Task 5 deciding

which genre and

style
By Olivia Cotterell

Why is colour and font

important
The colour scheme and font for a magazine is crucial, it
represents the target audience and what genre of magazine it is.
These are visual features that our audience can see and if the font
and colour scheme doesnt fit into the genres criteria, it will be
very clear to their target audience and may even make them feel
uncomfortable with the magazine. Depending on the genre of
magazine differentiates the type of font that is used e.g a pop
magazine would be more of a modern and feminine font whereas
a rock magazine would be more of a bold, edgy and dramatic font.
This is an important representation of the genre for the music
magazine. The colour scheme is extremely important that it is
correct because this is a huge part of the magazine, it is what
attracts the target audiences to the magazine and what gives it
some character too. If you choose the wrong colour scheme (e.g.
pink and purples for a rock magazine) it could put the reader off
buying the magazine as It will cause some confusion for them and
they may feel that this magazine no longer appeals to them.

Old and new

fonts
Looks elegant
Curved edge

Thick and thin

stoke lines

Thick and
thin stroke
lines

Fon
t

Equal width
around letter

More
detail

Cambria font

Fon
t

simpler

Easier
to read

Calibri (Body)

Very
square
looking

Square
looking flick
at the end

The two different types of font being displayed above represents the difference
between old fashioned looking fonts and more modern looking fonts. You can see
that with an older style font there is a lot more detail in the writing just like there
used to be in olden times, there are a lot more flicks and curved corners within the
specific letters. Whereas the more modern font it is a lot more basic and easier to
read. There isnt as much detail in the letters because it has moved with the times,
modern writing is a lot more basic and bland.

Script fonts:

usually used for special occasions like wedding invites, party

invites, thank you letters etc It has a very elegant and fancy look to it but at times
can be very difficult to read. It gives a sense of glamour and elegance which is why it is
never used in magazines. The readers need to be able to read the writing in front of
them.

Broadway Fonts:

usually used for titles of theatrical events like broadway show

posters or theatre programmes etc This is because it represents the genre that it is
writing about, it looks very characteristic and fancy. It wouldnt be used for a rock
music magazine as it looks to delicate and feminine.

Goudy stout:

This font looks a lot more childlike and young. The letters look
very cartoony and are very easy to read hence why it may be used for something
for a child e.g. a childrens book. This would not be used for a rock music magazine
as it will not attract the target audience

Rockwell:

This font is more likely to be used in a rock magazine as it is very

bold and looks quite masculine. I think this will attract the target audience better
as it is a lot bolder and clearer than many of the other fonts. This kind of font is
usually used for mastheads, contents page titles etc Because it is clear but still
very bold and edgy.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Outstanding fonts used

for mastheads
Masthead

Masthead

Masthead

Masthead

For a masthead there needs to be an outstanding font on the

front cover to catch the audiences eyes. Especially for a rock
magazine, the title font needs to be big, bold, sharp, edgy,
ROCK. All of theses factors add up to represent their genre and
target audience through font. You couldnt use a fancy
feminine tiny style of writing as it would just clash with the
genre and confuse the target audience.

Hand lettered fonts.

Hand lettered fonts are usually used in editors letters
in magazines. It gives the letter and the magazine
more of a human touch. The type of handwriting that is
used represents what kind of genre the magazine is.
For example a pop magazine may use a feminine and
elegant font for the editors letter because the
audience presumes that because it is a girly magazine
there should be a womans touch. Signed by Belle x
Whereas a rock music magazine would have a more
basic masculine handwriting font. This is because it is
an edgy and powerful magazine and the font of the
writing needs to represent the magazine genre and not
clash with the theme.
yours sincerely,

Font size
Font

size is very

important

larger
more important it is
music magazine, the

in a

the font, the

For example, the magazines masthead will be in the

largest font that you will see in the magazine as it is the
most important piece of text in there. Main cover lines
will also be in a large font as an indication of their
importance on the front cover because of the specific
information they give. Cover lines will be in a medium
sized font (has to be smaller than main cover lines)
because theyre still important to the front cover, but not
as important as main cover lines or the masthead.

