The document provides an analysis of the layout, design, and content of the magazine Vogue. Some key points: 1) The September issue uses warm autumnal colors like red, orange, and blue on the cover to set the seasonal tone. Images are at eye-level to engage the reader. 2) Articles within cater to the target audience of 34-year-old women with sophisticated yet simple designs. Trend pieces and fashion recommendations aim to influence purchasing decisions. 3) Photography, styling, and topics featured aim to inspire the fashionable and luxury lifestyle associated with the Vogue brand and readership. Formats vary across pages to maintain visual interest.

1. Critical Approaches 2

4. As this issue is the September issue the
colour scheme is very autumnal using fairly
warm toned colours ranging from the red
in the background to the orange text,
which then contrasts with the blue of the
coat to create more of a focal point in the
cover to draw the eyes to the main focus of
the cover which is the model.
The main masthead is slightly hidden by
the models head which is much like a lot of
vogue covers which helps to create some
kind of regular format for vogue front
covers. As well as this on the cover one of
the smaller subheadings uses the models
name to help attract her fans as it is the
orange font which draws attention too it.
Also due to the average reader of the
print copies of vogue being 34 years old
the colour schemes are quite classic to
autumn and very simple with no
overpowering bright, clashing colours
which would be more suited to a
younger audience. As well as this the
fonts on simplistic layout also represent
who the magazine is aimed at as the
cover looks very sophisticated and not
cramped and busy.
The photography for this cover will have
been shot in a studio like setting to achieve
this candid look even though it is being
posed for. As well as this due to the photo
being shot at a mid level/ eye level it helps
make it seem as if she is looking at the
audience as the eyes are looking straight
out and the bright blue colour of her eyes
is also reflected in the coat to help
enhance them. By having an eye level
image on the front cover it helps to entice
an audience, especially as his is a fashion
based magazine the fact that it is almost a
full body shot, and features a famous
current on trend model helps to reflect
what their audience requires from their
magazines, which may be anything from
fashion inspiration to tips and tricks.
This cover features quite a few numbers
and figures in the cover lines for example
he ‘7 trends’ piece would help entice
their audience to purchase the magazine
as vogue readers tend to spend more on
fashion every year than readers of
magazines such as Elle and Marie Claire
therefore these ‘7 trends’ may entice
them to buy the pieces that are in the 7
trends and interest them as an audience
as September I the start of the new
season of which trends will have
changed.
As well as this due to having 96% of
their readers being female and their
characteristics being ‘stylish’ and ‘luxury
consumers’ the cover lines specifically
target this audience by lines such as
‘most fashionable restaurant’ which
would encourage their readers to feel
the need to by stylish in the places they
choose to dine in and not only just their
appearance but making their daily life
reflect their fashion choices.
Due to 93% of their audience owning designer fashion it is
important for vogue to promote designer fashion trends
too them for example by them saying ‘The new look’
would suggest to their readers there are new trends
which they will need to by new clothing for to fit the
trends that they want to and stay stylish through autumn.
Although their audience is generally AB/ABC1 the language used crosses
over between both formal and casual to appeal to both ends of their
audience. The image used also reflects the date of issue due to it being a
more autumnal issue more warm toned orangey colours have been used
to portray which issue it is and what kind of look they are promoting that
month. The overall look of the magazine is A4 standard size but also has a
glossy cover to give a more classy and sophisticated look to the magazine

