Album Artwork
I chose to analyse album artwork for Jack Johnson's 'In Between Dreams' because it is the same style of genre as my chosen song choice. The use of colour is used on the artwork cleverly to draw and entice the viewer in, by using such a bright yellow against a black contrasting against each other means that a customer is more likely to stop and look at it. The yellow could also link in with this idea of neutral and mellowness which links in with the songs themselves along with the picture of a guitar and tree. Jack Johnson is an American Folk, alternative artist who is famous for his acoustic and mellow style and the colours also link into the shared knowledge of a bee, a calm creature which could link to some of his work, but passionate (which could link to it stinging and also Jack's rock side).
The only text that we see on the artwork is the name of the artist (Jack Johnson) and the album name (In Between Dreams). This is because a simplistic consistency is given from the album, and minimal text means you rely on visual conventions as we know from the bright colour, and if the album consisted loads of text along with this bright block colour we would have too much going on making it unsuccessful. The black text stands out the most which is because this is the most important text you need to know, by recognising the artist you are then drawn by the visuals for the whole concept of the album is for the artist. The album name is actually in white which makes it harder to read, although I believe this is successful as you are drawn to look closer at what it says I believe this convention isn't something I myself would like to incorporate for I like to see the text clear from a personal perspective. The font itself however is simplistic and this links in with the simplistic theme along with the minimal approach for the text. In this case minimal is better.
I like the silhouette drawing on the cover as well as it combines two different methods together, the hand drawing technique is something which particularly stands out as its if the cover was hand drawn, making it more personal and rare than just a photograph or highly manipulated edit. This concept creates this better connection with the fans as it is more personal towards them, it also defeats the idea of an internet download as you will only be able to see it through the screen, where as the real thing again makes it seem like a drawing. The silhouette technique is starting to become a subtle consistency as you can see from his previous album before In Between Dreams, On and On uses the same silhouette approach which could be the start of an artwork brand. The silhouette could also act as this mask suggesting there is more behind his music other than a fancy airbrushed cover which could be why he opted for a simple silohette.
The tree drawing could suggest he is connected with nature as his work is shared with consumers of the world, his lyrics are very free and soothing which could also link to the tree being incorporated into the artwork.
The picture of the man suggests it is Jack himself with his guitar, this image acts as a link towards Peter Pan for his stance is some what extremely similar along with the whole silhouette idea, as you can see the similarities to it below.
The Inside
The inside of the album consists of the same colour scheme which keeps this earthy and mellow atmosphere going throughout. We see the repetition of the same image of the same technique of silhouette of a flower on both sides of the CD. The right side s in focus against the typical yellow background, where as the right side is out of focus with a variation of colours in the background. I believe this is successful for its using this branding, this repetition, but making it seem different and alternative. The flower can also link back to Jack's routes, his birth place hawaii can show a link between the image and his experiences, which could be portrayed as his vision of work, telling his experiences through music.
We then see the first visual appearance of the artist with a photograph with him and his guitar. The photographer has kept Jack, his clothing and background neutral in order to link in with his style of music, however they have then edited the guitar to link in with the colour scheme by changing both the saturation and contrast as you can see above. This appearance is an example of both intertextuality and self awareness, but also links to the In Between Dreams tour poster as they use the same image, linking back to the whole idea of making a brand for himself. The composition of putting the guitar in front of himself also really emphasises the importance of his music to him.
The mix between art and photography is something which inspires me within this DigiPak, and the small reliance upon graphology has worked extremely well as they have used shared knowledge of both the artist and the artists branding cleverly.
The Back Cover
When considering the media intentions of the back cover the use of rule of thirds is seen being used as the track listing is shown on the left side, and the image of a palm tree on the right side, then nothing in the middle which complies with the simplistic theme. This itself is an individual approach and draws the viewers attention in.
Also on the back cover we see a visual link to the website for a charity saving the world. By using this logo it creates good press but also links into Jack's album linking into neutralness and plants.
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