magazine analysis 1: Vogue
(fashion)
Cover:
The masthead is strategically placed at the top of the page, big enough to be visible and recognizable, but also ensuring it doesn't obscure the central image.
The central image is the most important part of the front page, as it is relevant to the purpose and the audience, and is strongly connected to the article itself. The central image acts as a key signifier, it introduces us to the main artist. The artist creates a relationship with the reader, as the picture stands out from the background (it being a simple sky and some grass). The artist is wearing a black jacket which connotes sophistication, manliness, and elegance. He is also wearing a dress under the jacket which connotes power, femininity and promotes a version of men without toxic masculinity. Which acts as a model for young boys, allowing them to express their feelings in different ways. It also shows the fact that it's ok to have a feminine side as a man. The text “HARRY STYLES makes his own rules” attracts the reader and creates a sense of interest to read the magazine. It further adds onto the controversy of him wearing a dress, it shows that he in fact makes his own rules and is confident in his skin. His name is also in capital letters, also being the second largest after the masthead, showing importance.
BABY LOVE also creates interest for the reader, as it states that Emily Ratajowski is pregnant, and makes the reader want to read about it.
The last subheading, FINDING JOY NOW, suggests that there are gifts for everyone, giving the reader the opportunity to possibly win something.
The text above his shoulder in capital letters, shows that it has significance and is around speech marks, suggesting that Harry quoted it.
Contents page:
The title of the contents page is the title of the magazine and the month of the magazine issue, (Vogue December 2020) the title is big, classic and easy to see and read, however they made it a pop of color with a bright red colour. The color red connotes danger, mystery, action, differing it completely to the color pallete of the central picture.
Near the picture is text in a simple font, and is neatly separated and worded so it is clear for the audience what they are reading.
The different parts of the magazine have catchy names making it more appealing to the audience, then making them interested in reading it.
At the side of the page appears to be a section with credits which shows the audience who the models in this magazine are, who worked on the design, who took the photos, who edited the photos, etc.
2 page spread:
This picture of Harry is displayed in a double page spread manner. Harry is still the biggest and most important part of this picture and giving that the picture is displayed on two pages, it shows how significant Harry truly is. He covers a large amount of the two pages and is strategically placed in the middle of the two pages. His face is also placed strategically in a way that when the pages fold, his face isn't in the crease.
The color pallete in this picture is relatively bland, however there is a pop of red on one of the wheels, which could connote danger, blood, action.
Harry is dressed in a very particular way, he is wearing a skirt which has the colors of the background, not having a lot of contrast with the actual background. He is then topless, showing his tattoos significance and it connotes strength, manliness, power,etc. It also shows the male body, showing the fact that he's relatively muscular. And finally is in a pair of what seems to appear as ripped socks, and an old pair of vans, which ties in with the rest of the photo, giving it a homey feel.
The title of this 2 page spread is playtime, and is in the classic font that Vogue uses. This is also the masthead of this page. The text underneath ‘PLAYTIME’ says “ dressing up, making music, living in the moment, this is what matters to Harry styles, Labels? Not so much. This statement proves that Harry and Vogue are trying to promote the fact that labels don't matter as much as people say they do. They are trying to normalise the different fundamental conflicts in our society. This is further proved in the small text placed in the top left corner stating harry’s quote “I find myself looking at womens clothing, thinking they're amazing.” This shows that fashion is a big part of society and vogue, being a fashion magazine, they're promoting the fact that fashion can in fact be for everyone!
In my magazine I do intend to use aa similar 2 page spread as I find it not only aesthetically pleasing however the lack of writing helps the viewer focus on the hidden messages in the pictures.
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magazine analysis 2: ID BOSTON
(interior design)
Cover:
The Masthead uses the ID Boston logo, which is seen on all their publications, so it is easily recognizable. The font is very subtle and elegant, this can suggest the types of articles the magazine contains, while suggesting that it contains more elegant interiors, which would also be influenced by the colors in the picture, neutrals. Since this is a magazine about interior design, and the cover has a picture of an interior that is very elegant and old-fashioned, while the writing is very subtle, it could suggest that the magazine is mostly aimed at grown ups.
The layout of the magazine is very minimalistic, the written information on the cover is hard to read which could encourage the reader to open the magazine and check what it’s about on the inside.
In terms of conventions, it does follow some conventions, such as the byline which is present in the left corner of the cover, stating a few headlines from the articles inside.
Furthermore, it does have a masthead, as I’ve mentioned above, but it is subtle and discrete, contradictory to the usual convention of a bright one. Even though this magazine does not follow all the classic conventions, such as a feature headline, a quote preview or a date and price, most interior design magazines have a more different approach to the cover design, compared to most other magazine genres, so this cover does mostly follow the conventions of an interior design magazine.
