ANCILLARY TASK: Analysis of Existing Digipaks: Maroon 5 - Hands All Over

Maroon 5 - Hands All Over

As in the other two digipaks I have analysed Maroon 5`s album uses three main colours throughout the packaging – red, white and black. The promotional sticker on the front of the album puts emphasis on these colours, which then draws attention to the promotional information on the sticker – the bands success…”THE MULTI-PLATINUM GRAMMY AWARD WINNERS” “AS HEARD ON THE VOICE”, successful songs…”MOVES LIKE JAGGER”, “NEVER GONNA LEAVE THIS BED, MISERY + OUT OF GOODBYES” and “PRODUCED BY ROBERT JOHN “MUTT” LANGE”. Emphasis and focus is successful due to the simple, bold font against the three stripes of the dominant colours.

Similar fonts of the same colour are used on the title top left of the album. What could be interpreted as a red heart below the black M of Maroon could suggest a feeling of love and passion due to the name of the album “Hands All Over” which is of the same colour as the heart – red which then draws the eye to the passionate image of the women on the bed which could reinforce the notion of love and passion.

The setting of this image – on a bed in a bedroom instantly confirms the idea of passion and love and the fact the woman in the image looks pleasured in her expression reinforces this idea. The composition of the image is effective in that the woman is central creating focus but the way in which the title of the album is composed above the bed headboard draws attention to the setting which could either be interpreted as a traditional, domestic setting or as a sexual one in relation to the title of the album and the central image.

The hinge of the album continues to use the colours of red, white and black using the same font as used in the title which shows consideration of continuity as analysed on the hinge of Paramore`s album also.

Similar to the layout of Paramore`s “RIOT!” album Maroon 5`s also sees them featured in the inside of the album and the same image on the back cover also. The images featured relates back to the front cover because it features the headboard featured on the front cover. Attention is drawn to this due to the bold, framed black and white image of the band above the headboard which although simple draws the eye immediately and creates impact. The only other information featured is the production logos, websites and copyright information in small black text in the right hand corner, which creates further emphasis on the image.

The composition of the image is similar to that featured on the “RIOT!” album because lead singer Adam Levine is in the front of the image with his band members surrounding him indicating he like Hayley Williams is central to the band. His facial expression appears to be more capturing in comparison to his band members but it could be said attention is drawn to him first as he is known for being the central member of the band. Although this may be the case the composition of the image still gives a sense of togetherness towards the band as they are positioned close to one another. Emphasis is put on the image due to its black and white colouring against the simple, clean background.

The artwork on the CD as analysed in the other digipaks features the colours and fonts featured on the rest of the album. The black and white effect on the CD puts emphasis on the text featured on it especially the title of the album, which features in red. The image printed on the CD is of a sea landscape. This could be interpreted as an escape for lovers as the album has a feeling of passion and love or it could be said to promote towards a family market, as it does not feature the passionate, sexual image as featured on the front cover.

As mentioned earlier the image of the band featured on the inside of the album is also featured on the back. The simplicity seen on the inside is continued to the back of the album. The image is positioned to the left while the track listing is to the right, all of which is featured on a white background. This puts emphasis on the simple, black font that highlights the name of the producer in a red font. This is placed above the same black font that states other credits, copyright information, websites and the conventional barcode and production logos at the bottom.

I believe this album fits the pop-rock/pop-punk genre because it has a theme of passion and love, which can almost be seen in sexual terms which to some can be seen as an act of rebellion, which is often associated with the genre, but it can also be interpreted as a form of expression and is expression and emotions are usually amplified within this genre.