DIGIPAK ANALYSIS – ONE REPUBLIC

Jason Sulit

Artist: One RepublicAlbum: NativeGenre: Pop Rock, Alternative rockReleased: 22 March 2013

On the front cover, the artwork presents five different animals, these animals are symbolic to each members of the band as each animal represents a member. The artwork on this front cover could suggest how different each member is.

Ryan Tedder, the lead singer of the band is represented to be a fox. A fox is believed by Celtics to be a guide and is honoured for its wisdom, this could be interpreted as Ryan Tedder being the front man.

As with the CD the back cover uses earthly colours and tribe symbols which again reinforces and supports the idea of native concept and the album title.

The album’s name was thought by the bass player of the band, he idea was to convey how different the band members are and this is also reinforced by the artwork.

The font used for the name of the band is in lettering that references the native or tribal script. On the front cover, the band’s name is positioned on the middle as this is the first area the viewer will notice, it is important that the band’s name is placed on the centre as they are not featuring there faces on the artwork.

The composition of the front cover is comprised of Bison, Gazelle, Owl, Fox, and a Mountain Lion. The background seems to be a picture of the sky a dawn. The reason the band chose to design this front cover in this way is so they can embrace their differences and also to show to their audience that they are a unique band willing for an alternative approach with there appearance.

The main cover image has intertextual links with the Queens album cover as the animals are positioned in a similar style to the Queens album cover.

The CD design and the back cover has a different design from the front cover, however it maintains the tribal/native elements as with the front cover. There is a running theme throughout of dry deserts and wild animals. The CD design and back cover has a white and brown colour scheme although colour used is different from the front cover it still captures the native/tribal theme which could suggest that the band are going back to basics, original and unprocessed music On the CD, the bands name is position on the bottom

and below the text is the albums name which uses the same font and layout as with the front cover. Below is the logos of the band’s record label. Written on the edge of the CD is the copyright reserves stating that none of the music can be copied or used without permission.

On the back cover of the album features the tracking lists to the album, the layout is simple and creates a neutral effect, this is important as it allows the viewer to concentrate on the text because if vibrant colour were used that are similar to the front cover it may overpower the text.

The typography used for the track list is the same as what is used for the ‘Native’ font however it is in bold suggesting the importance of the songs as this is what the audience is essentially purchasing

I quite like this digipak design due to the artwork and also the fact it almost looks like a chillwave type of album which is my genre of music

OverviewOne Republic is an American alternative rock, pop rock band, the band consists of Zach Filkins, Ryan Tedder, Eddie Fisher, Brent Kutzle, and Drew Brown. I have been analysing there 2013 album ‘Native’ which had became the band’s first top ten album on the Bilboard 200. This album is quite interesting to analyse as it relates to the style and design of chill wave artists.RepresentationThis digipak does not fulfil the conventions of the pop rock, alternative rock genre however, this digipak does characterise each members of the band. For example animals have been used instead of the photos of the band themselves, this was used in order to create a meaningful;; ad also powerful imagery. Having the digipak designed in this way suggests that the band is promoting there music rather then themselves suggesting that they have a big fan base that will recognise there music and also the band is serious about there music. As I have discussed in my analysis different animals have been used to reference each members of the band as it shows there differences, each animal also have different characteristics which symbolises each members personalities therefore this digipak is much more symbolic to them. The digipak also has intertextual links with Queen’s album design which may reinforce the band’s pop rock. genre.AudienceGenerally I would say that this band target’s both gender; male and female, I would also say that the demographic would be of 15 year and over. The reason I say this is because looking at the track list the songs seems like it would relate to people of 15 and over as the songs seem to be about life and learning to grow. Typically I would also say that the audience are into the mainstream music and likes to follow trends and fads.

ConclusionThe reason I chose to analyse this is because the design of this album is very similar to the chillwave album design’s which is the genre of my music. This also inspired me on producing a front cover with a similar composition to this design.

Front CoverThe front cover comprises of animals referring to each members of the band, the background is a picture of the sky at dawn, the clouds on the background resembles a dust storm which gives the idea of a desert. The use of colour reinforces the desert look, the colour used also refer to the bands pop genre, the band’s genre of rock is also reinforced with the the intertextual links to Queen’s album cover. The whole design contributes to the native/ tribal theme, this is also reinforced by the use of tribal script typography.

Back CoverSimilarly to the CD cover, it uses the tribal symbol and maintains the white brown colour scheme used for the CD, the reason for this is so that the track list text won’ be overpowered by colour. The back cover also contains the record labels logo and the band’s website.

CD DesignThe CD design reflects the back cover it simple and uses the same typography and maintains the earthly colours.