House style &

mode of address

By Rebecca Taplin

What is house style?

House style is a set design that a magazine has carried out throughout the whole of the magazine. This makes the magazine noticeable so if the front cover and contents page was separated then you would be able to tell that they go together as they have the same house style.

I have been looking at the magazine ‘VIBE’ because this represents my genre and I like the house style of this magazine as it relates to my genre.

Front cover

The masthead on every magazine is always across the top of the magazine and they always use the same font.

The main image usually covers the masthead and this gives off the effect that the image is coming out of the page.

Contents page

All contain a faded ‘V’ in the background which is a clear house style.

The contents title is separated into three different sections.

The text usually is wrapped around the image.

They always use a medium long shot or a close up of the main artist that is being featured.

Double page spread

Always has a main image which takes up one of the pages.

The article about the image used is always on the other page.

My magazine I would like to use the layout of VIBE magazine in my

magazine as I think that the layout of the magazine is very bold and easy to read which connotes my genre because they are aged from 16-24 years old, so they wouldn’t want a lot of text to read which is stereotypical because they would rather go out than read a magazine with lots of text as they are seen as lazy, so my layout will be very simple and will have structure to it.

By making the layout similar to VIBE magazine this then allows me to plan my magazine using this layout. Also this layout will be different to all the magazines on the market because I will be using some of my designs as well as this magazine. VIBE magazine gives me an insight of how to structure my magazine as their magazine is representing the same genre as I am going to do.

The colours that I will be using in my magazine red, grey, white and black as these colours are using a simple colour scheme but they will all contrast each other so this will make the magazine very noticeable. Throughout my magazine I will be using the same colours which will enable the buyers to recognise that it is all apart of the same magazine.

The colour red has lots of connotations but in my magazine I would want it to connote passion and love for music, also I might use red for titles of my articles as this is a bold colour which will catch the attention of the readers and then they will make a decision what to read as red is very vibrant.

In my magazine the colour black will represent elegance and power of the music artist on my front cover. Black can be seen as an evil colour but in my magazine I am going to portray the colour in a positive way and also this colour will contrast will every colour.

On my front cover, contents page and double page spread I will using the same person all the way through but just using different pictures of that person. Also the colour scheme will be very similar as then this allows the magazine to be remembered and noticed. My logo will also be repeated so then the readers will see the logo a lot and then it will easier for them to remember this magazine.

My magazine will represent the social group of teenagers from the demographic C1-E because that is my target audience for this genre, the image that will be used will be a famous artist looking very casual and relaxed as this is how most teenagers are which can been seen as stereotypical. Also my artist will be very well known and aspirational for young people.

Mode of address My magazine will be informal as my target audience is aged

16-24 as many of these people will still be in education they will be informal.

I might include colloquial language, so some words on my magazine may be abbreviated or slang words, as many teenagers text their friends and they would text informally and they would use this type of language so this represents my target audience. This is also called idiolect language as it is how a set social group talk together.

My magazine will also be low end because it’s a school magazine targeting students. My magazine will be cost at £1.50 because they will be still in education or just coming into a new job so they will see this as good value for money.

Q magazine double page spread I have highlighted the part on the magazine that I would like to use in my magazine because it looks very effective because they have used seven black and white images and then they have used one colour image which makes the double page spread look very unique. Mojo magazine double page spread, the use of different images which are related to the text is very effective because it makes the magazine less bland and boring because the images separate the text this would attract my target audience and I think this idea is very suitable.Billboard magazine front cover,

this uses different colours within the masthead I like the use of these colours because it stands out very well and also connotes my genre because they like using very vibrant colours because that is the trend at the moment and also if the front cover is bold and easy to read this then appeals to the target audience because it will catch their attention.

Vibe magazine contents page, I like the use of the faded ‘V’ and the layout of the contents page because it is very different. This would make my magazine stand out because it will remind everyone of what magazine they are reading because of the faded letter in the background.

Q magazine contents page, they have used images and put numbers in the corner and this is a very quick and easy way of navigating to a page because if you like the look of that image then you can flick straight to that page and also it reminds me a bit of a notice board which many people in my target audience will use because some may still be in education. This would be something I may use in my magazine.NME magazine front cover, the use of

the bold writing of the name of the person on the front cover really stands out to me because I think this is very effective to use as it shows that he is the main purpose and has the main article on this magazine and also it shows that he is very important because that is the biggest piece of writing on the front cover so this would be something I would think about incorporating into my magazine.