Case studies Front Cover -Research

Front Cover:

On this magazine front cover you can see that the only image on the front cover is an image of Nas. His image creates a reflection of a person with a lot of attitude. His eyes are directly facing the audience giving of the ‘BadBoy’ vibe. The image used is a medium close up of Nas in front of the masthead, showing his importance within the content of this magazine. The fact that his name has been printed of in a capital, bold and large font also emphasis his importance with helping sell this magazine. 

This magazine has not used a lot of colours, however all the colours used have given of a specific effect, of making the magazine either look attractive to its target audience or the fact that it helps readers uncover information very quickly. The image used also helps with attracting readers, not because the image of Nas is really attractive but makes them wonder how such a look came about on his face.

 This magazine can also give readers the impression that the media has not changed at all in suggesting that all youth are people of ill manners and are very rebellious. This is evident within the text but also the fact that Nas is wearing silver chains and a black hoodie. Looking at this front cover, you can tell as a reader that the target audience is Hip-hop lovers. The big clue is that the article is about Nas, and his genre of music is Hip-hop. Also the references Hip-hop being on higher level, tell us this magazines target audiences are Hip-hop lovers.

Case studies Double Page Spread -Research

Double Page Spread 

 

To conclude on the vibe magazine double page spread they have chosen to give a whole page just for Usher’s image and the other for the interview to go with it. They have chosen to use a typical layout convention thought the use of paragraphing and the use of columns. The image that has been used has been taken as medium close-up shot as you are only able to see half of Usher’s body. Usher’s eye contact is not being made to the audience however facing the direction of the caption showing its importance rather than the image itself. 

There are no immensely bright colors used however the simple use of the caption written in bold white on a greyish background helps drag the readers attention to what Usher is saying. Also the question being written in bold back separating it with the answers is a benefit to the readers to help them understand what is going on rather than having the interview in the same consistent use of regular black and not bold black. 

There really not much you can say about the image it seems pretty plain to me however they seem to have put a stress on the fact the he is smoking a cigar, this is not such a good image to present to his fans, old or young but the fact that it’s a cigar, not a cigarette makes the action seem more sophisticated, as cigars are rated as high class. To be completely honest i think the target audience for this article is more suited for 25 - 40 years olds as I personally think it fails to gain the attention of a younger target audience.

Looking at this double page spread, you can tell as a reader that the target audience is R&B and Pop lovers. The big clue is that the article is about Usher, and his genre of music is R&B. Also the reference on Michael Jackson, Usher’s albums and other major artist of the same genres, tell us this article targets audiences of R&B and Pop lovers.

Case studies Contents Page -Research

Contents Page



As you can see on this magazine’s contents page they have used typical conventions such as the layout of the information on the page. The fact that all the listings have been placed on the right hand side of the page it creates a professional tone to fit the house style of a typical magazine.  The image used on the contents page is an image of 50 cent. The image has been taken as a medium long shot with his body facing the side. 50 cent is facing the readers directly to gain their attention. The colours used on the magazine contents page are pretty plain, they do not seen to be helping the magazine sell itself however the use of the colour black on plain white make the image stand out. This is also a typical magazine convention to use three colours black, white and red. The image used creates a mysterious effect however the clothing demonstrates the complete opposite because he is illustrates hip-hip culture or youth culture. To be more precise the fact that he has a tattoo and is wearing a chain are the representations of hip-hop.

Case studies Front cover -Research

Case studies

On this magazine front cover you can see that they have put an image of Chris Brown at the front. This is the only image on the page and has been taken from a medium long shot to illustrate to us what Chris Brown is wearing. The clothes he is wearing gives us the impression the he is a rebel. The red t shirt he is wearing may be representation of passion and desire. His t shirt is also closely associated with the “I’m still a VIRGIN...in your eyes” cover line. The fact that he is looking at the audience connotes to me that they use this image to try and attract the audience through the use of direct mode of address. His tattoos can represent the tolerance of pain and the strength with in him as a person, also suggesting to readers that he is a powerful and rebellious person. The masthead is behind the image and this connotes to readers that Chris Brown is the one that is selling the magazine.  The cover lines on the right hand side of the front cover were used to intrigue the audience, and gain their attention to read the magazine. The use of the colour green and white as a sign of peace, nature, calm act as a binary oppositions to the colour red and black as they connote totally opposite things.

Case studies Contents Page -Research

Contents Page

As you can see on this magazines contents page they have chosen to use a typical layout convention. The fact that will listings have been placed on the left hand side of the page and that they have used a single image creates a professional tone. 

The colours used on the magazine contents page are pretty simple, however they do seem to be helping the magazine sell itself, the use of the colour black on plain white makes the image stand out more. It is also a typical magazine convention to use three colours black, white and red. The white background makes Nas stand out more because of his skin tone. 

The image that has been used is an image of Nas and it has been taken as a medium close-up shot. This image appears to have been taken as an active publicity shot as like a press shot or a paparazzi shot, also gives readers the impression that this man is very wealthy. 

Nas in this shot is keeping eye contact with the readers helping attract the readers to the information being given on the page. Personally i think XXL have done exceptionally well in attracting the right target audience being Hip-hop lovers due to the fact that the image of Nas has him dressed as a stereotypical Hip-hop artist with him wearing a chain and all. However the image also gives him a sophisticated tone.

Preliminary Task: LSC Magazine Front Cover

Preliminary Task: LSC Magazine Contents Page