Magazine Analysis

Abi Semple

Front Cover Pages

The Masthead is shown at the top left hand side of the magazine and so would stand out on a shelf as well using the magazine’s trademark colours which would appeal on every ‘Q’ magazine. The masthead has been placed over the main image which challenges conventions but by placing it in front it stands out and looks bolder.

A puff is used to promote a particular feature in the magazine and encourage the audience to purchase it. It has been separated from the rest of the magazine and so stands out and uses the theme colours red, white and black to link the magazine together.

The cover lines are shown on both sides of the magazine page, specifically on the left so that they stand out on shelves. They give the audience a view on what is inside the magazine and persuade them to buy it. They have used cover lines that include artistes names as well as witty phrases such as ‘Booze, Fags and… Muffins!’ to intrigue the audience.

The selling line has been placed in the same outlined box as the masthead and uses white font. It is a lot smaller and links with the masthead unlike a majority of the text on the page because it has been written in serif font. It persuades the audience to buy it and by using ‘discover’ shows that even if you haven’t heard of the artists, you can find out more about them inside. This would appear on every ‘Q’ magazine

Artiste Credit’s give credit to all the featured musicians.

Date Line so that the audience are up to date with the magazine’s issues.

The main cover line of the magazine is one of the main artiste featured; Liam Gallagher. It used bold writing to make it stand out as well as using Sans-Serif font, contrasting the masthead which uses Serif. The main cover line links well with the main image and the reader would want to read more into it. The cover line uses the band’s name and so the audience would know that the main feature is about that particular artiste.

The main colour scheme for this magazine is red, white and black. These feature in all aspects of the front cover, and give the magazine a signature look. This would make the audience be able to recognise it easily and makes it all connected.

The main image is a MCU shot and shows the main featured artist Liam Gallagher who is a musician in the band Beady Eye. He takes up a large percentage of the page and links with the main cover line as it mentions his eyes, which is also the name of the band,, which in the main image are shown to be reflecting the other band members from his glasses. Liam Gallagher is shown to be looking mysterious and retro by using props and costume such as his dark glasses, and his facial expression makes him look secretive; something that would appeal to both sexes. Female’s would find him attractive and males would look up to his dangerous, masculine persona and so would want to read about him inside the magazine. The way he looks and dresses links with the type of DJ music he makes.

The name of this magazine is ‘NME’ and the masthead is used to make this stand out and to make it easily recognisable. This masthead is always shown on he let hand corner of NME, and here it is in white to make it stand out against the background and is very bold.

The main cover line uses the main feature of the magazine which is Lana Del Rey. A quote is used by her, as well as her name in blue, being the main attraction of the cover, and links with the main image of her. ‘True Face’ is used to show the audience that she is a normal person, and she is shown to be modern and an American idol, which both links with the image and the cover line. The cover line slants across the page, making it look different and catching the audience’s eye. Fans of Lana would immediately see her name and wan to buy the magazine, as it shows her in a very positive light.

Other images of artiste's are used to show other features inside and reinforces the puff used. These are in black and white and stand out on page and they are slightly tilted to show them layered on top of each other, making them look unique. They are outlined in white and so are moved forward from the background.

The main image is a medium shot of Lana Del Rey and she is being shown to link with her cover line of a ‘phycho’ as she has a funny expression on her face, and is shown as being like a normal person, not a typical ‘perfect’ celebrity. There is an American flag behind her, linking again with the cover line. Lana looks very pretty, and girls would look up to her and boys would find her attractive. She is wearing white which links with the American flag, an she also looks like a strong character, showing that she is a role model for young people.

The Dateline is used to keep the audience up to date with the issue numbers.

The rule of thirds is used to make the page look attractive and give it a clear structure.

Other cover lines are used to highlight other features inside. They are inside white boxes and so are separated from the background and black and blue bold font is used. Statements like ‘Find out more inside’ persuade the audience to buy it. Different artistes are used to show the wide range of features included.

A footer is used to show other artiste’s featured and makes the magazine look like here is a lot going on and is packed full of information. This is smaller than other texts on the page, and ‘Plus’ has been written in italic and a different font to make it stand out for the audience.

The main colour theme is blue, black and white, making the magazine look consistent and organized. It links the magazine together and make the images stand out. Sans-Serif and capital letters are only used on this magazine, making it look more appealing as it is all the same and easy to read.

A puff is used to highlight another reason to buy the magazine. It has been split off from the rest of the page using a blue box and used black and white font to show extras that you get when you purchase it. The font is large and so stands out on the page.

The barcode is easily seen at the bottom of the page as well as the price, which is small but easy to find by the audience.

