Media Studies - Brief 2 Research

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Lacoste is a French clothing company that was established in 1933 in Troyes. It's founder René Lacoste was a professional tennis player and was known for his tenacity on the court. This tenacity gave him the nickname of "The Crocodile." This nickname inspired his fashion brand logo that can be seen above.   

The iconic logo has big, black and bold letters to show the bold nature of the crocodile. The black letters also show how the brand is not aimed at any specific gender. The crocodile is in colour so your attention is drawn to it which is part of the reason that the logo is so recognisable. The crocodile particularly appeals to fans of tennis because fans of René Lacoste will recognise the link between his nickname and the brand. The association between Lacoste and tennis is still around today as Lacoste is still advertised in tennis matches.   

   

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Versace is an Italian fashion brand that are particularly associated with selling high-end, expensive clothing. Their founder Gianni Versace had a fascination with Greek mythology. That is why he chose to put Medusa as the main subject of his logo.   

Medusa is known to turn any onlookers into stone which is why Versace had the idea to use it as his logo. He thought that it could represent how the high-quality fashion, if seen by anyone, would stun people with its beauty and stop them dead in their tracks.  

   

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Burberry is an English fashion brand that was founded in 1856 by Thomas Burberry. The “Equestrian Knight” logo contains the Latin word “Prorsum”, meaning “forwards”. As a founder and owner of the company, Thomas Burberry was very keen and deliberate to protect the interests of his business and products. The Burberry logo shows an equestrian carrying a shield. While the shield symbolises protection, the equestrian is a symbol of pride and purity. The black colour in the Burberry logo represents elegance, strength and durability of the company’s products. The black letters also show how the brand is not aimed at any specific gender 

   

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Timberland is an American manufacturer and retailer of outdoors wear with a focus on footwear. The brand is known for its boots which is further supported by its name and logo. Lumberjacks are known to wear boots that are similar to Timberland's so a clear connection can be made between the two. Lumberjacks cut down trees which is why the logo looks how it does. The large bold font symbolises masculinity which Lumberjacks are generally perceived to be, masculine. The tree could also symbolise nature to show how the brand tries to be environmentally friendly. The black letters also show how the brand is not aimed at any specific gender. 

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Hermès is a world-renowned global French fashion company known for its high-end leather goods, perfumes and apparel and was founded in 1837. Originally Hermès was a saddle manufacturer but moved into the world of fashion in 1922 when they began to manufacture leather handbags.  

The horse-drawn carriage in the logo likely pays homage to their origin as a company that manufactured saddles. The slanted logo and the orange colour suggest how the brand is different compared to a lot of other mainstream brands that are around. The font is big which infers that Hermès is proud about their heritage as saddle manufacturers and proud of where they are from (Paris). The orange letters also show how the brand is not aimed at any specific gender. 

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The GQ Logo are 2 very bold colours, black and red, which shows how the magazine is a men's magazine with it's strong use of colours. The G is red to symbolise love and passion while the Q is black to represent class. GQ is a New York based fashion company so the colours may symbolise how bold New York is and how classy the fashion is. It also implies that the men in the magazines and the readers of the magazine are bold and classy. The letters are quite think to also emphasise boldness.

I researched fashion logos as I felt as though I needed to understand the content before I wrote about it

This is the logo that I created. I gave it a modern look to draw people's attention. It has the letters S and P joining together to show how Synopticity Productions try to remain as close to their audience as possible. I also made the default logo black to represent class but I can and most likely will change to colour to acquiesce to my magazine and E-media product's needs. I put the name of the company below the logo as I feel that the logo itself will not tell the audience the name of the company but I believe that in due time, it can lose the text, similar to Nike, because the logo will have become so recognisable.

