Contents Page Analysis #5 - Research

This is a contents page from an edition of Uncut magazine. A large amount of the space on this contents page is taken up by an editorial piece, this is unusual for the contents of a magazine, as the focus is usually large images and list of what is being featured in that month or week's issue. After researching more into this cover, and the style of Uncut magazine, I have found out that they ask their editor to write a piece for the contents page of each magazine that promotes bands with a similar music style to that of the featured band/artist of that month. This would allow a niche audience to be created as the section would appeal to fans of the featured band that are looking to find more artists creating a similar sounding music and also creates a convention for Uncut magazine to keep their editorial piece in each magazine.

This is something that appeals to me and is something I would like to include in my magazine as it allows readers to try a new type of music they may not have before and is helping to break down boundaries between different music genres, something I would love to achieve with my magazine.

The magazine has taken an approach to their layout that I do not like, there is a list of the main feature articles and then above that there is a small selection of images that are relating to some of the articles. The font sizes for the title of each article are all the same, along with the colour of each. Underneath, a summary of each article has been included and this is in a smaller font size and also in black rather than gold for the colour.

The heading for the section is in a red banner and the writing is in a white, block capital font. Both of these things allow the text to stand out and be easily red. The red makes the heading look more important, and also allows the red background of the review section next to it look brighter and more important than the other articles and draws the readers attention.

By including mostly black and white colours on the contents page, the use of the red background shows how important the article is and makes it a focus point of the page. By placing it next to the editors piece it allows those two sections to work together to make the information come across more arrogantly and separately to the remaining information on the page.



On this contents page, there are neutral coloured images which again reinforces the brightness of the red, and the calm colours make the imaged look sedate and cool, and the centre of the images contains the product placement of an album, perhaps one being given away with the magazine or as another article image about a new album. This is different to the rest of the group or live shot images and then is more noticeable on the contents between the images.

How this research has influenced my ideas and creativity:

Each time I analyse a contents page set up in this format and layout, it reinforces the fact that I would like to break the conventional vintage rock magazine layout and bring something to a more modern audience. I also like the use of the red to indicate something important as it is eye catching and also holds a symbolic sign of importance,

Initial Ideas

For my magazine I would like to include:

• The dark clothing and makeup usually associated with the rock genre, by keeping to conventions it will allow the genre of my magazine to be obviously noticeable on the shelf.
• For my colour scheme I would like to use red, black and white shades, this is another convention associated with rock.
• I would like to have a medium close up image for my front cover.
• I think I would like to include a prop, maybe a microphone or a guitar. 
• I would like to have a double page spread focused on a musician and their life rather than being focused on music entirely.
• I think I would like to include a music free download or a code for money off or free shipping for a website.
• I think my cover will feature a female, probably looking directly into camera.
• The background may be quite plain.
• There will be a lot of articles featured on the front page to ensure there is an attraction to a wider audience.

Institutions Research #3 - Time Inc.

Time Inc. is the second largest media company in the world after Disney. They have major divisions in areas such as publishing, internet production, television and telecommunications. They are based in New York and specialise in publishing, having a portfolio of over 90 magazines, including Time magazine, Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune and InStyle.

Time Inc. merged with Warner Communications in 1990 and created Time Warner, until 2014 when the company spun off and Time Inc. continued separately. In January 2007, Bonnier Magazine Group bought 18 magazines from Time Inc. to produce themselves, the price paid is thought to be around $267 Million.

On the Time Inc. website, they include links to all of their social media pages so that customers can follow them for instant reports and updates rather than waiting for a magazine or newspaper to come out. These include Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

The company is global as they have  offices in different countries and their publications reach worldwide audiences.

How this research has influenced my ideas and creativity:

Time Inc. do not currently have any music magazines in their publications, so therefore, they could be a company to approach about taking on the magazine I am creating. However as the company have recently sold magazines to Bonnier Media, they could perhaps be the next company to research into and to see whether or not they have any music magazines of my genre.


