Ancillary Text Analysis #3 (Digipak)

The third album cover I have analysed is 'Brand New - Deja Entendu'. The album cover follows the conventions of pop punk album covers, however contrasts with the conventions of what is stereotypically known for album artwork as there is no image of the band on the cover. The cover follows a 'man on the moon' type image and features a person wearing a spacesuit in the middle of the album cover as the main focus. The person is floating in mid air which connotes surrealism and mystery, and idea and connotation behind the idea of deja vu (this creates a link with the album title) as deja vu's are considered weird and out of the ordinary. A further idea that links with the mystery is the idea that the person featured is wearing a space suit and is therefore not visible, as a person, to the audience; we are unaware as to what the person looks like and also whether they are male or female.

We can not be sure of the specific target audience by just looking at the cover but it can be sure that it will appeal to someone who enjoys things that are out of the ordinary and does not follow the ideas of what is considered normal and popular due to the choice of image and colour shown on the front cover which, by someone who does not enjoy pop punk music, would be considered weird and not appealing. We can also be sure that the album appeals to no specific audience due to the face that there is no gender specified on the cover. As the gender of the person in the space suit is hidden is does not create a divide between males and females and therefore shows that anyone is entitled to listen to and enjoy the album as much as someone else.

The colour scheme that runs throughout the front cover is bright and eye catching, the two colours (green and orange/yellow) contrasting with each other. The colours link with space as the green placed at the bottom of the cover signifies the earth and the ground whereas the orange and yellow colours connote the sun. As the man is placed between the two (floating in mid air) it shows that he is between the two and therefore floating around not sure about what he is doing, another idea linked with the 'deja vu' and surreal concept. The fact that the colours are bright and eyecatching is important as it will catch the audience's eye and immediately attract them to it.

The band name is featured at the top of the cover, in a white font, making it stand out and contrast against the colours of the background. The style of font also makes the album recognisable as a 'Brand New' album as it is used throughout all of their album and single releases. The title of the album is placed under the artist name in a smaller font, however also in white text to ensure that the contrast is still there and making sure that the audience still notice the name of the album. As the album and artist title is placed at the top of the page, and also directly above the main image, it instantly becomes recognisable to the audience, despite the size, as the audience's eye immediately goes up and therefore, it becomes the second, if not first, thing that the audience see.