Cover 2

This Magazine cover has been given the nam 'Source.' I think this is an appropriate title for this magazine because it refers to the magazine providing the reader with information on this particular genre of music.

The title also shows an image of a hand holding a microphone replacing the circle from the centre of the 'O' This represents the importance of the music and the value of performing.

The magazine also uses repetition to reinforce the genre of the music. 'Hip-hop' is repeated several times. Both in columns and in the tagline.

The Masthead and the border around the magazine are both in Gold, this is used as the colour Gold represents, winning and wealth, both words used to describe the personalities and feelings associated with this type of music, and its perfomers.

The image is central to the page, It is ane extreme close up. This exsentuates the importance of the artist. Indications are also given by the way she is pointing at the camera, to the stereotypical attitude the artists have. The image is also very posed.

Double page spread

The double page spread depicts a continuous theme with the rest of the magazine. The roman Numerals in Gold feature on the left hand side of the page on each page in the magazine, this is also accompanied by a normal page number on the bottom right hand side of every page. This also shows that the readers are likely to not be paying alot of attention to the roman numerals, and they are there for artistic effect.

The pages also display a white strip at the top and bottom of each of the two pages making the double page spread. This shows that the page are linked together.

The article featured on the double page spread also continues with the theme of aspirers. The title of "It was all a dream" bears little relevance to the short paragraph underneath. Especially as the page has little text we rely on the photograph dominating both pages to tell the story. This makes the page very visual. The title is quite small in comparison to the image, and is also situated on the right hand side of the page, this is so that is doesn't detract from the image. The article also gives the impression of its importance, as the text is short and concise, it shows that the picture does justice to the story as the people they are talking about are photographed. A great amount of detail is not needed as the bear facts speak for themselves.

The title i believe to have been chosen because it reflects the lifestyle of the class of people interviewed. The two people photographed are well dressed, and look of the higher wealthy class that is stereotypically associated with this type of music and its success. Linked with 'Living the dream.'

The title font is again bold. Similar to every title i have looked at. The colour however is shown to represent diamonds on the word 'dream' This again links with the wealthy and privileged lifestyle associated with this genre of music, and again will appeal to aspirers.

The colours featured on the page are monochrome. This is because the other small items features will stand out more on the back of this. There are a couple of small items such as a gold necklace that the man featured in the photograph is wearing, this stands out due to the background colours.

The language used on the spread is also quite formal 'legacy' and 'notorious' this is in keeping with the formal image of the models on the page, who are dressed in suits and hats. This keeps the formal feeling throughout the article.

The image on the page suggest a close relationship between the man and women, The man poses as a stereotypical man: Suit, hat, tie. He has his arm around a women who also is dressed smartly, however she is laying down showing his domineering nature. They both have very serious expressions. They look to be in an expensive car. The seating in cream leather, contrasting the black colours of their clothes and providing a good basis of contrasting colours to the page. The setting of the photo shoot looks quite luxurious and this is once again in keeping with the formal and expensive look of the magazine.

Contents

This is the contents page for the 'XVibe' magazine it displays a serif bold font for the different paragraph title. Each associated with a different story. The font has quite a modern appearance associated with the modern appearance and feel of the the magazine.

The use of colour on the page in quite diverse. There is a wide range of colour used. This shows a contrast to the cover page as there was only 3 main colours used. Blue, Black and White. Whereas here we see the use of Red, Yellow, Blue and Green, still incorporating the colours from the front page so as to keep the consistency of the appearance. The thought behind this use of colours is to tell a story and make the page aesthetically pleasing. The colours are quite earthy and reflect the genre of music and how diverse it can be to the listeners. There a still quite a large element of black and white on the contents page as well this once again is in keeping with the cool, and relaxed image of the artists.

The language on the contents page is once again informal and relaxed. 'Mix and Mingle' and 'Get the party started' are positive words which could be associated with the social element of the music and words the readers could associate with. 'who ya with? Is an abbreviation and an example of slang language, common in such social groups. There is also repetition of the letter 'V' naming the magazine e.g. 'Vfashion' this is to reinforce the name of the magazine, acting as a reminder to the reader of the magazine name and its connection the articles and artists featured in the magazine.

The images featured on the contents page are in a montage layout. They don't follow the formal grid layout that magazine pages should follow. This also continues the relaxed informal attitude followed throughout the magazine. There is a mix of images on the left hand side of the page, they all display anime drawing or painting of famous artists, This has been done to provide a portfolio of well respected artists. This boosts the profile of the magazine as they need licenses to show pictures of such artists and subconsciously makes the reader think they are closer to the artists for buying the magazine that has connections with them. This once again comes into the class of people buying the magazine. Aspirers.

There is an even divide between the shots that are posed and those that are relaxed shots. The images are all of famous artists, once again an equal divide between male and female. This has been purposely done to appeal to the different genders of the target audience. However the majority of the bands or artists on this page are not all internationally recognised. This infiltrates the magazine into its niesh American market, as not all British people would recognise the artists pictured.

Vibe Magazine Analysis - Cover

I have chosen the RnB genre of magazine to analyse. The magazine is American and features and American Rnb artist on the cover. The Magazine appeals to a niesh market of Rnb Listeners and features mainly different but similar artists inside. Therefore appealing to the market.

The title shown on the front cover of the magazine is 'X Vibe.' I believe this title has been chosen mainly because it reflects the deeper meaning of music and the 'vibe' that music brings by linking people together. It also depicts a certain thought process for this genre of music as this type of magazine will be purchased by people who's favourite genre of music in RnB and who have an appreciation for this type of music.

