The magazine uses a full page image of the most famous reggae legend - Bob Marley. It is a close up of just his head and shoulders, and he is not particularly smiling. This breaks the typical convention of a mid shot of someone looking alert and happy.
The fonts are consistent; the masthead and all other text is in capital lettering, and a bold, sans-serif font.
The layout is fairly organised - not busy or messy. This may reflect the calming and relaxed nature of the music as a genre.
'United Reggae' is an online reggae music magazine, as there are very few printed examples. It too follows many of the conventions of typical music magazines, while also breaking some of them. Firstly, the national colours are once again used within the masthead, and can also be found within the main image.
A masthead, date and issue numbers, and contents strip at the foot of the page are all features generally found on any magazine, as well as a full page image, however once again the image is a close up of just the head and shoulders. Also, the model seems to be smoking (typically in Jamaica they smoke 'ganja'), which would not be acceptable on any other style of magazine. He looks like a stereotypical Jamaican local, with his dreadlocks up in a tight hat, and wearing traditional, brightly coloured dress.
Again, the layout is very simple, avoiding any unnecessary images or text.
Overall, after comparing both of these examples, the conventions of reggae music magazine front covers are:
- Bright, national colours
- Typical Jamaican model, or wearing national dress
- Simple design and layout - usually one main image, with little text
- Masthead relating to the music genre (eg 'United Reggae')
- Inclusion of legends within the genre, such as Bob Marley
Alice, you have gone into lots of depth in your descriptions which is really good, and you used images which makes the post better because we can see what you are referring too which for me is more interesting:)
ReplyDeleteGood job!