Download - Codes & Conventions
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.