bruce springsteen

1. Magazine Advertisement Analysis

2. Imagery
The image is of Bruce Springsteen, the
artist, is a medium long shot, revealing his
guitar, which is stereotypical of a rock artist.
The image itself has been edited so that it
is in black and white, making a bold
statement against the warm hues of the
background, again, portraying the loudness
and power of the rock genre. This use of
editing also highlights the guitar as an
important feature within the mise en scene
as it is bright white in comparison to the
rest of the advertisement which is much
darker. This use of imagery, and its
placement, creates masculine connotations
as the guitar can be viewed as phallic. The
artist is looking into the camera, directly
addressing his audience. His face is also
serious creating an almost intimidating
mood. The rock genre of music is
represented through this harsh expression
as it reveals power and dominance in the
same way that this genre of music does.

3. Design Principle
The main title, featuring the artist’s name,
spreads across the primary optical and strong
fallow areas indicating clearly to the audience
that that is who has made the album as it is in
the area in which the reader will first look. The
artist’s face is also located across these areas,
stating his importance and revealing who is
releasing the album that is being advertised.
The guitar, which is a key symbol in
representing the rock genre, has been placed
in between the weak fallow and terminal
areas. This is unusual as it should be in the
primary optical or strong fallow areas so that
the audience sees is straight away and realises
that the album will be of the rock genre. The
brightness of the white guitar, however, draws
attention to itself without having to be in these
areas. The album name and release date and
format are located at the bottom of the weak
fallow and terminal areas as this information
will not grab the audience’s attention like the
name and image of the artist.

4. Design Balance The advertisement is well balanced
through the font and the image. The
tall font rises at either side of the
image making it seem almost
symmetrical. The image is well
balanced as the artist’s leg and elbow
stand out on one side. The neck of the
guitar mirrors this on the opposite side
balancing the other side where his leg
and elbow stand out. The way in which
the artist is stood also creates good
design balance. He is positioned slightly
left of the page but he is leaning right
so that his head and shoulders are in
the centre. This creates balance,
helped by the guitar on the right hand
side as it balances the parts of his body
that are on the left. The body of the
guitar is also in the centre of the page,
adding to its symmetry.

5. Typefaces The only typeface used on the advertisement
is a tall, thin sans serif font. The height of the
font creates a dominating atmosphere which
is consistent to the power of the rock music
genre of the album and the artist’s style. As
well as this intimidating feel, the block-like,
straight font creates a sense of stylishness,
revealing, again the power of rock music, but
also the wealth and fame that comes with
being an artist within the music industry.
Bruce Springsteen is a well known artist and
the font that is surrounding him reflects the
‘name in lights’ connotations of fame and
Hollywood that surrounds him. The style of
the font is sans serif, suggesting a more
relaxed, informal style to his music as the font
is not of a formal, serif style. This contradicts
the powerful nature of rock music therefore
representing the artist as more alternative to
the stereotypical rock stars.