EDIT: I have been back through and answered the questions below. They helped to expand my knowledge for the company and the audiences they reach.

Front Cover Analysis 5 - Research

This is a cover from Vintage Rock magazine, one that I will be researching into in detail as it is exactly the same genre as what I have chosen to produce, however this magazine focuses more on older rock artists, whereas I would like mine to have more of a younger audience and so I will be focusing on artists from around the late 60's, early 70's and the 80's eras.

On this cover there are three puffs, two of the same style just reversed and one of a different shape and colour.

The two yellow puffs are advertising a longer article from the magazine and the other what the special edition of the magazine is about. The third is advertising a different article, the type of which I would like to include in my own magazine, a review article. The bright colours of the puffs stand out from the background and the black and white image, therefore making them an eye catching feature on the cover.

The Vintage Rock masthead is placed in the upper third of the magazine, with Elvis's head slightly covering the masthead and sell line.

The same sans serif font is used throughout in different sizes and colours, the only different font is the masthead. It is simple and easy to read in both colours and allows the article contents to be read clearly. It also creates a synergy for the cover as all fonts, no matter what placement or colour are the same, including the sell line.

The central image is in black and white, which is linking to the Vintage in the masthead, it allows the theme of the old music to continue, and the main focus on music can be seen as the image is that of a live performance, it shows Elvis as a performer, mouth open and singing with his guitar as a prop. Dyer can be applied here as he says that "a star is an image". It is clear that Elvis would have had a life around music, and many other magazines and tabloids would have reported this, but the way this magazine has presented him is just as a musician and a performer.

The barcode has been set conventionally in the bottom right hand corner of the magazine. My magazine will also include this convention as it is a simple code that is easily kept for a magazine and alongside other aspects that may break convention, it will be a simple way to keep the magazine a classic.How has this research influenced my creativity and ideas?This magazine cover has told me that a black and white image could be useful in representing the vintage era, and that when advertising anything on the front cover, the best way to do so is to use brightly coloured puffs and banners.

Double Page Spread Analysis #2 - Research

This double page spread is based around Buck Owens, a popular American musician from the around the 1960’s to 1980’s. His music was a country style that incorporated elements of rock and roll. In 1959 he released a single called “Under Your Spell Again”, which is also the title of this article, this would appeal to his audience, and by making this the title of the article, Classic Rock magazine is drawing in a wider audience than they may usually attract.

The article is mostly in black and white, with a large image taking up over 2/3 of the page. This makes the red used for the title then more obvious than the rest of the page. The font used is a serif font and is the same as the drop capital on the beginning of the body of text. Red has symbolic signs that relate to power, and by making the title larger than the rest of the text and in the red colour it draws the reader in and makes them wonder what the rest of the article will include.

Reads: To celebrate the release of Buck 'Em! The Autobiography Of Buck Owens we present, in association with Hal Leonard/Backbeat Books, extracts from the king of The Bakersfield Sound's essential memoir.

The lead of the article, written under the title, describes what this double page spread will be about, in this case, it is releasing exclusive extracts from the autobiography of Buck Owens. Written in bold is Owens’ name on the second line, instantly this stands out from the text and allows the customer reading the article to know who the DPS is about if they don’t recognise the picture. Using the bold font makes the two words striking and more noticeable in comparison to the rest of the text.

In the image, the artist has been styled looking down at his guitar, making him seem like music is the most important thing to him, Dyer can be applied here as he states ‘a star is an image’ and by staging this, the photographer has created an image of Buck Owens that his audience and the magazines audience will like to see. The black and white photograph allows the genre of vintage to be clearly seen and the use of the black and white image next to a body of text in black font surrounded by a significant amount of white space allows a synergy and house style to be created on the page. This style also allows the large red title to be striking and appealing.

The black and white image is very simple, the background shows what looks like the inside of a theatre and there is a man in a white shirt walking through, this is all blurred out however as the camera has been focused on Owens, perhaps suggesting that now he has released his autobiography, the focus will be moved from his band as a whole and more onto his life outside of the band and his experience in the music industry.

