Ellis Dear

Brand Identity and Mode of Address

Top of the Pops Front Cover

Typography: The typography used on this Tops of the Pops magazine is in a sans serif font. Sans serif represents modernity, youth and is very stylish. Therefore, it connotes that Top of the Pop’s brand identity is fun, up-to-date and aimed at a younger target audience. House style is used, as the masthead ‘Top of the Pops’ is in the same font and typography on every issue. The cover lines also used house style, as every Top of The Pops magazine uses the same sans serif fonts and same style, which makes their magazines recognisable.

Layout: The layout used on this cover is much cluttered with celebrities smiling and looking happy. This shows Top of the Pop’s brand identity to have a very positive vibe and to be quite cheerful and up-lifting. Having typography and images in bright colours organised all over the cover, also makes the magazine very eye-catching to readers and shows Top of the Pop’s brand identity to be very fun.

Colour: The colours used on the font cover are very bright, eye-catching and more feminine based. This shows Top of the Pop’s brand identity to be aimed at females

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rather than males, but also shows it to be very stylish and enjoyable. This is because there are a wide range of colours used, that are very in your face’, so it makes Top of the Pops like very current and entertaining. The colours also use house style, as on each Top of the Pops front cover, there will be a good use of bright colours.

Images: The images On the Top of the Pops magazine are of many celebrities with big smiles and happy facial expressions. This shows the magazines brand identity to be very bubbly, there is an image of Cher Lloyd looking straight at the audience. This gives a direct mode of address to the audience, which makes them feel engaged with the magazine and music artist.

Language: The language used is very informal, suitable for younger generations and slang/abbreviations are used. For example, ‘amazeballs’, ‘lush’ and ‘swagger’. This type of language shows Top of the Pop’s brand identity to be very youthful, fun and current, as they all appeal to a young target audience.

Contents Page

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Typography: The typography used on this contents page is all in a sans serif font. This makes Top of Pops magazine very entertaining and engaging for young people, as younger generations are more attracted to sans serif typography. The cover lines are in a bigger and bolder type, so that they stand out more to the eye, as they are important parts of information. The typography shows Top of the Pop’s identity to be shown as very happy, young and professional. House style is also used as young and fun sans serif fonts are used on every issue of Top of the Pop’s contents pages.

Layout: The layout is all over the place, yet the page is still easy to read and follow. The busy layout creates excitement for readers, as much is going on and its shows Top of the Pop’s brand identity to be very enthusiastic.

Colour: The colours used are very bright, bold and striking. The use of many different bright colours, draws in attention to all parts of the contents page. The colours used are also very feminine. The colours show Top of the Pop’s brand identity to be very feminine, cheery and up-lifting, as the colours give the contents page a positive vibe. House style is also used, as bright colours are used every week on Top of the Pop’s contents page.

Ellis Dear

Images: All the images on this contents page have well-known celebrity faces that are all happy and smiling. This appeals to young and cheerful people and makes Top of the Pop’s brand identity very appropriate for teenagers and enjoyable. The celebrity faces also give the brand identity a high-status, as famous people are willing to be a part of their magazine every week. House style is used with images, as every issue contains several pictures of cheerful celebrities on the contents page, this connotes Top of the Pop’s to be a very cheesy and happy magazine.

Language: The language used is in very short and sweet sentences. This makes the language very eye-catching. The language is very informal, so that the audience can engage with the contents page more. The language also uses slang/abbreviation for example, ‘mag’. Informal words like ‘celeb ‘and ‘gossip’ are also used. This shows Top of the Pop’s brand identity to be modern and up-to-date, through the current use of language.

Double Page Spread

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Typography: The typography used on this double page spread is all in sans serif fonts. This font represents younger and modern generations. This shows the magazine’s brand identity to be very juvenile and contemporary. It also helps the pages appeal to its younger and fun target audience. The cover lines and quotes are also in a bigger and bolder font, as they give a preview of the article to the audience, so that they are encouraged to read on. House style is used within the typography; this is because the cove lines, quotes and article text are in the same font type/size in every issue. This helps make the magazine recognisable and noticeable.

Layout: The layout of this double page spread shows the magazine’s brand identity to be professional and sophisticated. This is because the layout is well thought through and well designed. The structure and organisation helps the magazine appeal to the target audience too, as it makes the double page spread look intriguing but still look easy to read.

Colour: The colours used are grey, white and blue. This is because the article is about males, and these colour types are more conventional to be seen with the male gender. This shows the magazine’s brand identity to be very high-level and specialist, as they design their double page spreads every week to relate to the present music artist.

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Image: The images on this double page spread are of Zayn Malik and Harry Styles from One Direction. This shows the magazines brand identity to be very feminine, as One Direction are a boy band that appeal to young girls. The two boys are also dressed very fashionably; which also makes the brand identity appear very modern and current. Also, Zayn and Harry are looking straight at the camera and to the audience. This creates a direct mode of address, which is used so that the audience can engage with the magazine and the music artists, to feel part of the magazine too.

Language: The language used very informal and relatable for the magazine’s target audience of young generations. For example young teenagers will relate to the quote by Zayn ‘I felt like I didn’t fit in’ and Harry’s quote ‘I put my girlfriend before my grades’. For example, may young teenagers struggling though school will know how Zayn felt and Harry’s quote will make many young girls’ hearts melt. These cover lines strongly persuade the audience to read on. This shows the magazine’s brand identity to be very relatable for young readers, persuasive and professional.