"Typeface and Document Persona in Magazines"

Nida M. Stewart

Nida M. Stewart is currently a senior at New Mexico Tech where she is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in both Technical Communication and Psychology. Nida's interests include editing, document design, user interfaces, and instructional writing. She currently works as an editor for Policies and Procedures for New Mexico Tech. 

Contents

Abstract and Introduction

Literature Review

Research Methodology

Synthesis of Results 

Discussion 

Conclusion

Works Cited

Appendix A: List of Magazines Used in Research

Appendix B: Comprehensive Heading Magazine Listing

Appendix C: Comprehensive Body Text and Blurb Magazine

Research Methodology

This research project consisted of a single study with multiple research objectives.  My first objective was to establish a set of research criteria to help determine the persona of the typography in the selected magazines.  My second objective was to answer the question “Are there trends in the utilization of typeface and persona in a selection of given magazines?”  I answered this question by taking the criteria created from my first objective and using it to determine the persona of the text in magazines.  Once I completed this part of my study, I analyzed the results I obtained to determine whether there was a viable trend in typographic usage.  My third objective was to answer, “Are there visible trends in typography in regard to the demographic the magazine is targeting?”  I answered this question by taking the results I obtained from the second objective and checking to see if particular demographics had their own trends in regards to typeface and typeface persona.This research project consisted of a single study with multiple research objectives.  My first objective was to establish a set of research criteria to help determine the persona of the typography in the selected magazines.  My second objective was to answer the question “Are there trends in the utilization of typeface and persona in a selection of given magazines?”  I answered this question by taking the criteria created from my first objective and using it to determine the persona of the text in magazines.  Once I completed this part of my study, I analyzed the results I obtained to determine whether there was a viable trend in typographic usage.  My third objective was to answer, “Are there visible trends in typography in regard to the demographic the magazine is targeting?”  I answered this question by taking the results I obtained from the second objective and checking to see if particular demographics had their own trends in regards to typeface and typeface persona.

Materials

I obtained two issues of twelve different magazines for this study, for twenty-four magazines total. A comprehensive list of these magazines can be found in Table 1: Category and Magazine Choices.

I initially selected four initial categories for magazines. Male-Oriented and Female-Oriented magazines focused on their specific demographic as well as varying adult age groups.  News magazines included weekly printed news magazines.  I selected miscellaneous magazines based on easily accessible popular niche magazines.  A list of magazines I chose are in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Category and Magazine Choices

The first two magazines in both the Male-Oriented and Female-Oriented categories in the table above are oriented towards a younger adult audience (late teens to early thirties), while the last two magazines in both categories are oriented towards older audiences (early thirties and older).  News magazines are oriented towards adults who are interested in current events, while the Miscellaneous magazines are oriented towards adults who are interested in various niches (video games and music/popular culture).

Research Criteria

I derived my research criteria for my magazines by combining the personality traits illustrated in Eva Brumberger’s article "The Rhetoric of Typography: The Persona of Typeface and Text" and A. Dawn Shaikh, Barbara S. Chaparro, and Doug Fox’s article "Perception of Fonts: Perceived Personality Traits and Uses."

Table 2: Criteria, Defining Characteristics, and Personality Attributes

The five categories I chose for my fonts are based on Shaikh’s five font factors (Shaikh, Chaparro and Fox 4).  These font factors can be seen in the first row of Table 2.  The second row, also based on Shaikh’s five font factors, gives the prominent quality of the typefaces in that particular category.  Rows three through five give three personality traits to each of the categories as derived from both Shaikh and Brumberger’s choices of personality traits.

To better illustrate the kinds of typefaces that would fall into each category, Table 3 below shows examples of each category.  All-Purpose contains fonts with no serifs that are not monospaced.  Traditional contains fonts with serifs.  Script contains fonts that do not fit with the first two categories; these fonts are generally decorative in nature.  Bold contains fonts that contain thicker lines than other typefaces and often used in signs and displays.  Plain contains fonts that are monospaced and typically seen used in terminal programs on computers.

