Vibe Feature Article Analysis

The feature article begins with a letter, presumably the same letter that was referenced on the cover. The first thing that strikes the reader is that certain parts of the text have been highlighted yellow. It is not immediately apparent whether the publication editor or the writer of the letter highlighted these sections however interest is created.
Unusually for a letter this one appears to have a title, the title being the writer of the letter. We can then see that this doesn’t end as a traditional letter usually does, as there is no closing statement, i.e. yours sincerely or yours faithfully. Instead is the writers signature and the logo for his political campaign, which is of the same colour scheme used for the front cover of the magazine. Below this an American the posting address, perhaps to encourage the idea that this is an approachable politician who would be welcoming to letters and queries.
The letter begins, ‘Dear Vibe readers,’ which addresses the audience directly, making them feel immediately included in what is being written.
The layout of the page is very specific. It has been designed to appear as though the letter has been typed and printed on a sheet of paper and they positioned on the magazine page. The outline of the sheet that the letter has been printed on is visible on parts of the page and the ‘Vibe’ logo at the top of the page has been slightly obscured.
There is also a date at the top of the letter that indicates it was written two months before the printing and distribution of this magazine. There is some dead space on and around the letter and this may be to ensure that focus is concentrated on the letter itself.

The first double page spread of the feature article is taken up by a photograph of Barack Obama standing in front of The U.S. Capitol Building. The photograph is at a slightly lowered angle looking up and out to the left. Obama, who is the only person in the photograph, is positioned at the bottom right of the image and takes up approximately half of the right page. The title of the article, The Tipping Point, illustrates the angle the photograph. The title is the largest font on the page, a similar shade to Obama’s tie and is positioned under the summary of the article. It also fits around the outline of the building, which is a typical image related to American politics. The text (the summary an the title) is also at the same angle as the photograph and emphasizes the tipping action. There is also an American flag visible at the top of the building and the far left end of the building and further solidifies the political theme of the article.

Vibe Contents Page Analysis

Contents Page 1/3

The contents page of the November 08 issue of Vibe magazine follows many of the conventions of the music magazine genre. The title of the piece is positioned at the top of the page; however, originality has been created by the way the word ‘contents’ has been broken up into different sections therefore appearing more compact as it takes up only a limited section of the page. The title is established as so because it is the largest font on the page, and is in bold sans serif therefore implying importance. To the right of this, slightly to the right is ‘1/3’ indicating that the contents listings are spread over three pages. This is quite important as the different contents pages are separated with numerous pages of advertisements.
The image on the page is of the same subject used on the front cover. This creates consistency throughout the publication because the reader can connect the front page to the contents of the magazine. This image is a mid shot, therefore showing much more of the subject. The professional and political theme has been carried on through the colour scheme on this page. Although it is not the same as the front cover, it is black, grey and white, which mirrors he colours used as a mark of the American recession, which many of the target readership should be able to relate to. The background of the page is white, which creates a dramatic contrast between the black font and the rest of the page. The page also has a grey ‘V’ in the background, the signature identification of the magazine. This ‘V’ is obscured by the image of Barack Obama, whose attire matches the colour scheme of the page, with his grey tie, white shirt and black suit. Obama is smiling in this image, therefore creating an inviting atmosphere. The image has been place slightly off centre on the page to allow space for the contents listings.
On this contents page, the listings have been divided into sections, features and fashion, and the titles of these sections are in a different typeface. A serif font has been used, which is much softer than the sans serif font used on the rest of the page. The page numbers are in bold black font and the titles of the features are in bold grey font. This allows them to become points of reference so that the reader doesn’t need to read the entire listings to find what they are looking for.

Contents Page 2/3

The second contents page of this issue is similar to the first. The title of the page, contents, is in the same broken format as it was on the first contents page; however, on this occasion it is smaller and positioned at the top left of the page. This shows progression from the first contents page. The image used on this page slightly obscures the contents title, which is a convention of music magazines. This contents page is similar to the first contents page in terms of colour scheme, however this page seems slightly darker as the image is in grey scale rather than full colour, which makes the image colder and more striking. Yet again the image is positioned in order to allow space for the contents listings. The image is of a well-known American basketball player, and further emphasises Vibe’s values of including sport in their publication.
The contents listing are of the same layout as the previous contents page, however in this page there appears to be some divisional lines, which separate different topics. This may be to indicate that although the subjects are under the same main title, they are not related in any way.

