CODES & CONVENTIONS

FRONT COVER

Direct emotive- this produces a direct personal relationship

between the pictured person and the reader. It may make the

reader buy the magazine more because they feel like they can connect to the pictured person.

Header- “Billboard” this is the title of the magazine. Its big and bold so it stands out and can be easily recognised by customers. It’s the biggest

writing on the page because it’s the title and the most significant. This stays the same on every issue but

sometimes the colour might change.

Image- the image is of Chance the Rapper. He is looking right at the audience. (Uses and gratification theory). The image is a medium close-up. His clothes are simple and what some people might wear on an

everyday basis. This might make the magazine more approachable because the

he seems more ordinary.

Image- the image is of Lorde, a musician, all of the issues contain an musician or someone who is related to the music industry. The image is a body shot and she is showing direct

mode of address. (Uses and gratification theory).

Colour Scheme- the colour scheme changes with each issue, this then

relates to the colour of the header and sometimes the clothes of what the

person is wearing. This makes it look very professional because the mise-en-

scene always relates.

Text- this is the text that informs the reader who the person on the

front is and what the double spread is going to be out. Also it

may mention what the other pages are going to be about in

that issue.

More text- this text may include more information of

what's in the magazines, the issue number and date of

release.

Text- this bit of text that says the volume

issue and release date.

I choose this magazine because it represents all

different genres of music and this is the

most likely one I will use when designing mine.

Masthead- “Indie” this is the title of the magazine, it’s the biggest and boldest writing on the front cover so it stands out. It can be easily recognised by a customer. Its white which is a block colour

that stands out on the purple background.

Barcode- the barcode is placed in the bottom left hand corner, so its out the way and doesn't take up a lot of room on the

cover. Its usually placed here on magazines.

Text- the text is big and bold, and it doesn't really associate with the colour theme ,but this makes it

stand out more. The two question marks make the question sound interesting maybe making the customer want to buy it even

more. This is a hermenutic code, which entices the reader.

Colour scheme- the scheme is very grey and

pale, which is represented both with the text and the image. As his skin and hair

is very pale.

Text- it relates to the picture because the man has cuts and blood on his face. Then

the text is written with blood patches behind it. Its also written in red which has connotations of blood. “hit me baby one more time” is what is written which is a famous line form a Britney Spears song.

Which relates to the genre of the magazine.

Masthead- the title is “indie” this is the name of the magazine which is written on

every issue. Its big and bold so the customer notices it when they walk past.

Its white which relates to the colour scheme of the front cover.

Model- the woman is using direct mode of address because

she is looking right at the customer which makes them

feel like they connect with her. (Uses and gratification theory).

The make up relates to the colour scene, because around

her eyes its purple pinkie which is similar to the background.

She is wearing a mickey mouse mask which doesn’t really have any relation to the genre of the

magazine.

Model- his facial expressions looks as if is in pain which relates to the cuts and bleeding he has on his face. He is looking at the customer directly

with eye contact. (Uses and gratification theory). His hair and

skin tone is very pale corresponding to the colour scheme of the front

cover.

Mise-en-scene- he is wearing a shirt which makes him seem quite professional but then this is contradicted by the cut and blood on his face because it looks like he has been in a fight or something similar.

I choose this magazine because it represents the genre of Indie the

best out of all the other magazines I have seen.

CONTENTS

Masthead- the title of the page “contents” its very big and bold. This stands out so immediately the reader

knows what page their one. This is useful because before this page it lists the billboard top 100 songs.

Which may confuse the reader if they haven't read Billboard before.

Text- this bit of text says the issue number and date of release. This is quite small because it isn’t essential

information for the reader.

Quote- this is a quote from Ice Cube, which may interest the reader or customer even more

because the double page spread is about him and his

group. This creates a hermeneutic code this entices the reader.

Image- the photo is off N.IA group who also appear on the front cover. So the image on

the contents page relates usually to the image on the

front cover. It takes up most of the page because they are

easily recognisable and may interest the reader.

Colour Scheme- the colour scheme is very basic, with a white background and black text. This is sometimes more effective than lots of colours

because its easy for the customer to read, and create

simplistic style.

Text- this is a list of what's on each page so if the customer wants to see a particular article they can skip straight to it. It takes up the majority of the page because it’s

the whole point of the page.

Image- it’s a picture of Eddie Van Halen, a famous Rock

Band member. But you can only see his eye. The image

takes up the whole page with the other components over the

top of it.

Masthead- the masthead is laid out the same in every issue, as we can see to the contents page on the left.

Its big and bold to stand out and it would be the first

thing the customer sees.

Text- this is the contents list and the main part of the page. It informs the reader of what's

in the magazine. Its on the right and is easy to see.

Which is a common convention on most magazine

contents pages. Colour Scheme- the colours on the page are all shades of blue, greys and all the text is white. Even the walls and floor is blue. This is a

common convention when it comes the contents page.

Mise-en-scene- this includes the guitar, coat and box on the floor. The guitar

relates to him because he plays it and uses it in the band he's in. The colour of

the mise-en-scene still relates to the overall colour scheme.

I choose these contents page because they are

from Billboard and I think that they look very good even though the layouts are different.

