What is a Digipak?

What is a digipak?
A digipak is a modern approach to CD packaging, it allows for inclusion of more information about the aritst or band and help add value to the artist or band. A digipak is to help persuade the audienece to buy the album, this means it will try to meet what their codes and conventions, usually based around different genres, so the audience can indentify the artist and what it is they're buying.

What the outside of a digipak should look like

Front cover
Most importantly the front cover should feature the artist's name, this should be in clear font and a reasonable size so the audience doesn't have to be too close to see it. The font should also be easy to read and should be the same font type repeated throughout the digipak when using the artist's name.

Another thing to include would be an image of the artist, this should not be a long shot as it doesn't help the audience identify who it is and is just considerably bad to do. The best type of shot would most likely be either a mid shot or a close up of the artist so it is easy to see who the artist is and can be indentified from a reasonable distance. The clothing and make-up that the artist wear should be similar to the colour palate of the digipak.

Something to consider would also be adding a promotional sticker, this can promote what is special about the album, whether it's featuring the main hits of the artist or if the album is a special deluxe edition.

Back cover
The most common feature of the back cover of a digipak is the track list, this tells the audience what is on the album and should be done in clear font that is a reasonable size, the font should also follow the same fonts used on the front cover. The back will also include record label logos, copyright information, the artist's website, the distributor, a barcode and any further additional production information for the artist.

Inside the digipak
There isn't much of a stereotypical expectation for inside a digipak, you must keep to the same colour palate and font types as the outside covers, but from that there's no expectations, they can contain addition graphics of the artist or some writing from the artist such as acknowledgments to anyone that helped with producing songs on the album. Some digipaks also like to include another track list, this time include more specific detail, for example the length of the song and mentioning the band and who played which instrument.

Overall guidelines for a digipak
Try to use 3-4 colours max
No more than two different types of font
Include elements of graphic design and not just images taken from the video
Creates a visual link with other forms of advertisement the company has used (visual synergy).

Advertisement
A few things the advertisement must include are as follows; a release date, so the audience know when the album is coming out, in addition to this you can include some retailers that will be selling the album. Also you can include some tour dates, your artist's website, quotes from magazine's and newspapers and the record labels involved within your artist. Some important features are to make sure to stick to your colour palate used in your digipak as well as this your font types, this helps create the visual synergy between forms of advertisements used for the artist and allows the audience to identify your artist a lot easier. Another thing is too repeat graphics used in the digipak or just other images of the artist.