I am analysing the special 20^th Anniversary Men of the Year edition of GQ Fashion Magazine. The front cover shows the President of the United States, Barack Obama, standing proudly with his arms crossed wearing a clean, dark suit. I believe that they used Barack Obama because the magazine is an American magazine so it is only appropriate that on the 20^th Anniversary Men of the Year edition of the magazine that they use one of the most powerful and influential men in America, if not the World. He is standing confidently to portray the male gender as a strong and confident gender and to communicate that him an all of the other men that have been up for the Man of the Year award are defiant and admirable. The black suit that he is wearing goes with the cover and house style of the issue. Black is also a very classy colour to promote the nature of the fashion it promotes and the men inside. There are big names at the left of the page to implore people to read the issue to find out more about some of the top celebrities including the man who runs their country, Barack Obama. Other big names at the side include Johnny Depp, Will Smith and Bradley Cooper. Obama being on the cover may promote how he was an ordinary person who built up to being able to run a country and be the first ever black President of the United states which gives the connotation that anybody can be like him, even more so if they read GQ magazine. There is also a list of articles on the right of the page including a quote that states “The greatest Quarterback of all time. Period.” which may attract interest as it is an American magazine and American football is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sport in the United States. Readers with an interest in American football will be drawn because they want to see who the 'greatest quarterback of all time' is to see if they agree or disagree with whoever the magazine thinks it is.

There is a 2-page spread featuring an interview with world-class basketball star Stephen Curry. The magazine is an American magazine and basketball is one of, if not the biggest sports in the United States. Because he is one of the best athletes in the world, basketball fans will want to read about him to find out more about the person they see on the court. The black colour is consistent with the classy, dark, house style of the issue which communicates that Curry is a professional both on and off the court. To the left and underneath Curry are the prices of the clothes that he is wearing. GQ is a men's fashion magazine so people may not be interested in Curry or basketball but like the look of what he's wearing so they want to know the cost. Curry is shown holding the basketball close to his chest to show that he loves and has a passion for basketball. There is a clear audience that this particular article is supposed to appeal to, sports fans which is why GQ has great versatility, there are many people that the magazine could appeal to, whether it is sports fans or men that are interested in fashion. The page isn't covered in text, however, this issue has 262 pages so there isn't a lack of text in the issue as a whole.

The Vogue September UK edition has Emma Watson looking relaxed whilst looking straight at the camera. Vogue is a women's fashion magazine so the fact that Watson is looking straight at the camera shows how she is strong and confident. Some media products portray women as sex objects but Vogue tries to avoid this as they feel that women should feel liberated instead of like objects. She is looking relaxed instead of doing some pose that accentuates her figure, she just looks normal, which may be why it is the popular choice of women, it treats them like people. On the front cover it calls Watson the “Voice of a generation” which may have something to do Watson's sophistication and how she isn't a controversial figure in the media like other women e.g. Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes. It may also be because she is a young woman and many people in her generation saw her in the Harry Potter movies which makes her more relatable to them. I believe that this cover appeals to young women who don't want to be what the media makes women out to be, sex objects. The background of the image is pink to show the feminine side of Emma Watson, the women inside and the reader.

There is a 2-page spread of an interview with Watson that has images along the right side. Once again the images show Watson being a normal woman and not a sex symbol. There is a quote in the middle of the screen talking about how she was threatened with her naked pictures being released online which makes the reader want to know more which means they need to read the text to find the story. A lot of text is used in the article because of how sophisticated Vogue think the women that read their magazine are. Watson is pictured in a suit (top right) which shows how she is not only an actress but is valued in other fields like how she spoke to the UN. This tells readers that they do not have to be bound to doing one thing if they also want to do another. It also tells them to ignore any boundaries they think they may have.

The GQ Fashion website has many different categories at the top of the screen. These categories appeal to a variety of different audiences which makes GQ a good brand. It has outstanding versatility to different age groups. Things like 100 Most Connected and Entertainment may appeal to younger men (12-17) while things like Watches and MOTY (Men of the Year) may appeal to a more mature audience (18+). The magazine is read mainly by men as shown by the classy, dark house-style and the category about girls which portrays them as being sex objects. 

