Analysing Magazine Front Covers
First Magzine Analysis
The image on the front of the music magazine ‘Billboard’ represents Rihanna’s genre of music which is pop and it also represents her as a person. Firstly a mid shot has been used; I think that this camera shot would have been used because it shows more of her and her fashion sense than a close up of her face would do as that would only show the key features on her face. This also works well on the front cover of a music magazine because the audience are able to see her tattoo of a hand gun on the side of her rib cage in line with her bust area. The angle that they have used is looking straight on at her but it looks more effe
ctive because she is crouched over from the left hand side but she is making eye contact with the audience by turning her head. The manipulation that they have used on the photo of her works really well, they have darkened the background so that so that her bright red lips and her bright red hair stand out really well, this then makes it eye-catching and catches the attention of the audience so that they want to pick up the magazine and read it, especially the main article which is about Rihanna. The photo has been edited so that none of the bad things about her have been shown, for instance it she had a small spot, that would of been edited out the same thing would be done if there was an area on her body where it is shiny and this would also be airbrushed so that it looks perfect and professional. The other thing that has been edited is the way that the outline of her fades into the background. This makes it better as she does not look to sharp.
This picture would appeal to the audience because the magazine is aimed at men and women of a younger age who are in the late teens or early twenties. It would therefor appeal to males because they would find the picture of Rihanna attractive at would probably think that she is ‘hot’. This would be because of the way that she is positioned in the photo and her bright red lips represent love as that is what the colour red is associated with. Females may be more inclined to read the magazine as they may like Rihanna’s style of music but they may also want to read it because they may think of her as a style and fashion icon.
The language that has been used on the front cover
of the Billboard magazine is formal and some jargon has been included in it. Even
though it is quite formal a small amount of informal language and slang has
been used. They have included different types of language so that it appeals to
more than one group of people.
The magazine isn’t connecting with the audience
very well. They have not spoken to the audience directly and have not
interacted with them by using words that address them such as ‘you’. If they
were t include a short sentence such as ‘This could be you’ it is more likely
going to make the reader want to read it as it makes it seem more personal and
that they are trying to make an effort talking to them through words.
Headings have been used on the front cover of
Billboard. This makes it easier for the audience to find the section that they
want to look at. Also the short sentences are short. This has been done so that
the sentences are quick and easy to read, by having short sentences on the
front cover of a music magazine it makes the information on there more
memorable as it is more likely to stick in your head.
They have included key words in the other sell lines that are down the left hand side of the page. These words are short words so that they are easy to remember and easy to think about as they are more likely to stay in your head.
They have included key words in the other sell lines that are down the left hand side of the page. These words are short words so that they are easy to remember and easy to think about as they are more likely to stay in your head.
The
main image that is of Rihanna takes up the majority of the front cover. Because
the amount of information on the page has been kept to a minimum they have made
it so that Rihanna represents the magazines genre and the genre of her work. What
she is wearing says a lot about her characteristics and the type of person that
she is.
The
fonts are all different sizes. The masthead is the biggest and that is the same
for most magazines as that is the main piece of information, as the publishers
want you to notice their magazine before any other magazine on the shelf in the
shop because they want you to buy there’s.
‘Rihanna’ that is going over the photo of her shows the reader who she is if they are not familiar with her even though most people are likely to know who she is as she is played on the radio a lot because of the number ones that she has achieved in her music career. As well as putting it across the picture of her it also shows the target audience what the main article in the magazine is going to be about which is an important piece of information.
‘Rihanna’ that is going over the photo of her shows the reader who she is if they are not familiar with her even though most people are likely to know who she is as she is played on the radio a lot because of the number ones that she has achieved in her music career. As well as putting it across the picture of her it also shows the target audience what the main article in the magazine is going to be about which is an important piece of information.
The
other sell lines that are down the left hand side of the front cover are all in
capital letters. This makes it stand out more as they are more bold and catchy.
The main text to do with the other sell lines are in bold so that that stands
out more that the information that is said about them. The main other sell
lines are in a black font that are highlighted in white so that they stand out
against the colours in the background of the magazine. The white writing stands
out against the background because that is a dark colour.
All of the sizes of the font’s link to audience appeal as this style of font size has been used in other magazines such as ‘Q’, ‘Billboard’ and ‘Kerrang’. If it didn’t link to the audiences appeal than big branded magazine such as the ones that I previously stated would not be doing as well as what they are at the moment.