Colour
Colour in a music magazine is so important, it is crucial that the
right colour scheme is used to represent the magazines genre.
The colour scheme of a magazine gives out such important
information about the magazine, like who their target audience
is in terms of age, gender etc
For example a magazine that has a lot of pink, yellow and white
on the front cover would indicate that this magazines genre is
pop and is aimed at a young girl. Whereas a magazine that has
a lot of red, black, white, grey would indicate that the
magazines genre is rock because these are very bold and edgy
colours but also shows that this magazine is unisex as there are
no specific norm gender colours like pink or blue. Also these
darker colours would tell us that this magazine is aimed at
people of a certain age, usually about 16 and over. This is
because a younger child would not be attracted to these colours
as they arent as vibrant as the colours yellow and pink for
example.

Colour
Making sure that the right colours
are being used as the main colour
scheme of the magazine is very
important. It is suggested to use
COMPLIMENTARY COLOURS so that
similar colours dont clash or look
horrible.
It is important that the reader is able
to look at the magazine and not feel
like it is hurting their eyes or that it
just looks silly in general to them.
For example it wouldnt look good to
have red and orange or yellow and
green together as the main colours
on the front cover of the magazine
as they just look like they clash to
much.

AAAAAAA

Colours and their

meanings

The colour
blue
represents
peace and
relaxation
The colour pink

The colour
yellow
represents
happiness and
brightness

represents girly
and prettier
things in life
The colour red
represents
passion and
energy
The colour
green
represents
nature and
new life

The colour black

represents
seriousness and
danger

The wrong choices!

Pop world
Making sure you choose the right choices for the colour scheme and font for
your magazine is crucial! Different colours compliment each other and others
clash terribly Also depending on the genre of magazine, choosing the right
colour is very particular, it has to fit in with the genres theme. For example a
pop magazine, this particular genre of music magazine is aimed at
predominantly females from the age of about 8-16. Therefore the main colour
scheme would be pinks, purples, yellows, whites etc So if you have a colour
scheme like above (where the colours also clash) this will make the reader feel
confused and uncomfortable with the magazine as it is no longer appealing to
them. Also the font of the title is in a very edgy and dramatic font, again this
does not fit in with the genre of the magazine, it would just look strange and

The right choices!

Pop world
Whereas this colour scheme and font is a lot more suitable and a
better representation of a pop magazine. As this genre of
magazine is predominantly target at young girls, there needs to
be soft, feminine colours used to attract the right target audience.
Young girls eyes will be drawn to these bright colours as it is a
colour scheme that they like and will instantly show that this is a
pop magazine. In addition, the font used is also very suitable to
this genre of magazine as it is bold, feminine, modern and also
has a slight theatrical look to it. This title will stand out off the
shelves and the readers eyes will instantly be drawn to it as they

The wrong choices!

Rock
music

This magazine titles font and colour scheme is all wrong for
a rock magazine, it is not suitable for this genre one bit.
Firstly the font is too basic and boring for a rock magazine, it
needs to be more edgy, in your face, something that you
wont forget Also because rock is now a unisex magazine
(although some will say it is predominantly targeted towards
men), means that they can use different colours as long as
their bold and dramatic to represent the magazine genre e.g.
black, white, red, grey etc Not green and yellow! Firstly
these colours clash terribly and look horrific together and
secondly theyre not dramatic and edgy enough for a rock

The right choices!

Rock music
Whereas this colour scheme and font is a much better
representation for a rock magazine. This is because a more
edgy and dramatic font is being used which will attract the
readers eyes as it will stand out off of the shelves. Also the
colour scheme is very vivid, the red stands out amazingly
against the black background giving it that extra boost of
colour and dramaticness. This is exactly what rock music is
all about, being dramatic and standing out from the crowd,
therefore this needs to be reflected in the music magazine.
The genre of rock is targeted towards both men and women
of ages from around 15-35 which is quite a range in age so

Hip Hop

R&B
R&B magazines
usually have
quite a neutral
colour scheme as
it is a unisex
magazine aimed
at people aged
around 15-30.
These colours
are age
appropriate.

rock

Ideas for
colour
schemes

Rock magazines over the years have

became unisex and usually target towards
15-30 year old people. As it is such a
dramatic and edgy genre of music, these
colours represent this well as theyre
dramatic and stand out. They also suit the
target audience well because they arent to
masculine nor feminine and theyre also age

Hip Hop magazines

on average seem to
be targeted towards
teenage boys
therefore this colour
scheme is suitable
for the age and
gender target
audience for this
magazine.

pop

Due to pop magazines being

predominantly targeted towards
young/teenage girls, young, bright and
feminine colours are needed. These
colours represent the fun and modern
magazine well and are also age
appropriate. The bright colours will catch
the target audiences eyes well on the