Research/Case Studies 6

Billboards contents page is packed full of information. It doesn’t have a limited colour palette. It’s very colourful but has a plain white background. This still gives it a formal concept.

The Masthead‘Contents’ is in a black and bold large font. That makes it stand out amongst all the other information on the page. It has white lines in each of the letters this makes it look like it’s been stencilled on, which gives it a more urban look.

On the right of the contents page, there’s a table showing what is number one in charts. It’s broken up into ‘albums’, ‘songs’ and top songs that are on billboards. It’s shown as if its awards as it have ‘top internet’ album and top ‘active rock’song. The awards are on the left column and the artists names are on the right column.

Under the Masthead it shows two close up images and one long shot, of well-known celebrities with their page number at the bottom left of the image. Whereas the main image of the female artist it has her page number next to her shoe. They possibly don’t have their names or teasers next to them, as they may have been spoken about on the front of cover of the magazine.

The overall layout of the contents page is organised as everything is in its particular section. So that it doesn’t come across confusing to the target audience and it shows that it is an expensive magazine. As the layout is neatly done.

Research case studies 5

The Masthead is in a black and bold font and is the largest text on the page, so it stands out. It’s been split into three lines, having the most amount of letters on the second line. This gives the title a fun and quirky look.

This Vibe contents page has a limited colour palette of only three colours, Black, Grey and Red. This gives the whole design an old fashioned and formal appearance. They put the large ‘V’ behind the image and text, to still show that it’s vibe magazine. The Red heart is what they want the readers to be drawn to, as it’s the only thing on the page that’s in colour. It’s also been placed on the main image of Kanye West, by an anonymous hand illustrating where his heart should be. Which portrays that Kanye doesn’t have a heart. Relating to what the text on the page says, that questions if his been misunderstood. The hand could symbolise fans, that don’t know him but are judging him.
The main feature of the page is the main image of Kanye West, which is a medium close up of him. It shows him making direct contact with the audience to build intimacy. He has no facial expression, which makes him hard to read but is clear that his not happy. He has both hands in his pocket, showing that his not very confident. His dressed quiet smart and is wearing a blazer that is presently in fashion now, relating to the features of fashion that are in the magazine. His overall body language is very negative as well as the colour scheme of the magazine. As it’s has the theme of love, as the main features of the magazine are, ‘tortured’, ‘the fallen solider’ and ‘heartbreak’.

The Coverlines titles ‘Features’ and ‘Fashion’, are in a bold, italic font. Building a more old fashioned look. The text underneath are all in capitals and still act as teasers by not giving too much of the information to the readers. The numbers of the pages are put before the text as it’s the most important and it’s easier for readers to see it.

The coverlines only shows the information that was on the front page and they are further in the magazine as they start from ’64’. This makes readers look at all the other articles in the magazine before looking at the articles and information that they originally wanted to see.

At the bottom right corner of the contents page, it shows where the magazine is from‘New York city’ and the publishers that helped put it together.

Research Case Studies 4

This double page spread has a limited colour palette of black, red and white. Red represents danger and evil. White represents cleanliness. The main image is of Florence Welsh, who is UK artist that is currently a band.

It’s very hard for UK artists to get into the USA and …have managed to that. They have used one of the lines from their famous song ‘got the love’. This indicates that the USA has now got the love for them.

The font of the text is in italic writing, which is very formal and old fashioned. The layout of the columns is also very formal. This shows that the content of the article could be very serious.

The sheet that is on top of the steps is in red and white strips, to represent the American flag. The steps show how the group have now, climbed up to the top of the music industry.

The main image is a long shot; it takes up the whole of the left side of the page, which shows that Florence is very important. The colour of Florence’s hair is the same colour used in the flag, which makes her hair colour more vibrant. This hair colour is also in style nowadays, as it used to be a colour that people would avoid but now it is back in fashion. She’s making direct eye contact with the audience which builds intimacy.

Her body language shows that she’s very confident, as she is wearing nothing on her legs and has them stretched out. This pose is targeted more at the male audience, as females will be more interested in the shoes that she is wearing. She’s wearing a dress that has black cones on her breasts, which is showing that she’s trying to build the same fashion statement, as Lady Gaga. Her clothing is in all back which represents, darkness and death. This colour goes with the sub title of the double page spread ‘why is Florence Welch lying on her floor attacking herself’. As it shows there’s a dark side that her fans don’t know about. The overall appearance of the magazine is very simple, clear and formal.