How this research has influenced my ideas and creativity:

This is only the opening pages of the double page spread; however, I think as the start of an article, this is very effective. There is not a large amount of text on the page as the image and title take up the most amount of space, even then, in the space left there is only a short paragraph. This allows readers to take in the image and the title, and for those who know of Buck Owens’ music, the title being his song title too, and then to read the lead and possibly the first paragraph to then decide if they want to carry on. This would be especially effective if the customer was going to be reading a page or two in the shop before buying the magazine as it would allow their attention to be grabbed by this double page spread and to buy it, maybe listen to some of Owens’ music. I would like to recreate something similar to this as I love how the image is the main focus of the page, and how the star has been styled to match Dyer’s theory.

Institutions Research #2 - Guardian Media Group

Guardian Media Group owns newspapers like The Guardian and The Observer. The company co-owns Emap Performance Network Ltd. alongside Apax. As far as publications go, the company focuses more towards reporting the news and some tabloid stories over other genres of paper or digital publications.

This could possibly be a company worth approaching with the idea of them taking production of a music magazine, however there are many news headlines that indicate the industry for music magazines is decreasing, in an article published on the Guardian newspaper website that states the print sales in the first half of 2014 lost nearly 1 million pounds, and the Music Week website confirms that this is again true for 2015, specifically that rock magazine sales have been suffering considerably in the first half of the year.

As the magazine I am creating is a Vintage Rock magazine, this tells me that I would have to create a magazine with content different to any other on the market currently so that not only would it be appealing to a printing industry but also to a different style of market to ensure the sales would create enough profit for an industry to deem it feasible to take on and produce.

Guardian Media may be a company worth considering as they currently do not have any music magazines in their production, however they also mainly produce news and lifestyle magazines, and therefore may not be interested in the production of a music magazine.

Guardian Media Group Homepage

Target Audience Profile - Planning

Target Audience: Vintage Rock

• Age: Predominantly aimed at ages 15-18, however with the genre, there is the possibility of an older audience, so when writing my double page spread I will accommodate the language I use so it may appeal to a more mature audience.
• Gender: I would like my magazine to appeal to all genders, and I will try to achieve this by using colours that are not usually stereotyped to a gender, e.g. blues and pinks, unless necessary and for a specific effect.
• Sexuality: Again, I would like my magazine to appeal to all sexualities and I will try to achieve this by not having provocative poses or fashion choices on my magazine.
• Race & Ethnicity: Hopefully my magazine will appeal to all races and ethnicities, however, it is more likely to have a western/white audience than anything else due to the origin of the bands and the type of culture they appeal to.
• Class: Middle/Lower class, rock music is more likely to appeal to a lower class audience and has throughout history, however music barriers are breaking down and therefore there could be some audience in an upper class setting.
• Lifestyle: There could be a range of lifestyles for my magazine audience, however the most likely will be a working person or a student, therefore my magazine needs to be interesting and entertaining so that it could be used for relaxation. The type of more mature customer could be someone who liked the music of the bands/genre in their youth and went to concerts etc. and continues to this day to enjoy the music and would like to know more about the artist/band and the life they lived during the time the customer was a fan.
• Culture: The culture for my magazine will be more of a western world, and enjoying the style of music of the genre is essential. 
• Fan Bases: My magazine would appeal to the fan bases of bands like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Deff Leppard and Elvis Presley.
• Hobbies and Interests: The customers for my magazine could be interested in old style, vintage rock music, vintage films or even more modern ones that use that style of directing and production and music relating to the genre. They could also be into fashion and the style of clothing associated with this genre of music, such as leathers and ripped jeans and large boots. The audience could also be very into going to concerts and gigs of bands that are in this genre or style of music, therefore I would like to include reviews of concerts and albums, and dates for tours, reunion tours, singular concerts or album/single release dates.
• Fashion: The younger audience of my magazine especially may be very into fashion and the style of music associated with this genre, so including coupons or discount codes for stores or online shops that stock stereotypical rock style clothes could appeal to my audience. Stores such as Hot Topic, Pulp, Asylum Industries and Blue Banana would be the main, most known shops for this style of clothing by the audience.

