Analysis of professional magazine covers

Kerrang Positioning statement.The positioning statement in magazines is usually placed right at the top with a solid colour to have in the background. They contain information on one specific article in the magazine.

The front cover has a bright pink positioning statement on the top to try and get the readers to start from the top when reading it. This follows the rock genre as they usually use solid colour when using a positioning statement to make the text in front of it easy to read.

A small picture containing the artist is also placed on here to give the readers a very brief overview of some of the main articles that will be in the magazine.

Kerrang Masthead The masthead in magazines is usually placed around the top of the magazine just under the positioning statement.

This magazine is using its own unique font. This is a code and convention of other rock magazines as they try to use their own made font to make it unique to the readers and to make it recognisable for future purposes and to see them as a brand. The font is made to look like something has been smashed to fit with the aggressive nature of rock music this will make it more appealing to people when they decide if they want to buy it.

The colour for the font is very light (white) to make it stand out on the page more than anything else since darker colours like purple and yellow are used on the page as well.

The size of the font is made to be the biggest on the page aside from the main headline. This is used to make it stand out on the page and to show its importance.

Kerrang SplashA splash is used in most magazines and this contains a small shape on the magazine that is usually on the far left or the far right of a magazine to get it out of the way so that it is not covering the main image.

The splash indicates that an article is slightly more important than some of the others and by placing a shape behind it makes it organised and it causes the front cover to be less cluttered.

Kerrang Main headlineThe main headline is placed below the faces of the people on the main image. The headline is made to anchor the main image also to give the readers acknowledgement of who the magazine is talking about for its main story.

The text is big on the page to signify its importance to the magazine. Other rock magazines also do this to other popular bands at the time as a way to show their significance compared to others.

The text is a purple colour to keep with the theme of Pink and hints of yellow on the page. This is done to make it easy to read and not to make it too overwhelming for people to read. Other rock magazines also keep the colours very general and only use a lack of them to not make it seem too cluttered.

Kerrang CoverlinesCover lines on other rock magazines usually contain a list of band names with no specific detail that will cause people to draw conclusions from. If customers see a band they like with no context over the story, it means that they will be more likely to purchase it to find out.

The colour that is used is general as only white and yellow is seen. This is to get it to blend in to the rest of the magazine and not to make it stand out too much as it is not the most important part that Kerrang are trying to advertise.

The font is kept small in order to keep the subjects faces from the main image in the shot and to ensure that it is not covered by text.

Kerrang Barcode date and PriceThe Barcode, date and price in rock magazines is usually placed on the bottom right of a magazine to keep it out of the way of the articles and information on the magazines as it is not important or relevant to any of the storys presented as it is only used to scan and discover the date and the price of the magazine from.

The date is placed directly above the barcode with a very small font for people to look up the relevancy of the magazine and see if it is updated and new

The name of the magazine ‘Kerrang’ is also placed above the barcode as a reminder to readers the name of the magazine so they will buy future magazines if they see the name.

Kerrang Main image + Colour schemeThe main image is placed directly in the centre of the front cover, this serves a purpose to inform what the main article will be on as the Main headline below the image anchors it and matches the meaning.

Many rock magazines ensure that all of the subjects in the image are giving the readers direct eye contact. This is done as it makes you feel like you have a personal relationship with them and it may give you more of a reason to purchase it.

The background they are stud against is kept very simple and plain to make the text on the cover easier to read. Other rock magazines do this to not make the magazine too cluttered and difficult to read and see everything on the page.

The colours on the page are all kept to a similar standard to make it all consistent when you look at it. It also makes text easier to read if the colour scheme is kept the same or if it uses colours that are similar throughout the cover.

Kerrang SkylineThe Skyline in rock magazines is usually placed directly at the bottom of the page to the left of the barcode. It’s purpose is to inform readers on other articles that will be in the magazine.

The Skyline in the Kerrang magazine contains a tilted rectangle as a background. Other rock magazines use shapes in the background for the skyline in order to make the text readable as it may be difficult to see if the main image is the background for the text.

The skyline also contains the names of other bands who will be discussed in the magazine. The font for this is kept consistent throughout this is to show the readers that they all have equal importance and that they should be read.

Positioning statementThe positioning statement in magazines is placed right at the top with a solid colour to have in the background. They contain information on one specific article in the magazine.

The positioning statement in the mojo magazine contains a solid yellow colour for the background and black text for the information. This is used to make it all match each other (look similar) and to make the text readable. Other rock magazines also keep the colours similar for the positioning statement in order to make it readable.

The fonts used stay the same to show that it all links to the one article.

MastheadThe masthead in magazines is usually placed around the top of the magazine just under the positioning statement.

The font for the magazine I am researching (Kerrang) uses a unique font. This is to get readers to remember the distinctive look of it and to remember their name for future purchases.

The font size is also the largest on the page to show the importance of it and to get readers to remember the name of the magazine. Other rock magazines do this as a way of competition and to gain more sales in the future.

SplashA splash is used in most magazines and this contains a small shape on the magazine that is usually on the far left or the far right of a magazine to get it out of the way so that it is not covering the main image.

The splash in the second Kerrang magazine has a circle shape that is out of the way of any of the information of the articles.

