Vibe magazine front cover denotation 3

Vibe music magazine front cover

Denotation

The magazine consists of a famous celebrity in a medium close up shot putting up his wedding finger at the camera and the selling line is about him being NO.1 and underneath this it says “and married with a vengeance”, this highlights the significance of his marriage and on top of that he is number 1. Furthermore, because Usher is black it connotes the fact that Hip Hop comes from the black society and has an historical meaning.

Masthead

Vibe’s Masthead consists of a big, blue and bold lettering. The font is a sans serif font and the masthead ‘vibe’ comes from the word vibrant which means pulsating with life, or activity giving a sense the magazine containing celebrities with vibrant personalities and lifestyles.

Character

The Cover photograph is of a successful American Hip Hop star ‘Usher Raymond’.

Costume

Usher’s clothing is very formal and consists of his wedding ring a watch and sunshades. The costume has been chosen to attract its target audience which is most likely teenagers and middle aged adults. His clothing is similar to which he wears in a majority of his music videos.              

NVC

Usher’s non-verbal communication is audience appealing as he has his wedding finger pointed in up and he is looking directly at the camera.

Lighting

The lighting is bright, representing daytime.

Setting

There isn’t a major setting being shown but he seems to be standing in front of a building which suits his attire and look, and the fact that he covers most of the magazine front cover shows that he has an important status in society.

Cover-lines

The main cover-line that relates to the photo says: “Usher the king is back he’s NO.1 and married with a vengeance this reinforces the fact that Usher is sticking up his wedding finger with a ring in tact and the fact that he is on the front cover connotes the fact that “he’s NO.1”. The different cover-lines illustrate the fact that the magazine isn’t only based on music but it’s actually diverse in what it writes about. Stories included in cover-lines include: “Keri Hilson strips down”, “15 shocking celebrity sex scandals” and more. All of the cover-lines are writing in sans serif connoting more current affairs and news, this is also emphasised by the all the cover-lines being modern based and targeted at an audience that is not of the elderly aged because they would have a more historical memory and interest.     

Target Audience

This magazine is most likely to be targeted at people aged around 17-35. This age group would have the common and modern fashion sense, and have a definite interest in the musical industry, American music (most likely Hip Hop/ R ‘n’ B music) as the magazine is an American magazine and celebrity news and scandals.