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.