Analysis of Existing Magazine Front Cover (2)

This is the front cover of music magazine VIBE. The central image is the most striking thing on the page as it takes up the majority of the space; so much in fact that it covers half of the magazine title. The designers feel confident enough that readers can still recognise the name of the magazine having only two letters clearly visible. The font style is bold and simple so it is easy for the reader to make out. Its bright colour of red makes it stand out on any background that is used on the cover. Red has connotations of danger, power and love but in this case I think it’s trying to show its respected presence in the magazine industry.

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Lighting effects have been used both on the artist’s face and in the background. The light coming from behind him makes the artist look powerful. The lighting on his face has been made to look righter so his facial expressions can be seen more clearly – all trying to represent the artist’s image and personality

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Contrasting colours of red and white are used to show the text. This works well throughout the front cover although the red is difficult to make out in some darker areas. Certain techniques are used to emphasise words in order to make them more effective. For example the word ‘exclusive’ is in bold red writing on a white background to show everyone that it is exclusive to their magazine. Another example at the bottom of the page is describing Keri Hilson as being a ‘very bad girl’. The word ‘very’ is emboldened and a red line is placed either side of the word to exaggerate the word. The white text often catches your attention more than the red so the writers have used this to their advantage. For example the headline ‘Teenagers marked for death’, the words ‘For death’ are in white and much bigger than the red text so this attracts the readers attention and because of the word ‘death’ we want to know more. The text at the top of the page is a sort of summary of this month’s issue and the writer’s opinion of 2010. Alliteration and the power of three are used when it says ‘cool, crazy and crass’.

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There are several advertised articles around the page. These are good as it attracts the reader with inside information without revealing too much; making the reader have to buy the magazine in order to find out more. I think the number of these is just about right as if there were too many the page would look messy and if there wasn’t enough there would be empty spaces. An example of a selling point is used when it says ‘We’ve got gifts! Open on page 50’. This is used to try and ‘pull’ the reader in by saying to the reader that if you read our magazine you will gain something in return. The use of the personal pronoun ‘We’ve’ is trying to show that the magazine knows the reader; they want to establish a relationship between the reader and the media.

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VIBE also includes generic magazine features like a barcode, price and website address. The website address is included to attract a wider target audience and gain more readers. Overall I think this magazine cover is effective in appealing to their target audience and selling the magazine itself.

Analysis of Existing Magazine Front Cover (1)

This is the cover of an edition of XXL featuring Kanye West. The target audience of the magazine is males aged around 16-25 who have an interest in Rap/Hip-Hop. This is already shown in the type of imagery and font used as well as the specific colour choice. The main focus is an image of ‘Kanye West’ from a medium low angle which shows him as quite strong and powerful- also reflected in his stance and posed facial expression. In addition his clothing is very dominant with shades covering his eyes and a large gold chain round his neck connoting his wealth and status. This links to the subheading of ‘SWAGGER LIKE A ROC STAR’ which is a great example of anchorage where the image matches wording. His whole image can also be looked at quite futuristic, a theme which seems to be concurrent on the whole cover. The background image at first sight appears to be an animated Japanese city where some sort of war is taking place using lots of dark colour variations maybe representing the stars life in some way and how maybe he is or has experienced rough times then linking back to the main image- that could represent how he has triumphed and kept his head held high.

The font used for the magazine title ‘XXL’ is a very thick, clear block font which really makes it stand out grabbing the audience’s attention as well as being easily identifiable on each issue. It is placed in a white fill with a red masthead which makes it seem very energetic and lively without being tacky. This is an example of anchorage as the word directly links to the size and impact. The font for the artist’s name ‘Kanye West’ is placed in quite a slick, futuristic looking font which seems to be a theme for the whole front cover. Other text includes another artist featured in the magazine in the top right hand corner which shows how the magazine must have enough of a reputation and how the main focus must be attracting enough in order to only show these few features on the page.

A range of different colours have been used on this front cover. The background image features pale red and deep orange which evoke feelings of rage, fire and urgency where as green is also featured on the buildings- this could represent innocence and safety all the while terror and war are going on outside. The artist is wearing a black shiny coat which connotes he is quite fashionable and cool as well as the gold chain which furthers this connotation. The font is featured in a white font with a black background which is quite basic and simple giving the idea the idea the artist doesn’t need bright colours to show is reputation- then the strap-line contrasts this idea as the yellow connotes quite contemporary design.

This is typical of the Rap/Hop-Hop genre as stereotypically, this type of magazine uses a definitive image of the artist where by it is taken from a low angle to connote dominance; features a certain type of style and clothing which gives the audience ideas of wealth and coolness; and features very strong, bold colours that make the artist seem fearless. Other features that are typical of this genre are the masthead being very authoritative and making an impact with its bold lettering and deep red background as well as the feature of having other artists as the only other pieces of text on the page- this gives the impression that the magazine is filled with a varied range of artists.

Preliminary Task - Front Cover & Contents

Introduction to Music Magazine Project

For my project, I have chosen to produce a music magazine because I have already had experience in my GCSEs creating a magazine as well as the fact I am quite interested in music, like using Photoshop programs and want to improve my photography skills. I am going to be working with a partner, Dan, because I believe we can both bring different elements to the project. The brief involves creating a front cover, contents page and a double page spread taking into account a range of different factors including forms and conventions, production contexts, the role of technologies, audiences/users and representations.

In order to be successful, there are many tasks that we must carry out. We must produce radial analyses of existing magazines; find secondary research via the internet and conduct interviews and questionnaires with my target audience in order to gain primary data- both qualitative and quantitative. This is so we can find out first hand what people want to see in a magazine.