The colours that have been used on the front cover of the music magazine are very bold. I think the bold red that is the predominant colour works really well. It draws the audience’s attention to it as it stands out to the other colours such as the black and the white. The white text stands out because it is the complete opposite colour to the black background. As there is only a small amount of yellow text this makes it stand out more as it is brighter and there is less of it. The background lighting is very dark and the foreground lighting id very bright and a lot whiter. This also makes the picture of her stand out more. He isn’t in a location as such as she has a plain background but there are a few roses dotted around on the front cover that are faded in so that they are not the centre of attention. I think the roses look good as they match the colour of her hair colour and her lips which is red; this looks good because it adds to the redness and the seductiveness of it. No props have been used but the red lipstick counts towards that type of thing as the picture would look completely different without it as it would look a lot more boring and would not catch the audience’s attention.
All of the sizes of the font’s link to audience appeal as this style of font size has been used in other magazines such as ‘Q’, ‘Billboard’ and ‘Kerrang’. If it didn’t link to the audiences appeal than big branded magazine such as the ones that I previously stated would not be doing as well as what they are at the moment.
The colours that have been used on the front cover of the music magazine are very bold. I think the bold red that is the predominant colour works really well. It draws the audience’s attention to it as it stands out to the other colours such as the black and the white. The white text stands out because it is the complete opposite colour to the black background. As there is only a small amount of yellow text this makes it stand out more as it is brighter and there is less of it. The background lighting is very dark and the foreground lighting id very bright and a lot whiter. This also makes the picture of her stand out more. He isn’t in a location as such as she has a plain background but there are a few roses dotted around on the front cover that are faded in so that they are not the centre of attention. I think the roses look good as they match the colour of her hair colour and her lips which is red; this looks good because it adds to the redness and the seductiveness of it. No props have been used but the red lipstick counts towards that type of thing as the picture would look completely different without it as it would look a lot more boring and would not catch the audience’s attention.
The image has been posed and that has been done on purpose.
The point of the Pose that User is holding is to represent his style of music
and the type of person that he is. He has been posed so that he is showing
swag. This would have been done as it is a recent pose and many rap artists use
the hand gesture that he is using.
A mid shot has also been used so that the artist can focus
on him and the top half of him as that is more interesting that the bottom half
of him as he is wearing different things that the audience can recognisably see
such as the sunglasses and the jewellery., they can then relate this to his
style of music, his background and the life that he leads.
The photo has been edited so that he stands out more that
the background. It would have been cropped so that he takes up the majority of
the page rather than the background taking up too much space. The background
has also been blurred so that he stands out more and is the focus point of the
magazine so that that catches the attention of the target audience.
The layout of the magazine front cover follows the
conventions of most other magazines that are on the market. With the mast head
at the top of the page and the main image taking up the majority of the page
with the sell line going over Usher and the other sell lines down both sides of
the page it meets all the conventions. The integrated text works really well as
it shows that it links to the main image on the page. Also having Ushers head
covering up a small section of the ‘I’ and ‘E’ and most of the ‘B’ it is still
clear what the name of the magazine is. I think that this works well because it
makes him the main thing on the page.
The fonts on the front cover of Vibe work really well. The
headline being in a bold font and such a large simple font works really well. I
think this looks good because it is clear and it is easy to read. This catches
the audience’s attention and allows them to notice the magazine and are able to
associate it with music.
The ‘Swagger’ red text that is in the left bottom corner stands out because it is a different type of text to the rest of the text on that page. I also think that this works really well because it is catchy and it is capital letters which also catches the audience’s attention. The other thing that works well with the Swagger text is the way that it is slightly transparent which allows you to see his jacket through the text; it makes it seem like it is a coloured window.
The ‘Swagger’ red text that is in the left bottom corner stands out because it is a different type of text to the rest of the text on that page. I also think that this works really well because it is catchy and it is capital letters which also catches the audience’s attention. The other thing that works well with the Swagger text is the way that it is slightly transparent which allows you to see his jacket through the text; it makes it seem like it is a coloured window.
The fonts have been kept to a minimum and this is good as it
doesn’t make it look too busy with all the different fonts. The different sized
piece of text shows the importance of it. For instance the main story in the
magazine is to do with his swag which is why that piece of information is in a
larger font. The other pieces of information on the front cover such as the
other sell lines are in a smaller font so that they aren’t as obvious.
