Critical Approaches 2

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 to entice their audience who aim for the luxury and stylish lifestyle.

• 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.

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.

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.