Contents:
This page has a clear title at the top stating “in this issue” which is the biggest and attracts the viewer first, so it’s known what this page is all about. Over the catchier title, it states the volume and date of release of the magazine, so the viewer clearly knows which edition this is.
The layout, again, is very minimalistic, only the basic information is shared in the contents “table” such as the page, the title and the topic. Below the table there is some more information shared regarding the contents that would not fit right in the table. Below this, it’s mentioned what is on the cover, and where you could read more about that.
The colour scheme used is very minimalistic; whites, nudes and earthy tones. This makes the magazine look simple, focused and elegant.
2 page spread:
The layout of the page is very minimalistic, as is the design and the writing. There is no eye-catching title, the title of the pages is the location of the houses, so this is only an informative title. Also, there isn’t much writing, and all the writing is very discrete and small, which redirects the viewers attention to the pictures rather than the written information. The pictures are of two separate houses located in two different places, and they are separated on the two pages, so the magazine can be properly closed and opened without any creases forming on the pictures. The pictures don’t seem to be very edited, or naturally edited, so the color scheme is neutral, with a lot of beiges and darker old-fashioned colors, that the interior of the houses contain. The background of the page is white so that it doesn’t distract the viewer from the main focus, the pictures. Furthermore, the logo of the magazine is present in the top right corner as a small subtle detail, while in the left bottom corner there is a footer
I liked the idea of a fairly minimalist cover such as the one used in this magazine. It bugs me when the writing overlaps with the cover photo as it gives it a sense of crowdedness, which I find not pleasing.
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magazine analysis 3: NYLON
Cover:
The masthead refers to the name of the magazine and is displayed at the top of the magazine, The name of the magazine identifies what the magazine is about, the name NYLON - which is a clothing material, makes us aware that the magazine is one regarding fashion. The colours used for the background design of the magazine are very bright and youthful, catering to younger audiences. From the colours used we can understand that the target reader audience is young, from teenagers up to adults of ages ranging from 18-20-30-35, with issues that are relevant and interesting to read about for people of these ages. The main image of this cover is a Black and white picture of Shailene Woodley who is an American actress. The combination created by the background and the main image being black and white, gives the reader the feeling of a collage, which again is a denotation to the target audience of the magazine being younger women/girls. The black and white photo balances out the very bright background, in such a way that the magazine is still eye catching but not overwhelmingly colorful or confusing. The main cover line is “Shailene Forever” which informs the potential reader that the woman on the cover is Shailene Woodley without clearly writing her name on the cover. The magazine is able to do this because of the sureness that their target audience knows this public figure just by the first name, without needing the second name for the identification.
Contents:
The title of the contents page is the month of the magazine issue, the title is big and in all capital letters which makes it clear and easy to see and read, however still keeping the playfulness going from the cover with the bright pink colour and stars in the background, yet again catering to the target audience. The contents page is divided into 2 columns which is a convention of magazines, this is done as it makes it clear for the audience what to read first and everything is set out neatly. The categories of the contents page have catchy names using terms and slang that teenagers use to make it more appealing to their targeted age of the audience. At the bottom of the page there is a small paragraph with credits which gives the audience insight on who the models that were photographed in this magazine are as well as who worked on the design, photographer , editor, executive director etc. this gives the readers an insight into the behind the scenes of making the magazine and also makes it more personal. The main image on the page is the largest, and is a picture of a teenage girl which further reasures the readers that the targeted audience for this magazine is of younger women/ teenage girls.
2 page spread:
The title of the article is “retro realness” which is a play on words with modern phrases and words used among teenagers and part of the vocabulary younger people use, which makes it appealing and interesting to read to younger people/teenagers. The color scheme of both pages is a continuity of the cover page and contents page with the bright and happy colors, predominantly pink and light blue. The effect of a collage-like design is kept all throughout the magazine, with the text being placed on top of the pictures making it look like it's been cut out and printed on paper and stuck onto a wall or journal, yet again appealing to the target audience of young adults/teenagers. Same thing relates to the illustration which has a watercolor effect and makes it look like someone coloured it directly on the magazine page. The pictures on the double spread are of young girls, to which the readers ( also young girls) can compare themselves to and relate to. Furthermore, the pictures are presented and arranged on the page like they've been stuck on a wall as polaroids , which is a growing trend in teenage girls’ rooms/ journals. The brush font has a connotation of spontaneity, playfulness and has the effect that it's been handwritten on the page which works well in combination with the collage effect of the cover and bullet journal effect of both the contents and the double spread pages.
Looking at the general view of the cover, we can see that the text is mostly small and less noticeable, this makes the viewer concentrate more on the main cover photograph than on the written information.
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