The colours that he is wearing, the background colour and
the colour of his skin all work well together. This is because different tones
of brown have been used and the lighter tones of brown have been used in the
background which makes his face and his hands stand out more as they are a
darker shade of brown. Because the image is made of different tones of brown
the text stands out really well and catches the target audience’s attention
because of the bright colours. The blue, yellow and red stand out as they are
all bold colours. The colours on the front cover of the music magazine ‘Vibe’
represent that he can have a dull side to him but the brightly coloured text
could also represent the other side of him to the target audience which is as
fun and loud side.
The location isn’t very obvious to the audience as it has
been blurred out so much so that he is that main focus point of the magazine
cover. From what I can tell it looks as if he is standing up against a wall of
some sort of wood such as a shed. I think this because it sort of looks like a
shed and it would also link to the brown colour that is running through the
theme of the front cover.
Three main props have been used on the image of Usher. These
are his sunglasses, his large ring on his hand and his watch on his wrist.
These have been positioned so that you eye is automatically drawn to them.
These have been used as they represent his style and the sway that he has. They
also link to his background as a large amount of people who have a Caribbean
background wear big noticeable jewellery; this may have a symbolic reason to
him to do with a religion or something more obvious like him just liking that
type of jewellery as it suits him.
His star tattoo that is on the same hand as his watch could
represent that his is a star in the music industry because of all his records
that he has sold. It may also have another meaning that people don’t know of.
These have been used to add to his genre of music. Other
artist such as Ne-Yo, WILL.I.AM and Eminem all wear similar things to what Usher
is wearing as this represents their genre of music.
The image, props and colouring could all link to audience
appeal. The things that they have used on the magazine are what keep the
magazine in business today. The target audience obviously likes what they see
on the magazine because it links to the genre and the other thing that pleases
the audience is the way that it links it to everything and whatever they have
on the front cover shows the target audience what genre that magazines main
article which is the double page spread is going to be based on.
Vibe is a music and entertainment magazine founded by producer Quincy Jones. The magazine includes R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in summer 2009, Vibe is now issued every-other month with double covers, with a larger online presence. The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip-hop culture. The first Vibe magazine was launched in 1993. As of June 30, 2012, Vibe had a circulation of 300,943, of which 202,439 were paid, and 98,504 were non- paid.
Vibe is a music and entertainment magazine founded by producer Quincy Jones. The magazine includes R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in summer 2009, Vibe is now issued every-other month with double covers, with a larger online presence. The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip-hop culture. The first Vibe magazine was launched in 1993. As of June 30, 2012, Vibe had a circulation of 300,943, of which 202,439 were paid, and 98,504 were non- paid.
Main Cover Line
For the main cover line I decided that I would use Laura Stone as the main piece of information. I decided that I wanted to do this because when looking at other magazines that are already on the market they used the artists name as that then tells the audience what the main article in the magazine is about. I wanted to add something underneath her name to show the audience what is in the article. I decided that I would use a quote from the double page spread that I created previously.
The following quotes are from the double page spread. I asked five different people what quote they would like to see on the front cover of a music magazine to go alongside the main cover line. For the main cover line I decided that I would use Laura Stone as the main piece of information. I decided that I wanted to do this because when looking at other magazines that are already on the market they used the artists name as that then tells the audience what the main article in the magazine is about. I wanted to add something underneath her name to show the audience what is in the article. I decided that I would use a quote from the double page spread that I created previously.
1. “Music has changed my life forever...”
2. “What you don’t know”
3. “It’s all for the fans”
From asking different people what quote they prefer to go on the front cover of my music magazine, the results show that quote number one which is “Music changed my life forever...” i will therefore use this quote on the front cover of my music magazine as that is the one that people would prefer to see on it.
Other Sell Lines
I looked at different sell lines on music magazines that aren’t the main ones. These are the extra sell lines that you see on the front cover of a music magazine.
I looked at different magazines that related to the genre that I am focusing on which is pop. From looking at the different music magazines I noticed that they have between three to six other sell lines. I also noticed that these are positioned differently depending on who the target audience is. I noticed that when the magazine is aimed at children aged 12 and upwards they are positioned down the left hand side of the front cover and they are also sometimes placed down the right hand side of the cover. When the magazine is aimed at children who are eight to fifteen they are dotted randomly around the page to catch their attention. I will therefore add my other sell lines down the left hand side of the page. I have also decided to add three other sell lines in as well as the main sell line.
The three other sell lines that I am going to use are:I looked at different sell lines on music magazines that aren’t the main ones. These are the extra sell lines that you see on the front cover of a music magazine.