Table 3: Typeface Examples

My magazine research primarily focused on the typefaces of articles and section headings as well as the body text of the articles themselves.  I also looked at various text snippets that are not long enough to be articles themselves but are part of the magazine (which I refer to as “blurbs”).  Advertisements are ignored because the magazines themselves do not determine the design of advertisements.

Magazine Analysis 

This section gives a brief description of each magazine that I observed as well as the observed criteria within each.  Examples of the employed typefaces are shown as necessary.

Maxim

Maxim is a magazine geared towards males in their late teens and twenties.  Articles focus on interviews and photo shoots with attractive, scantily clad women, sports, video games, alcohol, and other amusements that may appeal to the targeted age group.

Observations

Maxim is mostly consistent with the typography of its articles.  The majority of the article headings are Bold with serifs; however, some articles (only the ones under the “Column” sections) have All-Purpose headings.  Although this style choice is not consistent with the rest of the magazine, it is consistent through each issue of the magazine.  Both issues observed had Bold headings with serifs for the majority of the articles, while the “Column” sections in both issues had All-Purpose headings as seen below in Figure 1: Heading Comparison in Maxim.

Figure 1: Heading Comparison in Maxim

Both body text and callouts were consistent throughout both magazines and issues.  Body text was always Traditional while callouts and other blurbs were always in All-Purpose as shown in Figure 2: Body Text and Blurbs in Maxim.

Figure 2: Body Text and Blurbs in Maxim 

FHM 

FHM is a British magazine popular in the United States that is geared towards males in their late teens and twenties.  Like Maxim, the articles focus on photo shoots and interviews with attractive, scantily clad women, male fashion, gadgets, video games, and other topics of interest that may appeal to the targeted age group.

Observations

FHM appears to be more consistent with its typography than Maxim.  The headings for each of the articles were Bold and sans serif, as seen in Figure 3: Headings from FHM.

Figure 3: Heading from FHM

The body text for articles was Traditional while blurbs and other information were always in All-Purpose as seen below in Figure 4: Body Text and Blurbs from FHM.

Figure 4: Body Text and Blurbs from FHM

Men’s Health Best Life

Men’s Health Best Life is geared towards males in their thirties and beyond.  Articles focus on fitness, fashion, health, finances, celebrity interviews, and other topics that may appeal to the targeted demographic.

Observations

Section headings in Men’s Health Best Life were always in All-Purpose, where the article headings would always be in Traditional, as seen in Figure 5: Headings for Men's Health Best Life.

Figure 5: Headings for Men's Health Best Life

Full-length article body text was always in Traditional, while other blurbs were written in All-Purpose.

Outside

Outside is geared primarily towards the active male in their twenties and beyond.  The articles focus on outdoor activity, travel, merchandise for the active man, health, as well as other topics that would appeal to a man with an active lifestyle.

Observations

Article headings were all in Bold sans serif.  As with previous magazines, full-length article body text is in Traditional while shorter articles and blurbs were written in All-Purpose as seen below in Figure 6: Outside Typography Example.

Figure 6: Outside Typography Example

Glamour

Glamour is tailored primarily to women in their late teens to late twenties.  The articles in the magazine focus on celebrities, fashion, health, sex, relationship advice, and other topics that would appeal to the target demographic.

Observations

Section headings in Glamour are always in Script.  Article headings are always in Bold, alternating frequently between serif and sans serif.

Figure 7: Section Headings and Article Headings in Glamour

Full-length article body text is always in Traditional (as seen in Figure 8: Body Text in Glamour); shorter articles and blurbs are always in All-Purpose. 

Figure 8: Body Text in Glamour 

Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan, similar to Glamour, is tailored for women in their late teens to their late twenties.  The articles focus on celebrities, sex advice and tips, fashion, relationship advice, health, beauty, and other topics that would appeal to the target demographic.

Observations

Compared to all of the other magazines, Cosmopolitan was the most erratic in typeface usage. Section headings were Bold sans serif.  I could find no trend with article headings.  Some pages would have Bold sans serif while others would have Bold serif headings.  Some pages had Script headings which were random and infrequent.  Examples of some headings can be seen in Figure 9: Examples of Headings for Cosmopolitan.

