Lauren Dearden

Imagery

Similarly to ‘Q’ magazine, NME uses multiple images on the contents page. However there is no main image. Both images are placed in the centre of the text which shows that the bands on the images will be the main focus through the magazine. Both images are long shots which show the instruments they are playing. This shows the genre of the music that features in the magazine.

House Style

Similarly to ‘Q’, NME has the consistent house style colours of: red, white and black. These three colours help to determine the genre of the magazine just like ‘Q’. The headings are in bold showing that they are the most important and hold the most important features of the magazine. The masthead is positioned on the left- hand side of the page similarly to ‘Q’. Using the colour red for the masthead makes it stand out and also red is often associated with the rock genre which is instantly recognisable to the audience and gives them an insight as to what the genre is.

Design Principle

The Guttenberg principle has also been applied to this issue of NME. ‘NME’ have placed the masthead in the primary optical area as this is the first place readers will look, giving them the information they need about the genre of the magazine. In the weak fallow area, NME have added a subscription to try and get the audience to look at this part of the magazine as audiences tend not to look at this weak fallow area therefore by adding a subscription, it draws the eye to this section.

Design Balance

NME uses an informal design balance as the images are placed in the centre of the page unlike ‘Q’ where the image is placed on the opposite side of the text. The images are not as large meaning there is room for text on both sides of the page.