The font on the magazine cover is immediately noticeably Bold. It is also a Serif Font. The peripheral text surrounding the image also appears to be very important and informative for this reason. The font is quite modern due to its bold aesthetics and size. The font is intentionally large. This is because the image on the cover is also large and it would be easy for the image to detract from the surrounding sub-heading, which obviously are important for the reader to read, firstly to become interested in the magazine and therefore buy it. Due to this the font is large and bold to serve its purpose to advertise the inside stories. Its serif font, get the point across quickly and efficiently with little fuss.

The background of the cover is white, this acts as a contrasting colour to the dark imaging appearing on the cover, clearly making it stand out and catch the eye. This serves the purpose of advertising well.

The image in the middle in of a famous artist 'JayZ' He is clothed in one of the most versatile colours, black. The reason behind this is that the cover is not distracted by another other vibrant colours which would take the focus away from the selling point of the magazine, JayZ.

The main achorage point of the image on the front, is the cake. This particular issue is celebrating the nirthday of the magazine, and therefore feautures a cake in the cover. This acts as the main focus for the page and would initiate an element of curiosity in the reader as to what special contents the magazine may be including as it is a special edition.

The main features of the magazine are highlighted in a lighter shade of blue. Stereotypically associated with 'cool' It also makes the features stand out, and in this instance the numbers highlighted in blue are numbers associated to the quantity of for example songs reviewed inside.

The use of language on the cover of the magazine establishes the target audience. Use of words such as 'Cakin' is an example of polysemic language this means it has two meanings and would familiar to a regular reader to this type of magazine and therefore would only be purchased by someone who understands this use of language. In this example a picture of a cake is on the cover representing a birthday and this word could also be accepted as a term associated with a mood or action. This is also an example of an abbreviation which also shows the relaxed and informal style of the magazine. Especially as it isn't a proper formal dict ionised English word. Finally the magazine uses the words 'special' and 'juice issue' all descriptive words used to sell the magazine. In this case the magazine displays the fact it is a special edition due to its birthday. Accompanied by this the magazine poses unique selling points claiming this issue is better than normal, mainly to boost sales.
The use of alliteration is also quite apparent on the page words such as 'video vixen' and 'beyonce, builds and Barack' This is catchy and inkeeping with the street language and cool dialect.
The magazine interesting doesnt pose a strap line, this coukd be because for this particualr issue the magazine main focus is on the 15th anniversary and in this instance the advertisment of that is taking the place of the usual strap line.
The main flash of the magazine links to the artist in the cover. It is the main story in this case of the news and stories surrounding jayZ, his music carreer, being in the public eye and his home and personal life.


The target audience in my opinion is 17-30 year old, specifically interested in the Rnb scene and genre of music.

From the magazine website http://www.vibe.com/ VIBE magazine is the definitive voice of urban culture, influencing global music, life, and style for more than eight million readers around the world.

In addition to this the target audience of the magazine would be interested in the news and fashion associated with RnB. The gender would be both male and female as the magazine features appealing news and stories for both genders. The target audience would have quite a relaxed music orientated disposition and music would feature quite heavily in both there social and everyday life. The nationality of the target audience would be Black Culture.

The magazine cover is also in keeping with psychographics of magazine design, within this the magazine has been intentionally designed to appeal to different consumer personality types. Market research has been done to put people into these 'types.' In the example of 'XVibe' the main classified targeted audience is, Individualists. This means the people who would purchase this magazine are different and confirm this through buying the magazine and getting the message across that they are happy to be this way. They would be interested in an alternative way of dressing and the reading around there interest in music.

The image on the front cover suggests an angry and aggressive appearance, due to the black clothing and the artist holding a knife. However the image also is trying to get a message across, as the cake that is position below the knife represent the anniversary of the magazine which then puts a lighter and less serious contrast to the image. The facial expression of the artist also looked strained and expressionless. He is clearly making an effort to look up at the camera rather than standing square on to the camera with it in his eye line. The position of the artist is also quite relaxed and informal which is once again in keeping with the style of the magazine. Because the image is not posed it looks more 'real' and 'urban', and therefore is a live shot. Once again proving to be the kind of look the fashion and appearance conscious target audience will look for.

One of the main sells is the choice of artist in the cover. The choice of the artist they have used has been intentionally placed as the artist is one of the most well respected and recognised Rnb artists of this time. It also makes the magazine look more professional and interconnected with well respected artists. People will also want to buy this magazine as the artist featured will have been interviewed inside, and readers of this magazine will listen to his music and therefore follow his life and have an interest in what he has to say. Finally his appearance on the cover adds to his iconic style with his stereotypical slanted hat and large gold chain, this will appeal to those who admire his fashion. The class of people who want to be like the artists.

The artist is internationally recognised making the magazine more diverse and sell able in several different countries, boosting magazine sales and therefore proving most successful.

Also in this particular edition the magazine is celebrating its birthday and because of this it acts as one of the main sells, claiming to be a special edition and therefore creating curiosity amongst the readers about what the issue will contain to make it special.

Information presented on the cover include a bar code, as a standards requirement to sell within a character recognition approved shop, to retain a price, which in this case is £3.75. From this price we can see that the magazine is a slightly more sophisticated and more expensive version of the more typical music magazine currently on the market, mainly due to its niesh market. The magazine also displays the date and issue number, both vital pieces of information to both the company who make the magazine to log the issue number and the date of issue, and the readers alike. With this information regular readers are able to find out which precise date the magazine goes on sale. With the issue number they can log the amount of issues they have read and any they should miss.

Finally the cover displays the magazine website, this will provide the readers with any extra information they may require and will also give them information on other magazines the company may print, also raising the profile of the company and other magazine.

This particular issue consists of 157 pages. The stories of the main flash are mainly to do with music, fashion and the stories surrounding the artist on the cover.