Research Case Studies 3

The masthead of Vibe’s front cover is in a thick bold, white font and is the largest text on the page. Consumers are able to see it clearly amongst other competitors that Vibe may have. It’s positioned behind the image of Lil Wayne, which shows that Lil Wayne is more important than the magazine name, in this issue. The first letter ‘V’ in the name isn’t straight showing that the magazine content may not be completely formal.

The skyline lists worldwide artists that will be in the magazine which will attract readers. The text is in bold for ‘Meek Mill’ and ‘Common’ as they are the most important artists for this issue amongst the other artists in the list.

The Main image is a medium close up of Lil Wayne, his body language shows that his confident and in control. His head is held high showing that his important and above us. This is shown further by him wearing a red and gold sailor’s jacket with a feathered hat meaning that he is the captain. The red connotates danger and passion, when it’s presented with gold it connotates power and wealth. His wearing a pair of sunglasses with stars going across his right eye, indicating that he could possibly be looking up at the American flag as a sign of respect. On the other hand it could show that he best or the leader in that country, in the music industry, connecting to the anchorage saying ‘leading man?’.

He has a cross on his neck showing that his religious. He then has a red clock underneath which represents something negative about the time because of its colour.

The Sell lines have artists names in a large font, so it stands out from the other text and portrays that it’s an R&B magazine.

The structure of the magazine is very formal as it doesn’t consist of loads of bright colours and arrows. But keeps to a limited colour pallet 3 main colours; black, white and red. The price is £4.99; it’s shown in a small font as it could be expensive, for its target buyers. So Vibe have made sure that readers like everything that is already on the magazine, before noticing the pricing. The £4.99 is psychological pricing as they don’t make the price the full £5 as they want it to seem cheaper. The bar code is placed at the front of the magazine, as it’s not a book

At the bottom of the page in small print, Vibe explains that it doesn’t agree with everything ‘Chris Rock’ has said about ‘Waka’. Vibe makes it completely clear by saying that Vibe loves ‘Waka’ after stating their view. This tells us that there may be some sort of conflict between Chris Rock and Waka in one of the articles. Vibe does this so there consumers don’t think that there bias and are following the opinion of another artist or trying to persuade people to think the same views as Chris Rock. As this may affect their sales and lose consumers.

Vibe focuses on celebrities, fashion, music, lifestyle and the business about urban music. It has an audience of 58% male and 42% Female, with 77.1% of them being over the age of 21. They have over 15 websites, which have over 13 million monthly consumers

Research/Case Studies 2

College Magazine is an American magazine targeted for students in further education .

The Masthead is the largest text on the magazine and is in a bright blue font that represents cool and fresh. This shows that the magazine was issued at the start of a new term and relates to Mike Posner, as he is known for being ‘cool’. The main image overlaps the magazine name as the image is more important. The magazine is already well established so readers do not need to see the whole name to recognise it.

The Anchorage text tells us why Mike Posner is on the front, which explains why it is at the top and in bold next to his head. Therefore, readers are more likely to see it first before, before reading the other text. The text is in gold which connotates being the best and a winner. This therefore relates to what it says ‘Mike Posner is cooler than you’. They used the word ‘cooler’ as this also relates to the name of his first song which was a hit and went to number Readers should relate to this. The word ‘You’ is used to direct readers to the text as it encourages them to want to find out why they refer to them.

The text underneath isn’t in bold like the Anchorage text as its not as important but it advertises a new artist ‘1st world tour’. This is placed under the a worldwide artist, as they know people interested in music are more likely going to see it, having recognised Posner. Additionally, the new artist could be of the same genre and so they may be interested in buying tickets.

The sell lines have one part of its text in bold and a different colour, thus highlighting the most important information to grab its’ readers attention. They also try not to give to much information about everything by using rhetorical questions or quotes .‘ I slept with my professor’ -Illustrating a shocking story that won’t been in any other magazine. Although the speaker is anonymous, it is evident that it was a student, (which are the target audience).

The question ‘Should I break up with my major?’ , is written as if it is a relationship when in fact it is a course, the readers focus on the aspect of it being a relationship because that is what they have told themselves. Its also a question that most students would be asking as well, this persuades them to purchase the magazine to receive a different view and advice from another student.

This follows on to the next line of ‘Careers Do’s and Don’t’s‘ which is a catchy term that you are likely to remember. This also lends advice to students portraying further that its a magazine for college students.

Texting and finding out the latest gossip is what teenagers are most interested in. So by having a line stating ‘Texts from last night’ draws them in and entices them to buy as it doesn’t say what it’s going to be about . It also says ‘get the 411’which is a simplified way of communicating about getting the latest and best gossip. This splits the magazine into a gossip one as well as one to go for to get advice.

