Magazine
analysis
CHOICES
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I have decided to study and analyse this magazines mainly because they are the inspiration for the creation of the prototype of our own ( Detailed ), given that they all revolve around fashion as a genre but focus more towards creative minds.
Additionally besides their similarities in relation to genre and style, it has some striking differences which i would like to have a more in-depth understanding of.
In terms of research,
i found Atlas and Nude through ISSU an online publishing platform mostly for magazines which our Media Studies teacher recommended to us. Regarding i-D, it is a magazine I've been fond of for some time already so i decided to analyse a recent edition i already owned.
i-D
When describing a general view of the magazine, it is observable that the main colours used are neutral, a scale of greys and a few strong colours that attract the attention to models or to various pieces of clothing, but this can be said to be specific only to this edition.
The text is mostly small and less noticeable meaning it differs the attention of the readers to the images found, which does suggest that the photographic work of the magazine is one of the main centres of focus.
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In terms of conventions it does follow some such as the byline which can is present vertically in the cover of the magazine stating the main details regarding editors, photographers... Furthermore it does have a Masthead with the logo of the magazine but it is only emphasised in the front cover with neutral monotonous colours contradictory to the usual convention of a bright one that highlight is importance.
When having in mind the ones it does not follow, or at least not in the common way such as the captions and folio.
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The cover page itself, is very simple and minimal in terms of the magazine style but this does not fail to capture the intrigue of the audience given the choice of image,model and the few texts that teases what might be inside.
The choice of using a B&W picture might suggest a classic aspect to fashion and a signature style of Mario Sorrenti,the photographer.
The name of the model is very noticeable and highlights the relevance of fashion personalities included.
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The table of contents does in this case respect conventions but at the same time challenges them and finds a more creative approach to it, by including publicly a perspective in the mind of the creators behind this edition and magazine as a general.
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The particular thing to this magazine is that besides its artistic work and cultural creative path, it clearly follows the main conventions of a commercial fashion magazine, similar to Vogue when taking into consideration the editorials, interviews and ads. This leads to a continuous similarity in content of the following pages.
The main articles of the magazine focus on contemporary important celebrities and artistic personalities such as :
Charlie Heaton starring character from the popular Netflix series Stranger Things,Joe Alwyn, A$AP Rocky...
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This reassures the idea that the targeted audience for this magazine are mostly youth creatives interested in various aspects of this magazine starting from known personalities and the way it relates to fashion commercials, photography, culture...
Moreover I believe that the range of this audience is global and very wide in terms of interests when taking into consideration the fame of this magazine, its influential online platforms and the fact that it is sold and distributed globally although it does not have an online free version which may limit its reaching possibilities.
When having i mind the way this magazine inspires me, I would like to include some elements it contains and use as guideline when creating our own magazine.
Especially the element ts in the cover page as well as the colours and the diverse ways in which in connects relevant and interesting topics with fashion and arts with highlighting social media.
NUDE
The style of this magazine is to a certain extent similar to i-D but it can be observed that it is an independent magazine, with more of a minimal and artistic approach which is what captured my attention initially including the style of photography use
throughout it.
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The edition i have decided to analyse has a black and white photo as a cover, I believe this absence of colour suggest the simplicity of the magazine as well it intrigues the readers and gives more space for personal interpretation, although once analysing the entire magazine this colour choice varies and includes very vivid and catching tones.
The masthead is also very simple as the colour chosen for it is white, in a complementing contrast with the black and white picture, and all of the audience attention will probably be directed at it given its the only piece of text present in the cover which creates a feeling of intrigue.
When taking into consideration the various conventions used, the most noticeable ones are the magazine folio, found in each single page, the masthead but it is noticeable that it does not include a byline in the cover, but it varies throughout the pages.
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When analysing the magazine in general,
I think the main difference between other fashion related magazines is the fact that it seems as if fashion is represented more as a sub-genre and the main genre being art.
Additionally Nude Magazine is very different to a commercial one given its independence from bigger companies which channels to a certain extent a more genuine
outcome that directly represents what the authors,photographers and editor in chief want to expose to the public without it being censored in order to fit the trends or common expectations.
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In terms of relevant elements I consider the organisation of the editorials very different than the usual and it gives the audience more freedom to observe it and connote whatever the image makes them feel
without giving it a specific label.
Which is something I would like to include in our magazine.
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Regarding the articles and editorials found, they also include known personalities but more related to the social platform level, such as Lyzy Adler and Rachel Cook, models and social media influencers with over 100K followers on diverse outlets.
I believe that this does suggest that the targeted audience is mostly the youth interested and up to date with the development and trends of
Social media in general and that in more interested to a representative
and informative entertainment rather than just for its looks.
Although the photography found and its aesthetics, which through the whole magazine which is minimal but vivid,
does contribute to it's consumption.
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Furthermore when having in mind the characteristics id like our magazine to include I believe this magazine,out of the 3 I analysed,
is the one that resembles the most the style my colleague and I would like to channel and transmit, and include our own touch.
Those specific elements would be the organisation of the images and
the simple but bold fonts, and the artistic way it approaches fashion.
Another aspect I really likes was the way the logo was positioned and subtlely edited behind the
modelling a layer effect.
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ATLAS
Atlas, in comparison to i-D and NUDE I belive is the magazine that focuses on fashion the most when analysing its entire content, although it still channel an artistic view but it doesn't necessarely touch other sub-genres to the same relevance as fashion.
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When analysing its cover, it is observable that the colours used are very vivid in this edition, various tones of browns are used and complement each other in the picture.
The masthead is very noticeable given its size, font and bold colour, black.
The picture chosen isn't a portrait of the model, in comparison to other editions, this to a certain extent may suggest the audience that the clothing pieces in the picture and pose itself are more of relevance than the model present.
The other text present is the name of this issue/edition of the magazine, its colour is white and size is observably smaller than the masthead, located in the middle of the number of the issue and the issue itself.
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When looking and the table of contents double spread, and rest of the magazine it is noticeable that there are various conventions respected which categorise this magazine as a fashion one with more of a commercial style although it does not include a large amount of advertisements.
Some noticeable aspects that differentiate it to other magazines is the absence of a skyline of byline, and the simplicity of its content and organisation which becomes a main feature of the magazine given its colours of choice and the decision to include more editorials than interviews...
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Another specific detail, is the way the font is very specific to this magazine and to a denotative level it leads the audience to easily recognise the magazine, for example the letter A is used
in various pages, with the same font and sometimes
size of the masthead.
When having in mind the targeted audience of the magazine,
it is similar to the previous two analysed magazines, the creative youth, but it differs given that that it does not necessarily include and highlight to contemporary issues or include various social media personalities, its main features are fashion
pieces and photography, although it does have a few
articles regarding the world of fashion, and professional
experiences of the writers.
Furthermore the language used throughout the magazine
is english and the online platform it can be found in, suggests
that the audience there targeting is global with a high
interest in fashion photography and beauty rather
than representative information regarding certain
personalities in this field.
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The aspects I would our magazine, Detailed, to resemble this one, its its minimal simplicity and focus on fashion photography
that allows the readers to figure their own connotative
meaning that the image reflects.
As well as the way the font helps the recognition
of the magazine and logo which helps its marketing.