VIBE contents page analysis

This is a vibe magazine contents page, it can be seen that this contents page is very plain which is very common in most Vibe magazines. Most other magazines are not as simple and uninformative like this contents page. The main image is of the artist "Movado" who is not particularly famous in the Hip Hop genre. He makes music which attracts a niche audience so for this reason it is unusual that he is in the main image. In the main image we see the artist "Movado" posing in a conventional manner to artist on other Hip Hop magazines. He is wearing a expensive chain showing that he is like other Hip Hop artist who are wealthy. In addition, he is also wearing other props like diamond braclets and watch which also connotes wealth and associates the artist to the Hip Hop genre. Another prop the artist is wearing to connote his wealth is a gucci belt. All these props and pieces of costume make the artist seem as if he is a Hip Hop artist even though they may not know who he is as he is not that well known in the Hip Hop industry. The artists eyes and pose makes he seem as though he is drugged which is unusual for Vibe to be using as they would not normally use a model like this. The artist in this magzine contents page is posing as if he is a "gangsta" where as the artist TI is posing as if he is a businessman, through his costume and props. Here the magzine editors use a juxtaposition to show different artist who have different ambitions it seems.

The background image used in the contents page shows a "ghetto" area which represents the artist Movado as real as he is has not forgot where he came from even though he seems to be wealthy. This is type of background has been used in many Hip Hop magazines as it reprsents the artist in a way strong and powerful manner. For this reason it is a good idea for the Vibe magazine to use such a background. The use of balck and white to present the background image creates a sombre and deppressing environment. Another image used in the contents page is of the front cover. This is unconventional feature in a magazine contents page as not many if any magazines display there front cover in the contents page. I believe this image was used to juxtapose with the main image. In the front cover image the artist TI is wearing a costume and props that make him seem like more of a businessman the Hip Hop artist. He is wearing a suit, a hat and glasses which is not clothing stereotypically associated with Hip Hop artist. Using a artist which is famous and well known like TI helps to make the magzine look attractive to potential consumers. From the contents page we can see that this magazine is trying to attract Hip Hop fans and more specifically aspirers as the artist are wearing diamonds.  I would also say that the contents page shows the magazine is targetting a younger audience as it is very visual as oppose to textual which magazine editors assume the younger genration prefer.

The typography used to present the contents is bold and fresh which connotes youth and strength. I would say that this also targets the younger audiences as they are more likely to appreciate such typography. The colour used to present the word contents is black which creates a dull and deppresing vibe. This shows that the magazine may also be targetting a older audience as it is not brightly coloured and simplistic so a older audience may be more attrcted to this. The typography used for the features and page numbers is cursive and fancy. This gives the magazine a stylish and sophisticated impression. I would say that this is the magazines way of targetting the older audiences. It is also essential for magazines to attract other types of audiences as the magazine industry is a dieing industry therefore they must try to increase sales by attracting a wider audience.

Overall, I would say that the Vibe magazines contents page is unusual in that it is very basic and unordinary. It uses a image of the front cover, a ghetto background with a artist who is not very famous and dull colours. Although it makes a attempt to make its contents page a bit colourful by adding the front cover which has bits of red. Regular vibe magazine purchasers would know that all Vibe magazine contents pages are similar to this. In addition, I would also say that the magazine is mainly attracting a younger audince through its contents page as there is artist that younger audiences would like and the contents page is not very factual which youger audiences may prefer.