DIGIPAK ANALYSIS #2

By: Muhammad Faraz Malik

This is the front cover of Rihanna's digipak for "Unapologetic". Even though her target audience is skewed towards females, her use of voyeurism here, targets men as well. The main image is very fierce and bold and the touch that the scribblings on Rihanna's body have added is impeccable. The scribblings on her body further tell us more about her music and her album. "Happy", "Fearless", "Navy", "Diamonds" , "Fun" etc can be spotted. These words are very empowering and the make you curious about the album and persuade you to buy it. Rihanna has used her body and has given out a positive message, it can also be said that through this main image, Rihanna is telling her fans to love their flaws and that everyone is perfect in their own way.

Rihanna is selling her body image here. Even though her face can't be seen properly but there is eye contact, hence breaking the fourth wall. The main image is a mid shot and is abstract. The cover revolves around the philosophy of the album. The album name represents the artist's music and therefore, it's more highlighted and enhanced. It can be seen that even though Rihanna is exposing her body and selling her music through it, she's doing it in a contained manner (covered with scribblings).

Since the background is white, Rihanna's image seems to be standing out and is giving a 3D like effect. Towards the right side of the cover is the Kicker, it's very simple, yet eye catching. Attention grasping slogans have been used which persuade the audience to want to buy the album.

Digipak is not just a case, it' s a marketing tool too. The image is there to reflect the album, it is important for the picture to represent the ideology and genre of the album. This image also tells the audience about Rihana's dedication and how much this album means to her.

Lastly, parental advisory is stated right on the cover, this tells us about Rihanna's target audience for this album (18+). Thus it even attracts people more .

The whole experience is well designed. When you open the inlay, it comes with a surprise. It's like a journey. inlay is one of the most creative part as at this point, the artist is very much free to place whatever they want in their albums, The artists connect with audience through their inlays . One thing I've noticed in the front, back and inlay picture is that even though Rihanna is exposing her body, the reflections and the transitions covering her show us how she's done everything in a contained manner. She wants to sell her body image, but in restricted way.

The back side of this digipak is very interesting and it compliments the cover. By just looking at the pictures, we know that this album is all about breaking stereotype and boundaries. A profile of Rihanna can be seen towards the left side at the back of the digipak. The picture is very striking and it immediately catches your attention. The shot is an extreme close- up. This too makes a move towards voyeurism. This shot of Rihanna is very inviting and seductive and it makes you want to listen to her new album.

This back side consists of all the important and significant codes and conventions. Bar-code, social media links and other descriptions can be spotted. Double exposure editing can be spotted as well.

The front theme has been continued on the back. . Copyrights, Social media links, and sometimes warnings etc can be spotted on the backside of the digipak. Since the main titles were covered on the front, they were written in stylish fonts, but since the back only comprises of the informative part mainly, it's written in small and basic font., the information is distributed in a hierarchy, directing the flow of reading of the audience.