The document summarizes and analyzes various signs and signifiers used in magazine covers and contents pages for music magazines Billboard, Q, and Vibe. It examines the mastheads, skylines, main images, cover lines, and layouts on the front covers and contents pages, identifying whether they represent indexical, iconic, or symbolic signs. Across the magazines, different design elements aim to appeal to different target audiences, with Billboard appearing more formal and aimed at older readers, while Q and Vibe use more casual, youthful designs.

1. Signs and Signifiers
Georgia Fielding

2. R’n’B
The genre I have chosen for my music magazine is RnB, I
have chosen this because I like to listen to this style of
music and I regularly read R’n’B magazines. You can
identify this genre because of the style of the artist which
is featured in the main image of the magazine.The genre
conventions of RnB would be a stereotypical rapper with
heavy jewellry and tattoos.

3. Billboard Magazine - Front Cover
Masthead
The masthead used on the ‘Billboard’ magazine is an
indexical sign. This is because it is very bold and simple.
The use of plain white colouring and a simple
text font makes look like a fun magazine
and that it’s easy to read so the reader can instantly
recognise that the magazine is a ‘Billboard’ magazine.

4. ...
The additional colours that are used (blue,red,yellow) are also primary
colours that have purposely been chosen to make sure the masthead will be
indicated as ‘Billboard’ Magazine, this means the preferred reading that
billboard magazine want would be a fun, casual magazine. Part of the
masthead has been covered up by the main image by the designer of the
front cover. I believe this is because the magazine is well known and common
readers will be able to recognise the masthead without seeing it as a
complete word. This concludes that the masthead is an indexical sign because
only frequent readers will be able to recognise the name of the magazine.
The font used in the masthead is san serif, this gives the preferred reading to
be informal and more casual.

5. Q Magazine - Front Cover
Masthead
The masthead used on Q Magazine is
an iconic symbol, it uses one letter which
makes it simple and bold just like the
Billboard magazine. The Masthead is a
house style and is used throughout every
issue of the magazine which makes it recognisable to
continuous readers.

6. ...
The colour of the masthead is mainly red which is quite a
neutral colour to use for a magazine logo. The font for the
masthead is also serif meaning that the magazines
preferred reading would be formal and mature.

7. Billboard Magazine - Front Cover
Skyline
The skyline on billboard magazine says
‘womens music’ so its an iconic sign. This is because the
font is white and bold with san serif text further implying
that it is a casual magazine and not too formal. The text is
also a large font meaning that it an important statement
that catches peoples attention. This being an iconic sign is
a clear indication of the preferred target market that the
magazine is aiming for.

8. Q Magazine - Front Cover
Skyline
The skyline on Q magazine is “25th anniversary
collectors edition”. It is an iconic sign and is written in an
extremely informal font because it is san serif and looks as
if it has been handwritten in a careless way. It has also
been coloured in black, this has most likely been done to
attract less attention to the skyline than the masthead or
main image.

9. Billboard Magazine - Front cover
Main Image
The main image on Billboard magazine is of Beyonce.
This is an indexical sign because only people
interested in that genre of music will be
familiar of who she is and what she does.
The main image of beyonce is a medium close
up shot only showing her from 3/4s of the
body upwards.

10. ...
She is wearing a plain white dress, this shows how the
preferred reading from the audience would be that
Beyonce is classy and doesn’t want to showcase her
personality through her clothing, just her music. The way
she is standing is with her hands on her hips, this shows
she is proud and a dominant female. She also has her hair
scraped back which shows her face more, furthermore
showing pride because she doesn’t want to hide behind her
hair.

11. Q Magazine - Front Cover
Main Image
The main image on Q Magazine is a close up
shot of Tinie Tempah. This is also an indexical
sign because you have to be into that genre of
music to know who he is. Tinie is also wearing
black sunglasses,this shows he is trying to hide some of his
face and simulates trying to keep part of him private
because the eyes are often seen as the most important
feature on a humans face.

12. ...
He is also posing buttoning up his collar. This may signify
that he is trying to look classy and smart, this is a
controversial look compared to the music he performs and
the stereotypical image for black male rappers. This
concludes that the preferred reading would be that tinie is
trying to reverse his stereotypical image of a rapper to be
smart and sensible. The oppositional reading would be that
tinie isn’t being a normal rapper and may lose his street
cred with the audience who read the magazine.

13. Both Magazines - Front Covers
Main Cover Line
The main cover line on both of the
magazines is the name of the artist
featured in the main image. This is
an iconic sign because everyone
can read and even if you don’t know who the person in the
image is then the main cover line will tell you.

14. In addition...
Both main cover lines are in a big font and easy to read.
The one on billboard magazine is in block letters and is
clear and sensible writing coloured in blue to suite the
house style of the rest of the magazine. The preferred
reading for this would be that it is classy and simplistic just
like the rest of the magazine.

15. ...
In comparison, the font used for the main cover line on Q
Magazine is written in a handwriting font to compliment the
skyline, it is very informal and coloured white to stand out
over the main image. The preferred reading would be that it
looks like a diary or notebook, giving it a casual theme.

16. Vibe Magazine - Contents
Masthead
The masthead of Vibe magazine is very
bold and easy to read this is an iconic sign.
It is coloured in Black which makes it quite
dark and dull. This shows how the magazine is aimed for
an older target audience because the colours aren’t bright
and vibrant which tends to attract the younger generations.

