Digipak Analysis - Two Door Cinema Club

Tourist History

Tourist Histroy is Two Door Cinema Club’s debut album released in 2010. The image on the front is of a cat, the image itself is very a sic and doesn’t look like anything taken in a studio or even professionally, it looks like an image that pretty much anyone could have taken and this makes the album look less artificial and the band more down to earth (This makes sense considering this is the band’s debut album so they aren’t particularly well established yet). The image is also repeated on the disc itself, except the cat’s eyes have been photoshopped over a low angle image of a kitchen cupboard, this again connotes normalcy. The image could also be taken of what the cat is hypothetically looking at or in the same room as the image of the cat was taken. Another thing I noticed was the fact that the way the text is arranged below the cat’s eyes makes it look like a cat’s nose (the upside down triangular shape) making the disc look like the cat’s face. Also the image on the leaflet part uses what looks like amateur photography aswell, linking back the image on the front of the album. This could also connote a more personal feel, making the user feel like the band has put something personal into the design of the album instead of letting someone just design it for them completely professionally.

Another thing to note is the fact that the band aren’t actually pictured on the album at all, and in particular their absence from the front. This shows that their music is more important than their image. They don’t want the audience to see them on the front of the album and buy it because of them (which is something more commonly found in pop music) but instead because they see their name and know their music or want to listen to their music.  

The text is also consistent throughout the design. The font used has a circular theme. The C’s and O’s are thin and circular whereas the rest of the letters and bolder and more condensed. This is something used across the album pack. There is also the placing of the two O’s in door over the cat’s eyes, this intensifies them and captures the eye of the audience more. It also links to another consistency in their work, as the artwork for the singles they released matches the same theme as the album artwork. This consistency makes the band’s work recognisable to the audience. 

Also the colour scheme is consistent throughout. The colours cool blue and purple shades. Even the images used in the booklet are taken as the light is fading so that the tone of the sky is a purply-blue colour. This keeps the appearance clean and gives it a running theme. 

Beacon

The second album case shows a slight change in the band's style, this is the album following the release of tourist history and it shows how the band have matured and changed. First of all, biggest change is in the photography. The image on the front is professionally created and obviously uses photoshop. It is still taken in a normal looking room, so some of the normalcy of the band's style still remains, however there is a noticeable artificial quality to it, for example the lighting and the way the woman's legs are highlighted and the green light coming in through the window, this indicates to the audience a more professional and less personal feel. 

The font has also changed from the last album. instead of being placed over something it has been slipped between the legs of the girl in the image and it has also lost the circular theme and is instead a lot more clean cut and minimal. This again connotes a more professional and artificial element to the album. This shows the change in the bands status and the fact that after the success of their first album they've made it a lot bigger. 

However another thing to note is the continued absence of the band themselves from their album covers. Again the album uses abstracted and interpretive photography instead of images of the band themselves, showing again that the music is still what is important to the band and that they do not consider their image as part of their music. It also shows that they do not need to promote themselves to promote their music. They are well established enough on their own for them not to need to plaster their faces over everything they release.