Research
Moodboard -
Similarities -
The similarities are that there is always a main image with the main image giving direct address to the reader.
They also have the title/headline in big bold words to stand out and is also at the top so will be the first thing that gets read.
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Differences:
The differences are the genres.
Not all of the images are in front of the text meaning that the image is more important.
All of the images apart from the gaming one has a real person as the image of choice.
Double Page spread
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Similarities -
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They all have a big main image and easily readable text
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The name of the main image in the text is bold
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All but one image is on one side of the page
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Differences -
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The colour scheme fits the target audience. For example, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry's is aimed at the females and the pink text and background backs it up
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the layout of the text is different in each one
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titles on the right one are bold meaning there is probably different segments to read.
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Some titles don't have the images name as the title
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From this task I have learnt that the image is usually the main part of the double page spread. This is because it is the most clear to see as the text is really small compared to it. I have also learnt that the image is usually one one side of the double page spread and is opposite to all the text.
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From this task I have learnt some methods that fashion magazines use to engage with the audience. For example, the one on the left mainly uses the text to engage with the audience whereas the one on the right uses mainly the main image's direct address to engage with the audience. Also, they could look similar but aim at a different type of target audience meaning they are set up similar.
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The 'Fashion' magazine with Hailee Steinfeld
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The masthead 'fashion' will immediately shows that this magazine is about fashion. This will attract people who are interested in fashion
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The target audience is around 16-24 women
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The anchorage text lures the audience in making them envy her
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The colour scheme is set up to not draw that much attention away from the model
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The sell lines engage with the audience who care about 'denim' and 'crop tops'
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'The Trend Issue' could appeal to people who like to take care of their fashion style
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The direct address suggests that she is trying to connect with the reader.
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The Layout is formal which could attract a different target audience
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The model will also attract another audience of people who know her
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The sell lines ' lasers and lipo' suggest that this magazine cover can also be aimed at older females.
The 'Vogue' magazine with Adele
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The target audience is for females who care about fashion. They could be aged from 20-28.
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The text is ahead of the image which could suggest that the text is the main feature of this cover
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The anchorage text could lure the audience into focusing on the main image
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The sell lines engage the audience with Adele as it talks about her 'life-changing year'
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Also the sell line which is 'power of positive dressing' could suggest that females will look up to Adele's fashion sense
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The direct address suggests that she is trying to connect with the audience as shes directly at the camera.
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The model will also attract another type of audience as she is very famous and known
This magazine uses artist Nicki Minaj as the main image on both the cover and double page spread. The target audience can easily be shown from just the cover of the magazine. This is because you can tell that it is probably aimed at females aged around 16-23. This is portrayed with the use of pink as the colour scheme which is usually conventional for females. Also, this is then reinforced by the all the colours on the double page spread. This is because all the biggest text is coloured pink which will link to the target audience. A feature of the magazine cover is that there isn't many sell lines. This indicates that the main audience will mostly focus on the images direct address instead of the little text. This is in contrast to the double page spread which is fully focusing on the text as well as the image.
The magazine and double page spread is modelled by Rita Ora. She is a British singer. From this we can tell that Rita Ora can attract her own personal fans to read the magazine as it features her. Also this could mean that her target audience could be young teenagers and young adults. This can be reinforced by the fact that the text is mainly informal which will relate to her usual target audience. Also, the fact that one of the sell lines is 'How to look like Gigi Hadid' The fact that she is an American model could suggest that the magazine will try to persuade the audience to read on as they would like to look like her.
The double page spread also backs up who the target audience is. This is because of the text that is used within it. For example, she was 21 when this was made and was the 'hottest artist' in the UK at the time. This should suggest that people around her age in the UK should know who she is. Also, the fact that they say that she has been dubbed as 'Britain's answer to Rihanna' This then could attract a whole new audience as pretty much everyone involved with music will know who she is and will attract more people to read. They also ask her personal questions which will attract people to read on through the rest of the magazine.
Digital magazine:
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Digital will be harder to sell although people that do find it can subscribe
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Moving images could be more engaging for the audience
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A search bar to find specific things
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More modern
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Print Magazine:
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Paper
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Still images
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manual
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need to buy from shop which could limit audiences
Advantages of both print and digital magazine for an audience:
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An advantage for a digital magazine is that they are easily accessible. This is because most people have access to internet.
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Another advantage of the digital magazines is that people can subscribe. This is good for the audience as they do not have to go to a shop often to get new magazines
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Another advantage of the digital magazine is that the moving images can engage with the audience. This could attract more subscriptions.
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The search bar is another advantage for the digital magazine. This is because people can search for specific things.
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Another advantage for the physical one is that you don't have to subscribe
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Another advantage for the audience with print magazines is that they do not get ads that pop up which will distract you.
