Layout- When you look at this you can instantly tell its a double page spread however, they subverted the expectations of a normal double page spread and normal they have one dominant image that features on the left or right hand side of the article and takes up just over page. Instead on this one the image is landscape and the text is in a L shape around it. Furthermore, its set out as columns to make it look neat and it allows the reader easier access to the article. When it comes to creating my magazine I will stick to around 3 columns as I think it's best to and I don't think I will have as much text as I feel it's too much in your face and I want it to be a mixture of image and text and not just focus on one. Another thing that double page spreads do is a headline to grab the attention of the audience in this case "its been just since weeks since Rihanna's" This headline grabs the audiences attention and makes you want to read on. Its bold and must bigger than the rest of the text to stand out and is then followed by a sub heading which is still slightly bigger than the normal font used in whole article this segment summaries what the article will be about. These two features are ones I will use when it comes to creating my magazine as it makes it look better and engages the audience.
Style- Each magazine has a personal style and Billboard will have there own personal style. Billboard have the page numbers at the bottom corners on their articles and also the name of the magazine and the date of the issue, each one is separated with a single thin line. Even these little elements make the magazine personal and add style and sophistication. Furthermore a personal style that Billboard use is quotes directly said by the artist in bigger and brighter fonts. This engages the reader in as it shows its a personal account from Rihanna and therefore a reliable and accurate source. It makes you want to read on. Often many magazines use this convention, I will study a few other ones and see if it's common and then decided weather I want to do this. Another thing Billboard have chose to do is get you a brief history of Rihanna's older hits and how successful she is in the big black box at the top of the spread. This is due to the target audience, as they will be interested with Rihanna and her previous hits as they are the type to listen to up to date chart music. This section within the spread matches the target audience and therefore is effective. I need to make sure that the style matches my target audience and engages them.
Images- Always a big part in any part of the magazine. This article contains 3 images. One main one that grabs the readers attention it's a wide shot of Rihanna at her concert. Even the location of this specific audience relates to the target audience as it suggests the type of people to read this magazine will be out going and enjoy going to concerts and watching performances they don't just want to sit at home, they want show a performance with costume changes and dancing and personal. Then furthermore her costume suggests definitely a younger audience, due to the lack of clothes possibly 16-25 where appearance plays a big impact within life. Her facial expression is very aggressive and in your face she is pulling a face which suggests she is lighthearted and not to be take seriously although you appears to be looking at the camera a helmet is covering it suggesting she likes to entertain her audience and put on a performance. I really like this idea when it comes to creating my spread however the only problem I am going to have is trying to get a location that looks like a concert and in action as it will be quite difficult to mirror something like this. However I do like the idea and will think about how I can come across this. The other small images suggest a much more sophisticated look for Rihanna, it gives you some extra information about her life and shows an image of her in Topshop which yet again links to the target audience and they would the type of people who read this magazine are bothered about clothes and appearance and therefore would shop in high street fashion stores such as Topshop. It's good advertisement for them both and more importantly this engages the audience. I will consider my images very carefully when it comes to my double page spread as I need them to link to target audience and engage the reader.
Colours- Throughout my research and I just about come to the conclusion that just about every part of the magazine sticks to a 3 colour scheme in order to create a common theme and to make it look and all related. Pink, black and white are the dominant colours. The pink contrasts the other two and is used get certain things to stand out. Its also used due to Rihanna's costume as she is in pink and therefore pink is used throughout the article to provide a common theme as it all looks like it belongs there and it shows Billboard have thought about the article and matched it up to the specific article. Due to pink being one of the dominant colours it suggests that this article is more aimed at women as pink stereo typically is more aimed at the females rather than the males based on colours alone this suggests a more female audience however this is a very naive judgement.
Font- Very similar to what I normally talk about its sans serif to help to the modern look of the magazine it matches with the image and message its trying to get across to the reader. Its very easy to read in the actual text is in very small font possibly size 8 or 9 to fit everything in. I will use a small font when writing my article to make sure the audience get loads of information about the artists and furthermore I will use the bold told and italics to highlight certain things within my article.
Article- It's always key that you get have articles within your piece that match with you target and in this case Billboard get it right. It's taking about the wax work of Rihanna and you can tell that Billboard magazine is aimed at young adults who have an interest in chart music and enjoy hearing things about the latest fashion trends and what the celebrities are going and this article fits perfectly into this as chart music magazine tend to rarely stick to talking about music and tend to focus more on appearance and the look, its always about the latest gossip rather than the type of music they are creating. I think my article will be in the style of an interview therefore I need to focus more on style models that have a layout like that and focus on the type of question I should be asking due to my music genre.
No comments:
Post a Comment