Colours used in magazines

I have decided to carry on the research on colours by looking at different genres of magazines and the colours that are linked to them so that I can see what are the best colours to use for my own product. I am going to look at the colours of 'the Source' and 'Vibe' magazines because it is the same genre of magazine as my magazine.

The Source front cover

The main colours used on the source front cover are red black and white. I feel these are successful colours for this magazine as they create the effect of a harshness and boldness with the red but there is the effect of the white which brings an innocence and purity to the front cover. This clash of meanings help to create a front cover that fits in well with the genre but also gets the reader thinking. Black has also been used however I feel this wasn't added to create a psychological effect but rather to create a shadowed effect around the text.

However having the white sandwiched between the harshness or the red and black makes the white seem less innocent and more R&B related.





The Source contents page

I think it is good that the colours from the front cover have been carried onto the contents page. I do feel however that the black doesn't create as much as a harsh effect on the contents page and the red seems less harsh and bold but it looks toned down and the contents page doesn't to me create the same effect that the front cover created so maybe a different colour scheme should have been chosen.











The Source double page spread

 

I feel as though this page is more successful, The red boxes with the white writing really stands out and remind me of the stencils used for writing. This links in with the idea of 'Tags' which is part of the R&B culture. I also feel as though the black writing is easy to read and a good colour to use for ease of reading however there is a lot of black included on this page which can be perceived as dull.



'Vibe' Front cover

I felt as though 'Blue' wasn't as much as an R&B colour as red however I feel as though it worked well for this magazine front cover. I feel as though this colour works for the heading however I don't think it works well for the coverlines as they are quite hard to read.

The black really stands out as a harsh and powerful colour on this page; as the black has been paired with brighter colours I feel as though it brings back the idea of R&B. I feel as though without this is would look more like tops of the pops magazine and less like a serious hip hop magazine.

'Vibe' contents page

I feel as though this page is more effective than the front cover however if I saw this contents page I would think it was more of a fashion magazine than an R&B music magazine. The use of black and white together create a serious and sophisticated look however I feel as though this doesn't work well for this magazine as it doesn't link with the genre as is too different to the vibrancy of the front cover.











'Vibe' magazine double page spread

I feel as though this page brings across the R&B vibe and The boldness of the red dress really brings across a danger vibe and a boldness that the reader could link to the artists personality, whereas the blue writing shows the softer side of the artist.  I do feel however that this is again created through the boldness of the black font but the softness of the grey photos. I feel as though these all fit in with the genre well and they create a sort of miss match effect which is really effective. It also fits in with the front cover which helps the pages to flow through each other.

Conclusion

I feel as though this fits in with my previous research of the colours and their meanings. I thought that red, blue and black would all be good for the genre and it turns out that they have all been used repetitively in the magazines similar to my genre. I have also found out that linking the colours through the pages can be both successful and unsuccessful, so I really need to see if I feel that the colours work on all pages and if not use one of the other chosen colours in the palette. I am going to mainly use dark blue as I feel red may be too harsh and bold for the hip hop, R&B mixture I am trying to create.