Front Cover – Q.

They have simply used three different colours (red, black and white) as the colour scheme. Each of them go very nicely together and by doing this it makes the magazine look classy and eye catching towards the audience.

The cover photo creates both a strong and artistic feel. She is taller than famous landmarks and also is the only colour as the buildings are all black and white. Meaning that she stands out and is the dominant picture on the cover. Also they have used someone who is then later in showing in the magazine, drawing in the audience once more.

The master head is obvious to the eye. It is big and colourful. It is designed to be the second thing on the front cover that they audience will look at. And because it’s in a prominent red square that is precisely what happens.

The headlines on the left hand side are shown in order of importance. The writing gradually gets smaller as the headlines get less important as such. Then on the left hand side there is a circle with a headline in it, which as an audience you then assume is a edition as it’s alone making you watch as an audience look at it before the other headlines.

The writing that is used is easy to read and the headlines are in capital letters, or in a large font. They have made the writing easy to read so that they buyer can read see and make sense of the magazine from afar, or whilst looking on a magazine rack, ensuring that the reader will be able to read it easily.

At the top of the magazine it says ‘FREE MUSIC INSIDE’ as it’s in capital letters and a block, black, rectangle at the top it is purposely meant to stick out. Hinting to the reader that it’s an exclusive edition and that it is also a unique selling point for the magazine. This is the use of a ‘buzz word’.

Contents Page – Q.

Once again the writing is easy to read for the audience and the colour scheme of red, black and the headlines are in capital letters then there is a little bit of extra information in a smaller font underneath, letting the reader chose for themselves if they want to move further on or not.

The colour scheme has stayed the same: red, white and black, allowing the reader to create a reference with the front cover to all of the other pages. They have used only two pictures on the content page which works well as you have enough for it to not be boring but at the same time not over doing it. Also as one of the pictures takes up the majority of the page it allows the magazine to show the reader the main article in the magazine.

On the left hand-side underneath ‘FEATURES’ they have written ‘OASIS SPECIAL’ but you can tell that it’s a special feature as the headline is in gold, the only place that another colour is use and it is also boxed in on it’s own evidently showing that the magazine what to make it stick out.

Q have include their master head in the contents page as well, just in a much smaller version. This makes the reader become aware of the master head and they will in turn recognise it unconsciously the more they see it, making the reader more familiar with the magazine.

They have shown the reader that they are a loyal magazine in two subtle ways. They have included the issue number ‘267’ at the top right hand corner of the magazine and in the bottom left hand corner they have included an ‘every month’ section suggesting that they know their customers well and they supply them with what they want. And it obviously works as they have made ‘267’ copies of the magazine.

The page numbers are written in red next to the headlines in black writing allowing the audience to look at just the page numbers quickly if they wish. It also draws your attention to the headlines a little bit more.

Double Page Spread – Q.

Again, the same as the other two, the colour scheme is the same. Showing familiarity and professionalism as the pages are well suited (as they should be) and you don’t question that they are the same magazine at all as they match.

In the bottom right hand corner they have included the page number and the master head of the magazine once again. As I said previously it allows the reader to familiarise themselves with the magazine and the master head becomes really common with them.

One half of the double page spread is Lady Gaga. This is a typical convention of a music magazine and it emphasises that she is the main focus of the magazine. The picture is artistic, dominant and quite quirky which suits music magazines and the artist. Also on the right page of the double page spread it says ‘lady GAGA’ again highlighting that she is the key feature and very important.

The writing on the magazine is once again easy to read and it is written in columns; a typical convention of a magazine. Also on the ‘S’ and ‘I’ they have used drop capital, which again is a typical convention of magazines starting a new paragraph. And then obviously the ‘L’ is prominent. Not only does it emphasise the importance of Lady Gage but it also gives the magazine a different edge to it and makes the written piece more appealing.

Front Cover – NME.

