NEA generic research- GQ

 Previous covers: 

Article is about his career growth

Article is about his rising fame in Hollywood due to his new Spider-Man film coming out 

Article is about him being named as musician of the year by GQ 

About his career as an F1 driver 

Article about her being named as model of the year 

Again all of these covers reflect the zeitgeist as each model featured was socially/ culturally relevant at the time of publishing. As this magazine is largely aimed at a male ABC1 audience, there are more male models than female. I thought this would be useful to look at as i may wish to include a male model in my magazine. This magazine is different to others of Condé Nast as it does not exclusively use a serif or sans serif font and its masthead is sans-serif. This magazine tends to use more simplistic locations for their backgrounds as to not take away from their models. This will be something i take into consideration when creating my own magazine. This magazine allows follows the convention of subtle high end clothing for their models- not using heavily branded items. 

Brand identity:

As a part of Condé Nast, GQ also follows the Condé code. GQ claim to be ‘the flagship of men’s fashion and style’ and have a ‘forward- looking’ perspective. Gentleman’s Quarterly (GQ) was initially created in 1967 and has changed its house style over the years to fit with its changing target audience. GQ also tends to cover a range of topics, from politics to fashion, reflecting their broad audience. Condé Nast bought up the magazine in 1979, and with this the house style changed to become more like the modern editions today.

Values and ideologies:

In its articles and features, GQ focuses on diversity, gender, equality, sustainability and mental health. These are all things that their highly educated ABC1 male audience will have an interest in and share the same beliefs. GQ features a range of different ethnic groups in their front covers and articles. Although they do tend to have more male models than female as this is a magazine targeted to men. 

NEA- generic research- Vanity Fair

 Previous covers:

Article about her friendship with Cynthia Erivo 

Article about her life as an Olympic gymnast and her personal life 

Article discussing his career and his upcoming events

Article talking about her life, career and hobbies  

Article talking about his career as a formula one driver 

All these articles reflect the zeitgeist and as each cover is about a person that was of relevance at the time of publishing. Each cover uses a serif font for the masthead- this is something i will incorporate as it is typically used for a more ABC1 audience- who are the target audience for my brief. This magazine also tends to use more bolder/ saturated colours than vogue did- this is something i will take into consideration as my target audience is 16-25 years old so this may appeal to them more than a muted colour scheme. This magazine also has more variety in its backgrounds- it does not just have very plain backgrounds, some are location shots. This may be easier to accomplish for my own magazine as finding a plain studio-like background may be difficult. The models on these covers also wear ‘subtle luxury’ clothing- i think i will be incorporating this into my own magazine as it adds to the high brow aesthetic of the genre. 

Brand Identity:

Vanity fair existed in the 1920s and 30s as an illustrated magazine and then returned again in the 1980s with the version that is more similar to today’s issues. This was due to the Great Depression when it became unprofitable so was merged with vogue until it was revived in the 80s. Since then the brand style has stayed fairly consistent with the masthead only slightly changing in the time. In their mission statement on the website, they claim to be a ‘premier publication for Hollywood obsessives, the insider’s source for arch political analysis, and a trusted home for incisive journalism’. This shows that they focus on a wide range of topics- this is most likely to have as wide an audience as possible and have higher readership figures. Although the magazine is not as iconic as vogue it is still a well known product with a strong brand image. 

Values and ideologies:

Vanity fair features models of a variety of ethnicities and feature more male models than Vogue but still significantly less than the number of female models. Their values are “VF explores the intersection of power and personality, profiling the outsize characters who shape our culture. Across platforms, VFstands for ambitious storytelling, iconic images, and indelible experiences, including the legendary Vanity Fair Oscar Party.” (About us section of the VF website).

NEA industrial context- Condé Nast

 Condé Nast-    The company website outlines their brand identity and values.

They have a separate website that showcases their brand identity- the Condé Code.

Their dedication:

They have a global audience- ‘We are a collection of more than 6,000 individuals serving 37 brands in 26 languages, spanning 32 markets worldwide including China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Latin America, Spain, Taiwan, the U.K. and the U.S. with additional license partners around the globe.’ 