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A digital magazine can be aimed at anyone and is easy to see target audience
Disadvantages of both print and digital magazine for audience:
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A disadvantage for a digital magazine is that you need a wifi connection. This is bad as it can limit an audience as not everyone has access to wifi.
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Another disadvantage is that they have pop up ads which can distract an audience away from the actual magazine.
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Digital magazines mainly aim at the younger audience whereas print can target all audiences. This is bad for digital as they are limiting their target audience.
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Another disadvantage for digital magazines is that they mostly require a subscription so you can't really use it as a one time thing.
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A disadvantage for print magazines is that they can only be used in person. This could limit the audience as some people prefer online magazines meaning they won't buy ones in person.
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Another disadvantage is that the audience can't be interactive with the magazine.
Advantages of digital and print magazines for the institutions:
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A benefit of a digital magazine for the institutions is that it increases magazine distribution on a global scale. This is because there are more people on the internet that are willing to get magazines compared to people getting print ones.
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This allows them to generate more money as they will have things such as ads and more clicks on the magazine will make more money because of the ads.
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Print magazines help the institution as it keeps it stable.
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Print allow people who are more old school to keep up with magazine and not completely shut them out. This allows them to reach a new audience and also keep their current audience.
Disadvantage of digital and print magazines for the institutions:
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A disadvantage of using digital magazines is that they will have less control on what is shown. For example, they will not be able to choose what ads are used and they also can't design it exactly as they want.
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A disadvantage of using the print magazine for the institution is that they are more costly. This means that they will not make as much money compared to the digital magazine.
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Another disadvantage for them is that they need to test the cost for producing. For example, they need to make sure the colour work is done well otherwise it will be expensive to redo on the print magazines.
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More people are now using digital magazines over the print magazines which is bad for the institution as they will not make as much money from them selling in shops.
From this task I have learned the difference between both digital and print magazines. I have also learned the benefits and disadvantages for the audience and institution.
Topshop:
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They conventionally have pop up ads as soon as you click on the magazine
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Set out like a website which is conventional
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The masthead is big and stands out which can be seen as unconventional on some fashion magazines
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The search bar is conventional as most digital magazines have it to interact with the customer more.
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Skyline gives out key information which will help the customer when visiting.
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Uses a lot of photos of products as the cover which is unconventional to the normal one main image on most magazines.
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Shows target audience straight away with the products on show.
Cosmopolitan:
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They also have pop up ads which are conventional
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It is also set out like a magazine which is the same as the top shop one.
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This one tries to convince you to buy products straight away without even promoting products on the home page which could be seen as unconventional
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Also has a search bar to help with the customers which can be seen as conventional
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The masthead is quite clear and tells you exactly what company you are looking at which is conventional
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Uses a slight main image but isn't the conventional main image
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The main image doesn't really relate to the target audience but you could get the impression that it will be aimed at females.
The cosmopolitan magazine homepage lays it out with around 5 articles that will attract different types of audiences. For example, the article I chose is about them trying to promote topshop's sale to get more people to buy the products. The layout of the homepage and article allows you to scroll down the menu stays at the top for accessibility for the audience. There are also pop up's to the right hand side of the article which promotes the sale by saying "UP TO 50% OFF." This will allow customers to find a direct link straight to the option to buy which is a good move by cosmopolitan. The layout doesn't really have a lot of text and the start of the article uses the images to create engagement with the reader. This is because the images link directly to what they are selling so need to be easy to spot and engaging.
The text underneath the images are the main text for the whole article. This is because it is talking about the images above to give context about the content they are selling. For example, they start of with a rhetorical question which says "Remember when Topshop released an affordable version of that Instagram-approved silky midi skirt." This allows them to target the audience that they are aiming at which is female's aged 16-25. This is a good way to engage with the audience as most females in this age group would want their outfits to be "Instagram-approved." by the models. Also, the use of the repetition of the word "giddy" reinforces the fact that it is aged at this age group as it can be seen as quite informal.
Their target audience is easy to find out because of the outfits and the ages of the models. The target audience will clearly like fashion and these outfits. Also, the fact that this age group have the most disposable income meaning they can try and convince the audience to spend money on their products. Aiming at this age group is a good business move from both cosmopolitan and Topshop. This is why their page is filled with ads that are links to the website to purchase the products on show. Also the fact that Topshop and Cosmopolitan are using each other to gain a greater audience is a good move by them. This is because they can gain more potential customers. For example, some cosmopolitan regulars could see this article then decide that they like it. This will the trigger them to maybe check out more Topshop products which will be good for them.
From this task I have learned how digital magazines format and layout is effective.