The master head of the magazine is the last layer of the magazine meaning that the whole of it is shown and it’s not cut off by anybody’s head or headlines etc... Meaning that it is the most important thing on the page. It is also fairly big and bold meaning that it catches the audiences eye.

The writing on the front cover are really easy to read. All the fonts are clear and the writing is both big and in capital letters. The only smaller font on the page is the added information that is there if anyone wants to read further on once they have picked up the magazine.

There are two people on the cover which takes the focus away from the one person, obviously, but perhaps draws in more attention to the audience as you wouldn’t normally see these two together creating a mystery (as such) for the readers.

NME are following a typical convention of having a simple three colour, colour scheme. Making it simple but stylish. Also the white body of the front cover allows there to be freedom with the colour font colours can be easily seen on a white background.

The front cover makes it obvious to the audience the exclusive elements that the magazine contains. As the two circles and the line at the very top are more eye catching than the information at the bottom highlighting their significance to the reader.

Contents Page – NME.

NME have used their master head through to the contents page. This I have discovered seems to be a typical convention of music magazines.

Again the colour scheme has stayed the same throughout the contents page – linking the pages of the magazine nicely together showing that they are of the same magazine. They font is the same throughout as well. The headlines are also capitalised as they are on the front cover creating a parallel of the pages.

Showing the genre of their magazine well as they have a ‘band index’ section on the left and then they have the main contents on the right hand side, they have headlines then sub headings which shows that they are grouping parts of the magazine together as much as possible making it easy for the audience.

By writing ‘NME THIS WEEK’ it lets the audience know that it is a weekly magazine, whilst at the same time not having to obviously write ‘contents page’ – works as a double effect. Also as there is a subscription box and the bottom of the page it shows that they are a popular magazine and they are promoting themselves also.

Double Page Spread – NME.

The double page spread is really shown in a way that the audience know they are the same story as the title for it overlaps the page with the picture on it. Also the colour scheme is the same throughout the pages ensuring that they are matching and colour co-ordinated.

Followed the convention of a big picture covering one of the two pages. Again a cool and quirky picture that suits the magazine and the story on the other side.

The writing on the pages is easy to read, again the headlines are capitalised following the rest of the magazine and then the article has been written in two columns following the convention of a magazine layout – which is something I will be sure to include in my magazine. Again the background where the main writing is, is light so that it can be seen clearly.

They have included the master head at the bottom of the page again. Familiarising the audience with their name and master head of their magazine. Also they have written their website promoting themselves once more.

Split up the writing a little bit. By putting some on a white background and then more on a black background makes the audience think it’s really different – even though it’ll linked as it’s on the same double page spread. It just makes it more exciting for the reader as it’s set out slightly differently.

Front Cover – Vibe.

The colour scheme is conventional. Three colours which seems to be the norm for the music magazines. Making it both simple but stylish. Also all the colours go well with each other which is good as otherwise it would look a mess.

The master head isn’t the main thing on this magazine as it is blocked out by headlines and the cover photo, you can still see it, just the cover photo is what’s drawing in all the attention for the magazine.

All writing on this page is capitalised grabbing the audiences attention. This seems to be a typical convention of the front cover of a music magazine.

The headlines that are more important are much bigger than the other ones. For example the headlines on the left are important but the ‘JANET JACKSON’ headline catches your eye first.

The fonts, once again aren’t too fancy and they are really easy for the buyer to read and clear for them to see whilst scanning the magazine isle.

They have used clear fonts and written ‘contents’ in a stylish and unique way. Also they have a big ‘V’ in the background highlighting the fact that it’s ‘Vibe’ magazine.

The font used is very easy to read. The headlines have a fancier font but that works well as it distinguishes them from the other information. Also as the page is black and white with a glimpse of red it makes the page more interesting.

The picture is quite a cool picture. The guy is well dressed and he has a girl sticking a heart to him. He is probably a role model for other young guys who are reading the magazine and other young girls are probably wanting to be the woman. This helps tell the reader the target audience of the magazine, which is both men and women.