Women being portrayed as sex objects may promote the clothes in the magazine as they can be worn by men in an attempt to impress the sexualised women. Although the 'Girls' section contains images of sexualised women, there are segments in the section that may appeal to a female audience, contrary to the magazine being aimed toward adult men. There is a weekly 'Hottest Women of the Week' segment that not only appeals to perverted men, but to women that want to look 'Hot' and see what these attractive women are wearing so they think that they too can be 'Hot' thanks to the media advertising products as making you like the people in the adverts. There is a search bar to allow users to find an old story that they may have missed so instead of feeling obligated to spend all of their time on the site, they can just search for an old story/issue that they may have missed for whatever reason. Even the most committed readers may have other obligations

The magazine isn't slow to jump on current events which may instill trust in its readers as GQ being a reliable news source. It also gives the viewer incentive to revisit the website so they can keep updated on what is going on in the world which may inspire them to begin/continue reading the magazine. Segments like 'Watch of the Week' and 'Hottest Women of the Week' promote repeat viewing of the website as they are frequently updated and gives the viewer a different experience each time. The website advertises a subscription to the magazine with 'FREE digital editions' which may make the viewer feel as though they have received a special offer for visiting the website which may convince them to subscribe. The fact that the website advertises the magazine that it is based on gives the viewer a sense of the magazine's content being endless which means that it can acquiesce to the the viewer's needs which makes the audience grow, making the company more-and-more successful than it already was. Although the magazine is aimed toward a younger adult audience, the magazine has a 'Watches' section which appeals to an older audience as they care more about accessories than the younger audience that would read the magazines which makes the magazine appeal to several different audiences. The magazine is clearly for an adult audience because of the sexualised women and the whole column based on sex where readers submit questions to be answered by the magazine's 'Oracle' which also makes the magazine interactive, people actually submit things to ask one of the employees to be published in the magazine. The site is also interactive as readers can vote for their 'Best Dressed Man 2016' which makes the reader feel involved with the magazine and like their opinions matter.

The website advertises the latest issue of the magazine which shows has Harrison Ford on the cover which is very relevant to today's pop culture because of Star Wars: The Force Awakens being in UK cinemas on 17/12/2015.

The Vogue website is clearly aimed towards women as it shows them as strong, liberated people rather than sex objects like GQ does. I feel that because of GQ's sexualised image of women, they will prefer to read Vogue as it clearly treats women with respect. All of the images on the homepage are of women to show that they are clearly the target audience.

The sidebars are also clearly aimed towards women with things like 'Beauty' and 'Miss Vogue' being there. The audience of Vogue is nowhere near close to the audience that GQ has in terms of versatility. However they have a solid target audience (young adult and adult women) which promotes loyalty in their fanbase.

Similar to GQ, Vogue prides itself on keeping readers up-to-date with the social news. As you can see through the time stamps, there is little time between the publishing of the articles so there is always something different for the reader to read. Vogue is also advertised as being available on 'iPad, Kindle or laptop' as well as a physical copy to tell readers that their product is portable which may convince them to download the latest issue on one of these devices (provided the reader has one). At the top of the screen there is a trending bar to tell the reader about things that are popular in their magazine at that moment in time and to save them the hassle of having to look all over their website to find a story that is trending. There is a search bar to allow users to find an old story that they may have missed so instead of feeling obligated to spend all of their time on the site, they can just search for an old story/issue that they may have missed for whatever reason. Even the most committed readers may have other obligations.

There is also a whole column on fashion trends so that any reader can keep ahead of today's fashion. Vogue is also interactive as there is a Taylor Swift quiz on their homepage because of her birthday on 20/12/2015.

Taylor Swift is a celebrity that has been famous from quite a young age so people that listen to Taylor Swift may accept the challenge to answer all the questions correctly. Taylor Swift appeals to women because she is a woman, and because she writes songs about breaking up with men and getting over them which once again shows how women are portrayed as strong and independent by the magazine.

This research has helped me to develop an understanding of how to appeal to whichever audience I end up selecting with my magazine and E-media product. I feel that I now know what appeals to different audiences. I now also have an understanding of how to structure my magazine and E-media product depending on my audience. If I have faith in the fact that my readers are intellectual, like Vogue, I will have more text for them to read compared to if I had little faith in their intellect, like GQ. I have also learned how to make people re-visit and re-use my magazine and/or E-media product. I can assure the audience that there will be constant updates by having segments and columns like 'of the Week'. I can also use a news feed in my E-media product to give the audience more incentive to revisit my product and stay ahead of the social news. I have also learned that I can make my magazine and E-media product interactive and get viewers to do something like send in questions or take a test/quiz.