Their website reflects their upmarket audience as it aligns with their magazines appearance and what their audience expect of their brand.

My product will have to align with this brand identity and fit in with their website. 

Codes and conventions: 

Masthead behind head- iconic product

Colour schemes are muted (for these specific covers)- tend to be more sleek and simplistic 

Some of the magazines use a serif font- connotes luxury and wealth -> targeting ABC1 audience

Typically just one model- cover lines surrounding image 

Each celebrity feature is relevant at the time of the magazine being published- reflects the social and cultural context (zeitgeist)  

All on a plain background- not take away from the model 

NEA industrial context - Magazines

 History of magazines:

The magazine industry now: 

GQ is one of the bigger players in the magazine industry 

Cosmopolitan is also a big player in the magazine industry 

 

Harpers Bazaar is another big player 

Elle is another big player 

How are magazines financed and distributed

Magazines are generally financed by advertising, purchase prices and or subscriptions (usually a combination of all three) 

After a magazines design is finalised, they go to printing and then are usually distributed from the printing house to shops, bookstores, and also to owners of subscriptions. 

How do audiences access magazines?

Audiences can purchase magazines by getting a subscription from the magazine website or purchase each edition from physical and online shops and bookstores.

NEA generic research- Vogue

 I am looking at vogue as it is a magazine that is owned by Condé Nast and also has a similiar aesthetic to what I am exploring for my own magazine. 

Previous vogue covers

October 2022 edition of vogue: Timothée Chalamet                                                                                 First ever solo male front cover of British Vogue. Article ‘man of his time’- discussing his career

February 2023: Priyanka Chopra Jones. Article ‘with every heartbeat’- discussing motherhood journey 

November 2024: Saoirse Ronan. Article ‘siren call’- discussing her new film role 

October 2023: Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone. Article ‘fashioning Change’- discussing their new film 

September 2024: Kylie Jenner- the big fashion issue. Article ‘kylie confidential’- catching up on her life

 

All these articles feature people who are relevant at the time. Each front cover has a description on the contents page about the styling featured in the main image- this is something i could incorporate into my own magazine. As i have noticed before, there is very little branded clothing use, clothes look high end but do not have a visible label attached- this seems to be a convention of vogue magazines (These designers are always credited in the magazine). This may relate to the audience as stereotypically the target audience (middle/ up market) do not wear visibly branded clothing so vogue does this to align themselves with their audiences ideology. In the more recent editions of vogue, they seem to use very minimal cover lines and sometimes only feature the main cover line. This may be something I will incorporate into my own magazine.       

Brand identity: 

Vogue’s brand identity has stayed consistent throughout its history- it symbolises wealth and style. They have a very strong brand image and reputation and are seen as an iconic product.  They are targeted to middle/ up market audience of style conscious people (the same as the magazine brief).  Because they are an iconic product their audience is very broad in age range but a predominately female readership. They largely feature females on their front covers (Chalamet’s cover October 2022 was the first ever solo male cover of British vogue and Harry Styles is the only solo male front cover of Vogue in  December 2020). This may mean that my own magazines target audience will be female and may feature more female front cover models.  

Values/ ideology: 

Vogue often features front cover models of different ethnicities, although front covers are predominately female as opposed to male. Their values as a brand and company are ‘ Today Vogue is a busy multiplatform title that views the wider world through the lens of fashion, wields unparalleled influence, and bears a commitment to values of inclusivity, creativity and community. Its ability to delight, inspire and inform its audience has never been stronger. (Vogue website- about us section)

                                                                                      

NEA Initial Ideas

 Condé Nast: own multiple media products, mostly magazines, such as Vogue and GQ. These are largely targeted towards an ABC1 audience as they are high end lifestyle and fashion magazines. 

For my own work I would like to explore a style similar to those of Condé Nast’s most popular magazines and keep with their high end, luxury image. These magazines often feature ‘subtle luxury’ themes so i wish to follow this idea rather than using obvious, heavily branded items of clothing.

I will be doing the magazines brief 

 

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