Figure 9: Examples of Headings for Cosmopolitan

Longer articles’ body text was generally Traditional.  Shorter articles, however, tended to vary.  The majority of blurbs and shorter articles had All-Purpose typeface, but sometimes some blurbs would be in Traditional.  As with the headings, the choices of what was Traditional and that which was All-Purpose had no real pattern that I could discern.

Good Housekeeping

Good Housekeeping is tailored toward women who are in their thirties and older who have settled down and have homes and families.  The articles focus on weight loss, fashion, food, home decorating, health, family, and other subjects that would be appealing to this demographic.

Observations

The majority of the headings in Good Housekeeping were Traditional.  Where captions and blurbs generally were All-Purpose, noticeable amounts of blurbs were in Traditional with no discernable pattern as seen in Figure 10: Blurb Comparison in Good Housekeeping.

Figure 10: Blurb Comparison in Good Housekeeping

As with other magazines with full-length articles, the body text in those articles was always Traditional, as seen below in Figure 11: Body Text in Good Housekeeping.

Figure 11: Body Text in Good Housekeeping

Redbook

Redbook, similar to Good Housekeeping, is targeted towards women who are in their thirties and older.  The articles revolve around weight loss, finances, health maintenance, celebrity interviews, fashion and beauty, as well as other articles that would appeal to the demographic.

Observations

Article headings in Redbook are typically All-Purpose, sometimes alternating to Bold serif (and sometimes even Bold sans serif).  An example of this can be seen in Figure 12: Redbook Heading Example.

Figure 12: Redbook Heading Example

As with most other magazines, articles have body text in Traditional, while blurbs are all in All-Purpose.

Time

Time is a magazine geared towards people in their twenties and older who are interested in keeping up-to-date on current events.  The articles focus on topics that are of interest in the news today as well as on other current events.

Observations

Compared to all of the other magazines, Time magazine is the only magazine that is entirely uniform in its formatting.  All of the article headings are Bold sans serif while the section headings are All-Purpose.  The body text is all Traditional.  An example of this can be seen below in Figure 13: Time Headings and Body Text.

Figure 13: Time Headings and Body Text

Blurbs are always in All-Purpose and captions are always in italicized Traditional as seen in Figure 14: Time Blurbs and Captions.

Figure 14: Time Blurbs and Captions

Newsweek

Like Time, Newsweek is another current event magazine geared towards people in their twenties and older who are interested on keeping up-to-date on current news and events.

Observations

In comparison to Time, Newsweek is not as rigid with typeface selection.  Article headings are either Bold sans serif or Traditional. Section headings are always Bold with serifs.  Whereas I could find trends with why some headings are the way they are in other magazines, I could not determine a definite trend with how Newsweek determined its headings.  An example of how these headings varied can be seen in Figure 15: Newsweek Heading Comparison.

Figure 15: Newsweek Heading Comparison

Besides the heading issue, Newsweek is similar to Time in regards to everything else .  Image captions are in italicized Traditional and blurbs are in All-Purpose, as seen in Figure 16: Newsweek Caption and Blurb Example.

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a magazine tailored for people who are interested in popular culture and music.  Articles in this magazine focus on musicians, celebrities, album and movie reviews, current events, and other subjects that may be of interest to the demographic targeted.

Observations

Nearly all the headings in Rolling Stone are Bold with serifs.  All body text is Traditional, while other blurbs and callouts are always in All-Purpose.  Examples of these can be seen below in Figure 17: Rolling Stone Article Example.

Figure 17: Rolling Stone Article Example

Game Informer

Game Informer is geared towards people (primarily males) who are interested in and like video games ranging from young teens and older.  Articles in this magazine focus on upcoming video game releases, reviews of current video games, stories about the video game industry, as well as other articles geared toward this particular niche demographic.

Observations

Unlike any other magazine, Game Informer primarily uses All-Purpose typeface, seen below in Figure 18: Game Informer Article Example.

Figure 18: Game Informer Article Example

The only exceptions to the All-Purpose typefaces are the headings for the article that is in Bold (yet still styled similarly to All-Purpose with the lack of serifs) and featured article headlines.  Featured articles generally have Script for headings as seen below in Figure 19: Script Headings in Game Informer.

Figure 19: Script Headings in Game Informer