I looked at different magazines that related to the genre that I am focusing on which is pop. From looking at the different music magazines I noticed that they have between three to six other sell lines. I also noticed that these are positioned differently depending on who the target audience is. I noticed that when the magazine is aimed at children aged 12 and upwards they are positioned down the left hand side of the front cover and they are also sometimes placed down the right hand side of the cover. When the magazine is aimed at children who are eight to fifteen they are dotted randomly around the page to catch their attention. I will therefore add my other sell lines down the left hand side of the page. I have also decided to add three other sell lines in as well as the main sell line.
1. ‘Change For the Better”
2. ‘Exclusive’
3. ‘Killing It’
I chose these three as they are catchy and they give a real insight into what the magazine includes. I think this is important as it is truthful and it is more likely to make the target audience want to tread it. I also chose to included these three as they are short and memorable.
I asked my target audience which one they prefered to go on the top of the other sell lines on the left hand side. These were their responces:
Name: Jordan Tully
Age: 17
Prefered other sell line: Exclusive
Name: Jordan Tully
Age: 17
Prefered other sell line: Exclusive
Name: Britanny Gale
Age:17
Prefered other sell line: Change For The Better
Name: Izzy Health
Age: 16
Prefered other sell line: Change For The better
Name: Elise Claira Rogers Akroyd
Age: 17
Prefered other sell line: Exclusive
Name: Charlotte Hopkinson
Age: 17
Prefered other sell line: Change For The Better
Name: Umuer
Age: 18
Prefered other sell line: Exclusive
Suitable Images
I took a variety of different images of my model Hannah. From the photographs that I took I picked out three that I thought were the most appropriate to go on the front cover of a music magazine. I picked these three for different reasons.
I took a variety of different images of my model Hannah. From the photographs that I took I picked out three that I thought were the most appropriate to go on the front cover of a music magazine. I picked these three for different reasons.
I picked the first one because I think that she looks really stylish in it and I think she looks as if she is trying to hide away as she has a secret to keep. I also think this photo would work well because it would makes the audience want to read the main article as they may think that the thing that she has been hiding away for so long and the secret is going to be revealed in it.
I picked the second photograph as I really liked it. I liked this one because it is really straight forward and I like the camera shot that I have used which is a mid- shot. I like the mid- shot because it shows more of her to the audience and it shows the audience more of her personality. I also think that she looks stylish in it but the red eye would need fixing on a photo editing site.I chose the third photograph because I think that it relates to the festival theme because of the flower headband that she is wearing. I also like the contrasting colours between the blue and white dress and the dull pink curtains as I think this makes her stand out more. The shadow would need fixing on it as it doesn’t make it look very good.
I will now edit these three photos on two different photos editing sites and programmes which are ‘Photoshop’ and ‘Pic Monkey’
Here are the new manipulation photographs:
I edited the photos for different reasons.Firstly I edited photo number one where she is wearing the white coat with the fur collar so that there was a plain background. I wanted a plain coloured background because I thought that that would be more appropriate for the front cover of a music magazine as the text would then stand out more. Beforehand the text would have looked in proportion because of the creases in the curtains. I had to crop her out on Photoshop to put her on a plain background. I chose to put her on a purple background as that colour links in with my double page spread where I have used different pinks and purples. I also edited her skin and made it a more even skin tone and got rid of any of the blemishes that she had and got rid of the shine around her nose and underneath her eyes. The other thing that I did that I thought made it look better was making her eyes sharper so that they were more defined. I made her hair darker so that it stood out against the purple background. I also changed the colour of her eyes by making them more blue so that they went with the purple background.
I edited the second one because even though she looked stylish in it I thought that it looked to plain and I didn’t think I had enough effects on it to make it onto a magazine cover. Because the magazine will be published in the Christmas month when people will be celebrating in different ways I thought that I would make it more festive looking and seasonal. I changed the saturation to make it brighter so that she stands out more from the background; this also shows the audience that she is I the foreground. I made her lips a dark red so that I have incorporated some sort of Christmassy colour into the picture. I also think that the lips work really well because they stand out really well and the colour of them represents love which may make more people pick up the magazine. I also added the snowflakes onto it to make it look more festive, I decided to use the snowflakes as I had seen similar things on magazines such as Teen Now and Top of the Pops. I made them different coloured pinks and purples so that they linked in with my colour theme. I also edited her face and removed some of the blemishes an gave her a spray tan to give her a bit more extra colour, I did this carefully so that she still looked natural.