Target Audience Word Cloud

This is a word cloud I have created to do with my target audience, these are words that I think could be related to the audience for my magazine and also could be used as ideas for the content of my magazine. Alongside my word cloud I have created a Slidely presentation with music and some images relating to my word cloud.

Target Audience Slidely by Slidely Slideshow

Double Page Spread Analysis #1 - Research

This double page spread focuses on David Bowie, the image of Bowie is a black and white image and is a medium close up angle. Of the two pages the image takes up one of the pages, leaving a large space for text and a title for the article. On the second page there has been a large amount of white space left, significantly between the second and third column and around the title. Having a whole page from the first two of a double page spread as an image of the artist is conventional of magazines, by having such a large image of the artist, it allows the reader to see who the article about and draws their attention in, making them want to read it.

The image used is an older image of David Bowie, when he was a younger man, this could be because the article is about him "revisiting his Berlin period", this is a time in the 1970's when he recorded and released 3 albums. The older image suggest that the article will be focusing on his current music plans and career alongside looking back to his past career. This would is a good way to attract a wider audience as the fan base Bowie has already created will gladly read this article, and his fan base will be large seen as how he has been in the music industry, this is an effective way for the magazine to make their audience larger and gain more money in sales.

David Bowie has a wide range of styles but one genre he produced a large amount of music from is rock music, in the image, he is dressed in dark clothing, including leather, and his hair is messed up, this suggests connotations and indexical links to the rock genre, it also suggests a carefree attitude, which again is commonly associated with a rock lifestyle. Bowie can be seen looking directly into the camera, and working alongside the black and white photo, this creates a dramatic tension and a synthetic personalisation with the reader as it seems as though Bowie is looking directly at you, this direct address works with the sense of nostalgia attached to the old image, as fans of his may feel as though they know him.

Usually David Bowie was represented in the media as a bright, pop/pop-rock style character, and so to choose the image above for the first page of the double page spread is unusual, and so is agreeing with Dyer when he says that "a star is an image", because in this instance, the way Bowie has been portrayed is different to his usual media image. However it could also be said that the bright hair and makeup he usually would have been seen with was also an image, and that like Lady Gaga, he prefers to hide his real identity and live behind a facade. Or it could also represent the fact that now Bowie has matured as an artist and a person and plans to leave behind his brighter pop self and focus on having a more serious career in music, either way, this will draw in the reader and make them want to read the article, especially long term fans of Bowie's, to discover why the representation of him is now so different to his past.

For the title of the article, a pull quote has been used over something that summaries the article or even includes Bowie's name. The font is a sans serif font and is bold, slim and large on the page. It grabs the audiences attention and the white space around the quote emphasises the mystery in the language. "It" is used vaguely, in the context of the article, it would be easy to tell what "It" was referring to, but in the title, out of context as a stand alone sentence, it adds mystery just by being non-specific in alluding to give more information, which adds another need for the customer to read the article, and make a purchase if the magazine has just been picked up from the shelf. The quote ends in an ellipsis, this builds more on the mystery of the article and makes the reader want to find out what the rest of the quote is, this builds on the synergy of mystery throughout the article working alongside the image and the black and white colours.

Reads: "I don't live anywhere. I must have complete freedom from bases. If I ever had anything that resembled a base, like a flat on a long lease or anything, I felt so incredibly trapped. Even if I go away I know that it's waiting for me, it's like it has me on a string, and it's dragging me back".

