Jude White

 

(This will be a video of someone doubting the effectiveness of my design and me defnding my choices with evidence.)

 

 

 

To begin with, let’s start with the stylistic elements used throughout the magazine.  Even on the front page, rock-related images abound. I should begin by reminding you that most mainstream rock music centres around two main types of imagery; grunge and gothic. Now, let’s see how this imagery is incorporated into this magazine, shall we? Well, first off, let’s look at the colours. Red, white and black is a very gothic colour configuration. Black connotes darkness, red connotes blood. This is the simplest way the magazine appeals to rock fans, as this gothic imagery is persistently present throughout their beloved genre, so they are drawn to it naturally. Let’s move on to something more complex, the fonts. The fonts used on the page are very deliberately chosen, given their gothic/grunge nature. The masthead font, CF Anarchy, is designed to look faded and battered, deliberately appearing imperfect. This type of destruction and damage is central to grunge imagery, and therefore to rock. Base 02, a font used here, here and here, uses similar destruction.  However, the font with the most universal rock appeal on the page would, in theory, be ‘Times New Yorker.’ This font is not only battered and damaged, but it’s also a serif font. This is generally perceived as old-fashioned, and when combined with the destruction of the letters, this is a very gothic image; gothic stories are mostly set in the past, and therefore a font that seems to be old-fashioned and grunge styled connotes a gothic style. Therefore, this links back to rock music given the frequent use of gothic and grunge imagery within it. In fact, come to think of it, the use of such imagery is likely due to two things; the ‘rough around the edges’ feel of rock music, and also the dark themes often explored within it. If we look to, say, Kerrang!, probably the most well-known rock magazine in the country, we see this imagery all the time! (Show Examples)

 

Moving to the contents page, we see these fonts again! There’s also a typewriter-style font, again faded and stylistic, and again connoting the past, as well as loosely connoting news journalism; it makes readers feel confident in the magazine’s reporting. This font here is not only faded and battered, but the letters are at odd heights, another stylistic imperfection. Again, we see the same colour scheme carried through; this is an established house style. We also see destroyed imagery here, in this banner designed to look like ripped tape, and here, in these faded and damaged scoring points. Again, these same fonts crop up on the DPS, consistently maintaining a grunge style. We see a similar grunge-stye typewriter font in Kerrang!, again demonstrating that the imagery in question in anchored firmly in rock music.

 

 

Ok then, we’ll move on to something else. How about the presentation of the artist? To begin with, her facial expression displays a wry smile, the kind of smug attitude that rock stars are known for! Just look at these guys! Moving on to her make-up, dark eyeliner and bright red lipstick turns her into a gothic persona, just as we see from artists such as Amy Lee in other rock publications.  Her necklace, a cross, only goes to further this, as this is a gothic image in itself. Her t-shirt features bleeding roses, a very dark amalgamation of gothic images! The blood and the roses are gothic in their own right! The shirt also brings yet more colour and vibrancy to the page, and even continues the house style through use of the colour red! Her earrings are roses, a gothic imagery directly related to the t-shirt, and the red hair makes her something of a fashion icon within rock, just as Hayley Williams from Paramore is known for the orange of her hair. Moving on, her skin is very pale, connoting gothic imagery such as death and vampirism, especially combined with the colour red, and her eyes have been edited to appear red to play up her stylistic portrayal as a ‘devil.’ Rock stars are often presented as larger-than-life characters, as seen here, and this has become something of an expectation from rock fans. Another thing rock fans have come to expect and seem to very much enjoy is finding out about the people beneath these overblown personas. As such, the articles of this magazine deal with personal topics, such as the break-ups of bands and the meaning of their lyrics! While we talk about what rock fans like to read, how about covering lesser-known bands?! Or older bands?! Canterbury. Pennywise. It’s all here!

 

On the contents page, live gig photographs are featured, which are popular in other rock magazines read by a similar audience. There’s also a tour advert, often seen in rock magazines across the board.

 

What about the magazine title? 0.26 is a type of loght guitar string, falling near the centre of the guitar! This suggests that the magazine will appeal to a wide variety of rock fans as it sits ‘somewhere in the middle’ of rock genres, and that the magazine will be ‘light’-hearted, something rock magazines seem to be known for. We see this coming through in these examples of light-hearted mode of address. Like ‘Q,’ it may not be immediately obvious what the title means, but the meaning itself is wholly appropriate to the genre without seeming too cliché.

 

Let’s finish by talking about the DPS article. The article is very personal, an interview with the artist about how she became famous. This kind of personal and revealing interview is very popular with rock fans, who like to know the personality of the rock icons that they not only love but aspire to be like!