Textual analysis of two

music magazines.

Vibe magazine.
Cover page
The colours used throughout the cover page, red, black
and grey, all have very dark connotations, the audience
may associate these colours with: blood, mystery,
darkness etc. On the contrary, the crisp white background
used has positive connotations; people may associate this
colour with purity, innocence, rebirth etc. Furthermore,
the connotations these colours have foreshadow the
seriousness of the articles in the magazine; the main
article focuses on Eminem becoming clean and getting his
life back on track after his dark past.
The image used for the cover image isnt used to relate
to what Vibes target audience would aspire too,
necessarily, instead, it is used to directly relate to the
main feature of this issue of Vibe. Furthermore, the
medium close up image of Eminem is very simplistic; the
clothing isnt loud or busy and no loud of bold props are
used. This effectively puts the emphasis on the model
himself, the audience are able to indicate from his body
language that the topics he discusses are serious and
significant to him, hence the bold yet simple pose and
positioning.

The layout and design of this cover page reflects the

ambiance that this particular magazine aims to portray
to their particular social groups: edgy, urban and
relevant. They effectively portray their ambiance by
using simplistic yet bold language for their buzz/puff
words, additionally, the cover image used throughout
issues are always medium close ups. Additionally, the
cover lines are effectively and clearly set out around the
medium close up image, making the text easy to read
for
audience.
Thethe
lexical
choice is very significant regarding the cover
page; it gives Vibes target audience an idea of what this
issue will entail, e.g. will the articles be dark, positive,
emotional etc. In the case of my chosen magazine issue,
the terminology used indicates the seriousness of the
main article; the vocabulary used is simplistic and straight
to the point which shows the model/interviewee, Eminem,
doesnt want to mess around when sharing his story.
Furthermore, the buzz/puff words are not only bold and
catch the attention of the audience, but they are big
enough to be readable from a distance yet not so big that
they take up too much space.

Vibe magazine.
Contents page

The colours used on the contents page differ to the

colours used for the cover page; theyre much darker and
a lot more shadowing is used which has a lot more darker
connotations: mystery, evil, darkness etc. However, the
colours used for the font, all though they arent as
dominant as the dark colours, have a lot more positive
connotations; the audience are able to associate with
yellow and white with feelings of happiness, purity and
innocence.
The image used for the magazines content page, still has
the serious tone like the cover page, however the clothing
and use of the velvet curtain imply that the impression
they want to give is much more formal and serious.
Additionally, the audience can imply that the velvet
curtain relates to Eminems profession, additionally they
may infer that the implication of him being at a show
foreshadows that the article with Eminem will focus on his
career as well as his personal life.

The layout and design of this contents page

significantly differs to the cover image; the buzz/puff
words and the text are all aligned to the right of the
medium close up image. Additionally, the colours
used have much more darker connotations as
explained earlier.
Overall impression: The contents page for this
magazine issue not only gives off a very dark and
mysterious sense but it relates well to the ambiance
Vibe magazine aim to show throughout their monthly
issues: edgy, modern and relative. Additionally, the
layout is easy to read and fits well with the underlying
theme.

Vibe magazine.
Double page spread
The colours used for the double page spread are
extremely significant; the white, as explained
earlier, has very positive connotations of rebirth,
innocence, purity, yet the use of the blood red
has very negative connotations, this use of
colour contrast could be a representation of the
contrast of good and bad that Eminem has been
through, as the article is about his story and the
battles hes had to overcome.
The image and props used for the double page
spread is very distinctive; it makes a bold
statement and catches the audiences attention,
making them want to read on. The use of blood
as a prop makes a bold statement about the dark
past the interviewee, Eminem, has been through.
Additionally, the interviewee appears to have
caused injury rather than himself being injured,
which may be a reflection on what he thinks the
past him was like: a dark, cold, merciless
character. On the other hand, the image used
can be conveyed as a very unconventional image
as its a very sinister message being portrayed to
young influential readers who may idolise this
celebrity and believe this sinister image is in fact
a positive and inspiring one.

The pull-quote used on the double page

spread are very significant; I almost died and I
still went back to using theyre purposefully
used in order to entice the reader- the dark
topic grabs the audiences attention and makes
them want to read further into the topic of
discussion.

The layout and design of this dps effectively

draws attention to key features, the pull-quote,
the image and the prop used. Additionally, the
there isnt too much white space yet theres
not so much going on that the page looks too
busy, this is key as the readers are then able to
appreciate everything on the double page
spread from the image, to the text itself.

Kerrang
Cover page
The cover image used for this
magazine issue effectively suits the
genre that the music magazine is
known for representing, rock and
metal. Furthermore, the positioning
and the facial expressions the two
have for the cover image portray a
very serious, edgy, rebellious vibe to
the audience, which is what the world
of rock and metal music aim to
portray to others: rebellion,
seriousness
edginess.
The
coloursand
used
on the cover page
are primarily black and white, two
completely contrasting colours, this
could be in order to make the text in
white stand out even more to attract
any potential buyers, additionally, the
main use of the colour black to be
used to reflect the sort of vibe the
magazine wish to portray.

The graphology used on the cover

page for this music magazine varies
across the page as shown, however, all
the fonts used across the page are very
conventional for a music magazine; its
bold, easy to read, suits the genre of
music represented and doesnt make
the page too busy.

Kerrang.
Contents page:
Similarly to the cover page, the colours
used on the contents page are primarily
black and white, which again, could be
used to help the text in white stand out a
great deal more to the audience.

The image used for the contents page is

conventional for the music magazine too;
the model used is a musical figure, it isnt
representing any audience groups or
music idols in a bad way and may
encourage the audience to read the
contents page to see how the image
relates to an article that the magazine
has to offer.

Unlike the cover page, the graphology

used on the contents page doesnt
vary; there are not multiple fonts being
used. This is very conventional for any
magazine as it helps the audience
know where their information is and it
again doesnt make the page too busy.

Kerrang.
DPS:
The colours used for the DPS
alter to the contents page and
the cover page colours; the main
colour used is red as well as
yellow, the colours used are
practical as they are still suitable
to the music genre presented and
they are also not too vibrant that
the page looks too busy.

The image used for the DPS, is

not only conventional; it suits
the genre of music presented as
it is edgy, dark and alternative.
Additionally, the model used for
the image, Ozzy Osbourne, is a
highly recognised and admired
music idol especially regarding
the genres of music that
Kerrang present, the use of this
music idol will also intrigue the
audience as theyll want to see
what this musician has to do
with the article on the DPS.