Contents page & dps analysis

Music Magazine –

Contents Page and DPS Textual Analysis

Name: Thomas SpinkCandidate Number: 2130Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

OCR Media Studies – AS Level

Unit G321: Advanced Portfolio

Contents page The Vibe identis clearly presented on the contents page in the background. This creates more brand recognition. As well as creating a firm recognition of the brand it is presented in a very stylish way. This stylishness links to the outfit of the artist and also connotes that the music is quality and unique. This then gives the reader the impression that the magazine will be stylish and unique as the genre is.

The magazine editors have split the word into three. This could have been done to simply create space on the page. However it could also have been done as a way to create a uniqueness and difference to the page. This connotes the genre it self and how it is different to other genres of music and so by making the magazine conventions unique like the genre it makes it relatable to the artists in the magazine and the people who are fans of the genre and who read the magazine as a result.

Vibe have included a ‘star ‘celebrity on the contents page of the magazine. This is an interesting technique as it is a large mid shot of the star. This gives him a lot of importance which could connote his importance in the Hip-Hop genre. This is again a very unconventional method shown by VIBE however again it follows the trend of uniqueness. By making the magazine relatable to the uniqueness of the genre it makes it more relatable to the target audience of young adults who are always trying to find their unique figures at their age.

A lot of conventional magazine contents pages are very full. This one again goes against the usual conventions and has kept it very empty. This keeps it classy and simplistic. It also allows the reader to focus on the important information on the page and not get distracted by the multiple pictures and stories on the page.

Down the right hand side of the page they have all the related articles of the magazine. The text is very elegant and stylish which connotes the style and classiness of what money can buy you. Getting money is a key topic of lyrics in R&B and Hip Hop songs and so it makes it relatable to the genre. Also they are clear and simplistic that does not make things over complicated for the reader as well as making it more stylish.

At the bottom of the page there is the common conventions of the web address of the magazine. This again helps to gain brand recognition. If they wished to improve this they could possibly have included social media conventions as that is a major influence in today’s society. There is also the editorial details here. This is a key aspect to the contents page as it outlines an aspect of customer interaction and a personal relationship with them (katz). This is important for readers because it gives them an aspect of security and also the opportunity to feel they can make a contribution to what goes into the magazine

The sublines are done eloquently in order to keep with the smart presentation of the contents page itself. By doing this they are keeping a good house style up.

Image of ‘Star’ The image of the star is huge and covers the whole of the first page. This gives him importance over other parts of the article and also keeps people aware of who the article is about without having to read it. Also in the image he is blowing smoke from his mouth and the sub-heading of the magazine is ‘How High?’ This is a clever pun that links the article in with the image as well as making the article clever and attractive to the readers.

Page Number/Web Address The Page number is located at the bottom of the second page. This is a common occurrence in most magazines. There is also a web address and barcode. However these conventions are located in the top right hand corner of the second page. Again this is done so it doesn’t draw attention away form the main image of the star on the first page. They have also included a ‘V’ next to the barcode which is Vibes brand logo and so creating brand awareness. Brand awareness is also created with the consistency of the web address as it is done like this throughout the magazine, creating a professional and consistent quality that readers become a costumed to.

Drop CapitalThe use of the drop capital here helps signify the importance of the article. It also creates an eye catching opening which could influence the reader to read it. The capital B could connote how the main star of the article is important in the music and Hip Hop industry

TitleThe title of the magazine has been shaped into his initials and done cleverly as the colours have been made black and yellow which is the title of his most famous song. This makes the story more relatable to the artist and therefore to fans of the artist.

Q’s & A’sThe questions and answers presented on the DPS have been differentiated with their size and colour. The yellow for the questions and black for the text, not only keeps with a common colour scheme in some of the VIBE magazines but also on the page as the title of the article is a combination of yellow and black. This not only stands out to the reader but creates a quality and consistency to the magazine which is a key element to having a popular and professional page.

Stand first and Caption

The Stand first of this page is in all capitals and yellow text. This creates a consistent colour scheme of the page and again relates back to the artists hit single, ‘Black and Yellow’. The caption is in black and bold text and follows a similar pattern to the web address font style. This creates the consistency that the magazine is looking for. By keeping to this house style the reader becomes familiar with it. The boldness of both texts also makes it stand out on the page which is key due to the stand out title and image used. The text would have to be as bold otherwise it would possibly go unnoticed.

Conclusion• On the contents page the things that I would ‘repeat’ would be the layout of text

and the positioning the Vibe ‘V’. This is because it makes it look professional and to a high standard. As well as this it also gives it a different look which enables it to stand out from other magazines which usually would not have their logo so large. I would not ‘repeat’ the main image on the page as I think that it detracts the attention away from the information on the page. I also think that it looks unprofessional and is too far away from the metaphorical wheel and it looks better if you do not re-invent the wheel and so in my opinion the large image looks poor and unprofessional.

• On the double page spread I would repeat everything from the colour scheme to the positioning of the images and text. I would do this as it looked attractive and it gave the page appeal which I personally would be interested in reading. I particularly liked the way that they incorporated the artists name in the articles title as the colour scheme matched the artists hit single and so gave it brand recognition for the artist and therefore made it relatable to the readers and target audience. The only thing I would do differently would be to promote the magazine in some way as to create brand recognition.