Title Block Analysis

HWK                                              Title Block Analysis and Design                                       02/12/12

NME Title Block: NME’s title is made to stand out, three letters nice and clear to the reader. The stroke effect of black white and red has two effects; first it makes the title clear and the colours chosen are the sort of rocky, laid back colours to fit with the genre, also it effectively puts the magazines trade-mark in place as people begin to associate the style and colours with NME itself. The text is not altered into some strange effect but is kept plain and simple, fitting to the audience who are not usually people interested in glamorous titles but instead the old rock and more about the music (though not true in the case of drum & bass or dubstep which very much feels the music) and overall the title is a good marker and its beauty lies in its simplicity and unique colour association.

Kerrang Title Block: This title block is made to stand out, white on a black background, this makes it jump straight out at the reader and connotes a lively feeling to the magazine. Another effect created is the broken, jagged style of the letters fits nicely with the rock genre and gives of a feeling of uniqueness yet also one of passion for music. Kerrang's target audience is largely made up of those who are passionate about their rock music, which this title instantly tells the reader – almost like a stamp or branding to send a clear, immediate message. The exclamation at the end also gives a fairly energetic feel to the title, this is added to by the capital letters which always have a ‘loud’ effect or feel connoting aggression or passion, this is left up to interpretation.       

Vibe Title Block: Vibe is very different to my previous two titles blocks as it had a far glossier feel to it – this is because Vibes covers a different genre of music and this is connoted by the style. The text is still kept simple and clear giving the effect of focus and helps mark out for the reader the style and feelings in the magazine so to speak. The colour scheme has a cool and calm feel to it but also adds to the idea of focus I mentioned before and as with most magazines allows the text to be clear to the reade