MoodBoarD of magazine
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I have decided to research different genres of magazines. I've done this so i can recognise all types of similarities and differences between them all.
Firstly, All these are similar because they are all advertising / promoting something, whether its a story, gossip, a brand, a new album, trends, a TV show etc. Each magazine has a direct address aka the main image which tells the buyer that the image is the main theme of the magazines weekly issue. This then makes the buyer interested in not only the front cover but what's inside of the magazine. The direct address will attract the reader because they either regularly buy the magazine because they have interest in that genre of the mag and/or are attracted to who / what ever is featured on the front.
But, all these have differences for obvious reasons I.E they are all different genres which may connect to different ages / genders. For example, 'Teen Vogue' compared to 'Game pro' are clearly aimed at different audiences. 'Gamepro' is aimed at the audience of typically males, between 12-25 who enjoy video games. Which is quite a wide age range but majority of stereotypical boys enjoy playing computer games until they turn into an young adult especially because most games are rated 18+ .younger males e.g age 12 tend to play these games too which will then attract them all to this specific magazine. On the other hand, 'Teen Vogue' is aimed at the opposite audience. This is a clear understanding because of the masthead as it has the word teen in it which obviously indicates this magazine is aimed at teenagers. Specifically teenage girls because of the direct address too as it features singer & actress Demi Lovato. Even more specifically teenage girls who are fans of Demi Lovato. This magazine also shows its for girls because of the colour scheme. For example, the puff in the top left corner is pin and pink detonates the female gender. From this task I have learnt that just by looking at one particular thing on a magazine cover can explain a lot about what audience the magazine is aiming itself at.
Analysing Covers
and DPS
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Every magazine cover will like to include a sell line or anchorage text that may include a sneak peak of what will be included in that specific magazine e.g a quote. However, double page spreads that are included in magazines describe and talk about topics in further detail. This is because if a in-depth paragraph was included on the front cover the audience wouldn't want to spend a lot of time reading it when they instantly see it in a store so it is better to just include a important short line or two from what's included that specific spread so it will catch the audience's eye more. A similaritie between the two is that both a front cover and DPS will include a main image. This is used to inform the audience what / who is featured in the issue (front cover) and to inform the audience that the article is about them (DPS). Most double page spreads tend to quote a section of the article / interview, this is to give the audience a small taster of what the article is about and to attract them to want to read it and not skip the page. Another clear similarite is that all double page spreads have vertical columns of writing and not horizontal. from the dps of Paul McCartney you can instantly recognise that this is aimed towards men specifically older men e.g 30+. You can recognise this is aimed towards to specifically men this age because the colour scheme is mostly blue which is a connotation of the male gender, and there isn't much of a 'pop' of colour compared to the Nicki Minaj dos which you can tell its aimed to the complete opposite audience e.g females aged 16-25.
Comparing Magazines
For this task I have collected two magazine covers and I am going to compare them directly. from both magazines You can instantly indicate these two magazines are aimed at the female audience.
both magazines are both technically Vogue but just from the masthead you can tell they are different. For example, the 'Vogue' magazine is aimed at statistically older women 18+ whereas 'Teen Vogue' is aimed at 13-18 year old. you CAN TELL THIS in the masthead AKA THE MAGAZINE TITLE FEATURES THE WORD 'TEEN' IN IT AS THE OTHER ONE DOES NOT. the masthead is placed on top of the direct address on teen vogue in comparison to vogue which is placed behind her head so it doesn't take any attention away from her. this may imply she is important and is more priority than the actual title which gives her more attention.
You can also tell both magazines have different audiences because of the direct address. For example, on the cover of 'Teen Vogue' features Victoria Justice and 'Vogue' that features Sarah Jessica Parker who is an older woman compared to Victoria justice. This suggests who the magazines would appeal too. Both of the covers feature direct mode of address as both of the models are looking straight towards the camera.
On the cover of teen vogue it states in the puff 'The young Hollywood issue' suggesting this particular issue is about younger celebrities in Hollywood aka Victoria Justice. This will also indicate the genre of audience because a younger audience will be able to connect and relate to young celebrities and more likely to be a fan of them in comparison to older celebrities. whereas On the cover of vogue it does not feature a puff that could indicate it is more grown up.
in the anchorage text it says 'from TV teen to movie star' whereas on Vogue the anchorage text says 'Sarah Jessica Parker, life after sex and the city'. This makes the genre clear to the audience because on the teen vogue cover, it mentions the word 'teen' which indicates the genre of teen magazines in comparison to vogue, the anchorage text states 'life after sex and the city' which is a film series made for women who typically are 25+ because of the actors as they are all 25+ and the plot, which you can tell from the title is about a group of women who live in a city and are at the age of interested in sex which indicates the genre of audience for this particular magazine.