Masthead- the mast head is separated onto three lines. Its very bold in block colour and placed in

the top left hand corner. I have seen in other content pages that the colours are usually black or

white probably because it makes the title stand out more.

Text- this bit of text says who the picture on the

front and on the contents page is. In this case its “Kanye West” this is a

common feature on a lot of music magazines.

Colour scheme- the colour scheme of the contents page is generally grey and black. Then

there is a read heart in the persons hand. This scheme relates to everything on the

page.

The large ”V” in the background is to show and remind the reader they are reading Vibe magazine. The colour of this relates to the general colour scheme of

the issue.

Image- the picture is off Kanye West who is known

worldwide and is very popular which attracts

people more to the magazine.

Sub-headings and text- the subheadings turn the contents page into more

of a list and makes it easier for the reader to

navigate what they want. The text lists what articles

are on what page.

Colour Scheme- the scheme of this issue is red and white. All the text is white and the background is red. Even the mise-en-scene (Necklaces)

some of these are red. Going with the theme.

Masthead- the title is spread over three lines again like the

other one. Its placed in the same place as the other issue. By having it on three lines it makes the magazine unique

and different.

The large “V” is replicated on nearly issue of Vibe. It

represents the first letter of the name of the magazine and the colour scheme of

the issue.

Image- the artist is seen topless as a result to show his body tattoos suggesting a strong part of his

character to conform to the stereotype of a Hip-Hop rapper. The mask and necklaces could perhaps suggest that he is creating a unique

image for himself, attempting to stand out. Text- the title ‘features’ is expressed in a

rather fancy style. This provides the magazine with a classy making it

original. The subheadings are written in bold and in capitals in order to make the

magazine readable.

I choose these contents page

because they follow the same sort of

layout and represent a Hip-Hop genre,

which I might do as my genre.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

Image- the picture is of Ice Cube who features on the front

cover and contents page. It takes up half of the double page spread. He is making

direct eye contact which might make the reader more interested. (Uses and gratification theory).

Quote- this quote was said by Ice cube who is pictured to the right of it. Its

written very big and takes up a quarter of the page. This has to be eye

catching because it will be the first thing the reader sees and has to make them read the rest of the article. This creates a Hermeneutic code enticing

the reader to read the article.

Images- these are extra images that makes the

interview more interesting. The images are off N.I.A the group in which Ice Cube is

in. So it still has relevance.

Text- the text is of the interview by Ice Cube. Its written quite small so it could fit as much as possible onto one page. Its written in

columns very similar to a newspaper may

be.

The first line of every issue it either starts of with a really big capital letter or the first line is in a different colour. In this issue its written in

blue. This makes it stand out and get the

reader flowing.

Image- the picture is off Eddie Van

Halen. The interview is about him and he also appears on the front cover and

contents page of the issue. It shows him in the studio

whit his guitar that appeared on the contents page. It

took up half of the page which is

similar in most of the other issues.

Text- this is the interview of Eddie Van Halen. The text is

very small in a simple font that is easy to read for any

customer. The columns also makes it easier to read

because it follows the same style as a newspaper.

Quote- a quote of who the interview is about seems to be a convention in the Billboard magazine as seen on other

issues. This creates a sense of

connection with the artist.

Image- the second and smaller image of the page is of Eddie when he was younger artist. A second image is very common

on pages with interviews on them.

Colour Scheme- the colours on these

pages are very basic and dull. This might be because if the colours

were bright and colourful it might

distract the reader from the actual text.

I choose these double page spreads

because I like the layout of them and the contents of it.

Image- the picture is off Lady Gaga a very famous singer and this is who the article is based on. She is looking at the reader this is called direct mode of

address making the reader feel connected. (Uses and gratification

theory).

Colour Scheme- the colours in this article is very basic

with mainly black and white colours. Then the “L”

behind the text is red which is the only colour on

the pages making stand out more.

Name- the name of the artist, in this case Lady Gaga, is placed in the top right hand corner of the

page. Its quite big so yours can be easily drawn to it. This creates a hermeneutic code making the

reader more interested.

“L” this is a convention of Q magazine and it appears on all

of the issues. It’s the first letter of the artist the article is

about. The colour of it is always red which follows the colour scheme of the whole

magazine.

Text- the text is placed above the background letter and it takes up a whole A4 page.

The writing is placed in columns just like a

newspaper suggesting that it wants to attract a different

kind of reader.

Caption- a caption is used to draw the reader into the

article, as it gives the impression that the main

article is exciting and entertaining which fulfils the

readers cognitive needs. (Uses and gratification theory).

This issue doesn’t follow the

typical convention of the magazine as the text is written in two columns not

three.

Image- the picture is of Jay-Z. conventionally in this magazine the images are looking at the

reader, showing direct mode of address, but as Jay-Z is wearing

glasses u can’t really see his eyes so it doesn’t have the same effect. The lightening in the

image is paired with the colour scheme. Furthermore its also the same colour of the brand which

creates a brand identity.

“J” this is a code and convention of Q magazine. The J

represents the first letter of Jay-Zs’ name.

It also draws the readers eye to the

article making it more encouraging.

I choose these double page spreads

because I like the layout with the

picture on one side and text on the other.

Also the big letter behind the text.