Task 3: RESEARCH To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representation they offer?

This magazine’s main generic conventions in which suggest it is a magazine aimed at teenage girls are:

·         The colours used: Pinks, pale blues, and ice whites, partially to suggest the theme of the magazine; light colours as it is the Christmas addition. Also to had a girly appeal/attraction.

·         The font used on the cover varies the name ‘Pixie’ is written in serif typography and other than the title, the font is the largest. This makes it stand out and also links to the articles on the magazine and the cover girl.

·         Informal writing and slang words used such as ‘SNOG SWAPS’ ‘XMAS EVE TRAGEDY’ this is language that is familiar with the teenage female target audience.

‘Seventeen’ magazine is an American magazine but has the same generic conventions to appeal the teenage girl target audience these include:

target audience these include:

·         Like the magazine cover above the celebrity Selena Gomez is the centre focus however unlike Bliss’ cover the celebrity on the cover’s name isn’t the largest text on the page.

·         The main focus headline is ‘Get Prom Pretty’ in bright pink capitals matching the name of the magazine and various other articles. This suggests that Prom is the main theme for this edition of the magazine, which appeals to the teenage girl’s audiences.

·         Once again there is a reduced palette of colours, this time to match the bright summery theme; bright yellow, blue and pink has been used which all co-ordinate and match each other.

·          A variety of styles of fonts have been used to make each article stand out in different ways.

·         Slang teenage terms such as ‘chic’ and ‘funky’ have been used to appeal to the audience once again.

·         A brightly coloured strip at the top of the page attracts and persuades you to buy and read the magazine as it is drawing you in to read a certain page with a line that would appeal to teenage girls.

·         Finally once again puffs have been used to make items/articles stand out etc.

  

 

On the cover of Cosmo-girl the conventions of the magazine relate to the target audience by:

·         Unlike the other magazines this cover has a wider variety of colours used but the colours are still reduced and co-ordinating.

·         The colours all attract and appeal to the target audience too.

·         Unlike the other magazines this cover has a coloured background which makes the background stand out but the writing blend in slightly, this could be so you have to pick the magazine up to read it all, or to make it stand out as the bright pink is eye catching.

·         The font over almost the whole magazine is the same it just varies in capitals and lower case. The fact that all the font is the same means that the whole magazine coordinates.

·         All font are in white, orange and yellow and is all san serif, however some articles are written in larger font, which shows which articles are more important to others.

·         Once again like the Seventeen magazine cover the black roller at the top of the page makes the line ‘YOUR NEW FAVORITE JEANS- FIND THEM ON PAGE 39’ persuades you to turn the page and read magazine– convinces you to buy the magazine.

·         Summery colours used in the autumn season means that all the other magazines will be using more autumnal colours- this magazine will stand out on the shelf and draw in teenage girls.

·         Informal language used to appeal to the target audience- same as the other magazine covers.

·         Puff used to stress and enthuse point – ‘Your guide to gorgeous’ followed with the 3 main articles – ’50 ways to get sexy hair’ ’10 secrets to perfect skin’ ‘ 5 moves to a hotter body’ all these points appeal to the stereotypical teenage female, possibly body conscious or want to look/ feel better etc.  The puff leads you on to continue reading.

Shout magazine:

·         The colours used: White, yellow, and pink; summery colours, but not as bright as the hot pinks and oranges used in the other magazines.

·         Variety of fonts used for the headline of the cover stories and the small description of the cover stories – easier to read, eye-catching.

·         Informal style of writing used – slang words to relate to target audience.

·         On this cover similar to the first the main story is about the cover girl, and this magazine have tried to promote this and draw readers in by making the font stand out the most, however still using co-ordinating colours.

·         Once again like the other magazines this cover has a strip of text at the top of page however this time the strip is not coloured differently from the background  to make it stand out however this still stands out to the reader.

My 5^th magazine I have chosen is Sugar:

·         Reduced palette of colours on the magazine cover- pinks, black and white. Simple and girly with a white back ground.

·         On this magazine the puff is one of the most eye-catching conventions to appeal to the target audience, filled with fashion advice which also attracts teenage girls.

·         Variety of font ‘Glee’s Rachel, 1 hot new celeb, 1 exclusive interview, 1 AMAZING day’ is the only article with this font which makes it stand out and links to the celebrity cover girl.

·         Once again a line at the top of the page that persuades you to read/open the magazine.

·         Contrasting colours used on every cover headline and description below pink against black.

·         Another puff used at the top of the page ‘2 mags for price of 1’ suggests that the reader is getting a good deal.

·         Informal slang terms used such as ‘celeb’ ‘gobby’ and ‘tees’ appeals to the target audience.

After studying the covers of 5 magazines with the target audience of teenage girls i have learnt that the generic conventions for these magazines are:

·         A reduced palette of co-ordinating colours; usually pinks, oranges, yellows and lilacs.

·         A well known celebrity as a cover girl (usually American).

·         The colours often match the month/ season the edition of the magazine is brought out in; bright colours in the summer etc.

·         Informal text is used and slang words to appeal to the target audience.

·         Puffs are used on every magazine cover to draw attention to at least one point.

·         Font varies on every cover, e.g. Sugar uses a variety of fonts unlike Cosmo-Girl which uses the same font over the whole of the magazine cover.

·         Majority of the magazine covers have a strip of text at the top of the page which persuades you to turn the page.