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Teen vogues sell lines also suggest the genre of audience because of the sell lines. for example, in the middle left it says 'making the grade' which follows on with a smaller font underneath that says 'how to survive college admissions'. this WILL THEN BUILD MORE A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE BECAUSE ONLY FEMALES 15-18 HAVE TO REALLY BE WORRIED ABOUT COLLEGE AS ANYONE OLDER OR YOUNGER WONT BE IN COLLEGE. IN COMPARISON, ONE OF VOGUES SELL LINES STATES 'saving MY SON' WHICH THEN FOLLOWS ON 'A MOTHER'S FIGHT FOR HER TEENAGERS LIFE' THIS THEN CREATES A EVEN MORE SPECIFIC GENRE BECAUSE THIS MAGAZINE IS OBVIOUSLY TARGETED TO OLDER WOMEN WHO COULD BE POTENTIALLY MOTHERS WHO CAN RELATE TO THIS ISSUE IN PARTICULAR. Women of that age can so relate to this magazine because of another sell line that says 'eat more to weigh less'. This technique is used to persuade the audience to buy the magazine as women would then be interested in losing weight,being healthy and achieving their goals in a small amount of time.
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The colour scheme of these magazines also indicate the genre too. for example, teen vogue has a pop of pink in both the masthead and puff and sell lines which makes it more bold and vibrant to the audience aka teenagers so it will catch there eye more. whereas vogue has a much classier tone that involves gold/bronze and white which women tend to be attracted too as they like the idea of being 'classy' and 'polished'.
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From this task i have learned that magazine companies use certain techniques to attract their audience. for example, if a companies audience was specifically for 25 - 50 year old women they would usually feature a model on the front who would appeal to that audience to entice that specific audience so they would be a repeat and regular buyer of a weekly issue.
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Target Audience
The target audience of this magazine is aimed at young females, specifically 13-18 year olds. This is clearly shown by the masthead (title) because it isn't just the regular vogue magazine, its 'Teen' vogue. You can also tell because of the colour scheme. The colour scheme is very vibrant and has a lot of pink that pop's to make the magazine stand out and bold. The colour pink also connotes the female gender and a younger audience of girl are likely to be attracted to it. Knowing the target audience is females 13-18 year olds is because of the main image and subject topic to the double page spread is Ariana Grande. She is a young pop icon to preferably the audience of young females. This then attracts that audience and will make them interested in wanting to read it.
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The sell lines tell us a lot about the audience. For example, the sell line on the left side of the front cover says '5 tips for perfect skin'. this would attract the audience as because of the age range, as teenagers start to go through puberty and are likely to gain more spots etc. also, teenagers tend to want improve the way they look because of social media expectations and comparing themselves to women who have 'better' skin.
The double page spread itself features a section about makeup which teenage girls also grow interest in at that age. In the bottom left corner it also says 'meet Ariana' which suggests a competition which will then attract Ariana fans in particular to read the article and want to get involved in the competition.
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The target audience of this magazine would be 25-50 year olds, both men and women but preferably women for this issue. I know this because it features another pop icon, Adele. A lot of different ages and genders are a fan of Adele, because of her age and style of music, but because of her gender women would relate to her music and lifestyle more. The colour scheme of this cover is completely opposite if you compare it to the teen vogue cover. This is because there aren't any pops of colour anywhere and the colour scheme is more appropriate for this genre of magazine and very simple. The sell lines are very minimal on this magazine, this could be because the magazine doesn't want to take any attention away from the direct address aka Adele.
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the double spread is similar to the cover because the colours are very simple e.g black and white and there is minimal writing.
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iNVESTIGATING Print + Digital Magazine CounterpartS
lOOKING AT DIGITAL MAGAZINES I HAVE RECOGNISED PRO'S AND CON'S OF WHY PEOPLE MAY PREFER DIGITAL READING OR HAVINT THE ACTUAL PRINT TO READ.
Pro's (Digital) :
- Digital magazines are more modern in this day and age which can be found to attract more of an audience
-A digital magazine can allow the audience to read whatever section they like instead of buying the whole magazine.
-A digital magazine could be easy access for an audience who aren't able to travel / go out to purchase a print copy.
-A digital magazine will have pop adverts which may interest you more than the actual magazine copy and can then give you a link straight away.
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Con's (digital) :
-a digital magazine could be difficult to use for an audience who isn't used to using technology or may just prefer the old fashioned way of reading the print copy.
-A digital magazine could be difficult for an audience who tend to be interested in the whole copy and not spend ages looking for specific sections to read.
