Monday, 19 October 2015

Magazine Evaluation - Mixmag: Front Cover

Title: “mixmag”
The title of the magazine is “mixmag”, the word “mix” has connotations of music with reference to mix-tapes and club or DJ music. The reader, by looking at the title, would have some knowledge that the magazine is music related, more so aimed at young people. The word “mag” is short and quick to read. Also with the alliteration of “M” of “mixmag” shows a fast past, sharp and snappy read which reflects the lives and attitudes of the demographic, showing that they’re fast pace in the way they live as they are highly involved in the partying and clubbing scene.

Masthead:
The masthead evokes a sense of a young more playful tone to the magazine with its bright bold lettering and the purple font. The colours are not typical colours that would be associated with journalism such as red, black and white and this supports the idea of the magazine being for a less sophisticated audience who are not particularly interested in long article pieces but more visual content. The font is very simplistic, playful and easy to read and also has a relaxed feel to the lettering. This relates to the demographic who would approach life in a more carefree and fun way, who are very much involved in the clubbing scene.

Feature Article Photograph:
The denotative features of the feature article photograph show a young male with his hands covering a small part of his face showing only his eyes, he has messy brown hair and is wearing a white long sleeved t-shirt with a zip down the middle. From this information we can understand the connotations of this photograph and why/how it was taken. This photo is a posed photo but is made to look quite causal suggesting the relaxed pose. Even though there is a male on the front of the cover we know that this magazine is not based only to a male target audience but both genders because of the background being quite a neutral tone of a light blue but has a bright purple masthead, showing that just because of a male figure of the front doesn't suggest the magazine cannot apply to both genders. His hair looks very messy but has been styled to give of the illusion of a carefree fun and playful vibe to the magazine. The cover star is “loco Dice” the cover line suggest it’s “the return” of Loco Dice implying that he is a well know music Artist or DJ due to the magazine being a “dance music and club culture” magazine. The cover star would usually represent the demographic who read this magazine so the way he looks very relaxed and carefree is relatable to the audience of the magazines demographic who would read this magazine and can relate to the cover star. The photograph is taken at a mid-shot so his face and hands are visible. The idea of the cover star holding his hands up over his face suggests a more mysterious feel to the magazine, however there is direct eye contact which engages the audience with the cover star and allows them to feel a sense of being invited into the magazine to take a look at all the content inside. His clothing is very plain and not extravagant nor flamboyant in anyway which again evokes a sense of a relaxed carefree attitude to the magazine. Although he takes care of his appearance its nothing that would suggest anything more than that the audience is looking for a fun time and is more interested in the music than actually the appearance of the artists.

Puff:
The puff states that mixmag is “the world’s biggest dance music and club culture magazine”.The puff is used to boost the magazines status. Therefore mixmag saying that it’s the “world’s biggest” dance magazine entices the reader in with the use of hyperbole as younger people want to feel more involved in social events and the latest trends so the target audience believes that this magazine is a must have buy so they can be up to date with the “biggest” music trends and events. It doesn’t only say that it’s the biggest “music” magazine but also the biggest “club culture” magazine which expands the demographic due to more people in the target audience being interested in the clubbing vibe of the magazine and less about articles from the artists feature in the magazine.

Cover Lines and plugs:
The cover lines and the plug are very bold with the use of the striking purple and black font against the pale background of the magazine. The cover lines and plug both look professional with the use of the main points being underlined which draws the readers eye straight to key information which tells them what is contained within this particular magazine. Although the typography is a small in size it is still underlined and in bold to show significance and importance on the magazine. This is quite unconventional in the way it is set out on the magazine which suggests that the reader is unconventional and doesn’t care for much of a written style of magazine because they engage more thorough visual images on the magazine. However even though the cover lines/plugs may be unconventional they still convey the main points and features that are in the magazine so the reader would immediately know the type of content inside the magazine. The language used in the magazine is very simplistic “Ibiza Dancers: Lots of them”. This shows that the language is straight to the point and an easy read and it’s very unsophisticated. The language of the magazine reflects the demographic who are more interested in the visual images and not long articles. 



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