The colour of the splash is yellow and black so people will draw their attention to it as there are not many solid shapes on the page. The yellow colour also matches the shirt of the subject in the main image so this will cause fans of hers to want to draw their attention to the splash as it matches in colour and they may think that it is similar

Main headlineThe main headline is placed below or at the side the faces of the people on the main image. The headline is made to anchor the main image also to give the readers acknowledgement of who the magazine is talking about for its main story.

The main headline is using a smaller font than some of the other magazines to make it unique and stand out however bold is used here to show people that it anchors the main image and it is the same person who is mentioned on the right.

CoverlinesCover lines on other rock magazines usually contain a list of band names with no specific detail that will cause people to draw conclusions from. If customers see a band they like with no context over the story, it means that they will be more likely to purchase it to find out.

The cover lines on the second Kerrang magazine contain a wider variety of fonts (3-4) to ensure that it is more visually appealing, by doing this it also makes the readers more interested in the content of the article itself just by using different fonts. Other rock magazines also do this to make their magazines seem unique and interesting to read.

Barcode, date + priceThe Barcode, date and price in rock magazines is usually placed on the bottom right of a magazine to keep it out of the way of the articles and information on the magazines as it is not important or relevant to any of the story's presented as it is only used to scan and discover the date and the price of the magazine from.

On the second Kerrang magazine, the date is shown in a bold font to get across to the readers the relevancy of the magazine and to get them to quickly determine if they are reading the latest issue or not.

The price is also in bold in order for the customer to see how much it will cost clearly. If they couldn’t find this, there would be less of a chance of them wanting to buy it without knowing the cost.

image and colour schemeThe main image is placed on the right of the front cover, this serves a purpose to inform what the main article will be on as the Main headline on the left ofthe image anchors it and matches the meaning.

On the second Kerrang magazine, a medium close up is shown of the subject as it makes him seem as an equal power to the reader. Rock magazines try and keep it at this distance and try not to make it a low angle looking up picture as this will make the readers believe that they are more powerful and it may put them off from purchasing it as they may feel that they don’t have a good relationship.

The background of the image is purely white in order to make the black text stand out on the cover lines. Other rock magazines keep the background colour simple and plain in order to make the text stand out and to get the audience to read it.

The colour scheme on this magazine is kept simple and only a very few amount of colours are used (White, black, yellow) this is used to not make it seem cluttered and full. Other rock magazines also keep it simple as it causes the readers to believe that it will be simple and easy to read.

positioning statement The positioning statement in magazines is placed right at the top with a solid colour to have in the background. They contain information on one specific article in the magazine.

The positioning statement for third Kerrang magazine is using a font with all capital letters throughout, this is used to show the audience that it is important and that it should be read.

Two colours are being used here in order to separate them to show that they have different meaning and they are not apart of the same sentence.

MastheadThe masthead in magazines is usually placed around the top of the magazine just under the positioning statement.

This masthead contains a gray background from the main image with a white font for the text being inside. This has been used to make the letter stand out as much as it possibly can. An exclusive custom made font is used so people can remember and recognise it for future purchases. The custom font also shows it is a rock magazine as it portrays an image of something being smashed. Rock music is stereotypically linked to aggression so this will ensure that people understand the genre of the magazine.

It is the second biggest text on the page next to the main headline to try and get people to look at it for longer to remember the name.

SplashA splash is used in most rock magazines and this contains a small shape on the magazine that is usually on the far left or the far right of a magazine to get it out of the way so that it is not covering the main image.

The splash contains a solid red rectangle with white text inside. This is done to draw people’s attention to it as red is not often shown on the page. It also makes the text easier to read using these colours rather than Grey and black for example.

Main headlineThe main headline is placed below the faces of the people on the main image in order for the readers to be able to see them. The headline is made to anchor the main image also to give the readers acknowledgement of who the magazine is talking about for its main story.

The main headline is using a custom made font that is not shown anywhere else on the cover, this is to show the audience that it is the main article and that the main image anchors this. text.

CoverlinesCover lines on other rock magazines usually contain a list of band names with no specific detail that will cause people to draw conclusions from.

The cover lines use different fonts and colours for each to make them all seem unique rather than using 1 font and one colour for them all and make it seem similar. This will make the reader believe that the content inside will be unique also and it will encourage them to buy the magazine.

Barcode, date + priceThe Barcode, date and price in rock magazines is usually placed on the bottom right of a magazine to keep it out of the way of the articles and information on the magazines as it is not important or relevant to any of the story's presented as it is only used to scan and discover the date and the price of the magazine from.

The date is using a small font however capital letters are being used in order to show the relevancy of the magazine and if it is up to date or not. It is placed in a solid black colour as they are aware that people may not purchase the magazine if they cannot see a price clearly on the cover.

Main image and colour schemeThe main image is placed directly in the centre of the front cover, this serves a purpose to inform what the main article will be on as the Main headline below the image anchors it and matches the meaning.

The main image is a Mid shot of the subjects. The subject this time is giving direct address to the camera as it is placed at the same level and angle as him. If it was placed lower looking up it may have put people off from purchasing it as they may see or portray him as having more power. The direct address to the audience will make them believe that they have a personal relationship and they may want to buy it.

The background of the main image is also kept very simple with a grey colour to make the white text for the cover lines stand out.

The colour scheme is kept simple with only around 3-4 different colours being used aside from the main image. This has been done as it will be easier to read and it will seem less cluttered on the page.