- Digital magazines are hard to sell as they can be easily found online for free.
-You have to have wifi access to read a digital magazine.
-Adverts may bother readers when they pop up.
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Pro's (PRINT)
-Print magazines are easier to sell because they are in shops.
-print magazines attract audience more as they are more vibrant and large.
-people can actually keep a specific magazine if purchased.
-print magazines could be valuable in the future and people may collect them.
-people may prefer print magazines as they aren't fond of technology and may want to escape from this technological age we live in.
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Con's (print)
-Print magazines could get ruined easily e.g ripped or torn.
-Print magazines tend to have lots of text which audiences may not like as they may not have time.
-Print magazines don't have a lot of content compared to a digital magazine.
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eSTABLISHING Conventions
Digital magazines conventionally don't have front covers. But when you first enter cosmopolitan magazine website there is usually a big bold section that tends to be the top topic of the day.
Below this is the home bar which lets the audience interact and choose a specific section which interests them most. This is helpful because they can find exactly what they're looking for within seconds compared to a print magazine.
Digital magazines have a few adverts that show up during your visit on the website. On the cosmopolitan website adverts are usually placed down the side or between two stories in the middle. Adverts conventionally are placed on websites to make people click on them to link them to other websites to make money. Even on the menu bar features a section just about advertisement so people can find out more.
Digital magazines tend to have quite a few pop ups but cosmopolitan only has one. This is the cookies pop up. The cookies pop up only allows you to 'accept' or 'learn more' and most people would just press accept so they can quickly get on with reading.
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The cosmopolitan website contains a wide range of topics in their menu bar which lets the audience pick and choose from a variety of stories / topics or even interactive topics.
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Because the cosmopolitan website features so many functions and features It's clear this is suitable for an older audience. This is because the functions are easy to access which older audiences may struggle with if they weren't as easy. The adverts also recognise the audience. For example, one advert mentions about having a husband. This suggests cosmopolitan aim their magazine towards the ages eligible for marriage e.g 25 - 40 women. bUT WHEN LOOKING AT THE MENU BAR IT MAY QUESTION THE AUDIENCE AS IT FEATURES A SECTION ABOUT COLLEGE. This then may wider the age range even more because 16-19 year olds are eligible for college. so this magazine could be for women of all ages even young adults. and conventionally magazines should have a smaller age range for a more specific audience. But cosmopolitan clearly like their magazine to be for everyone so maybe they will get more readers and buyers.
Format & Layout cONVENTIONS
The cosmopolitan digital magazine masthead is the first thing that catches your eye when entering the website. This should be conventional for most other magazine websites because just like a print magazine the masthead is mainly the boldest and placed at the top of the magazine. This site tends to stick to strap lines and puff like sections you could say in comparison to the vogue website which is more minimal and simple. But unlike the print magazine there is no main direct address (photo) that would attract the reader, but instead there are small
ones that attract the reader to read the
story with it.
Along the bottom of the website layout features the top 5 stories across the page. Above this feature there are 4 categories along the page too, just like a mini context page in a book TO GUIDE YOU T THE RIGHT SECTION YOUR'E LOOKING FOR. Both these features will attract the reader because it means that the website is easy to control and the reader can easily find what they are specifically is interested in. The way the homepage is laid out will instantly attract the reader because it means they can find topics quickly and swiftly. THE READER CAN ALSO INSTANTLY TELL THE SITE ISNT TOO CLUTTERED WITH TOO MUCH WRITING AS THE HOME PAGE MAINLY INVOLVES PICTURES AND NOT A LOT OF WRITING.
BESIDES THE ANCHORAGE TEXT AND STRAP LINES , IMAGES ARE KEY FOR ANY MAGAZINE. THIS IS BECAUSE IMAGES ARE MADE TO CONNECT TO A PIECE OF TEXT BECAUSE IT HAS A VISUAL OF WHAT THE STORY WILL BE ABOUT WHICH WILL THEN ATTRACT THE READER MORE AS IT WOULDN'T BE AS INTRIGUING IF AN IMAGE WASN'T THERE. THIS THEN WOULD NOT HAVE A POSITIVE AFFECT ON THE MAGAZINE AS IT WILL LOOK TOO SIMPLE AND NOT BE VERY EYE CATCHING.