I edited the third photo for a number of different reasons. The first reason for editing it was because I wanted to get rid of the shadow that was behind my model Hannah and if I couldn’t get rid of it then I wanted to make it less obvious and more discrete. I used Pic Monkey to edit this photo. I firstly used the website to change the background so that it was darker in the background and lighter in the foreground. I made the background look distorted so that Hannah stands out more. This also made the shadow behind her less obvious. I added more mascara to her on the website so that they looked a lot bolder and so that they stood out more. Because I made her eyelashes darker it meant that I had to make the white section in her eye whiter and brighter so that they contrasted each other. The other thing that I wanted to change was the lightness of her hair. I wanted to make it lighter and blonder but adding the blonde highlights on the computer didn’t work very well. This was because of the colour of the background, I therefore had to make it lighter using a tool on their and I then had to change it so that the top section of her hair was darker so that it made it look as if she had highlights.
The image that I like the most for the front cover of my pop magazine is the first one with the purple background. I like this one the most because it the most appropriate as it is a bold colour and many teenage girls like the two colours pink and purple because they are seen as girly colours. The other reason why I like this one more than the other two is because the text on the front cover would look better on a plain background rather than on a background that is curtains as they have creases in them. I don’t think that it would work with curtains with creases in them as it would mean that the text is hidden and may look disjointed and unrecognisable. Here are the new manipulation photographs:
I edited the photos for different reasons.Firstly I edited photo number one where she is wearing the white coat with the fur collar so that there was a plain background. I wanted a plain coloured background because I thought that that would be more appropriate for the front cover of a music magazine as the text would then stand out more. Beforehand the text would have looked in proportion because of the creases in the curtains. I had to crop her out on Photoshop to put her on a plain background. I chose to put her on a purple background as that colour links in with my double page spread where I have used different pinks and purples. I also edited her skin and made it a more even skin tone and got rid of any of the blemishes that she had and got rid of the shine around her nose and underneath her eyes. The other thing that I did that I thought made it look better was making her eyes sharper so that they were more defined. I made her hair darker so that it stood out against the purple background. I also changed the colour of her eyes by making them more blue so that they went with the purple background.
I edited the second one because even though she looked stylish in it I thought that it looked to plain and I didn’t think I had enough effects on it to make it onto a magazine cover. Because the magazine will be published in the Christmas month when people will be celebrating in different ways I thought that I would make it more festive looking and seasonal. I changed the saturation to make it brighter so that she stands out more from the background; this also shows the audience that she is I the foreground. I made her lips a dark red so that I have incorporated some sort of Christmassy colour into the picture. I also think that the lips work really well because they stand out really well and the colour of them represents love which may make more people pick up the magazine. I also added the snowflakes onto it to make it look more festive, I decided to use the snowflakes as I had seen similar things on magazines such as Teen Now and Top of the Pops. I made them different coloured pinks and purples so that they linked in with my colour theme. I also edited her face and removed some of the blemishes an gave her a spray tan to give her a bit more extra colour, I did this carefully so that she still looked natural.
I edited the third photo for a number of different reasons. The first reason for editing it was because I wanted to get rid of the shadow that was behind my model Hannah and if I couldn’t get rid of it then I wanted to make it less obvious and more discrete. I used Pic Monkey to edit this photo. I firstly used the website to change the background so that it was darker in the background and lighter in the foreground. I made the background look distorted so that Hannah stands out more. This also made the shadow behind her less obvious. I added more mascara to her on the website so that they looked a lot bolder and so that they stood out more. Because I made her eyelashes darker it meant that I had to make the white section in her eye whiter and brighter so that they contrasted each other. The other thing that I wanted to change was the lightness of her hair. I wanted to make it lighter and blonder but adding the blonde highlights on the computer didn’t work very well. This was because of the colour of the background, I therefore had to make it lighter using a tool on their and I then had to change it so that the top section of her hair was darker so that it made it look as if she had highlights.
Although I like the first one the most I understand that it is not just my decision. I will therefore need to ask my target audience to see what one they prefer. Whatever one gets the most like will be on the front cover of my music magazine.
I will ask a range of teenagers; the majority being girls as that is who my magazine is mainly focused at what one they prefer.
Experiment with Design
Layout
I made three different layouts for the front cover of my music magazine. The ones that I created are below.
I personally think layout three is the best one as it sticks to the conventions of music magazines.
I also like it because you can clearly see all of the different
parts of the magazine and it is simple which I think is good because it is easy
to follow and the different bits on the magazine stand out.
I asked some pople what one they prefered
I asked some pople what one they prefered
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