The layout of the magazine cover is very limited in terms of text and mainly focuses on the main image instead of text. This could engage with the audience as the main image is of the singer Nicki Minaj. This allows "Billboard" to gain a whole new audience of Nicki Minaj fans to read the magazine on her. The fact that the background is also plain reinforces the fact that they want the audience to focus on the main image instead of the text. However, there is a little bit of text but the main text which is "Billboard" and "Nicki Minaj" is in pink to attract the audience. This could also mean that they are aiming at directly female fans who care about Nicki Minaj. The cover used only one image which means that it is easier to keep the audience engaged as there is no way they can get distracted. The layout of the double page spread also has a main image of Nicki Minaj to engage with the audience even more as she is modelling an "Icon" ring and some necklaces. The "Icon" ring could suggest that the magazine think that Nicki Minaj is some sort of icon to her audience which will reinforce her being called a "queen."
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The text is set out unconventionally for a double page spread as it doesn't look heavily structured. This is because they have made the text more bunched together instead of spreading it out more. This could be due to the fact that Nicki takes up a lot of the dps with herself. This could suggest that she could even be the main point of the dps and more important than the text. Also, the fact that Nicki's name is the only thing in bold and is also pink could reinforce that it is mostly about her rather than a product. The pink in her name will also link back to the main image of her as she is wearing pink lipstick and it is visible. The fact that a bit of the text reads 'Bow down mortals' and then calls Nicki a 'Queen' could reinforce the fact that it is solely about her and her fans will be the main target audience as they will look at her as a queen.
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The target audience for this is mainly females aged 13-24. We can first of all tell this as the double page spread mostly uses colours like pink which is conventional for girls. Also, the fact that her audience is mostly teens will show that her target audience in this is 13-24. This will help the magazine attract a new type of audience as many fans will buy the magazine as they are interested in Nicki Minaj's lifestyle and what she does which she reveals in this magazine.
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From this task I have learned that the layout of the text engages with the audience.
A magazines aim is to make profit and this is what Cosmopolitan are aiming to do with this print magazine. They will make their money from sales and for that to happen they will need to sell the product to their audience with the use of the cover and the dps inside. They will also make money from advertising things such as products within the sell lines. The magazine cover needs to be perfect to attract any type of audience. It needs to be eye catchy with the use of the image and colour scheme to maximise sales. As well as these ways, the text is also an important way of engaging with the audience. We can tell who the target audience is just from the magazine cover. First of all, it will be aimed at Hayley Williams who is a singer and a model. This will mean that she will attract her own audience to this magazine. Also, we know that cosmopolitan magazines are usually aimed at females of all ages. From knowing this, we can read the text and find out that the target audience for this specific magazine is females aged 18-30. This is because most of the text talks about things that wouldn't relate to young girls. For example, it says '75 sex moves men crave' in the anchorage text. This suggests that it will be aimed at an adult female audience who are mature and are interested in this. Also, within the sell lines, it says 'makeup that flirts for you' This could be another way for the magazine to interest females who will want to maybe buy the product they are talking about. This could also suggest that the makeup is a must for females as then men will fall for them easy. This links back to the fact that they will try to make their money of this sell line. The use of the direct address from Hayley will help with engaging with the audience which will encourage them to read more about it and be focused on it. Also, the fact tat some text is in red and says 'look sexy' could suggest that they are calling Hayley sexy as she has red hair. This could be another way of them trying to get the audience to buy the magazine as they will want to look like Hayley. This will then link back to their main target which is to sell the magazine.
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Half of the double page spread is covered by Hayley. The fact that she is big and stands out suggests to the reader instantly that this will be about her and by doing this they have already caught the readers eye. This will probably mean that the target audience is her fans. Also, she is showing a lot of skin as she is only seen with a bra and part of a skirt. This could reinforce the fact that she is aiming at mature adults as we established from the magazine cover. This could show that she can be seen as vulnerable due to what she is wearing even though she looks confident wearing this outfit. Also, the fact that the bra is very colourful could suggest that they are trying to use her body parts to engage with the audience as it could shock the audience. The fact that her face looks shocked could mean that the text that goes with it could be shocking for the audience to read. The colour scheme is also done well as the title says 'Hayley Williams is on fire.' This is good as it links to her hair which is a fiery colour and could also link to fiery comments in the article about her. This will also help engage with the audience. We can see that the text is shocking as she mentions how she had 'rough school experience.' Her sharing this experience will help the audience relate to what she has been through and can be seen as a powerful message. This could also meant that the magazine could be aimed at people going through these times so could be potentially younger. Some small parts of text is in red on both the front cover and the dps which gives a female connotation which reinforces the target audience.
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From this task I have learnt how the images shown on both the magazine cover and dps links so well to the text and the audience. I have also learnt how to find the target audience through the text.
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