Digipak Anlysis: Peter Doherty 'Grace/ Wastelands'

This is the debut solo album of Peter Doherty. As this artist is well known as the front man of The Libertines and Babyshambles this album will be very important to his fans as it is his first solo album. Using his full name creates a sense of independence and tells us that this album is completely his own.

The font/lettering is best described as simple and fine handwritten style. The artists name is bold making it appear dominant in neat black capitals against the white background. The font is quite small so therefore it doesn't catch your eye straight away. Underneath is the album title 'Grace/ Wastelands' is in a smaller font which seems like it has been written in pen giving it a natural affect. This connotes an original style for the artist and creates a gentle atmosphere on the cover matching the acoustic tracks on the album.

The dominant image on the front cover is an imposing graphic design image of a woman with a burnt black/brown/orange/yellow colour scheme that carries out through the rest of the digipak. The artist not being featured on the cover connotes that he may be well known enough to not be represented through a photograph, it is also recently common for artists to do this and have an image of themself inside the package which this artist has done. The image on the cover indicates an alternative genre as it is quite a dark, artistic and very original image that seems like a symbol of self destruction. The title of the album 'Grace/ Wastelands' connotes an individual style for the artist as the two words are an unusual yet interesting combination; the word 'grace' creates a gentle atmosphere for the album whereas 'wastelands' adds a dark meaning, and also matches the disturbing image on the cover.

Above is the back cover of the album following the graphic design colour scheme with the album tracks in the fine hand written font -a key feature which works with the individual artist as it creates a personal touch. The dominant colours on the package are black, brown, orange and yellow which are earthy natural tones reflecting the artists originality not only through his music but also the package. The CD is produced by Stephen Street which appeals to the audience as this is an English producer who is best known for working with other famous artists such as The Smiths and Blur. The record label is EMI which connotes that the artist is British as EMI is a British company. It also tells us that the artists genre is alternative as this record company has focused on major rock acts such as The Beatles and Pink Floyd.

The opened up digipak features the tracks song lyrics in the fine handwritten style and further graphic design images. All three panels inside follow the recurring earth tone colour scheme. Each panel shows an image of a ballet dancer in the same aggressive style as the image on the front cover, the lyrics are written across the images which all in all adds to the original style of the artist. To either side of the centre panel there are slots for the CD and DVD and another at the bottom for a booklet, this makes the design seem neat and easier for its buyer. An extra panel features a slightly distorted illustration of Peter Doherty. The image seems to be split into two different sizes which almost represents the album title being split into two words, this could mean the artist has two different sides portrayed in the album. There are gigsaw pieces which make up part of the artists torso which I find creative, also there seems to be handwriting scratched into the image reading 'I'll love you forever' making the artist seem romantic, this almost looks like a signature which adds to the artists individuality.