What is a Digipak?

In its rawest form, a Digipak is a patented style of CD packaging which allows for the safe and stylish transportation of a modern day album. Despite their original and basic plastic casing, in recent decades Digipaks have expanded into a form of image expression for a artist, communicating various things about who they are. They have developed physically also with various different design layouts and options available, all depending on how many sides one chooses to feature. It is no longer simply about protecting a CD.

The designs on Digipaks today are capable of holding more information regarding the band and how they came to creating this piece of work. This also allows for more coherent artwork and symbolism within a Digipak which inevitably adds value. This is often in combination with official publishing and copyright information which the artist is obligated to disclose.

In reference to the cultural circuit, the proliferation of Digipaks within the music industry has had the greatest affect on audiences. In a technologically convergent world where the music is largely dictated by digital media, there is even more pressure on institutions to make products like this desired in order to keep them in production. They have to create a demand for a CD and therefore the Digipak. The way they do this is largely psychological. When buying a Digipak, the audience member feels as though they actually 'own' something that is to some extent, unique to them. This is opposed to iTunes where an album will look entirely identical on every other iPhone in the world. They may also experience some form of gratification that they are supporting the heritage of the music industry by buying a physical album, much like people who opt against downloading films illegally on moral grounds. Lastly, owning a Digpak gives true fans a stronger relationship with the artist and may possible give them access to extra material. It strengthens their identity and gives them proof as a legitimate 'fan'.


We had a look at some professional Digipaks in class, as well as some previous students designs. We noticed that the more successful Digipaks were made up of no more than four key colour tones, and certainly no more than two fonts. This is done to create a consistent design and allow the product to have intertextuality with others such as the website. Some Digipaks often include stickers on the front highlighting extra information.