ON ONE OF THE TOP STORIES FEATURES AN ARTICLE ABOUT DRAG QUEENS, SPECIFICALLY Farrah Moan WHO FEATURED ON THE AMERICAN SHOW 'RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE' THIS WILL APPEAL TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE SHOW, DRAG, MAKEUP, LGBT+ COMMUNITY OR IS JUST EVEN FASCINATED BY THE WORLD OF DRAG QUEENS. THIS SECTION IS BARLEY CLASSED AS AN ARTICLE BECAUSE IT ONLY FEATURES A COUPLE SMALL PARAGRAPH EXPLAINING WHATS GOING ON IN THE VIDEO. THE FIRST PART OF THE PARAGRAPH FEATURES A RETORICAL QUESTION WHICH SEEMS TO BE DIRECTED TO THE READER, THIS INVOLVES THE READER MORE AND WILL MAKE THEM FEEL APART OF THE WHOLE TOPIC. THE PARAGRAPHS ALL FEATURE SHORTENED WORDS OR SLAND E.G 'KWEEN' WHICH SUGGEST THE MAGAZINE IS AIMED AT YOUNG FEMALES TOO. ANOTHER WAY THEY'D FEEL INVOLVED IS BECAUSE IT FEATURES A INTERACTIVE QUESTION.
PEOPLE WILL MAINLY CHOOSE TO READ WHAT APPEALS TO THEM THE MOST, JUST LIKE SOMEONE WILL CHOOSE A MOVIE THAT APPEALS TO THEIR FAVOURITE GENRE OR EVEN FAVOURITE ACTOR. THE NUMBER ONE TOPIC IS ALL THE TOP LOOKS FOR THIS YEARS GOLDEN GLOBES. THIS WILL ATTRACT PEOPLE INTERESTED IN FASHION MAINLY OR ATTRACT PEOPLE WHO WILL BE ATTRACTED TO THE PHOTO THAT RESEMBLES THE TOPIC.
Format & Layout
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FORMAT & LAYOUT
the format of this magazine is print. The direct address of this magazine is the artist, lana del rey which has a motif of america. This links to the text ' a modern american icon '. The layout of this magazine is quite simple as well as the colour scheme. The colour scheme features red, white and blue which connotes the american flag. This also creates a house style and repetitive theme for the magazine, as well as conforming to the codes and conventions of nme. The colours are also favoured by both male and female genders which relates to the target audience of the magazine. But, in this issue, red appears to be the most dominant of all the colours which could link to the direct address being a female. The MASTHEAD IS POSITIONED AT THE TOP LEFT CORNER WHICH IS A TYPICAL NME CONVENTION AND IS ALSO UNCONVENTIONAL FOR MAGAZINES AS MOST MAGAZINES MAKE THERE MASTHEADS CENTRAL. Although, nme is a well known magazine, the masthead is in front of the artist to enhance the brand identity and recognition of the magazine.
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By looking at the double page spread it is obvious that the layout is clearly aimed at fans of lana del rey and her music. iT COULD ALSO ATTRACT A YOUNG DEMOGRAPHIC AUDIENCE CONSISTING MAINLY OF FEMALES AS THEY ARE STEREO TYPICALLY THE AUDIENCE WHO LISTEN TO HER MUSIC. The overall style of the dps is modern and professional like. This is created by the use of black and white imagery of the artist along with the use of light blue and orange text's colour scheme. the nme magazine which are known for using simple but effective colour schemes and making them bold and unique. The article features a drop capital at the start of the article and through the middle, this is to make it clear to the reader where a new paragraph starts. This is a common technique for nme magazine and other magazines too.
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By looking at the format of this magazine cover you can instantly tell its print. The reader can also tell the magazine is for teenage girls. Firstly, because the layout is very busy it will make it look like the magazine has lots to offer and a lot to read about which teenagers tend to like. but doesn't take too much away from the direct address which will draw in the reader the most. teenagers will like the amount of stories and gossip as at that point in their life they are interested in all the new trends and gossip, compared to children's magazines they are mainly drawn to images because they would be only just been getting used to reading and writing properly and typically children are more attracted to images.
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The colour palette of this magazine is very bold and poppy which will also help with attracting the audience along with the sell lines.
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because this is a magazine cover there is only one main image. This image in particular is of the main story / topic of the magazine 'Ariana Grande'. This will attract young girls who look up to her mainly or regular readers of the magazine. This image is a mid shot which is quite frequently used because its not too close up and not too far way, so that you can see all the details including the outfit and background.
The dps is has many more examples of who the target audience could be. The dps has quite limited writing and quite a fair amount of images, this could be a drawback for the audience because of the lack of information about Ariana if they are big fans but if someone doesn't know much about her or isn't interested this could be positive as there is not much to read about her. The layout of this dps is quite 'sketchbook' like. This is because some of the pictures are placed with different angles, overlapping and also have boarders around them just like photos in sketchbook which could attract a young audience. On the right hand corner there is an image of a lipstick which could indicate makeup is involved in the article which could attract aspiring make up artists and not just Ariana fans which could double the audience.
