1. Existing Names and Mastheads

2. There are four main categories of names for magazines, these include: Acronym: This is an abbreviation formed by the initial letters of words and are pronounced as one word. Music magazines names which include acronyms are: NME Q CCM. Phrase: This is a sequence of words put together to add meaning. Music magazines which involve phrases in their name involve the following: Top of the pops Smash Hits RollingStone Drowned in Sound Connotative: This is a word which suggests something further than what is already being explained. For example, the following below are all connotative names: Vibe Kerrang! Edge Spin Compound: This is a selection of words put together to form a complete word. Music magazines which involve a compound in their name are: Indie- pendant Indie- vidual MixMag 3. The acronym NME stands for New Musical Express. The short, simple and catchy name has been shortened to make the magazine more memorable to the audience. The acronym is also targeted at readers who may be un-familiar with the magazine as the simplicity of the name leads them to easily guess the main genre of the magazine music. This is followed by the phrase New Musical Express which is displayed under the masthead. The graphology of the masthead NME is very bright and colourful portraying red to be the main colour followed by a white outline and black background. The colour red is signified to be a very powerful and dangerous colour emphasising the importance of NME magazine. The use of the white border fixes the letters together and ensures they're all equally the same height, this gives the magazine a professional feel and explains to the reader that this magazine is very formal and well organised. Furthermore, the border is used to catch the readers attention as the contrast in dark and light colours makes the writing stand out. Readers would feel more obliged to buy a brightly coloured and well designed magazine rather than a dull and monochrome magazine if they were looking at a selection of music magazines. 4. Originally, the acronym Q was going to be named Cue followed by the phrase cue the music to represent the idea of cueing a record . However, it was later changed to Q due to the possible confusion with it being a snooker magazine. The single letter title is effective as it would be prominent and identifiable to consumers looking at a range of magazines on a newsstand. The fact that the magazines title is revolved around a one letter word coveys simplicity and maturity suggesting an older target audience of men in their late 30s and 40s. The graphology of the masthead is very apparent and easily recognisable to consumers through the permanent positioning of the logo in the top left hand corner of the magazine. The colour scheme of the masthead is very bright and bold signifying red to be the main dominant colour. The use of the colour red connotes feelings of danger and purity suggesting the contents of the magazine to contain a variation of genres and artists. The colours used are very important as they as are applied to every edition created by Q. This adds to the professionalism and sophistication of the magazine, separating it from other magazine competitors. Moreover, the flick of the Q reinforces this illusion of professionalism as Q magazine is typically depicted by the older target audience to be very formal, classy and elegant. 5. The phrase RollingStone provides us with the feeling that this magazine has been round for a very a long time conveying the magazine to be very successful. We gather this indication through the use of the noun stone presented at the end of RollingStone. The noun follows typical connotations of prehistoric times as well being the hard solid non-metallic mineral which rock is made as a building material. This foreshadows the content of the magazine and explains to the audience that they magazine will involve modern as well as old artists. Furthermore, the title of the magazine perhaps refers to the famous rock band The Rolling Stones and encourages fans of the rock band to buy their magazine. Alike NME and Q magazine, RollingStone has included the colour red in the magazines house style. The colour is significant as it directs the audience, red is stereotypically portrayed to be a man and womens colour indicating the audience to be mixed gender. In addition, the colour red suits the theme of the magazine rock. The use of the black shadow behind makes the title of the magazine stand out amongst the front page and denotes its importance as without this feature the red font would look bleak and uninviting. The effect of the glint of shine over the letters implies the magazine to be of star quality. 6. The phrase 'Top of the Pops has been purposely created to suit the genre of this magazine pop. This is useful for readers who are unfamiliar with this magazine as they can easily identify the genre through the title itself. The title also involves the noun top which symbolizes the magazines superior as it sits upon the platform of pop magazines. The use of rhythm signifies the young target audience as young teenage girl would find this more attractive and appealing to read. The graphology of the title is presented in an extremely girly, and bubbly font to reinforce the young teenage girl target audience. The white font against the vivid blue background makes the title stand out and creates the effect that the white text has almost be carved in to the blue background. This is not perceived to be the usual house style of Top of the Pops magazine as in other editions they include the colour pink in their masthead, this again contributes to the unprofessionalism of the magazine. The use of swirls and stars reflect the audience of Tops of the Pops and makes the magazine more interesting and exciting to read. This type of magazine would be unsuitable for readers of NME and Q magazine as the masthead is portrayed to be unprofessional and childish, however this style of layout is ideal for young teenage girls as this would grab their attention and influence them to buy the magazine. 7. The connotative word Kerrang! is an onomatopoeic sound which has been created for effect. The phonology of the title projects feeling of a power chord on a distorted electric guitar and the crashing sound of a symbol suggesting the magazine to be new and individual. The use of this dramatic onomatopoeia demonstrates the genre of this particular magazine which is rock. Furthermore, the fact the word Kerrang! is non existent makes the magazine more recognisable and labels the word to be from this specific magazine. The graphology of the font has been specifically designed to give a cracked effect which links to the onomatopoeia sound of something crashing and being destroyed created by the title Kerrang!. This also reinforces the genre of music the magazine associates with which is rock. The two colours presented in the masthead black and white contrast against each other as black has connotations of death, power and evil while white signifies light, purity and peace. The contradiction in colours may imply that the magazine involves dark, heavy metal rock as well as calm and perhaps older artists. The exclamation at the end of the title promotes screaming and shouting reflecting themes of violence as well as establishing the prime audience the magazine is targeted at heavy rock lovers. 8. The compound title mixmag informs the reader that the magazine involves a variation/selection of different artists and information to appeal to a wider target audience. The alliteration of the letter m makes the masthead more noticeable and gives the effective that the magazine is related to music as the noun music also begins with the same letter. The colloquial language of the phrase mag suggests the target audience to be teenagers as they are typically stereotyped to use forms of colloquial language in their everyday dialect. Therefore, teenagers would understand the meaning of the shortened phrase mag unlike older people who would find this type of language perhaps offensive and in-proper. The graphology of the font is portrayed to be quite trendy and modern foreshadowing the target audience of teenagers and young adults. The masthead is presented to be quite bland and simple through the use of one colour black suggesting the magazine to be straight-forward and easy to read. This suits the target audience for mixmag as young people are often very active and would therefore not have the time or patience to read through a complicated and heavy worded magazine. The detail of the I is different from the remaining of the text which adds diversity to the masthead.