Contents Page 3/3

The third and final contents page is of a slightly different layout to the previous two contents pages. The first thing that is apparent is that the page has been split horizontally across the page, roughly to the ratio of 3:1. The top of the page, which is the bigger section, is the final section of the contents page and the smaller section is information on the magazine website and its features.
The next difference that stands out is the use of image. In the contents pages previous the main image has been either cropped so that they background is edited out or made the image the background itself. On this page however, the image is it’s own entity and stands alone from the contents listings. This image is in the style of an old photograph and reflects the family values that this publication holds. The image is of a woman and a young girl and the positioning of the subjects indicates the type of warmth that is associated with the love a mother gives to her child. At the same time, the magazines principles on fashion are also reflected because in the top right hand corner of the image is a list of the model’s attire. Therefore, depending on the audience’s connotation of the image, this page could be either family or fashion orientated.
To the left of the image is the repeated ‘contents’ title, in the same format as the other pages and is the same reduced size as on the second page.
The bottom quarter of the contents page is surrounded by a very bold border, made up of 5 think lines. One of the lines is broken to allow space for some information about blogging on the magazine site. By doing this, they have made the design more interesting and been able to add information without cluttering the page. The title of this section, Vibe.com, has been placed on a vertical axis, making more space of the rest of the text. It is in the biggest font in this section and is followed by a colon, suggesting to the reader that all the following information is about this site. The most important arts of the text are in bold red font and are followed by a colon and more information on the topic.
On each of the contents pages there is a small paragraph stating whom the photographer and the stylist was for the photograph. This placed either as close to or on the photograph. It is the smallest text on the page and is meant to take up minimal space.

Vibe Cover Analysis

The front cover of the November 08 issue of Vibe magazine follows many of the conventions of the music magazine genre. The general layout of the front cover is conventional. The masthead is positioned at the top of the page in the largest font, as it is important for the reader to be able to identify the publication. The colour scheme for the house style of the magazine has been established on the cover. The colours red and blue have been repeated in the font against a white background, perhaps to emphasize the political theme of this issue. The choice of white for the background helps define the political theme of the issue and the feature politician’s values. Only using three colours is conventional of a music magazine. All the font on front cover is in sans serif, apart from the quotation, and this helps create uniformity and defines the house style. There is no ‘dead space’ on the cover of the magazine, which suggests that this is a full and exciting issue. Immediately above the masthead is a strap line, highlighting the importance of this issue. Although this is in smaller font than the rest of the text on the page, its importance is made clear by the way it is positioned so close to the masthead and that it is in bold. The main strap line on the front cover is positioned centrally to the left of the page. ‘OBAMA’ is the largest font of the page, excluding the masthead. It is further distinguished by the blue colour, which is only otherwise used on the ‘V’ of the masthead. It is posited directly to the left of the cropped image of Barack Obama, which connects the surrounding strap lines to him. The connection is further anchored by additional text directly above, which reads ‘An Exclusive Letter From’ which gives the reader further information to the content of this feature. This is another convention of music magazines. Underneath this is a paragraph, leading with quite an extensive strap line ‘ Real Talk 99 Stars On The Most Important Election Ever’. This is then followed by a paragraph of names R’n’B and hip hop artist, all in the same font, however, some names are in bold, some are in larger font and the most predominant names in large red font. The final strap line is considerably smaller than the others, perhaps to show its relevance to the rest of the issue. However, it is in the same blue hue that was used for the word ‘Obama’, and therefore unity is created across the cover to include this final strap line. The choice of image used on the cover of a music magazine is essential to defining the genre of the music magazine and attracting the target audience. The politician featured on this front cover, Barack Obama, would be familiar to not only the target readership, but also many American citizens and anyone else who is following the US presidential elections. This may be used as a ploy to attract more people to purchasing this issue than usual. The core readership for Vibe magazine is 17 to 34 American, of both gender, and the values of the magazine are defined as ’courageous, soulful, and devoted to the music, entertainment, sports, fashion, media, arts, and politics of our new, stridently multicultural, modern society’. Therefore, when looking at the cover we should be able to identify how the core readership is targeted and how the magazines values are expressed. The photograph has been cropped to show only half of Obama’s face and very little of his clothing. It is clear he is wearing a shirt, which suggests professionalism and connects well to the political theme. The close up camera shot is very striking and creates intensity, especially the way that he appears to be looking straight at the reader.

