2. The masthead for the magazine
“Rollingstone” is brightly
coloured red. The red is
attention grabbing and
appealing to readers. The
colour red has connotations of
love but also danger, relating to
the music genre of the
magazine. Rollingstone
magazine tends to follow all
music genres, therefore the use
of the colour red could indicate
that the magazine is simply for
people who love music.
Most commonly with Rolling stone
magazine the masthead will be obstructed
by a famous artist. This suggests that the
magazine is well known and that
consumers do not need to see their
masthead in order to know what they are
purchasing.
The font used for rolling stone magazine is quite
gentle and curved. It has an old fashioned
appearance, relating to the 60s and 70s and the
original Rolling stones which was a band during this
era. The font is distinctive and always remains the
same regarding simple aspects like colour and size.
This makes it easier for common readers to
recognise the magazine and continuity of the front
cover is achievable . The background of the
masthead is white whereas the inside of the letters
in the word rolling stone are shaded in black giving
them a 3D effect, this helps the masthead to appear
modern even though its links to the band and other
features are quite old fashioned.
The masthead is quite
symmetrical which links in
well with the properties'
and purpose of the
magazine. The magazine
looks at things from music
and politics so by having a
symmetrical masthead
they are suggesting that
the views within the
magazine are balanced and
unbiased. This will attract
readers as they will feel as
though they are in control
of the publication
The masthead of rolling stone magazine
also tends to be the brightest colour on the
page, this makes the red distinctive when
recognising what magazine it is and also
makes the publication look more
sophisticated
3. The masthead for RAP-UP magazine is often very bright and eye catching. The design is quite sharp and bold
and features a unique twist on the “U”in “UP”. The “U” has been designed to look like an arrow pointing
up, this relates to the name of the magazine and can also make readers think that rap is a developing genre of
music that will only continue to develop positively due to the use of the upwards arrow. The use of this feature
also gives the magazine a unique edge since the feature is recognisable and easily met with approval.
The colour of the RAP-UP masthead often changes depending on which celebrity features on the cover. The
colours will always relate to the celebrity allowing readers to conclude that the interview within the magazine
is the celebrity being their true self. For an example, for the front cover featuring Christina Milian the masthead
is pink, this relates to her as she's often quite girly and under dressed in her videos and early on in her career
she produced a lot of pop music with typical pop videos. The second example features Toni Braxton and
although she does not rap she does sing and produces calming music, yellow is often viewed as a calm colour
so by using yellow they are showing you that Toni Braxton has a calm personality. Lastly, the last cover features
Nicole Scherzinger, Nicole is often very energetic and has a lot of passion for her projects so by using red they
are complimenting her personality and showing you this.
The masthead for RAP-UP magazine is very symmetrical which could represent balance. The fact that each serif
is perfectly in line with each other can show that the magazine is not biased about artists in that genre of
music and publishes balanced views throughout. This is important as a customer would like to feel as though
they are not being influenced in to liking or disliking something and the masthead suggests that this will not
happen if you purchase this magazine.
The celebrities on the cover of the magazine will often obstruct the masthead to a certain degree. However,
the masthead always remains easily readable and recognisable. This suggests that whilst the celebrities and
the interviews are important features of the magazine, the magazine would also like to get recognition.
The overall appearance of the Masthead for RAP-UP magazine suggests that the magazine is modern and
current with todays music within that genre. The fact that the appearance changes regularly in regards to each
colour suggests that it keeps up to date with the constantly changing world of music.
4. The masthead for Q magazine is quite simple yet effective. The simple placing of a large, white “Q” on a red
background creates character. The soft innocence of the white in contrast to the loud attention attaining red
suggests that music is for everybody. In this case I strongly believe that the red symbolises music, red often
has connotations of passion and love and can be described as a loud colour. People around the world will
often have a passion for music and volume has always had a link to music due to music being sound.
The masthead for Q magazine is always placed in the top left hand corner of the cover. This means that whilst
the magazine is on the shelf it will be easy to view and grab people attention. The placing of the masthead is
also close to the spine of the magazine making the magazine more efficient to find as it will not have to be
completely pulled down off the shelf in a newsagents. The fact that the magazine uses it masthead to cater a
more efficient service to its customers will lead them to believe that the magazine is in their favour.
Although Q is a commonly recognised magazine, nothing ever obstructs its masthead. The reasons for this
could be that the masthead is a powerful tool in establishing a magazine, a magazines reputation is often
symbolised by its masthead and if the reputation is one that gains as much respect as Q magazine it may be
possible that in order to establish their publication more publically they refrain from obstructing their
masthead as much as possible. By also refusing to allow anything to obstruct their masthead Q is determining
its place within the music world. For an example, although the celebrities featured on the cover are often high
profile and very current, the masthead for Q magazine will often obstruct them instead. In a way you can
interpret this as Q saying it is a privilege to be on their cover.