By splitting the contents of the magazine up into tow main areas makes it easier for the reader to find out where the article they want to read is.

Contents Page – Vibe.

Written in columns showing that it is a magazine by following the conventions of one. The font is easy to read and most of the text is written in black which with the background of the magazine is white it makes it easy to see. Then some of it is in pink which tells the reader that it’s a more important part of the text as it differs from the rest.

Half of the double page spread is a picture of Alexandra Burke. This tells the audience who the article is about immediately and links the two pages together nicely. There is also another small picture of her highlighting the importance of her to the magazine and for the article.

At the bottom of the page there is a ‘V’ telling the reader that it is Vibe magazine once more. Having the master head at the bottom of the page is a thing that I continuously find with magazines which is definitely a thing to note for when I make mine.

The colour scheme for the magazine is simple, again just three colours. Not over-doing things but having enough colour for the magazine to be entertaining to the eye still.

Double Page Spread – Vibe.

A simple colour scheme of three colours - white, green and yellow. This makes the magazine interesting but simple. Also the colours suit each other nicely which makes the magazine look good.

All of the writing on the entire page of the front cover is written in capital letters. However some of them are in a smaller font to the others. The ones that stick out the most are ‘WTF?!’ and ‘GREEN DAY’ as they are bigger. Also there’s exclusive parts of the magazine like where it says ‘plus’ which is a key focus as well.

The master head is quite powerful as it’s in big capital letters, the colour stands out on the blue background and it also has a scratched effect on it making it eye catching.

All writing on this page is easy to read and the font is very clear for the reader to see. This is a typical convention of magazines.

The cover photo is very dominant and it is well suited to a music magazine as the guy is playing a guitar. Also where is head is there is no writing over lapping at all giving him full focus from the reader. There are two other pictures on the front cover, one bottom right and the other top right. They also get the attention of the audience as it breaks the convention of a front cover as usually there is only one picture.

Front Cover – Kerrang.

On this contents page they have a little section from Kerrang magazine – a greeting message for the readers. This is a unique touch for a magazine and allows the readers to connect with the magazine. Also the editor has signed it, making the message appear more personal for the reader. This is the use of a tagline.

They have included quite a few pictures on this contents page, with page numbers and headlines by the side of them. By having the pictures it makes the page seem more interesting and it also explains part of the headlines at the same time.

The colour scheme is simple, three colours – yellow, black and white. This makes the magazine look professional and well thought out. Also it follows the conventions of a magazine.

The font is extremely easy to read, which is good. Most of it is black which stands out prominently on the white background. Then the headlines are written in yellow surrounded by a black box also allowing it to stand out further.

Underneath the contents page it says the issue number, this suggests that the audience are loyal and that the magazine is well respected as it had been the 1250th magazine. Also as it says ‘this week’ it hints that the audience like having a weekly magazine, as Kerrang is one.

From the iconography I would say that it is mainly aimed at men as not one of the photos a female, this helps point out who the target audience are.

Contents Page – Kerrang.

Double Page Spread – Kerrang.

The layout of the double page spread is very conventional. Once again the double page spread has one of the pages with the person they are talking about, in this case Davey Havok, also him being the only image on the page stresses the importance of him. Furthermore Kerrang have used columns for the body copy, this then works well by them also using a drops capital to start it off. By doing this it is obvious that it is a magazine as it follows key conventions.

The colour scheme of the mage is four coloured; black, white, grey and pink. Whilst most are just three coloured in this case it’s still not ‘over doing it’ as they all go nicely together and without the pink it would be fairly dull colours. The pink has been used for key information to grab the readers attention which in contrast with the other colours it does very well.

The fonts used are very clear and easy to read. The headline is in huge capital letters which draws the reader in. It is a typical convention to have the headlines in capital letters. Also they have made it clear when the interviewer is asking Davey Havok the questions as they are the speaking where the words have been highlighted by white.