In the centre of the second column, there is another pull quote, it is from another NME interview David Bowie did in November 1977, from his Berlin era, and at the end of this section is the quote from the title, this allows further synergy through language as the mystery from the title has been resolved by reading the article and it ties the piece together in terms of language. The pull quote has been separated from the rest of the text through the use of the black lines above and below the text. Also the text has been written in a bold font to make it stand out from the main body of text, therefore emphasising the importance of the quotation. On all sides of the pull quote there is a large amount of white space, and therefore this allows all attention to be drawn to the pull quote and it's importance to the article and the title.

The use of drop capitals allows attention to be drawn to the start of the article, this is a convention of magazines and is a traditional code for all magazine layouts. This portrays NME as a conventional music magazine that stands to code, and allows them to attract an audience and show how established the magazine is with their fan base and audience.

A stand first is used underneath the headline to give more information on the contents of the article and what is included in the feature. This allows the reader to be lead into the article with a slight background and idea on the contents, rather than starting it with no idea what is happening throughout. There are six words in a bold font, "David Bowie" to clarify who the article is about if the reader did not recognise the image, and then the names of the writer and photographer. It is unconventional to include the names of the writer and photographer in the stand first instead of in a by-line under the image or at the end of the article. The typography of the stand first is very different to the title and the main body of text, and therefore it stands out against it and will not be confused for the rest of the article.

How this research has influenced my ideas and creativity:

The large image is very conventional of a usual double page spread and allows me to see the difference between sticking to convention and branching out to being unconventional. It has shown me that the best places to break convention would be in the cover and the contents pages rather than on the double page spread. It has shown me it is best to stay simple with the colour and complexity of the layout and to make it look effective, before focusing on the content of the article. One feature I did like about this very much was the unconventional title, using a pull quote as the title really woks well with the theme of this piece of writing and adds well to the mystery and connotations behind the image.

Contents Page Analysis #4 - Research

This is a powerpoint I have created showing an analysis of a rock magazine contents page.

Institutions Research #1 - Bauer

Bauer Media produces magazines such as 'Kerrang!', 'Mojo', 'Q' and 'Heat'. Bauer is one of the top media industries in the UK, creating not only magazines but radio shows, digital media and television channels. Bauer reaches a wide range of audiences every day, as their media types vary significantly in genre, some include lifestyle, nature and car magazines, apps and websites for a range of things and radio to match. To quote wikipedia, Bauer owns "more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world."

I do not think that Bauer Industries would be the right company to produce my magazine, as they already own Kerrang!, Mojo and Q, all of which cover a wide range of bases in the music industry. Mojo is a magazine that I will be analysing many times, as will Kerrang! due to the fact that the two magazines together create a vintage rock genre, and therefore Bauer as a company have the vintage rock genre of music already in publication. Bauer is such a large company that there would be no need for them to produce another magazine in a genre they already have a niché in, as it would not be feasible enough for them to make a profit.

Bauer Media Homepage

My Initial Treatment - Planning

To begin with I have answered a few questions about the planning of my magazine.

1. Name Ideas: 1968.
2. What month will your issue(s) be: November.
3. Genre(s): Vintage, Rock.
4. Target age group and gender: All genders, aged 15 to 18.
5. Existing magazines of most influence: Mojo, Vintage Rock, Uncut.
6. Colour scheme (House style): Red, Black, White, Grey
7. Weekly or monthly: Monthly
8. Magazine quality: Cheaper quality paper, allows a wider audience as the price is cheaper.
9. How many photos/photo shoots might you need?: A range of photos from different locations that all show different outfit choices, initially around 30 photos so that I have lots of options to choose from.
10. What representations might you use?: Dark colours, messy hair, dark clothing and makeup, black and white photos.
11. What will your DPS be about?: A concert for an upcoming artist that mimics the style of Vintage Rock.
12. Does an initial survey of your TA back up these ideas?: [An initial survey of my masthead and ideas will be completed soon.]

Contents Page Analysis #3 - Research

On this contents page, the colour scheme is very basic and monochrome, with interjections of red to highlight important articles. The page numbers, "cover story" and the number 44 are all in red. The articles are listed down the right hand side of the page, all are written in a serif font.

