The document analyzes several music magazine covers from different years. It finds that over time, the magazines have become more confident placing the artist photograph over important text like the masthead. Colors used are typically limited to 2-3 with bolded text standing out the most. Sell lines are placed strategically around the edges not to obstruct the main image. Font styles remain consistent within each magazine. Later covers feature more sexually explicit images that may attract readers. Overall, the magazines employ similar design principles but introduce small unique elements to stand out amongst competition.

2. Name of artist
contrast with back
ground because its
written in white
Red and black
features of
musicians names
Close up of the
musicians face eye
contact with the
camera attracts
audience
Bold writing changed of colour in
a sentence attracts audience
more because it stands out
Master head written in the
biggest size in bold stands
out the most
Special report shows
that it is a limited
edition and this
would attract the
audience more
Barcode of the
magazine and
date it was issued
Snippets written on the
edges of the page to avoid
overcoming the main
photograph

3. VIBE 2007 EDITION
This magazine was taken from an old
issue of ‘Vibe’ magazine and features
R.Kelly, which was released in 2007.
The mast-head of the magazine is
presented in large capitalized black
font, which makes it very eye catching
against the pale grey background. The
photograph of R.Kelly is places just
underneath the tittle and is partly
covering the letters of the masthead.
Seen as the two; mast-head and
photograph are near each other it
works well because while the picture is
attracting the audience the tittle is also
bold and eye-catching.

4. HEADLINES & SELLLINES
The headline for the main article within the
magazine is situated below the picture in the
centre of the page where it will be most likely
to capture the audience’s attention. The name
of the musician had been capitalised above
the mast-head, which again grabs the
audiences attention. It is located in the centre
of the page and as it is on top of the magazine
it gives us a sense of the fact R.kelly has more
importance to the magazine.
Another conventional feature of this magazine front cover is the use of plugs
(sell lines) given to the audience - this gives an insight into what other
articles can be found with in the magazine. These snippets give names of
other famous musicians that may also be featured in the magazine. The
plugs are also laid out conventionally around the edge of the page so they
don’t obstruct the featured photograph of R.Kelly.

5. COLOURS & FONT
The colours used within the front cover is also
ironic of the feature of a ‘RnB’ genre. The
black, red, white and splash of yellow create a
sense of music vibe. The bright red stands out
with the grey background. Therefore this issue
will attract to the audience because it is bold
and stands out.
The font of the magazine is very similar to
each other (house style). The title of the
magazine is written in bold and is the biggest
which stands out the most. Important words
(for example ‘innocent’ & ‘guilty’ have been
written in bold and in some cases the colour
has been changed this attracts the audience
because the words have been purposely done
to stand out and attract the audience.

6. Tittle of the
magazine written in
a completely
different font to the
rest of the magazine
states that it is
clearly the title of the
magazine
Sell lines of new
artists would that
would promote it
Direct eye contact
with the audience will
attract them to the
magazine
Bold jewellery
emphasises the
character of the
musician
All snippets written
on the left hand side
shows that the
magazine is
organised and well
thought out because
it doesn’t want to
cover the models
face.
Barcode at
the bottom of
the page and
date shows
when it was
issued.
Artists name written in
bold writing almost as big
as the tittle of the page
shows that the artist has
a big status.

7. RNB EDITION
The master head of the magazine is
Presented in large capitalized white, which
makes it very eye catching against the pale
black background because it contrasts. It is
also wrote in a graffiti type font that shows
the sense on ‘RnB’ music. The ‘N’ is written
in a smaller size than the R&B, however it
is very visible.

8. COLOUR AND FONT
The colour of the sell lines are kept very basic of two
of red and white. The two colours in particular stand
out and are in contrast with each other especially
with the background. They are also written on to the
left hand side of the magazine this make the
magazine look very professional, clear because it
looks organized and also has an edge of the RnB
vibe. The sell lines don’t block the main image of the
page of Elle Varner. Her name is written in a big font
at the bottom left hand side of the page, in red. It is
big as the title of the page which shows the
importance and presence of the musician. The
overall font of the magazine is very similar to each
other (house style). However this works very well
because it makes the magazine looks neat and
classy. The contrast of neatness and professional
aspects clash with the edgy ness of the musician
wearing bright colours which makes this magazine
very unique.

9. PHOTOGRAPHY
The picture on the magazine was taken as a
close up shot. A vast proportion of the page
is taken up by the musicians hair, which is
big and curly (dark brown) the colour is
contrasting with the font of the writing and
clothes she Is wearing . The volume of the
hair emphasises the features her face and
accessories she is wearing. The size of the
image takes up the whole page which
shows how confident the magazine are on
the musician. The accessories the musician
is presenting is bright neon colours that
contrasts with the blue she is wearing.

10. Looks like an old
music record
hinting that it is a
music magazine.
Tittle written in bold
black. Also some of it
has been covered
shows how well known
the magazine is.
Blue jacket stands
out within rest of
the simplistic
colours used.
Lack of sell
lines due to
amount of
space left.
They don’t
obstruct the
main picture in
anyway.
Statement
accessories
Influences current
fashion.
Direct eye contact
with the audience
attracts their
attention
Date and barcode
of the magazine at
the bottom of the
page keeps it
neat& organised

11. BILLIARDS
This magazine was taken from an recent
issue of ‘Billiards’ magazine and features
Usher, which was released in 2012.
The mast-head of the magazine is presented in
bold black font which makes it very eye catching
against the white background. The feature
photograph of Usher in the front cover ,blocks the
masthead which shows how confident the
publishers are that the magazines popularity will
overcome this. The last letter of the masthead is a
‘D’ which is filled in with the colour yellow. This
makes the magazine very unique because the
colour yellow stand out compared to all the other
standard colours. It is a very clever way to make a
magazine stand out and attract the audience
because of its unique features.