5. • In the latest December issue of Vogue the layout
on the inside varies quite a lot ranging from
pages that 90% text and only have one small
image all the way to a double page spread of one
image and one small caption to anchor the
image in relation to one of the articles. This
format throughout helps to keep the overall
internal appearance of the magazine just as
interesting as the cover and help keep their
audience interested. As well as this due to 93%
of their audience owning designer fashion and
94% of their audience owning luxury beauty
brands around 40-50% of the magazine is filled
with advertisements from a range of different
brands such as Estee Lauder and Dior.
• The magazine also has a lot of different features
to suit a wide variety of people ranging from tips
and tricks to model interviews and therefore this
suits the variety of people with in their target
audience. As well as this by including famous
models or artists in the magazine it draws in
their fans and can help Vogue widen their
audience slightly.
• Each of the images used in the magazine comes
with a small caption or quote to provide
anchorage and give meaning to the image to
display, either what is happening within the
image or a quote about the image. By doing this
it means that the images cannot be misleading
and taken the wrong way as it leaves little room
for interpretation.
• Within this magazine it features a lot of different
ranges in layout as some pages have images
which fill the page and in other cases they have a
page full of text with only a few images dotted
around the page to break up the text.
• As well as this they use a lot of shaded boxes
around some of the blocks of text on the more
busy pages and by doing this it helps to break up
the large amounts of text and draw the eyes to
the more important sections of text. Also they
use a few circles on this pages to highlight key
elements of the article or sections that would
draw a reader in.
• Another thing with this issue is that they have
used a lot of cool toned colours within thee
image and I think this is effective as it helps to
display this idea of winter and coldness and this
is shown throughout the December issue. Also
by doing this it helps reflect on the idea of winter
and how it is cold and this brings out the blue
and green tones throughout the magazine even
though the interview article has image which are
set in summer, they still use dark cold colours, as
her dress is black and and the background is also
made up of quite dark greens. However the
page which is made up of lots of smaller chunks
of text and images that directly reflect what is
being said also uses cool toned blues, beiges and
blacks which creates continuity throughout the
magazine and helps it flow.
• Within all the article the way it is written
variety's from quite casual and informal using
some slang in the first page which is made of the
little chats with various different people who
make the magazine, for example the editor, this
page is kept quite casual. On the other hand the
main feature of this issue is written with quite a
formal tone and doesn’t feature much slang. I
think by having this variety throughout helps to
make it a lot more personal but not too much as
though it doesn’t feel like you were reading a
magazine anymore. Also a other bonus from
doing this is that it suits both ends of there
target audience as the majority of their readers
are within the ABC1 category and by having this
variety of how it is written helps most people
within their target audience find something that
is suitable for them and in what style of writing
they would prefer whether they prefer it to be
very formal or very casual.
• Another thing that is used a lot within this issue
is the use of pull quotes to help break up the
large sections of text within the mains articles of
this issue.

8. NME have had a variety of styles over the past few years for
example their most recent issues have been very minimalistic
and haven't had many if any headlines. As the cover with slaves
on the front simply has an image of them, the NME logo
scattered all over the page, and the name of the band with a
minor strap line, also on this cover there is the use of the yellow
blob to draw in peoples attention. Another thing about this
cover is how they have used a live candid image as apposed to a
staged image in a studio like in their previous older issues. I think
the live photo is very effective as it makes the reader feel more
involved especially as the lead singer is looking towards he
camera and it looks like a very intense scene and I think this
would help draw in new readers as it’s a very simple yet eye
catching cover.
In their older issues they went for a more busy and eye catching
cover, for example the Oasis cover has a lot of other information
on it unlike the slaves cover. Also on this cover they’ve used a
more newspaper headline like style using the reverse technique
of having the white text over the black background and makes it
appear like more of a serious headline within a magazine and this
is effective at making it appear like it’s the most important thing
within that issue and people need to read this as its using this
bold font wit the plain black white and red colour scheme making
it even more eye catching. Also on this cover there is hardly any
white space as it is all filled up with either who features in the
magazine or brief descriptors of what is inside this issue. By
having clearly on the front of the issue what bands feature in this
copy helps to draw in their fans and therefor widen NME’s
audience and help make more sales as fans may catch sight that
their favorite band features in this magazine and that may make
them purchase this issue. Also in this issue I think the colour
scheme of black, white and red keeps their logo incorporated and
has the stereotypical rock and roll colours and therefor suits their
audience well is it likely that someone who would read this
magazine enjoys that genre of music.
In the issue with Noel Gallagher on the cover incorporates the
interesting minimalistic look and the busy oasis cover and I think this
one is most effective and eye catching as it contains the details on who
is featured in the magazine, a controversial quote from him, and has
the large image, which is a head on shot and makes it feel as if he is
looking out at you and makes it a lot more attention grabbing.
Generally on the majority of NME covers they have a more
glossy look and appear more shiny than magazines such as
vogue. As well as this on most NME covers their is more
information on what features within the magazine and has
cover lines all around the images on the cover of the
magazine. Another noticeable thing about this magazine is
that the colour scheme they use is mostly very basic and
sticks to three main colours depending on what the main
image on the cover is, generally there's a black, white and
red colour scheme on most of them as well as this generally
the NME logo site in the top left corner of the magazine
whether its in front of the image or behind the image. I
think by having the logo in the same place on most of their
issues it makes it more memorable as you can imagine what
the cover would look like just from hearing the name NME
if you have seen their magazines before. As well as this the
colours depend on what type of artist is on the cover, when
more rock/alternative bands are on the cover the magazine
uses a more darker colour scheme is it more stereotypically
matched with that genre of music and dark colours are
seen as a convention of this type of music whereas when a
more pop artist is on the cover a lot brighter colours are
used to represent the genre of music which is being
featured in that issue. Quite a direct mode of address is
used in quite a few covers of NME by using images where it
looks like the artist is looking at you, the reader.
You can also see how the cover mainly targets a
predominantly male audience as in their key stats is shows
that 63% of their audience is male and I think this is shown
in the cover as they use the masculine colour scheme and
the words they use on the covers and articles can be quite
aggressive and seen as more of a stereotypically male thing
to say for example on the Oasis issue the main headline is
‘Rocks messiest bust ups’ meaning ‘messy’ arguments and
the cover I would say looks quite aggressive as the people
on the cover are looking as if they're trying to intimidate
each other and look quite angry and therefore i think you
can tell that this magazine is aimed towards a more male
based audience.