17. Billboard Magazine - Contents
Masthead
On the billboard magazine contents page I
think the sign represented is also an indexical
sign because the title simply says ‘contents’ in
a bold black font.

18. Vibe Magazine - Contents
Layout
The layout of Vibe magazine contents
page is very simplistic and easily readable.
The colour scheme is light grey which also
indicates that it is for the more mature target audience.
The text is all laid out on the right hand side to the image.
The font is all black, yet again indicating that the magazine
preferred reading is for the older target audience.

19. Billboard Magazine - Contents
Layout
In comparison, the layout of billboard
magazine is a lot more complex. They
have a section on the left hand side
dedicated to the billboard music charts. This is an indexical
sign because only people who are interested in music will
understand how the charts work and who is featured in
them.

20. ...
Billboard contents also features many pictures. These
pictures are also an indexical sign because only people
interested in that genre of music will recognise them. There
is also a lot of text used by the editor. This shows how
there is a lot of information in the magazine, this isn’t
something that a young teenager would be interested in
reading. In comparison to vibe contents page where there
is minimalistic text.

21. Vibe Magazine - Contents
Main Image
The main image featured on the contents page
for vibe is Kanye West. This represents the
theme of R’n’B for vibe magazine and is an
indexical sign because many people may not know who he is.
The preferred reading of this image would be that he is an
inspiration for hopeful R’n’B musicians or that he represents
good morals. The oppositional reading would be that he is a
bad influence because of his strong opinionated views that he
signifies in his song lyrics.

22. ...
In the picture Kanye is wearing a simple coloured outfit
which makes him look smart and sophisticated to the
preferred audience. He has a monotone expression on his
face which may look like his is careless towards everything
but focused on success. Also featured in the main image is
a womans hand grabbing him from behind and holding a
red heart by his chest. This is a symbolic sign because it
symbolises love and emotion. The colour red also stands
out over all the other grey colours on the page. The
prefered reading of this would be that kanye has a soft side
to him and is showing emotion through the image and not
his facial expressions.

23. ...
This is also an indexical sign because the image has a
relation to his album ‘808s & Heartbreak’ people with no
knowledge towards Kanye West or R’n’B wouldn’t know
this.

24. Billboard Magazine - Contents
On the other hand the billboard magazine
main image is of Benny Blanco. This is also
an indexical sign because it is relevant to the
genre of magazine and whether you are educated in that
field or not. Benny Blanco is a music producer from New
York, this means the prefered reading would be that he is
an inspiration to future music producers who wish to
succeed like him. The oppositional reading would be that
the audience don’t know who he is and that he isn’t as
important as the music artists.

25. ...
Benny Blanco is also known to be a typical music producer,
living the casual lifestyle. Instead he has been pictured in a
tidy suit and tie which gives an oppositional view towards
his personality.

26. Q Magazine - Double-page spread
Headlines
The masthead of the double page spread from Q magazine
is an indexical sign because it is quite small and in black
and red, to fit in with the house style. The font is also serif,
this means that the preferred reading would be that the
magazine is less formal.

27. Vibe Magazine - Double-page spread
Headline
On the other hand the headline on vibe
magazine says “life of a shooting star”.
This is a symbolic sign because there could be a deeper
meaning to why it is saying shooting star. For example the
article could be referring to soulja-boy being a star artist in
the industry and that he shot up to success. The writing is
also written in a casual script font so that it looks like soulja
boy has written it himself.

28. Q Magazine - Double-page Spread
Layout
The layout of Q magazine is very bold and
simplistic. The use of the big ‘J’ in the
background is an iconic sign. The drop capital means it is a
formal kind of text maybe for the higher class readers.
Furthermore, the magazine double page spread is half text
and half image. The use of a lot of text further relates to
how the magazine is attracted to more higher class people;
this subverts the view that R’n’B magazines are usually
targeted at lower class people.

29. Vibe Magazine - Double-page spread
Layout
The layout of Vibe magazine is similarly
in a simple format. The magazine is also
split with an image on one page and
writing on half of the other. This shows how the target
audience of the magazine is aimed more at a lower class
or younger generation because they don’t want to read as
much.

30. Q Magazine - Double-page spread
Main Image
The main image on Q Magazine is
a close-up of Jay-Z. I think they have
used a close-up shot so it looks more
personal. In the image Jay-Z is wearing
sunglasses. The preferred reading for this would be that he
has ‘swag’ and is hard like a stereotypical rapper. The
oppositional reading would be that he is being secretive
and trying to hide himself behind the glasses.

31. ...
The symbolic sign behind this is that he is above everyone
else in status and that he is representing the symbolic sign
of a stereotypical rapper. The colouring used on the main
image also a symbolic sign because the colours blue and
red represent hot and cold which may relate back to the
kind of personality Jay-Z wants to promote of himself in this
interview.

32. Vibe Magazine - Double-page spread
Main Image
The main image on Vibe magazine is side
head shot of Soulja Boy. He is covered in
black marker pen writing and his neck is
covered in tattoos. This is symbolic because
the marker pen writing saying ‘swag’ may be him sending
out a message to the readers also the tattoos symbolizes
him showing the readers another part of him that he has
been covering up. This makes the image more personal.