12. HEADLINE & SELL LINES
The headline for the main article within the
magazine is situated on the side of the picture
underneath the tittle of the magazine, where it
will be most likely to capture the audience’s
attention. The name of the musician had been
capitalised on the left hand side of the picture,
which is written in the second biggest font (bold
& black). As it is written in the second biggest
size on the magazine it gives us a sense of fact
that Usher has more importance of the
magazine or is the main issue of the magazine.
Another conventional feature of this magazine is the use of sell lines. The
snippets give names of other musician that may also feature in the
magazine or upcoming events. They are written in a smaller size but also
written in bold. The sell lines are laid out around the edge of the page so it
doesn’t obstruct the photograph in anyway. As the photograph is huge there
are only a few sell lines on the page.

13. COLOUR & FONT
The colours used within the front cover are
standard black and white colours. The black,
white and splash of yellow create a sense of
music vibe. The splash of yellow on the ‘d’
looks like it is a old music record, which
visualises that it is a music magazine.
The font of the magazine is very similar to
each other (house style). The title of the
magazine is written in bold and is the biggest
which stands out the most. The sell lines are
also written in black bold and and stands out
on the white background. Although the writing
is on in black it doesn’t lack colour because of
the photograph. Usher is wearing a coat that
is blue which gives the magazine a splash of
colour. It works well because it is simplistic but
eye catching.

14. Masthead written
in big font some
parts covered by
the main image
of the artist.
Direct eye contact
with the reader
draws attention to
the magazine
Touching of the breast
shows sexual contents
which also mages the
image unique and
attracts attention.
Date and barcode
shown on the edge of
the magazine doesn’t
get in the way and
makes the
presentation of the
magazine look neat
and organised.
The plus sign
connotes the words
‘and’ and then
continues with a list
of artists names that
will also feature in the
magazine.
Name of musician
featured in the main
image of the magazine.
The name consists of a
dollar sign $ which looks
like and ‘s’ this could
represent fame and
fortune of the artist.
Hip- hops guilty
pleasure sounds like
something that is
sexual and sounds like
play on words that
would attract audience
to buy the magazine to
find out more about
the guilty pleasure.

15. VIBE 2012 EDITION
This magazine was taken from a
more recent issue of ‘Vibe’ Magazine
was released in 2012 which features
Kesha.
The mast head of the magazine
is written in red bold, capitalized
font. The photograph of the artist
(Kesha) obstructs a part of the
mast head suggesting that it was
done on purpose. This shows
that during time publishers
became more confident hat the
magazines popularity will
overcome this.

16. HEADLINES AND SELL LINES
The head lines for the magazine is written in red saying
the word ‘exclusive’ in capital letters. This is very eye-
catching and would attract the reader more because the
colour of the writing and the white background clashes.
The name of the artist is the second biggest font on the
page which shows the amount of importance she has for
the magazine. KE$HA is written with a $ dollar sign. This
would show wealth which cold link to the amount of
jewellery she is presenting. The name shows unique
character to the magazine and as it is the second biggest
font written in red it draws more attention.
The sell lines of the magazine are written on the sides of the pages were it doesn’t obstruct
the main image in anyway. The sell line that stands out the most is the one above the artists
name. ‘Hip-hops guilty pleasure’ this sounds very secretive and gives it a sense of sexual
contents by using the words ‘guilty pleasure’ it matches the photograph because the image
also exploits sex ‘like’ contents. The other sell lines show other upcoming events of
musicians and topics that will come up in the magazine.

17. COLOUR AND FONT
There are three main colours used in the front cover which is:
red, black and white. The three colours are very popular and
used a lot in the vibe magazines, almost like it is their theme
colour. The colours are bold and because they clash against one
another they attract more attention to the buyers or viewers. Red
is used more for the important words and tittles in bold which
clearly stands out the most. The use of only three colours is very
simplistic which works because it doesn't over power the image
or looks crowded, this makes the magazine unique and eye-
catching.
The font and style of writing is very similar to each other (house style). It is clearly shown
that the one that is written in bold and is the largest is the tittle. The boldness and colour
is done in the order of importance and has been done on purpose because the producers
want the audience to read the main ideas of the magazine. For example words such as
‘exclusive,kesha,nas’ had been written in red . ‘Hip-hops guilty pleasure’, ‘the big gay
debate’ was written in bold black which was the third biggest font. This shows what attract
attention the most because it is the most important and has been cleverly organised.

18. OVER ALL VIEWS
From the research that I have done I have noticed a lot of similarities and
some differences that make each magazine unique and attractive. From the
two vibe magazine I have noticed that along the years the magazine hasn’t
changed much because it is still kept simplistic and has a maximum of
three- four colours which don’t over power the magazine and still draws
attention the audience. Also the font of the magazine hasn’t changed much
and has still has the similar font through out the whole cover (house style).
In fact all the magazines had similar fonts through out the front covers and a
limited amount of colour used. The RnB magazine had quiet a few colours
on the page mainly because of the main image of the artist. Through out
time we can see that the photography used in the cover have become more
explicit and sexual. This shows that through out the years sexual contents
have become the ‘norm’ of what attracts readers to buy magazines.
Furthermore each magazine shows a uniqueness about the way it is
presented for example the Billiards font cover has the ‘d’ coloured in yellow
or the way the RnB magazine organised their sell lines. All the images used
have direct eye contact with the audience and are The presentation and
formatting of the information is key in music magazines each magazine is
very eye catching and attracts attention. This shows the amount of
competition there is in the r&b music magazine industry in ways or selling
their product to the readers.