At the bottom of the pages they have added the page number and the master head, of the magazine from the front cover, just a much smaller version of it. This is to familiarise the audience with the representations of the magazine. It has also been an occurring factor of all the magazines I have researched, so it is definitely a typical convention of music magazines.

They have used a pull quote as the headline to draw the audience in and make them read further on into the article to get the full story.

They have also included a ‘buzz word’ on the top left hand corner, ‘NEWS’. By doing this the reader thinks that what’s said needs to be read immediately. Also it is a different colour to the rest of the double page spread making it stand out further.

Front Cover – MOJO.

The master head of this magazine isn’t the most dominant aspect of the page. This is because the cover image is instead. Their heads and guitar take over the magazine. Representing them as being very important for the magazine, the audience would, in turn, have to be a fan of theirs to purchase the magazine.

They have also included a ‘buzz word’ on the top left hand corner, ‘FREE CD!’ By doing this the reader thinks that it’s exclusive to this magazine only, therefore having more of a reason to by this issue of the magazine as it offers them something extra.

The colour scheme is red, black and a silvery grey - conventionally only using three colours. All of the colours go nicely together and work well for the front cover of the magazine. The layout of it makes it eye catching for the consumers. The ideologies of the magazine are that you would read it if you either play an instrument yourself, or just enjoy them. You’d definitely have to be interested in bands but you would also be interested in the ‘gossip’ of the lives of the musicians/artists.

They have used call outs; such as, “WE ROCKED!” and “…THE INTENSITY NEVER LET UP!” which are aimed to entice the readers to read further on, resulting in buying the magazine.

They have an equal number of genders on the front page; two men, two women. This suggests that the audience of the magazine are both men and women. Also all four of their eyes are at eye level with the reader and looking directly at you, persuading you to buy the magazine.

Once again there is a colour theme containing three colours only, in this case; green, yellow and black. The colours all suit each other nicely as they should do to follow conventions of the magazine.

The headlines are in capital letters then further information about them are written underneath and non capitalised. Again a typical convention.

They have used a ‘pull quote’ at the bottom of the contents page; this is used to try and bring in the audience and get them to read further into the article.

There is only one picture making the iconography of the contents page really simple. As the image is big it does have a good effect, also the guy looks quite indie/quirky reflecting the image of the magazines audience, perhaps.

The have used the master head of the front cover on the contents page as well. This familiarises the readers with the title. They have also used it in a much smaller size in the bottom right hand corner, by the page number (another typical convention, and something I will need to include) which stresses further the importance of the master head and the audience being able to recognise is easily.

They have written the page numbers down the side, however they haven’t included all pages for example they start at ‘38’ and then go to ’44’. Which shows that you do not have to include every single page, if you don’t want to.

¾ of this double page spread is being taken up by the central image, highlighting the importance of it for both the reader and the relevance of the article it corresponds with.

There is a colour scheme of black, white and pink. Again they have stuck to a very conventional three colours, which go nicely with each other. The body copy has been given the colour black which is often the way as it makes is easy for the reader to read and once again, it follows conventions.

There is a drops caps at the start of the body copy, this is one of the elements that distinguish ordinary text to magazine text, as it is essential that you include one if you want to follow typical conventions of magazines. It sticks out further as it is pink as opposed to the rest of the body copy which is black. Also there other words in pink in the second column which suggests that they have higher importance as they stick out.

As it is written in columns it is evidently made to look like a magazine, which is good use a conventional techniques. If it were just paragraphed it wouldn’t seem as appealing to the audience and it also would break conventions.

The header of the double page spread is very dominant. The bright colours stand out from the background and also the font is big and bold, telling the reader that what’s on this page must be read.

Again the page number and the master head ‘MOJO’ is at the bottom of the page. Making the reader aware of the master head and then obviously what page they are on as well – both typical conventions.