A header has been used at the top of the page to show more features that are inside the magazine. It would appeal to the audience as it is offering a prize which would appeal to many of the readers and therefore they would want to read more about it. The audience would easily spot it as it is placed at the top of the magazine and has a red background which makes it stand out from the rest of the page. This is a typical convention of music magazines. The main cover line features the name

of the band in bold writing and takes up a large percentage of the page. It uses white font and is outlined in black, separating it from the rest of the magazine. Underneath the cover line continues, but this is highlighted in black, making it stand out from the white clothing of the image and it links with the main image as the band look spiritual and Biblical which links with ‘unfold the puzzle of life’ therefore making the audience want to read more.

The Barcode is used to make it easily to find and scan in shops. This is typically found on the front of magazines. The date line and issue number has also been used to keep the audience up to date with the magazine releases.

A puff has been used which is a typical convention of music magazine and is separated from the rest of the page with a red outline. It offers a free gift to persuade the audience to buy it.

The rule of thirds has been used to make the page look aesthetic and the cover lines relate to the artistes and the images of them. It gives the audience more features of what is inside the magazine.

The main colour theme for the magazine is red, black and white and links the magazine and makes it pleasing to the eye. All of the font used is Sans-Serif, and so making it look bold and linking it to the type of music used as well as making it consistent.

The main image is of the main artiste of the magazine; Biffy Clyro, shown in Medium Shot, showing the outfits that they are wearing and they are centred in the middle of the page. The band look mysterious and are looking towards the camera, making it personal to the audience. The main member is in front and is wearing white while the other two are behind and wearing black, making the most well known band member stand out so that people would recognise him. Their faces look shadowed and so links with the type of rock music that they produce. The main image would appeal to both sexes and fans would want to read the magazine to see what else features.

The footer links with the header and uses the same colour scheme, separating it from the rest of the page. It says ‘Plus!’ and then gives examples of more bands featured, and so persuades the audience to buy it. It uses similar bands to Biffy Clyro, so that fans would be interested in them.

The Masthead uses the name of a well known magazine Kerrang. It has been written in bold, black font and has been placed on a white background making it stand out. The masthead uses the trademark font of Kerrang! and so gives it a unique style that the audience would immediately notice. Part of the main image covers the masthead and this is a typical convention as the magazine is well known and people would immediately recognise it.

Other images are used of other artistes to show the other features in the magazine and to show that it holds a lot of information. The images are either separated in boxes- making them stand out, or are edited to overlap the main image. All of the images are looking directly at the camera, making it personal.

Contents Pages

The name of the magazine has followed on to the contents page and looks exactly the same as on the front. It is inside a red box like it is on the cover and stands out on the page as it is boldly in red and uses large font. Also inside the red box is the title in black ‘Contents’ written in serif font, labelling the page and making it clear to the audience. The box is outlined with black and white and so making it stand out on the age. This is a typical way of writing the title of a contents page so that readers would easily identify it.

The website of the magazine has been advertised at the bottom of the page, so that the audience can view it whenever they want. The masthead of the magazine is also at the bottom of the page but is very small, and so the audience always know what they are reading and are well established with the name.

The main image of Liam Gallagher takes up a large proportion of the page and would catch the audience’s eye immediately. It uses shallow depth of field and a slight high angle shot, showing a close up of his face I high focus and his shoulders blurred. The tone of the image is grey and he looks very retro and mysterious, also showing the vintage style of the magazine. His clothes make him look old fashioned which adds to his interesting characteristic and style of music. Just like the front cover, you can’t see his eyes, and so adds to the mystery and his face is very shadowed. He is on a grey background just like the front cover and so full attention is on him. The number ‘46’ has been added at the bottom of this image in white and bold font to indicate the page number which the artist appears on.

Another image is used which is an ionic photo of the band Queen. This may have been seen before by the audience and so they might be interested in reading about it, and underneath is a breath description of the page on queen. This has been written in red and so shows that it is an important feature.

The title of the column is called ‘Features’ and is situated on the left hand side. It is written in white serif font and is inside a red box. This makes it consistent to it’s colour theme. It only mentions key aspects of the magazine which is a typical convention. Each article is split with a red and a black line divider and so making it look organized, easy to make out and well structured.

Each feature of the magazine has a title which is the name of the artiste, followed by a red divider to make it structured and then a description of what is to come inside. The artiste’s name is in capitals making it stand out against the smaller font of the information. This is so the audience would be able to spot the name of a particular band easily. The page numbers are also clearly listed next to the page names.

The magazine has kept to it’s signature colours and so making it aesthetically pleasing as well as consistent. Because the images and fonts on the page are darkly coloured the red is the dominating shade and stands out the most.