Sarcasm is used in one of the sell lines insinuating that its always‘hot in Philadelphia’ , In fact it is known that its not and a rhetorical question is used to see if people found it offensive. Instead it is thought to be ‘hilarious’. This intrigues readers with what occurred in that interview and what was actually talked about.

The main image of Mike Posner shows him with his head held high which shows that he is confident and his eyes are looking directly at the readers to build intimacy. He is also smiling showing that his happy and content. His body language shows that through his confidence he is ready to take whatever is pulled out in front of him as his hands are clasped together. He possibly could be religious as well as its the sign people do when they are about to pray. He has expensive jewellry on, to show off that he has money and is wearing all black which has a connotation of danger.

The layout of the magazine is quiet formal as it has complete straight lines and everything is in a certain order.This shows that it is quiet a serious magazine. It has a limited colour palette of 3 colours. The colours of the text dominate, as the main image is in black. The magazine is ‘100% free’ which is a play on words, its in capitals so readers can see it clearly. The bar code is at the front of the magazine as books have it at the back and its has the website of the magazine underneath so readers can find out more.

Research/Case Studies 1

Billboard is a newsweekly magazine that produced in the US and covers the music industry, Its targeted at ages above 16.

The masthead of the magazine Billboard is always in white in every issue as its the companies logo. So it stands out from any colour thats ever in the background of any issue, making it recognisable for the readers. It’s behind the main image that is Rihanna as she’s more important than the magazine, because its already an established magazine that don’t need to show the name and this issue is substantially about Rihanna.

The skyline is in a yellow, bold font and stands out with the masthead, by having the same yellow that is in the letter ‘d’.

It promotes to readers about a special attraction thats happening this month as the magazine was issued on october 16th and the ‘Film and TV music conference’ is on october 27th-28th. The forceful language ‘register now’ persuades readers to sign up for it now before its too late and the quickest way to do it, Is by buying the magazine to do so. Billboard also shows that it commonly advertises events as it has its own website for it ‘Billboardevents.com’.

The Anchorage text has ‘Rihanna’ spread out along the middle of the page and is in the same size font as the masthead. The font isn’t as formal as the other text on the page which shows that it will be an informal interview and more playful. This portrays further that Rihanna is more important. They used the term ‘Re-Re’which is Rihanna’s nickname, this interlinks with the quote from Rihanna ‘My fans don’t really know who I am’, which is a play on words as it illustrates a double meaning. Furthermore by saying ‘The re-re invention of Rihanna’ it shows that she’s really coming out of her image and sharing her real self. The quote stimulates that Rihanna has a dark side as she’s known for being a sensitive and caring person from interviews.

The sell lines are in a lot smaller font than everything else on the page as its not as important as Rihanna. ‘Soundscan Q3 Report’ is in a rectangle box , so that its still noticeable on the page. But it’s not in a circle, so the structure of the magazine stays formal. This line shows the readers that they are more serious and are interested about the music industry behind the scenes and latest news‘Digital sales set to exceed physical’.

‘Bull on Parade’is a catchy phrase which sounds like the animal not the actual person‘Pitbull’, to grab readers attention.

‘Multiformat, Multimedia’ is a use of alliteration, this is done to make ‘Pitbulls’ event stay in your head and sound like a fun event to attend to, with the latest technology.

Billboard also shows updates from events that have happened, giving readers the news. To convince them too look inside to find out anything that they may have missed‘Newsmarkers, winners from mobile entertainment live’

The main image of the magazine is Rihanna looking directly at the camera for intimacy,her red hair and red lips can insinuate danger, evil and love. There’s a black shadow in the background covering some of the roses displaying death and darkness, where as the roses connote love. So it could be presenting that Rihanna is going to hide her loving side. Her body language is targeted for the male audience as she’s trying to be seductive as she looks as if she’s crawling. She’s wearing a crop top thats in a pale yellow that connotes happy aspects sunshine and happiness but on the other hand shows her tattoo of a gun which also connotes negative aspects like danger and death. Which contradicts the readers of what she’s trying to display.

The pricing of the magazine is in a small font as its £5.50, which is psychological pricing as it makes you believe your getting it for a cheaper price. There are different prices such as the US dollars which shows that its a worldwide magazine. At the bar code they have two websites which shows that they are a big company and they also have Rihanna’s official website at the bottom.

The whole layout of the magazine is formal as everything consists of straight lines and It has a limited colour palette of 3 main colours.

Planning the Project

Planning the Project: Production Schedule

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