Magazine Typography

This is a selection of music magazine fonts that I have collected, and it clearly shows that the fonts used on music magazines are very clear for users to read, and not very cursive.

Exceptions to this would be ‘BBC Music’, ‘Modzik’,‘Choir & Organ’ as they are serif, yet they are still easy to read due to the colours and spacing between the letters. They appear more hand-written which appeals more to their target audience. Those fonts were chosen due to the genre of music that they represent, as it suit their house style, and therefore is another reason why they appeal to their target market.

The other magazines, like MOJO, NME, The Source, Vibe, Respect and Wire have used block capitals, which is a common theme throughout as they are more modern and casual, which is an aesthetic that appeals to their target market perhaps due to age. Also, as they look modern their target market will be naturally more drawn to it, and therefore make them more recognisable and helps establish the brand that they wish to portray.

The use of graphics within certain fonts, like on ‘Hip-Hop Weekly’ and ‘The Source’ further portrays the brand image, as it further solidifies ideas that the target audience have about that particular music magazine, as well as appeal to them. The use of the microphone reiterates the idea that they are music magazines, and using the stars on the Top of the Pops magazine relates to the idea that it is a pop magazine, yet the use of stars on the Classic Rock shows you that it is a country/rock magazine and this is due to the different in the colours and fonts.

I also looked at some fonts that were used for pull quotes and features, to see how they compared to mastheads on music magazines. I saw that almost all of the fonts were bold and clear, and completely stood out from the background. This is so that all the words can stand out, as they can be difficult to read. Other fonts, that were in a contrasting font, were in a style that looked hand written, or serif and were quotes. I think this helps distinguish the differences, and therefore will be easier for audiences to locate direct quotes from their favourite artists.