The rule of thirds has been used to make the page look professional and well structured and easy to read.

This NME magazine contents page challenges music magazine conventions as it is very different from how they are usually structured. This might be because NME does not have a specific sub category of music that they aim at and so have to take all types into consideration.

There is no contents page title on the page which challenges magazine stereotypes. Instead by saying ‘Inside this week’ it labels the page in a more specific way and makes it more personal. The title is in capital letters and uses serif bold text in black, contrasting the white background. It is centred and fits in well with the columns underneath.

Line dividers have been used to split the magazine pages into sections and so making it clear and well structured. It mostly follows the rule of thirds, and so making it look appealing and easy to follow. The line dividers are in black and are very thin and so making them barely noticeable, but they have a big impact.

The page contains a mixture of images and text and each image has a brief description of the page the image is representing. Each caption has a quote which are mostly humorous and so catch the audience’s attention and make them want to read about them. The quote by the artiste has been written in larger font and each one is different, by using bold, italic, capitals and different types of fonts. There is a brief explanation underneath the quote which is a lot smaller and is in capital, bold writing, and gives the audience an explanation of the artist and further persuades the reader to buy the magazine.

There is a thin column that says ‘Plus’ showing additional pages in the magazine that haven’t got an image caption, listing the page names and their page numbers. This is because they aren’t main features but can also be found inside. By putting so many on the contents page it shows the amount of information inside and is a typical convention of magazines.

The date line has been clearly marked to show the issue number of the magazine and so the audience is up to date with it.

The page number of each feature is shown at the bottom right hand corner of the image. It is written in black with a white background, and is large in font and bold. This makes sure the reader knows exactly where to find the pages.

The colour theme is white and black, making it simple, as all of the images are different colours, making them stand out and look unique. The background does not get in the way of the images. The text used is a mixture of serif and sans-serif, making it varied, and the page looks as if there is a lot going on, and so showing that there is a lot inside.

Each artiste featured in the magazine has its own image on the contents page to make the audience see it and easily recognise them. These are a range of different shots including CU, MLS and MS. They are also a range of different styles of colour and setting and some have been staged but some are live performances, making it interesting for the reader.

The contents title has been written in yellow font and uses the trademark Kerrang! Font type. The issue number has also been labelled as well as the date to make sure the audience keep up to date with the magazine.

A letter from the editor is a typical convention of a music magazine, explaining what is going to be inside. It usually adds an image of the editor as well to make it more personal and so that the audience know who produced the magazine. The editor is young and in MCU and so we can eaily see his face, and so would appeal to many young people as they would feel like he would understand them and like the same things as them.

The layout is split into 50% image and 50% text, meaning the main image is dominating the page. The text is laid out in five columns making it easy to make out but also making it look like there is a lot going on.

The name of the magazine in white is added to the contents page to make the audience be reminded of what they are reading.

The page numbers are labelled in red and so making them look different than the other text on the page and each feature that has been mentioned on the front cover is identified. This helps to link them together and so that the audience knows exactly what they are looking for and can find specific pages immediately.

Shapes are used with white background to show what pages specific features that are being shown on the page are on. This makes it easier for the audience to see and find, and they would want to buy the magazine to read more about that artiste.

The main image is of a band member crowd surfing which is a typical action used by a rock band, as it is crazy which would generally be associated with rock bands. He looks like he is having fun and like the image has been taken in the middle of the action showing that the magazine is packed full of exciting features, as well as showing that the magazine gets exclusive music information directly from the band members themselves at their gigs. He is wearing casual clothes, which are often associated with bands.

The main features of the magazine have been separated using columns. Each section of features has been written in yellow, concise font, and a black box surrounds it, making it stand out. Each feature is labelled as the artiste name and has been written in bold to make them stand out, and then there is a caption underneath it giving more information of what is inside.

The colour theme is black, yellow and white and black and this follows trademark Kerrang! Colours. All of the text on the page uses sans serif font to make it look bold and relates it to the music type.

Even though half of the contents page is an image there are other images on the page. Including a long shot of some band members and pages and features that are inside the magazine, including a free poster, and a preview of pages inside, so that the audience would want to look inside to find out more.

Offers are also given such as subscription deals to help further promote the magazine.

Double Page Spreads

The main image takes up half of the double page spread and is in black and white making it look sophisticated. A photograph of Lady Gaga in MCU is looking directly at the camera and so making it personal to the audience and she looks very glamorous and her outfit looks interesting and unique fitting with her trademark crazy costumes. She is against a white background making the magazine look professional and making Gaga’s image the main attraction of the page and so that she is well seen.

There is a red letter over the text on the opposite page of the image. It fills up the whole page and links with the magazine’s masthead as it is the same colour and font, and is also only one letter, e.g “L” for Lady Gaga.

