience to recognise her for her stylish vintage image. Her target audience will define Lana for her beauty and sophisticated look.

Lana has been pictured outside which is a typical feature seen within the indie genre. It displays her as exploring the word and to encounter on experiences to help her write songs. A filter has been used to soften the image which reflects a link between the artist and her music. The colour scheme of the front cover displays fresh and youthful colours resembling her young target audience.

A simple styled font has been used to display the artist's title. This styled is commonly seen within Lana’s albums, and advert which allows her to create a visual style and allows her title to be easily recognised within her target audience. The simplicity of the styled font relates the simplicity of Lana’s music.

On the back of the digital it displays redundant elements such as the track listing. The same simple styled font has been used for the track listening which again creates a visual style. Again the simplicity of the styled text connotes the simplicity of the album. Redundant elements such as the barcode, copyright issues and record label can be seen at the bottom of the album.

An entropic feature seen within the back cover is the change of the colour scheme. The front cover displayed fresh and young colours whereas the back displays dominant and bold colours. I feel the red and white colour scheme could connote the powerful emotions and themes heard within the lyrics of the songs.

The simplicity of the design relates back to the simplicity of the album. I feel the reason behind not placing a photograph of Lana is to allowed the audience to focus on the track listening and to discover the meanings behind the names.

The inside of the digipak consists of a same style image of the artist seen within the front cover and draws our attention to her body language. The close up of Lana allows us as the audience to focus on her serious facial expression which would be defining how she takes her music seriously as an artist. The close up displays Goodwin’s voyeuristic theory where the audience can have an insight into the artists life. The repetition of the same styled image is allowing Lana to create a visual style which is important to her album. By applying the image to the two windows shows Lana’s importance as an artist and how she should be recognised for her image along as her music.

The colour scheme displays young and fresh colours which displays a natural and organic element. Where as the back cover of the digipak displays dark and bold colours suggesting emotional elements. I feel this could be suggesting as an artist Lana goes out exploring the world to find encounter on new experiences but when she does she encounters on emotional elements which creates emotional and darkening songs. I feel by keeping her colour scheme fresh to allows her music to appeal to any gender creating a wider target audience.

The simplicity of white mainly filling the cd makes the colour of the roses become more prominent from the background and seem like an important theme throughout the digipak. The use of the roses could be suggesting the idea of love which could be a common theme featured in her songs. By placing the roses on a white background could symbolise the pure innocent love the artist has encountered on.

The fact the artists name is not displayed on the CD could suggest she feels she important enough to have her photographs placed within the front cover and inside the digipak.

Inside the digipak contains a fold out with displays the lyrics of each track listening. A type writer styled font is used to display the lyrics which displays a vintage and retro look. The simple styled front used for the artist title has been used as the track names which again creates a visual style for the artist. Displaying the lyrics allows the audience to understand the lyrics as they can visually seen them on the page. The worn down paper as the background reflects the artist appeal to the vintage and retro style which appeals to her young indie audience. Blood splatters have been placed around the page which I feel could signify betrayal and how the artist’s love has been destroyed. I feel the blood reflects back the dark and bold colour scheme and how the artist could of encountered on an emotional journey and pain.