Marie Claire - Lea Michele

Marie Claire is a monthly magazine which was first published in France. It is mainly a fashion magazine aimed at women and was first published in 1937. Marie Claire is distributed in over 24 languages and 35 countries. Its audience is worldwide.

I have decided to analyse a fashion magazine as I want my magazine cover star to go against the conventions of glamour. To do so, I am going to research the codes and conventions. My magazine photo shoot will be more relaxed and casual.

To the left, this magazine cover is from the Subscriber’s edition – one for those who receive monthly subscriptions. On the front of the November 2010 is Lea Michele, who is the star of the hit American show, Glee. I like this front cover as it is simple and shows Lea as quite a perfect character. The title “Full of Glee” is relevant due to her part in the show.

Her black nails and metallic dress is very glamorous, however, the expression on her face makes her look quite worried and unnatural. The word ‘Glee’ which means happiness can contrast with the expression. The photo is quite posed and Lea looks directly at the camera. Like most fashion magazines, Lea has been dressed for the article. The metallic dress connotes money and glamour. I also think that wearing no jewellery connotes to the latest fashions and makes the dress stand out, so that the attention is either on her face or the outfit.

Lea’s face also has that obvious effect of an airbrush. She also has a glow which connotes to the fact she was an uprising star and now is famous in several countries. The three colour code of white, black and gold revolves around the outfit and signifies luxury. The simplicity of this magazine cover is why I think it goes against most magazines, especially fashion.

NME - Beth Ditto

NME is a music magazine based in the United Kingdom. It is distributed weekly and the first ever issue was published in 1952. The cover on the left was published in 2007 and features Beth Ditto.

When you first see this image, it isn’t very pleasant. In fashion magazines, most people expect to see size zero girls on the front exposing their ribs, but on music magazines it is more about the image of an artist or band. Beth Ditto’s approach to this is that she believes that “Big is Beautiful”. Although she is putting across her feminine side, the tattoo on her arm and aggressive look give her male characteristics too. When people see Beth Ditto, she is normally associated with the band Kiss. This is the reason for the lipstick mark on her backside – it connotes a sexual statement. Beth gives a contrast to the blonde hair, blue eye image normally associated with females.

The text for her name is up and down and this could connote the ups and downs in her career. It is also quite a ‘funky’ font and it could mean she is a fun person. The magazine has a three colour code scheme, consisting of yellow, red and black. The yellow background would also connote that as it generally means bright and excited. Like the other analysis, the contrasting colour is red, which generally means danger. The black bold text stands out most and ‘matches’ Beth’s hair colour. 

In the rule of thirds, Beth’s body is in the centre of the page, with her face in the top third; although, not the smallest of stars, Beth’s figure is centred to exenterate her view on ‘larger ladies’.  I believe the editors of this magazine have still airbrushed parts of Beth, to make her seem more ‘magazine glossy’.

In the top right hand corner, there is a circle which offers a free poster inside the edition. Below that the “Plus...” encourages people to read. When bands and artists are listed, their fans see that they are featured and generally buy the edition.

Vibe - Janet Jackson

Vibe is an American music magazine which aims its multimedia products at 18-34 year olds of both genders and publishes quarterly throughout the year. The magazine features R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. This front cover is from an edition in April 2008.

The first thing you notice about this cover is Janet Jackson. She is in the centre of the page. The four quarters of the page each have a piece of her photo in them. Her face is situated in the centre at the top, in front of the masthead. This completely draws your attention to her. Janet Jackson is seen as a feminine character in the public eye, however, in this photo, she is wearing a typical business-MAN suit. This could indicate the business side of her. Her hair is also tied up. Vibe seems to have portrayed Janet Jackson as quite a masculine figure. The way she is holding her hat makes her seem as if she is greeting someone. Her smile is quite sinister and cheeky, like she is planning something. The overall look of Janet Jackson is that she is a business woman behind all of the glamorous side. This cover is coming from the perspective of a feminist.

The text to the left of Janet is her brother, Michael Jackson’s, album title. Her name above suggests that article may talk about Michael and his comeback. The main colours used are yellow, red and white. Yellow generally denotes happiness and excitement, whereas red denotes danger.

The background is like a stone wall. This could connote “back street business man”. I also think that the wording – “Off The Wall”, which is Michael’s album title – supports the background. The graffiti font could connote Italian Mafia scene.

I also noticed that as the front cover, there is not a lot of information, telling you what the article will be about – simply just “JANET; Off The Wall”. This could encourage the audience to read this.

Planning and Research for Main Task

For my planning and research I will analyse two-four magazine front covers, two double page spreads and two contents pages. Doing so will allow me to look at the conventions of music magazines. I have decided to analyse four covers; NME, Vibe, Marie Claire and Top of the Tops. The four contrast a lot, but this way I can see the different conventions.

Prelim Task - School Magazine

This is the front cover of my magazine. I have changed a few things, like the mast head was originally going to be one colour. I have also added drop shadow effects to all the text. I have also moved the issue number to the left.

I have manipulated the photo which is used for the background. There was orignally some stains on the wall behind Rachel and I thought this made the school look dirty. Magazines always glitz up their front cover as the codes and conventions suggest that everything has to be perfect. I also edited Rachel's face and gave her face an airbrush effect.

The colour scheme is related to the colours of the school. I have decided to give the text a drop shadow and deboss to make it stand out more. This conforms to the conventions also.

Prelim Task - School Magazine

For our prelim, we have to design the front cover of a college or school magazine as well as the contents page.

This is the mock up of my front cover.

I am going to use red and blue as my main colours as this is the schools colour code. I want to have a mid-shot of a student with the building in the background, as this will make it feel more student-friendly. The student on the front wont be in a posed position, but just casual and candid. The shot will be mid-shot as this agrees with the conventions of magazines. The puffs - which are short lines that grab the readers attention - will be situated on the right. This is to catch the readers attention last (referring to the rule of thirds) and it will be fresh in their mind when they open the magazine.

The issue number will go in the top corner and the price and barcode will be in the bottom corner. This is because they aren't that important and are not meant to stand out as much.

This is my mock up of my contents page.

I have decided to use the same masthead as the cover one. This is to keep to the house style of the magazine. I have also carried on with the navy blue and red - as they are the school colours. The right side of the page will be a column with images and some text underneath - similiar to those TV magazines. The left side will have an editors note and the contents of the magazine.

AS Coursework

As I failed my coursework last year, I have decided to re-sit. However, the difference this year is that instead of trying to achieve a Hollywood effect for a film, I will be creating print products. For this task, I must create five print products. A preliminary task that will consist of a magazine/college front cover and a mock-up of a contents page. I will also have to create for my main task a music magazine front cover, double page spread and contents page.