The words "contents" and "features" are also in the same font as one another, again serif, however different to the main body of text. They have the same underline which has an effect similar to a bar code.

( #1 )

( #2 )

The contents page also features two puffs, one grey and white, the other red and white. The first has an unusual shape, the many pointed star shape and the red colour make this more obvious on the black background and make it more eye catching. The red also creates synergy with the rest of the page as the numbers are in the same shade of red. The second puff is not as eye catching as the light grey shape on the white background makes it blend towards the background and makes it so you are more likely to notice the red puff first. The most conspicuous part of the second puff is the black writing as it is darker than the shape and the background and therefore is more noticeable. Again the grey, white and black create a synergy to the rest of the text and the black and white photo.

This contents page breaks the conventions of usual magazine contents pages as there is only one image, usually magazines contain many images - above 5 as a minimum - however this has the singular photo of The Rolling Stones. This image is styled more as a cover shot than an inside issue image, the image is a group shot and all of the members are looking into the camera. It is a very casual image and they have been styled to look like normal people, this could have Dyer applied to it as they have been created to look very normal without showing the stardom they really have, and therefore as an image rather than real people.

How this research has influenced me:
This contents page has shown me that it is again effective to break convention. The use of one singular image draws your attention to it, and makes the feature article very obvious. The black and white with red additions makes the puffs more noticeable and effective and that is something I may try for my magazine.

Genre Chosen: Vintage Rock

I have chosen to create a magazine based around the genre of Vintage Rock. I am aware that there is already a successful magazine in circulation focusing on this genre, however that magazine is centred on an older age range, and for mine I am going to be focusing on a younger audience.

Conventions:

1. Look at Uncut, Mojo and Vintage Rock.
2. Masthead: 1/6th of the front page, often in red, black and or white.
3. Other big, bold sub-headings and straplines.
4. Colours: black, gold, silver, grey, white, pink, red and yellow - shadows.
5. Big variety of fonts.
6. Cover stories: Exclusives: main article on a specific singer or band.
7. Lots of cover stories.
8. Features: free, interviews, tours, information about stars and what's happened to them, reviews, what's on, events, gigs, tour guides, critics choice, ads for CD's, downloads, whats's new, greats.
9. Puffs: circles, rims, jagged edges - some overlap masthead 2 or 3.
10. Pugs the price, date, issue at the top. Bar code bottom right or left.
11. Banners: not many, lines used occasionally instead.
12. Freebies!

Pictures/Photography:
Often the front cover has the full photograph of the star in medium/medium close up/wide shot of group all looking into the camera, centre framed.

• Group/Individual singers, male or female.
• Modern genre representations and show traditional older representations too.
• Locations are usually studio - shots are cut out - usually front cover image overlaps the masthead. Smaller imaged and DPS are studio/location/gig/stage/walls/in rooms playing music - lots of instruments to mise en scene.
• Props are: instruments/microphone.
• Costumes are: music genre and style specific, era specific lots of black and white shots.

Fonts - size, colour, etc:

Sans serif/Times New Roman/Large block font/round fonts/download fonts that reflect the genres and era.

Layout

• Lines
• Dots
• Boxes
• Thirds
• 3D
• Shadows
• Circles/Angles
• Stars
• Borders on pictures

Contents Page Analysis #2 - Research

For this contents page, the article list has been written along the left hand side, with images along the right and centre of the page. This contents page is only a singular page instead of double paged ones that I have looked at previously. Initially I thought that making a contents page a single page only would make it seem cramped and untidy, however in this Billboard edition it has been laid out nicely and looks tidy and planned. There are 4 sections to the contents page and one column, there are 4 images and the heading for the contents page is quite large.

The Billboard masthead has been displayed in the top right corner, quite small but still noticeable enough to advertise the magazine.

The colours on this page have been used in a contrasting way, the images along the right hand side are all quite dark in clothing and backgrounds, whereas Hayley Williams is dressed as a candy cane in the centre of the page, breaking up the text and the images and adding a large amount of colour to the page.

