DIGIPAK ANALYSIS: THE

KOOKS- INSIDE IN INSIDE

OUT
 The front cover shows the band rehearsing in a
tight shot trying to fit them all in, creating
intimacy which connects the band to the viewer,
almost promoting the album as a personal
concert for the individual fans. The photo fills
the entire cover, however the top half of the
photo is simply bare wall, creating a feeling of
emptiness which links to the title Inside In Inside
Out, creating a connection between the music
and the visuals. The negative space creates a
blank canvas, perhaps connoting the bands
room for opportunity and expansion of their
name. The visual theme of the guitars conveys
the indie genre of the band, whilst connoting
creativity, free-spiritedness and adolescence.
The band are all looking down, their faces hidden by their hair, perhaps implying their
shyness, representing teenagers as awkward and antisocial. On the other hand, this could
purely convey their intense concentration as they focus on their passion for music, expressing
this as musical talent. The title of the album, though in a contrasting bold red typeface, is fairly
small, therefore creating a more subtle, chilled mood, to reflect upon their indie rock genre,
therefore appealing to an audience that appreciate slower, more mellow songs. The simplistic
design portrays the band in a grounded manner, proving they dont feel the need to boast
about their fame through elaborate graphic design.
 The inside panels sustain the black, red and white
colour scheme, a genre characteristic of rock,
therefore attracting the rock crowd who would
enjoy the bands music. This colour scheme helps
to portray the bands edgy, alternative style,
emphasised by the photography underneath the
writing. The photo is a closer shot compared to
the front cover; a mid-shot of the whole band in a
line, allowing the viewer to see each of their
faces, portraying their individual personalities
which allows the fans to get more familiar with the
band. The low-key lighting with the faded black
and white editing creates a grunge style, which
appeals to their more male-dominated audience.
The relaxed postures of the band create a sense
of comfortability, conveying their carefree
attitude, which reflects their chilled indie-rock genre. The top strip of texts reads a letter from the band
to the consumer, explaining the processes of making the album, and thanking the fans for their
dedication and support, conveying the bands grounded, appreciative nature, proving that they are
normal people just like everyone else. The writing is in small white writing which contrasts against the
grey background, making it readable but not distracting from the photograph. Layered over the
photograph is the word out, written in a low opacity red, so that the image shows through below.,
fluently combining the text with the image, creating an aesthetically pleasing design to attract their
young adult audience. The casual costume and messy hair could conform to the stereotype that
young men are lazy and careless when it comes to their appearance, creating relatability for the
viewer.
 The other inside panel consists of strips from
a camera film, showing progressive still
images of the band fooling around with
their instruments, portraying the young male
group in an energetic, reckless manner,
which is entertaining and therefore appeals
this young adult audience. The black and
white film creates a vintage style, relating
back to the bands original rock routes,
whilst conforming to the genre
characteristics of rock CDs, making the
genre explicit to the viewer to attract the
correct target audience. The shots look as
though they are taken at night in an urban
setting, conveying danger perhaps and
gang violence; aggression being a common theme within rock music. This collage of photos may
appeal to the young adult audience as thanks to social media apps like instagram and snapchat,
creating and recording memories has become teen pop culture; polaroids in particular have become
fashionable, so this photography theme works well to attract their audience. The red, black and white
colour scheme is maintained, creating fluency within their brand image, and therefore building a
recognisable trademark for the band, which helps to build a fan base and increase demand. These
colours represent the themes rock songs are based around; fear, anger, depression, emptiness and
grief, which could also portray the more mature, human side of the young band; proving their
humanity by revealing personal feelings and experiences. On the left side, the Copy Controlled logo
expresses the bands legal rights to the contents of this CD, therefore protecting them from
plagiarism.
 On the back cover of the CD, the same bright white
studio setting maintains the idea of emptiness, connoting
scope and potential for the bands future success. A
similar photo to the front cover fills the back cover, only
the shot is taken further back, as a medium long shot,
allowing more room around the band members, giving
this idea of freedom, perhaps conveying how after the
release of this album, they feel more open with their fans
from sharing and releasing personal feelings throughout
their songs. The young men all have their heads down;
this lack of eye contact representing their shy, antisocial
tendencies, which is stereotypically associated with
teenagers. The proxemics of the men is messy and
unorganised, staggered randomly around the room,
perhaps symbolising how hectic young adults lives can be, which is why they are stereotypically so
untidy and lazy. The band member at the back looks isolated from the rest of the band, which could
highlight his importance perhaps as the lead singer, or could convey the idea of discrimination and
alienation teenagers may force upon others, representing young adults in a petty and spiteful way. In
the top left corner is a track list, written in small, black block letters which maintain the rock theme
without drawing too much attention to the writing. This may be a strategic technique, to draw the
viewer into looking closer to reveal the songs on the album. Opposite, in the top right corner is the
copyright information, announcing the licenses to the material within the album to ensure no one can
steal elements. Underneath this is The Kooks website page, which gives the fans a place to find out
more about the band and get involved with the community, whilst providing a mail list which acts as a
method of promotion for the bands products and tours. The bottom strip of information declares the
Copy Controlled details, the devices the CD is compatible with, and the barcode which allows the CD
to be distributed in retailers.
 The CD itself is the main attraction of the digipak;
screaming attention from the bright red colour and the
big bold writing, suggesting importance, giving the
impression that this album is something big. The big
capitalised typeface grabs the viewers attention, likely
to make them excited to finally hear the album theyve
been waiting for. The bands name is written in black,
creating dark connotations of their rock genre. The
centre hole of the CD is cleverly used as the o in The
Kooks, creating a quirky looking design likely to
appeal to the alternative audience. Again, the
copyright and licensing declaration is featured in a
paragraph, which does interfere with the design and is
partially distracting, since this is usually hidden around
the edge of a CD discreetly. The same recognisable
typeface is used throughout the digipak, creating the
creating the bands iconic trademark which fans look for, creating a strong brand image likely to increase
demand. The CD is fairly simplistic, since it is purely text based with no images, however it still has a big
impact because of the size and colour contrast of the text. The large font could imply that the band want to
make a big statement within this album, and create an impact on their fans. The strange arrangement of the
text, with the way some of it is cut off the edge, creates a very cluttered look, however it works to create
aesthetic impact; making a point that the band will not conform to regulations and expectations, they will
do their own thing the way they want to do it. This expresses the free-spiritedness of teenagers and young
adults due to their excitement of entering the adult world after a lifetime of being controlled, which does
lead to rebellion because of the constraints they are used to. The simple sans-serif font is not particularly
extravagant, portraying the bands casual, relaxed style, creating this idea that what you see is what you
get; they are very grounded and do not try to create a facade of something they are not, which is
admirable.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
I think that the grunge red/black/white theme works well to engage their young adult audience and
convey the rock genre of their music. The use of photography is also successful in creating a visually
aesthetic design to keep the viewer interested and keen to look further. Also, the repetitive use of their
trademark typeface creates a strong brand image which is crucial in making a successful band.

However, I feel that the lack of eye contact within the photography creates a sense of ignorance, which
does not help attract the viewer, in fact it may put people off as the band seem disinterested and
unwelcoming.

CONVENTIONS I MAY USE

I would like to experiment with the grunge theme as I have chosen a rock song, however I think I would
chose a more feminine colour rather than red, for example pink, to appeal to the more female-
dominated audience of the band I have chosen. I also like the idea of a photograph based cover and
inside, with a text-based CD as this helps create variety rather than making it repetitive and un-
engaging.