1. Sara McGranaghan
Front Covers
Vibe is a bi-monthly magazine which is sold in
the USA; it targets more of a mainstream
audience unlike NME, mainly a young audience
who follow the hip-hop and RNB culture. Vibe is
known for the unique and creative designs of the
magazine and the repeated use of using the RNB
star Mary J Blidge as the cover star. This will
appeal to the target audience because the
readers of the magazine are likely to be big fans
of her. The magazine includes featured
segments such as the back page list 20
questions, a celebrity gossip column and profiles
of up-and-coming celebrities. There is also
models featured frequently throughout the
magazine and many clothing brands that are
linked to or created by hip-hop celebrities are
associated with the magazine. Both of these will
encourage young people who are fans of this
particular genre of music to purchase the
magazine.
The use of colour appeals to the target audience
also as the black and white image over the light
blue background creates a very modern look for
the magazine. The layout of this cover is quite plain which is very effective as the cover star stands
out well and overall the magazine looks more eye-catching. The masthead is in sans-serif which is
quite an informal font which relates to the young audience which the magazine targets. It is very
large which means it stands out well and it is the only font on the magazine in white so the title is
very clear. On the right side of the magazine there is a list of celebrities that the readers will be fans
of, this is giving them a hint of what is included in the magazine so that they will purchase it to read
the articles. Rihanna & Chris has been wrote in large bold font in the corner of the magazine, these
are both very famous and as they are a famous couple that are in the lime light a lot more people
are likely to buy the magazine.
The target audience has also been reflected through the main image which is of a very popular RNB
artist Rihanna that has a main fan base of young people. This will encourage them to buy it as seeing
a star that they are big fans of they will want to read an article about her. The rule of thirds has been
used here as she is placed slightly to the left leaving space for article headlines down the right side of
the cover. Although this is very basic it is extremely effective and the magazine looks very
professional and set out well.
Finally, in the bottom right corner there is a website for the magazine and considering the magazine
is targeting a younger audience in comparison to NME this is important as it is this age range in
which use the internet more and are much more technically advanced.

2. Sara McGranaghan
The New Musical Express or more
commonly known as NME is a music
magazine which is published weekly in the
UK. It started as a newspaper in 1952 when
it was first published and gradually moved
towards a magazine format in the 1980s.
The magazine is mainly associated with
punk or rock and targets an audience which
prefer this genre of music. Unlike Vibe, NME
targets more of an older group of people in
comparison to the younger generation as
these are the people who are more likely to
be into the music that the magazine is based
around. The house style of the magazine is
more compact than Vibe; there is a bright
blue background which allows the masthead
and cover stories which are in red to be very
eye-catching. The band a name of Muse and
the Artic Monkeys are in red allowing them
to stand out and as these are famous bands
it will draw attention to the magazine. There
is a variety of fonts on the front making it
seem informal and the use of sans-serif font re enforces this. The colours used contrast much more
than Vibe which seems more punk which is the effect the magazine is going for. The magazine is a
‘Green Day Exclusive’ who is a popular band and this will encourage the target audience to purchase
it. Also, in a large white font is the name ‘BILLIE JOE’ who is an American rock musician and the lead
guitarist of green day. There is a quote from him which is quite intriguing and people that are fans of
him would want to buy the magazine in order to read more about what he has to say.
Guttenberg’s design principle has been used because the cover star is slightly moved to the right
which gives the cover balance and leaves room to put the masthead and other cover lines to the left
of the magazine. The main image is of Billie Joe who will appeal to the target audience because he is
an extremely popular musician with people that are fans of rock and punk music therefore these
people will be encouraged to purchase the magazine.
We can see that the magazine is popular as the cover star is partly in front of the masthead and as
the magazine has 5 million users per month it is understandable that the editor does not think that it
has to be as noticeable. Also, because the magazine always uses the same masthead it is easily
recognised and the fact it is red means it stands out amongst the blue background.

3. Sara McGranaghan
Both of these magazines are extremely different as they have completely different target audiences.
The NME uses vibrant colours which contrast against each other to represent the genre of music the
magazine is based around. A very punk effect is created by the use of colour on this magazine and
this is what would attract the target audience to it. Whereas, on Vibe softer colours are used which
mix in well with each other and looks very modern. Vibe magazine looks more glamorous which
represents the world of RNB and hip-hop and appeals to the younger generation.
The cover stars are both very different too as Rihanna on Vibe magazine is portrayed to look very
glamorous which is the look that the magazine seems to go for. She is a popular RNB star so this
goes well with the theme of the magazine whilst NME has used a rock musician with tattoos and
black spiked hair, showing that this magazine is based around a completely different genre.
Vibe is a much plainer magazine than NME and has less cover lines and tag lines, NME is very
compact and looks very busy which emphasises the wild side to punk and rock music whilst Vibe
seems much more elegant.

4. Sara McGranaghan