9. This magazines is more article based which is
completely different to vogue as that magazine
featured predominantly more adverts than articles.
However this magazine does still contain some
promotions and adverts but not nearly half as much
as Vogue contains.
In almost every article in this magazine drop
capitals are used to start each article and have the
corresponding colour to one which features in the
main headline for example the burnt orange colour
of the ‘A’ in the Pete Doherty article s the same
colour that is used for the word ‘good’ in the
headline and is also the same colour as the bear.
Another example of this is in the Nicki Minaj article
where the bright pink of the drop capital is also
used in the headline when is says her name and it
also matches the same colour as her lipstick in the
image.
Another noticeable thing about the article in NME
is that they almost always have one page which is
covered by and image, and this page will also either
contain a pull quote from the article like in the Pete
Doherty article and in the Liam Gallagher article
both a pull quote and anchorage is used so that the
image doesn't give any room for interpretation.
Also by including pull quotes it adds an more
interesting look to the article and also gives and
insight in what the article is about without
someone having the read the whole article.
In NME magazines there are generally too kind of
looks for the main articles and that is either to have
them in an interview format like in the Nicki Minaj
article where all the ‘Gospel’ is laid out in number
order. Or like in the two other articles where its
one large image on the left hand page and then on
the right hand page is where all the most important
information from the article is put in generally 3
columns which include a pull quote either in the
middle of the article or at he top covering the top
third of the page.
The articles within NME magazines are
quite informal and can sometimes
feature swearing as their general target
audience is 25 year old males and
therefore is written like a 25 year old
male and is very informal and can
sometimes be either direct or indirect
depending on the style of the article or
interview.
In almost every article staged , studio
images are used and they are generally
head on shots where the artist appears
to be looking directly at the reader and
make them feel more included like in all
the image in these three covers all the
artists are looking directly forwards as if
they are engaging with the reader.
I think that by having this continuity
throughout each and everyone of their
articles it makes them more easily
noticeable to NME fans and also its a
simple layout for readers to follow
without it being boring and looking
repetitive so that every issue looks the
same. Also throughout each issue NME
aim to get self promotion through the
bands or artists that they feature for
example with the Liam Gallagher article
it the main headline for that article is
about him, buying NME when every new
issue comes out no matter what, by
doing this it makes the fans of that band
or artist more likely to purchase the
magazine weekly to feel as they're the
same as their favourite artists and makes
them feel like they have something in
common with that artist.