As this edition of the magazine is from July, it seems odd to have the main feature artist of the page dressed as an iconic sign, almost synonymous to Christmas. However the article Hayley is advertising has been placed under the sub-heading "Christmas in July" and therefore having the candy cane colours on the centre of the page makes the sub-heading more noticeable to readers.

The page numbers of this contents page is in a style I do not particularly like, (similar to that of the Mojo contents page from the last post (last contents analysis here) ) as I think that the pages being shown in this way does not advertise the article they match with as clearly as they possibly could. However all of the page numbers are in the same font style as the numbers next to the articles for the full contents page and that creates a synergy on the page and also adds to a house style created through graphology.

How this research has influenced my ideas and creativity:

Analysing another contents page in this style has cemented in my mind the idea that I do not want to use this type of layout and that I would much rather have my images and articles and page numbers in separate organised groups like the Q magazine from the last post. I much prefer the orderly layout and I think it makes it easier to see which image matches which article. and I will endeavour to use elements of that in my magazine. However from this contents page, I like the fact that the font on all of the numbers was the same, for the images and list of contents, and for me I like how that ties the images and text together.

Front Cover Analysis 4 - Research

The first thing I can see about this cover is that Dyer's theory about stars being "images" rather than real people can be applied, as usually Jessie J is not in all black leathers, as a pop artist she tends to wear brighter colours, so for this shoot she has been styled to fit with the usual image Q magazine creates for it's cover artists. Q also breaks convention here by having a sparse cover, magazines usually use their cover to advertise as many articles in the magazine as possible without making it cluttered and untidy, whereas Q is very minimalistic with its cover design.

The pink font used for Jessie J's name is predominantly a girly colour, which could be used to highlight her feminine image and also makes the colour stand out against the white of the studio background and the black of Jessie J's clothing.

Her makeup is very dark around her eyes with a brighter lipstick, however red lipstick is an indexical sign of the rock genre and female rock/pop-rock artists can be seen to wear it often in images, on red carpets and in music videos.

Her makeup could be said to link well with her stance to give a very independent image, which could also be classed as typical of Jessie J, her song "Do It Like A Dude" shows that she doesn't rely on her female image and attraction to men to get her by in the industry. This would also go against the views of Laura Mulvey in saying women only act the way they do for the "male gaze" as in this photo the idea is all about independence.

This could be seen as an unconventional cover for Q magazine as the stance they have chosen for Jessie J can be seen to be covering their masthead slightly. Her arms are both raised and they have chosen not to cover her arm with the masthead, but to place her arm over it. This could again be used to show how she is an empowered woman which is further disproving Mulvey.

Two puffs have been used on the cover of this magazine. Both have a predominantly baby blue background which moves into a bright pink gradient. This allows the puffs to stand out on the plain white and black of the house style of Q magazine and the black font is also large and easy to read on the background, allowing the article and the cover issue to stand out and advertise the contents. The font is a serif font and this is creating a house style with the masthead font used for the Q.

The font used for Jessie J's name and the signature Q 'X' after the artist's name, is in the same font as the example list of artists named for the article displayed on the front. This creates a synergy throughout the cover as all the font style can be linked to somewhere else on the page, and also the style of this font is very unconventional and messy, again in a way breaking the theory Mulvey has as the font is not feminine and therefore displays Jessie J in a different, individualistic light.

How this research has influenced my creativity and ideas:

This cover has shown me that it can be helpful to break the conventions of a usual magazine and that if used properly, it can create a lovely minimalist effect for the cover, which could then be continued on into the contents pages, allowing the articles to be very detailed and effective. It also has inspired me to not display a woman in the usual, sultry way to attract the "male gaze" as in my opinion Mulvey's theory is outdated and largely untrue in modern society.

EDIT: I had originally already written this post out, but after seeing that it had not posted, I came on to try posting it again only to find that all of the text had been deleted and only my image and the cut outs remained. This is the reason this has been posted later than the other research posts I have completed so far.