Representation of my product through signs and signifiers.

My magazines signs and signifiers. • According to Saussure’s theory of signs and signifiers the front cover of the

magazine should be represented as something associated with music. The artist used for the front cover photograph is represented to be a singer this is because of the microphone in his hand, this signifies his involvement in this genre of music featured in the magazine. Also if my target audience were to see my magazine they would be able to infer that it is a music magazine. The singer has short hair and is dressed casual, this perhaps may signify a rock/indie singer. The man on my front cover is singing, this infers that my image is a live photograph from a gig/concert. Due to Saussure’s theory this means that my magazine will include various other live material of other singers/ bands of the same genre, due to connotation the front cover produces. The photo that I have used for my front cover is a live image which sends the connotation that the magazine may be a indie magazine. This is because this is what you would expect a indie/rock magazine to convey as opposed to a pop magazine.

• In terms of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, by using a live photo for my front cover will appeal to my target audience. This is because of the genre the photograph conveys. My target audience may infer an indie vibe to the magazine because of the way the man is dressed and the contrast effect that is added to it. This may make them purchase the magazine because the connotation of my image will send out the correct inferences.

• One the cover of my magazine the bold text located towards the bottom of the page with the name “Brian O’Reilly” signifies that this is the singers name , this is emphasized due to the size of the text as it is one of largest text size used on the cover of my magazine. The simplicity of the artist used it shown by the quote “I’m just an ordinary guy who likes to sing”. This produces a likeable and endearing connotation for the artist as it allows my target audience to connect physically with him. The man describes himself as “Ordinary”, from this people may infer that the singer is like them and is not an intimidating character. This may persuade them to buy the magazine.

• Within the contents and double page spread of my magazine there are multiple live photographs from different bands/artists this adds to theme of indie/rock music. From my contents page it is clear to my target audience that this is a magazine about indie/rock music, this is also due to the topics and bands mentioned (TDCC etc.)

• The article on my double page spread is a fictionalised interview with the singer on my front cover. I have wrote this in a formal writing style to get the information across to the audience clearly. In terms of “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” this tells me that my audience ranges from young adults and maybe older (14-25) years old). I also decided to try create a similar magazine to NME. In NME the writing is mainly formal, in this magazine that is mainly targeted at adults, prefer the writing style to be technically accurate and formal as opposed to an informal one, which doesn’t provide many facts and details and is targeted at a younger based audience. I have made the writing style to appeal to my target audience (14-25 year olds) this is the demographic of young adults who want to read intellectual writing styles and may aspire to be like the people featured in my magazine.