Case Study 2:

Vibe Magazine

The main is a medium close up shot of the rapper kanye west. His clothing is a jacket which is typical for a hip hop artist to wear. His facial expression looks rather serious and is looking directly to the camera making the reader feel involved (creating a connection). This direct address is important as it draw the attention of the reader to the magazine, and encouraging them to buy it. The background is grey rather than using a white background also it makes it easier for the texts to stand out.

The masthead is placed at the top part of the image which is the usual place for mastheads. It is also placed behind the artist. This is because the Vibe magazine is very well known among the target audience therefore they don’t need to see the whole logo to know which magazine it is. In addition to this if the masthead was covering the main image it would not look effective as it would not clearly show the artist face and would clash.

The cover line are placed on the right and left side on this cover this is because in stores magazines are usually stacked on top of each other which is why only some parts of the magazines are visible. Therefore teasers are placed at the right and left side so that the readers/audience are able to still see the magazine by reading the cover lines and it draws their attention whether to buy it or not. The colour scheme keeps the magazine look simple and neat as it is only using 3 colours blue, black and pink. These colours are contrasting the grey background making the text stand out.

In addition to this the teasers give the audience an insight of the content of what is going to be included in the magazine but it doesn't describe everything so that the reader has to buy the magazine to read on.
Moreover there is one pull quote being used in the cover which are seen to be the most important part as they create interest and include the artists’ opinions, which is very important for the fans.

Vibe Magazine Contents Page:

This is a Vibe contents page. In the background we notice a large V which is representing the magazine VIBE and the use of the large V will mean that the audience will recognize the magazine easily. On the right side of the magazine we see categories and by doing this the magazine is a lot easier to navigate and will persuade the readers to carry on. However the colour is different to the front cover and he is wearing a different clothing to what he wore on the front cover. This outfit looks more fashionable which relates to the category”fashion”.Furthermore this is relating to the new Kanye West album 808s and heartbreak which the artist is clearly trying to promote as it is the main feature of the magazine. The colour black and white image with the red heart is vibrant against the neutral colours and relates to the artists album.

The content has been written in a unique way as it has been broken up in 3 lines even though it is plain black it still has a large impact.

Also the page number is placed near the stories which will be included in the magazine; this creates some sort of order and leaves the reader with a simple overview. However I prefer the font size to be slightly bigger of the number or even highlighted as it makes it clearer to readers.

There is also fashion included in the magazine this could show that vibe magazine may not just do music but other sort of things which would interest readers.







Vibe Magazine Double Page Spread:

The artist featured in this double page spread is Solange Knowles so the target audience will probably be people with an interest in R&B and Pop as it is the sort of music she produces. The language throughout the article is very laid back and informal. For example,’ Grown-ass-woman swagger’. You can see this language is used freely as the magazine knows who their audience is therefore they know that there audience would understand this slang language. This makes the audience in buying the magazine as it creates some sense of involvement.

For most of the double page spread the colours consist of black and white. In the text the only colour is used is blue which is highlighted and stands out. This perhaps is used to show the importance of the word ‘NOW’ and the artist name ‘Solange Knowles’. The main image is the only colour in the page which shows attention from the reader to her immediately and she seems confidence in the image. Also the little pictures of her that are covering third of the double spread are in line with the column which looks neat and easy to read.





Press pack:

This shows that there are more male readers than female readers for this magazine and most  readers are between 18-34 which could suggest that the magazine should include what the younger audience want.