Magazine Analysis

Another aspect of my research is to do a detailed analysis of a magazine that is of the same genre as the one I am planning to produce. As I am not producing an entire magazine I have not analysed the whole magazine; just the cover page, the conents pages and the feature article.

The key features that I must take into consideraton are:
The layout, i.e. how many coloumns there are, where are the titles and images positioned etc.
The colour scheme
The house style
The camera angles
The punctuation i.e. exclamation marks
The connotations associated with different features.

The magazine I have chosen to analyse is the November '08 issue of Vibe magazine, an American publcation of a similar genre to the magazine I am planning to produce. This particular issue is very political and this may therefore effect the house style that the magazine usually has.

The Questionnaire

To begin my research I have designed and distributed a questionnaire to 30 people of my target audience. My aim was to gather as much relevant information as possible into what my audience would want and expect from my magazine.

I limited myself to 12 questions, the last question beng an open question for any other suggestions. I did this because people can become dispondant when faced with alot of in detail questions. I also made as many of the questions as possible tick box questions.

Before drawing up the questionnaire i thought about all the questions I wanted answered, such as:
what colour scheme would be most approprate?
what type of photograph would be most effective?
what type of typeface should be used?
what other subjects are my target audience interested in?

I will distribute my questionnaire in varous different ways:
- by hand
- e- mail
- myspace bulletins

I will organise these results into charts so that the results are easy to analyse.

Copy and paste the url to download a copy of my questionnaire:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ewz2jytcjjy

Magazine Email

For my research, I must look at one magazine in detail to analyse the key features that are applicaple to that genre.

My first choice of magazine was XXL, an american hip-hop magazine, however I have encountered a fewer difficulties:
- the college email would not let me send an email to the publishing company because it has the intials 'XX'
- when I did finally send XXL an email through my personal yahoo account they did not reply =[
- I could not find a copy of XXL in any shops

Therefore I have decided to swich to Vibe magazine

Colour Theory

Colour is a very important element in the design of my magazine. Different colour schemes can reflects different atmospheres and therefore solidify the magazine.

Monochrome Colour Scheme: this is the combination of black, white and the hues of one other colour. This is used to create the idea of sophistication.

Advancing Colours: otherwise known as warm colours and are found on the right hand side of the colour wheel. They appear to come towards you. For example: orange yellow red green

Receding Colours: these are colours that appear to move away from you and are found on the left hand side of the colour wheel. For example: blue purple green

I will be taking into consideration these points when producing my magazine pages as the ambience projected by the colour scheme must match the attitude of the magazine.

Initial Idea

this is probably not what my magazine will look like when I finish it, but at the moment I have some very strong ideas about what I want to do.

- I want an image on a ypung man wearing a suit
- I also want him to be wearing a New Era cap for the urban element
- He should be somewhere professional, like an office

However, this all depends on the results I get from my questionnaires that I will be designing shortly.

Genre Example

If you have absolutely no idea what uk hiphop, grime and r'n'b sounds like click below:

http://uk.youtube.com/GrimeScenePrincess

It's updated regularly and has examples of all the music that my magazine will feature.

Beginning of the Main Task

For the main task of my AS Media Studies coursework I must produce the front page, contents page and double page feature spread of a new music magazine. As it is a new magazine, and not an existing magazine, I must make up an original name and use original images, i.e. photographs taken by me. To prove this I will need to have the original photographs, i.e. before manipulation, posted on my blog.

Planning and Research

I need to carry out a textual analysis of an existing magazine that is of the same genre as the magazine I am planning to produce. In this I need to analyse the front cover, the contents page and the main feature article in full detail to understand all of the elements that make to publication the way it is.

I also need to create a quetsionnaire that I can hand out to my target audience to gather information on what they want included in my publication. This will include questions that relate to issue such as: the typeface, the colour scheme, the image selection and the layout.

I have chosen to produce a UK music magazine, aimed at young people between the ages of 15 and 21, who are in full or part-time education. This is because although there are thousands of music magazines, and hundreds of them are aimed at a UK audience, there is only one magazine that is aimed at young people and focuses on UK r'n'b, hiphop and grime. There is therefore a niche in the market and helps ensure the success of my magazine.