Magazine cover analysis 2

"Vibe" music magazine is a privately owned brand, published by "Inter-media partners". Focusing mostly around hip hop and R&B, Vibe magazine specialises around making the known and the unknown celebrities of today acknowledged by keeping the audience up to date with trendsetting, upcoming festivals, fashion shows, film premieres and celebrity gossip in general. Other subjects such as lifestyle and new media are also included to suit the specific genre and target audience for the magazine. Predominantly, this specific magazine targets males 10% more than females and is bought by individuals aged 21+. Being priced at $4.99 per copy, Vibe has a circulation of 300,000.

When studying a particular issue of Vibe magazine, there are many visual techniques that they use to enable their genre to be identified whilst targeting their chosen audience by using eye-catching, imaginative colours, fonts, sizes, language used, general mise-en-scene of the main image and positioning. In this issue, the designer has decided to focus on life style rather than a predominant gender. If I hadn't have researched into the magazine brand beforehand, I would have suggested by the front cover that it was targeted for both males and females at the age of  18+. 

On the front cover of this magazine, there are three main colours used; orange, white and black. The most visually clear colour code for this issue is orange. The masthead has been made to match the colour of the artist "Nicki Minaj's" hair whilst using other additional sections of the cover such as her name and the page number to also show as being the most valid information. As oppose to this, The outfit that the star is wearing matches the background colour, white, a colour usually associated with purity, freshness, innocence and cleanliness.
Due to the little colour used in the magazine, I feel that it portrays a sign of professionalism whilst making the main image stand out and be the focal point on the cover. The sophistication that is shown on the cover may also suggest the typical reader of the magazine's social class. Having noticed this, I would further access that the magazine has targeted working class/middle class. Another way that this could be shown is by the lack of information that is given away. By doing this, it shows that the person to purchase this magazine will be more interested in the information within the magazine rather than the decorative side to media. 

The most vital information on the magazine has been outlined clearly by the colour scheme as addition to the size of the font, opposing to the small, less significant writing. These parts aim to give the reader a clearer understanding on what is within the magazine without giving too much away/ too less. By doing this, the reader will be able to understand whether they're interested in purchasing the magazine without having to look inside. Due to this method of working, designing the magazine and being involved in the product creation means that they have control over how effective the selling lines are and whether their target audience will be persuaded enough to purchase it.

Another feature on the cover that the designer will have to focus on are the different fonts used. In this issue, there are three different fonts that have been deliberately used in different places. The masthead's font is unique to all of the other fonts, making it clear as to what the significant information is. This has also been maximized to an extent that it is stretched from one side of the magazine to the other, making it clearly visible for people to see from afar and close up. The other bits of smaller information, including "Why is Drake so angry?" and "SHAQ UNCENSORED" have been written using an ordinary, san serif font that is clear and easy for all age groups to understand. The last font used in "Notorious K.I.N.G"  is a funky, interesting style that shows the reader that the magazine isn't always serious and can be fun. 

The main image has been captured as a medium long shot, photographing all of the important aspects that are needed for the front cover. Nicki Minaj has been asked to pull a serious face whilst striking a modest, confident pose that suggests that she is intelligent, satisfied and somewhat superior than her audience. Despite this suggestion, I feel that her pose may provoke female audiences to follow her lead and idealise her image. By Nicki Minaj having her hands on her hips, this pose further shows her sophistication which could suggest the contents within the magazine following the same rule and being written cleverly with useful information that will be helpful and favoured. 

The general clothing of the model has been made to prove the same appearance, sophistication. The jewellery, tiara, expensive dress, perfectly curled hair and beautiful complexes, suggest her upper class social background  whilst subtly showing off her large amount of money. Any audience that is familiar with her work and favour her as artist will see the large image of her on the cover and automatically be drawn towards purchasing the magazine. Using such a well-known, interesting and unique celebrity such as Nicki minaj means that the majority of audiences will know who she is and have an opinion on the cover. One way or another, audiences will pick up the magazine to view the contents. 
After being well-known as a slightly peculiar music artist, Nicki Minaj has clearly been made to look like a flawless model, using up to date make-up, complimenting clothes and rich, curled hair. As oppose to her normal appearance, I feel that she looks dramatically different which is interesting to visually see as a musical interested audience. The make-up used on her face has been drawn to by using another slightly less obvious colour, pink. This has been used to outline her lips, cheek bones and eyes which then contrast with the rest of the magazine, showing prominence. 

All of the selling lines and cover lines have been made incredibly vague by not giving away the main gossip that people are waiting to hear. I feel that this has been done because the publisher wants to keep the audience in suspense and be intrigued enough to buy the magazine.  When buying magazines, a lot of people feel that reading this information means that they know a lot more about celebrity lifestyles than others, feeling proud and as if they are connecting with the chosen celebrity. 

The small details such as the bar-code and email addresses have been placed discreetly in the left hand corner. This has been done to show the irrelevance of the little details that are made to be there in comparison to the contents of the magazine that the producers have chosen to include.

Lastly, the eye contact that Nicki Minaj is giving creates the feeling that we are being called out personally to buy the magazine as she looks straight at us.