Magazine cover essay.

“Picking a front cover from a music magazine of your choice, write 800 words on how a particular audience is targeted through the connotations of each element.

In this essay I am going to analyse and identify the target audience and discuss how that audience is targeted, through the connotations of each element. The magazine I am going to look at is “Vibe”.
The magazine “Vibe” is an R ‘n’ B/Hip Hop magazine and sets out to target a niche audience. The title of this magazine immediately indicates the genre of music the magazine looks at and also the layout of the magazine cleverly targets its audience. This magazine entices a large number of males and females aged between 14-20 years old, which are targeted through a number of elements.
A house style is used throughout the magazine and is designed to appeal to the audience. In the magazine “vibe” throughout the magazine the colours red, white and black are constantly used in order to create a dangerous, but cool and professional design. This appeals to the audience as the type of music in which they listen to usually creates that cool, secure image that readers want. Also the colours contrasting together making the magazine as a whole look professional, appeals to the reader and makes them want to buy it. The font throughout the magazine is bold and clear, and red is the common colour that is used for the font. The boldness of some of the text instantly jumps out at the reader, engaging them to read it which is done purposely to make the reader then go on to reading more.
The main cover of the magazine is the first part of the magazine the audience sees and because of this the producers of the magazine have to make sure they grab the attention of the reader! They do this by designing a front cover that uses a variety of elements which connotes towards the audience in a number of ways.
The first thing which instantly draws the reader is the masthead. The title “vibe” is pictured in a bold, red which right away attracts the reader into the title, and is done in a unique typeface to be very recognisable to its target audience. The word “vibe” also indicates the type of music the magazine talks about and leaves the audience remembering the word as it’s a short, straight forward title which sticks in the readers mind.
The main image on the front cover is also a very important part in the making of the magazine. This will draw the reader into buying the magazine if that person is of interest to them. In this magazine, the image is used in a classic way as the face is big enough to make an impact as the model is using full eye-contact which makes the reader feel as if he’s looking at them and wants them to buy it. Also the picture used on the front provides a strong, smooth looking man in the way he’s dressed and presented. This makes the reader want to replicate this image which attracts them into buying the magazine.
The pre-optical area is a vital importance in the magazine layout. Due to the magazine not always being on total show in some shops, the producers put a large amount of cover lines on the right hand side of the magazine so they can be seen by the readers and show that there is a lot going on inside this particular magazine. In “vibe” bold lettering is shown on the left third of the magazine which aim is to draw the reader into picking the magazine up and looking at it as a whole. This is where the title of the magazine has to be easily recognisable at the beginning as this is on show among other competitors.
The cover lines are a key aspect of a magazine cover, which briefly explains what will be in the magazine. These are done to attract a mass audience and the more competition a magazine has, the more they will use. This magazine uses about five cover lines, and contains a “kicker” which is in a bold font, then has explanatory lines underneath. This is done to not give the audience too much information, and leads them to wanting to read more and then buying the magazine. Also, a main cover line is portrayed on the cover and usually takes up more room than the other cover lines. In this magazine it says “T.I. aint no such thing as a snitch” which relates to the main image of the magazine which is T.I. This leaves the audience thinking what it will be about, as the phrase doesn’t give too much away, leading the audience to purchase the magazine.
In conclusion, the audience which is attracted to the particular genre of this music are easily targeted through the variety of elements which are within the magazine. In my opinion, the producers of the magazine really think about the positioning, images and format of the magazine to produce a layout which will entice a certain audience. Each element of the magazine adds to the whole impact it has on the reader and successfully makes the product popular to its target audience.

Inner page Research

Product Research – Inner pages

Contents
1. How is the information organised – what are the different categories?
These are Features and Regulars which include subheadings, On The Cover and Q Review followed by the sub-titles as; Jason Donovan, Home entertainment, Mick Hucknall, Snow Patrol, Review of the year, Disney Pop , Incoming, Insight, Entertainment, The Q Quiz and Last Requests.
2. How many images are there on a page? Are they varied in terms of size, subject and composition – if so, how?
13 images, all varied in sizes and some are over linked with each other. A few of the images are showing more of the magazine, such as a double page spread of Keanu Reeves.
3. Highlight any design principles at play (e.g. Principle of thirds, Balance, The Gutenburg diagram, active space, unity, rhythm and emphasis).
On one of the contents pages, the dark image weighs out the balance of the image due to the left column having squares of dark black colour to balance the image. The contents page uses both passive and active space on the contents page. The top of the magazine uses active space to enable the “Q” to stand out on its own. The column of the magazine is passive as the text is there but the space around the text cannot be covered.
4. What are the various typefaces and font sizes? How does typeface help to contribute to the house style of the magazine?
The typeface of the magazine uses the same font throughout, this helps contribute to the house style of the magazine as it runs through the magazine and makes the magazine look more professional. The font sizes vary due to the magazine wanting certain fonts to stand out more than others.

Double page spread

5. How does the headline grab the reader’s attention? Consider size and type of font as well as the actual language.
The headline of the magazine spread grabs the attention of the reader as the title of the article is surrounded by a brightly coloured design. The size of the headline covers about a quarter of the page, which suggests that’s what the writer wants the reader to first see. The title being at the top of the page also draws the reader in immediately. The style of font is also clear and bold which draws the reader in to read straight away.
6. Analyse each image in turn, starting with the largest, main image.
a) What are the connotations of each image? Who is being represented and in what way?
b) How are the images INTERGRATED with the text around them?
In this page spread there is only one main image which is put across one full page. As the image is placed on one page, some text is placed at the bottom of the page over the text, which is a pull quote. The image of Duffy is a sophisticated, grown up photo and shows eye contact and a cool, calm look. This connects with the audience of the magazine as it’s seen as a mature magazine.
7. Highlight any design principles at play.
The colours used on the spread contrast well with each other. The black and yellow balance each other out in order to not let the magazine look to bright, but not too dark either. The “Duffy” is shown in bold, white writing which stands out against the black and yellow writing. The space which is used is passive, as text is shown in the white space in order for it to be seen. The spread also uses the Gutenberg diagram as the title “Duffy” draws the reader into looking at the primary optical area, and then the reader scans the rest of the page and is drawn to more text at the terminal optical area. Also, unity is used as the “Q” at the bottom of the page is used on all the pages, which are made to look like they are meant to be together.

8. What are the various typefaces and font sizes? How does typeface help to contribute to the house style of the magazine?The typeface contrasts through the whole double page as the font and colours balance each other throughout. This helps contribute to the house style of the magazine as the fonts in the double page spread run throughout the magazine.

3 Annotated front cover