RESEARCH - DIGIPAK TEMPLATE ANALYSIS

What is a Digipak?
A digipak is a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs. The main purpose of a digipak is to promote a particular band/artist, by giving the target audience an incentive to buy the product, by offering physical extras that they can keep, such as a booklet, a poster, or exclusive photos from the band, rather than just a CD, or downloadable songs.

Some common conventions of digipaks are:

• Photographs of the band (e.g. behind the scenes)
• A lyric booklet
• A hard copy of the CD
• A message from the band to the audience

EXAMPLE 1 - 4 PANEL DIGIPAK:

Pros: 

• Although space is restricted, it allows for all necessary information to be included on the digipak, with room for one more panel of extra information.
• It uses less materials than other digipak examples, and would therefore be cheaper to manufacture.
• This digipak would be able to be inserted into a standard CD jewel case meaning it would effectively be more durable.

Cons:

• There is a very restricted space, so does not allow for many additional features to be added to the digipak, which could perhaps impact negatively upon the digipak offering a unique selling point.

EXAMPLE 2 - 6 PANEL DIGIPAK:

Pros: 

• This digipak offers 6 panels, meaning that there is more space for additional content and opportunity for more selling points, such as a lyric booklet, which would make the digipak more appealing to a target audience.
• This digipak can either be made entirely out of cardboard, or slotted into a CD jewel case, offering a range of manufacturing options which both have different outcomes in cost, and impact on the environment.

Cons:

• If made out of cardboard, the digipak would not be very durable, and likely to get damaged after minimal use.
• Manufacturing costs of this digipak would be higher as there is more area to printed, as well as designed.
• Digipaks in general may only appeal to a small portion of a band's audience, as digipaks are quite outdated, with online download and streaming services, such as iTunes and Spotify being the main source of music consumption. However, digipaks could help to establish a sense of loyalty from a fan base, similar to buying vinyl records. 

After looking at two common digipak templates and evaluating their strengths and weaknesses, I have come to the conclusion that when designing my digipak, I will use a 6 panel digipak template, as unlike the 4 panel template, this allows us a lot more creative freedom with more space to fill on the digipak, with features such as a lyric booklet or band photographs. I believe the 6 panel digipak will be more successful in promoting a band, and will leave a customer feeling satisfied with their purchase due to the unique features they received in the digipak.