Existing Names & Mastheads

With a solid, bulky font, the masthead connotes that the magazine itself is strongly established and is unlikely to collapse/close down easily- it can be viewed as a sign of strength. Similarly, the identical placement and size of the gaps in the letters connote a sense of uniformity; the identically sized gaps between some of the letters enforce this idea too. Dark grey is easily one of the most versatile colours out there; and so is white-the company’s other main colour choice. The potential reasoning behind these choices is that not only do both colours allow the Billboard name to look increasingly similar and add a sense of uniformity, but they add a sense of professionalism due to the clean-cut, fresh looking colours. The added professionalism indicates to the readers that the magazine will be of a higher quality and will have more to offer since it looks like a high-profile magazine.

Just as billboards are used to advertise things and attract attention, we automatically come to the assumption that Billboard magazine is for high profile artists (or up-and-coming artists.) As a billboard is something that commands attention, the name is likely to do the same.As well as this, ‘Billboard’ implies that it is part of a hierarchy- as billboards generally tend to be quite high up, we arrive at the assumption that it is quite high up in the hierarchy of the (music) magazine industry. As a result of this, it connotes to all potential readers that the magazine itself is well respected and established.

The name ‘DIY’ is also a popular acronym which stands for ‘Do It Yourself.’ It is unknown whether the magazine’s title actually stands for this, but the wider audience will generally associate the acronym with the name. As a result of this, readers will believe that they can get as far as the artists on the cover, they can make it to the big-time, they can do it themselves. Consequently, readers will buy the magazine as they may feel inspired to further their knowledge on the music industry by reading DIY magazine (the feature articles are generally advertised on the cover and tend to include some indication of the progress in the feature artist’s career.)

The capitalisation of the title indicates added enthusiasm, it almost feels like it is being shouted out to the reader. This added enthusiasm will directly address the reader and may feel like they are being encouraged to buy the magazine.As well as this, the white connotes a sense of purity and cleanliness. The reader may feel like what they see is what they get- it is implied that little trickery is involved in the magazine as white is generally seen as an innocent colour.In addition to this, the dark grey colour has more depth to it than the traditional black. The cool tones add a sense of professionalism which may lead the reader to take the publication’s view more seriously.

Onomatopoeia is used here- ‘Kerrang’ is the sound made from the strum of guitar. From the name alone, the reader can automatically assume that it is a music magazine. Also, as the sound is made on a guitar, readers can almost assume that the magazine focuses more on rock as this is a genre where the musicians strum hard on their instruments. The exclamation mark adds enthusiasm and as a result, the reader may feel more excited to read the magazine. Finally, the use of onomatopoeia links the magazine with everyday life. For example, whenever someone hears a ‘Kerrang’ as they strum a guitar, they may think of the magazine.

The capitalisation of the phonetic word indicates passion and, in a way, anger. This connotes an aspect of the rock genre as the musicians are often portraying a lot of passion through their music.As well as this, the red enforces this idea as red is often seen as connoting both love and anger- this makes it relevant to the magazine’s genre of rock as rock is a notoriously ‘angry’ genre of music. The ‘messy’ font (i.e. the lack of clean lines) tie in with the idea that rock is about rebellion and freedom. The font links with the genre as it rejects the idea of conformity by refusing to ‘conform’ to clean lines in the font.