Homepage and other pages - The homepage can be accessed through clicking on the masthead. This hypermodal address provides audiences with a clear and conventional mode of address. Furthermore, the connotations of the masthead ‘attitude’ has an ion your face quality, which positions the audience in an exciting mode of address. Proairetically, the lexis attitude suggests the free sharing of opinions, along with an ability for the target audience to share their own lifestyle. The term itself is also somewhat sassy and colloquial, which playfully makes reference to a stereotype of gay men that would be appealing to the target audience. Additionally, the masthead lacks capitals, which has connotations of a more gentle and breezy ideology. Furthermore, it also reinforces that ‘attitude’ is a way of life, and NOT a brand name
Codes and conventions and composition - the website takes a highly conventional and even generic approach. This extremely white and clean approach to webs design is typical of web 2.0. This allows the website to appeal to a mass and mainstream audience
Layout and design - There is a binary opposition between the stark white background and the often overwhelmingly colourful images. The use of many different colours here constructs a hyperreal representation of gay identity, that encourages the audience to actively go out and explore their own identity. Furthermore, the article, featuring Norton in a bright yellow suit not only reinforces notions of pride, but encourages the audience to do so themselves
Font size, type of font (e.g. serif/sans serif), colour - the font is possibly Open Sans. Round and simple, it has connotations of clarity, and has been heavily anti-aliased in order to improve it's smooth clarity.
The website was created by PugPig, an outsourced web design company, who are notable for creating magazines, newspapers and their associated websites. Also creating content for Reach PLC, Pugpig are a highly specialised company that allow media producers to heavily cut costs by outsourcing elements of web design to specialised companies
Images/photographs - camera shot type, angle, focus - the images of Graham Norton are particularly high quality, and connote creativity, and professionalism. The photoshoot itself is lifted from Attitude (the magazine), and then republished on the associated website. This reinforces the fact that the magazine is in fact not only the primary business, but the fact that the website is an extended advertisement for the magazine. This marketing technique is known as push/pull advertising. While audiences are being pushed away from physical magazines, and moving on to digitally convergent online media, the website in effect is pushing audiences directly back again, as it functions as an advert for the magazine, with a clear and ever present subscription button. The images make heavy use of symbolic codes in order to fill in the gaps of an already straightforward narrative. The camp nature of Norton’s bright yellow suit effectively queer codes a man who is already widely known for being gay, and presents an extremely straightforward message to the gay target audience. Furthermore the broach may be a referential code, and make reference to historical queer culture, where sexuality was contacted secretly to others the know through a series of signs
Hypermodality - there are a big range of hyperlinks throughout the page, encouraging the audience to ‘read next’. The lexis here functions as an hermeneutic code, encouraging audiences to unveil the mystery of exactly what article may come up next
Website key words
- Homepage - the main page, where audiences can view the entirety of available content
- Hyperlink - an element which redirects the user to another page
- Hypermodality - the process of using the internet to move from one media mode to another