Unit 51 Page Layout & Design:

For this unit I will be visualising and evaluating magazines of all genres. From music to movie magazines the structure and layout are all the same so this key way of making magazines appeal to its audience is something I need to consider when evaluating.

The first magazine I will be evaluating is the Empire magazine who are movie enthusiasts and tell you everything you need to know about new releases and upcoming movies. This particular magazine is based on superheroes, which is blatant from the character Superman put large and formal in the middle of the page, they have also used other related upcoming hero films which relate to the film discussed (Man Of Steel).The targeted audience for this particular movie magazine would be obviously people who are big fans of super hero films, not only using one film on the cover they have also mentioned a number of other new released films so if people aren’t so interested in Superman they show that other films will be talked about inside. Text colours and fonts are a big deal when making a magazine because they want it to appeal and be eye catching, unique and to stand out before any other movie magazine. For this mag they have used big chunky styled text which jumps of the page and the contrast of red on black makes it much more outstanding than bland boring colours. Also the makers have used a gun metal/ black colour as the background almost like a steel colour which is relevant to the current shown movie. Putting Superman in the technical term axis of orientation is the part of the page which stands out the most, so this would meet its target audience by showing Man Of Steel being the main talk about in this current magazine.

Superman put in the axis of orientation so that it will stand out and make it more eye catching to appeal to its target audience.

Magazine Title

Other content mentioned in the weak fallow area.

Main title headline put big and chunky font to make the cover more appealing to its audience.

The double page of the magazine has defined target audience using the pictures, fonts and use of text. When visualising this double page spread of an Empire magazine its target audience based upon imagery and style of text it’s more aimed at teenage and above. Mainly because kids and younger teens won’t really find this style appealing and quite tame unless there seriously interested in the film shown on the page. The people this magazine and specific page would appeal to mostly is movie enthusiasts and people who like to read magazines based on movies

The use of text and colour for this two page spread works well because the white background contrasts the gold writing making it stand out and look more appealing, these colours and fonts are also relevant to the Movie its promoting as it’s an old fictional film based around the medieval times gold, silver and white shades of colour relate back to this film and can show its target audience. What they have wrote for this film is quite interesting, they tell the reader the director and makers of previous films which they have made, this is good because the reader will become more interested if it’s made by big hit film makers. If the audience enjoys films mentioned such as The Incredible Hulk and Avatar this two page spread contains the left page being a complete picture of a character out of the film and the other side being the information and analysis of the film explained. Anchorage is used in the left hand side picture with the film character put big in the middle of the page which kind of makes you intimidated how he’s looking straight at you almost coming off the page. Film makers and magazine creators do this use of method in magazines to make you more endured and interested in the film, because this picture doesn’t tell you much about the movie it

makes you want to know more about it with the unusual costumes and scenery it doesn’t explain much about the film

besides the alliteration and punctuality the magazine article has said about it.

For my second magazine I will be reviewing and talking about the world wide big hit Thrasher magazine. Thrasher is currently the biggest and best selling skateboard mag to date with over 15 years of progress and selling millions of copies per year, the mag is skateboard based and most of the content stored in this magazine will be about skateboarding. Reviewing the cover of the magazine it is known as a big accomplishment in the skateboard industry to get the cover because all the professional skaters want it. The cover is like a big contest among thousands of skater so when adding quotes and information the Thrasher creators do their best no to ruin any of the shot on the cover. Looking at the cover above the title is blatant and eye catching being a block white shade big and long at the top of the page, also above the title there is professional skaters names which might appeal to fans who are quite unsure with Thrasher mag but with their favourite skaters being featured it will convince them abit more to buy it. The magazine creators have added colour to the background of the cover shot, this is just to make the cover look less bland and more eye catching as it’s the cover and will need to look as good as it can be

The two page article for thrasher mag is usually interviews with the best current and upcoming skaters. Or a big shot of a pro pulling a trick which would amaze the reader, this content appeals to the reader because reading isn’t necessarily fun but finding information about your child idol could be inspirational and motivational. I like to read about this stuff to get an image of what there life is like as a skater and what they went through to get to where they are, it’s just great hearing about someone you’ve grew up looking up to, and hearing about their life. Around 50% of skateboard magazines are shots of pro skaters which appeals to most people because the shots could be something mind-blowing and everyone who reads Thrasher expect to see at least one shot of someone doing something amazing. Talking about the layout for this article one page is simply

corner to corner shot of a pro Sean Malto pulling a manoeuvre on his board, this is just clear to the reader and is eye catching when turning the page. The other page is full of writing, mainly an interview of someone important, they also have quotes and sayings put in big bold and coloured letters which looks good and suits the colour scheme. There’s also a subheading at the top right hand corner of the page which says ‘Cut-&-Sew what?’ which doesn’t really make sense so reading the information below will give you the idea of the whole reason behind this weird heading.