The page layout looks glamorous and well structured making it easy to read, as well as making it unique to Q Magazine. The red letter is also the only colour on the page, making it eye catching and making constant references to the magazine name.

The text is written in serif font making it look traditional and aesthetically pleasing. At the top of the page Lady Gaga’s name is written clearly so that the audience know exactly who they are reading about. There is no title for the article which challenges conventions of music magazines, but this makes the page interesting and unique.

Drop capitals are a typical feature of magazine formality making the text look well organized.

The background is white and so makes the black text stand out and be easily seen and makes it look elegantly laid out as well as making the picture prominent and the red letter stand out.

The white background on both pages make them link together and are less confusing for the reader.

The text is heavily worded and so making it look like there is a lot of information on Lady Gaga and making the audience want to read it. The text is very small and so shows that a lot has research has gone in to the artiste and the small text

The magazine logo is shown at the bottom of the page on the right hand corner. It is small but reminds the audience of what they’re reading, as well as the page number so that the page is easy to find.

The theme colours on the double page spread are black, white and blue and these are shown all over the page making it consistent and pleasing to the eye.

The main image takes up half of the double page spread and is a long shot of the band. The image links with the name of the band and connotes the way in which teenagers are very casual and relaxed as well as the room they are in being shown as a typical teenage room. Therefore this would appeal to young people and would make it personal. The image is very bright and eye-catching and is the main feature of the page.

The magazine name is frequently used so that the reader is reminded of what they are reading.

A black box on the right hand side of the page taking up a quarter of the spread shows information about other artists. The box stands out against the white background of the page and uses other pictures of other bands who are similar to The Teenagers. Blue line dividers are used to link each artiste off from the other, linking it with the rest of the page.

The magazine website is advertised at the bottom of the article to encourage the audience to go on it. It is in red and so stands out from the rest of the page.

A quote from the band is highlighted in blue and uses large white font and so stands out from the rest of the font. This gives the audience an idea of what is inside the magazine article, as well as making it personally from the band.

Image captions are used to annotate what is going on in the image and to give the audience extra information about the photo.

A blue box on the bottom left hand corner of the page gives extra information about the band, and give a fact file on them, showing that the page is packed full of information.

The title of the page is the band name and so making it clear as to who the page is about. It is in black large, serif font and is highlighted in blue and so making it very eye-catching.

The subheading of the article is in black font and is just underneath the title. It links with the band name and gives a small introduction as to what will come in the magazine.

Another image of a band member using MLS is used to show the band performing on stage is used to intrigue the reader.

Black font has been placed on top of the white background, and so making it clear and the two column structure makes it easy to read. The text is in sans serif and so liking with the title and making it look sophisticated and indie, linking with the music style.

The page looks cluttered and like there’s a lot going on which would appeal to the target audience as they like to see lots of features on their favourite bands.

A pull quote has been used as the title to draw the audience in and make them intrigued by what Mt Chemical Romance will talk about in the interview. The font used is the typical style of Kerrang! and is in black and red which links with the page style.

The main image takes up about a third of the page and is a black and white medium long shot image of the main singer on stage. This links with the title as he seems to be really involved in the music, and by showing a performance shot, shows that the magazine gets involved with the music close up, making it exciting for the audience.

Other images of the band where they are performing or creating music are laid out at the bottom of the bottom page spread in different angled shots, e.g. MCU, MS and MLS, linking with the title of them being the best they can be, as it shows them being very much involved in their music. All the images are in black and white and so make the red font on the page eye catching, as well as making the band look indie and sophisticated. They are wearing casual-smart clothes and so make them look normal and personal for the audience. The page is image dominated and shows that there is cluttered, so the audience has a lot to look at.

On the right hand side of the page there is a column showing other text which is different from the main article. The white box splits it off from the rest of the page and makes it seem like there is a lot of information on the artiste and so would be interesting for the reader.

The background of the page is black and so links with the rock/gothic genre of music. It also makes the white and red font stand out from the background. Drop capitals are also used in red, which is a typical convention of a formal magazine.

The band name is shortened to MCR which is typical in rock music and makes it more personal for the audience as if they are fans of the band they would know the shortened name.

The subheading of the page is in smaller text than the main image and says that Kerrang! were invited to the studio, and so showing that they are involved in the bands, and advertising the magazine further.

There is only two columns of text, giving the audience more to look at than read, and so this would appeal to the reader as they might be pushed away if there is a lot of text.

An advertisement of the Kerrang! website is advertised, encouraging the audience to go on the website to read more about latest features.

The text is written in sans serif making it modern and easy to read and so would apply to the target audience.