The magazine cover uses blue and gold colors that connect it to blues music and make it look sophisticated. A photo of a black man represents the origins of blues in black culture. Large text advertising an interview draws readers in. Inside, pages use white space and contrasting colors well. Photos feature blues musicians to reinforce the genre. Formal but inclusive language and detailed content sections aim to engage and inform readers. Overall the design successfully brands the magazine about blues in a stylish way.

1. Analysis of Blues Matters
magazine

2. The Front Cover

3. Colour and Design
The main colour of the magazine being blue
obviously connects to the fact that it is a
magazine about blues music. Not only this,
but they contrast this blue very well with the
gold-ish colour and white,making the cover
look sophisticated.
The design and colour also make it look old,
as the typeface and overall colour scheme
makes it look older than most modern
magazines.

4. The Images
The large image of the man, who,
being black, is stereotypical as blues
started as a type of music that the
black culture in America created,
meaning the picture strengthens this
magazine as being about blues.
The picture at the bottom seems to
represent a loving fan or similar,
encouraging the reader to buy the
magazine due to being regarded as
good, by having fans.

5. The Cover Lines
The Masthead being very large,
and blue itself, as well as having an
exclamation mark at the end, really
makes the magazine stand out, and
you can tell straight away that this
magazine is about blues music.
The puff, being the same colour as
the cover lines at the top, also
stands out, saying ‘Reviews
Special’ drawing the reader in at
the chance to be able to read what,
hopefully, is a unique review.
Also, having ‘ROBERT CRAY’ in
very large writing on the front will
definitely draw the target audience
in, being a blues legend, as they
will straight away recognize him.

6. The Language
The typeface used makes the magazine
seem very sophisticated, due to it being in a
serif font, as well as in a gold-ish colour.
Like the origin of blues, this gives the
magazine an old fashioned feel and really
creates a good sense of the genre.
As well as this though, there are some
sans-serif fonts, also giving it a more
modern feel, contrasting to the more old-
fashioned typeface. This could show that
the magazine is not only about the old blues
artists, but new artists as well.

7. Overall Impression
Overall I really like this Front
Cover, though I think the
Masthead, visually, could be
improved upon, as it doesn’t
seem to have any special design
or font, making it seem a little
unprofessional.
The colours and design have
been done exceptionally well, with
the blues and gold contrasting
extremely well, making it seem
like a professional and
sophisticated magazine for blues
lovers.

8. The Contents Page

9. Colour and Design
The white background makes
the pages seem plain, but it
gives the magazine an
advantage of being able to put
almost any colour over it,
contrasting well with it.
Like the front cover, the design,
colours and typeface give the
look and feel of a sophisticated
magazine.
One thing that is badly
designed on this page, I feel, is
the two square pictures that go
over the large, main picture of
the man. This just seems like
bad design, and doesn’t fit with
the overall look of the page.

10. The Images
The large image of the man
shows a ‘cool’ looking person
who looks very stylish. This is
trying to show that the magazine
will also be stylish and follow the
same ‘cool’ guidelines that the
man is.
Two of the other images show
people with guitars, being
stereotypical to blues music and
this strengthens the ‘blues’ vibe.

11. The Cover Lines
By looking at all the different cover
lines we can see that the
magazine is very detailed and has
a lot of content, which would
probably entice a person into
buying it.
The contents of each page are
also set out very clearly and simply
with subtitles, making it easy for
the reader to see what the
magazine includes, giving a good
experience and overall
encouraging customers to buy it.

12. The Language
The language used is quite formal, with
some more informal parts, making the
magazine seem professional and
mature, which is to be expected from a
magazine centered around blues.
It also includes some inclusive
language, such as ‘you’ and ‘we’,
making the reader seem closer and
more involved with what’s happening
inside, generating a more exciting
experience.

13. Overall Impression
I think the Contents Page is well
done and very simple, making it
easy to follow, but is not
exceptional in its design.
Although lots of the colours go well,
not all of them contrast well
together. Linked to this, I think the
subtitles should have stood out
more and been in a more vibrant
colour.

14. The Double Page Spread

15. Colour and Design
I love the design of this page
and think it is done very well.
The dark, patchy green suits
the magazine’s sophisticated
and mature feel and the white
obviously contrasts very well
and is extremely visually
pleasing.
How the text, page and image
is laid out is also very well
designed, and the spacing
between them seems perfectly
done.
The only thing bad with this
page seems to be the random
yellowish design that covers
some of the text, making it very
hard to read.

16. The Image
There is only a single image,
which I think is a good design
decision, as it doesn’t distract
too much from the (hopefully to
the reader) interesting content
of the magazine.
The image is of a stylish man
leaning against a wall, which
makes him look ‘cool’ and
fashionable. Also, he seems to
be dressed as a stereotypical
blues, or similar, musician, with
boots, long hair and a leather
jacket. With this image the
readers of the magazine feel
like they want to dress like this
musician, as he looks
marvelous.

17. The Cover Lines
The large ‘Interview’ at the top
of the page is quite helpful for
the reader, with the musician’s
name next to it.
Apart from this, only the
questions and the large quote
stands out. The questions are
bold, making it easy for the
reader to know the start, and
finish, of each question and
answer for the interview.
The large quote on the right
hand side gives more
character to the page, and the
blue stars give contrast to the
seeming blandness of the
second page.

18. The Language
Once again the language
used is not informal, but at
the same time it is not
entirely formal. The vibe
given off though is very
friendly and mature and this
is heightened by the use of
serif font.
There is a lot of content and
writing for one page, which
may put off some readers
who aren’t fully invested, but
readers that are would find it
very easy to go from
question to question, due to
the questions being slightly
separated.

19. Overall Impression
I think the overall design and feel
of this page is exceptional and
has a very blues vibe throughout.
This is due to the dark colour and
serif font making it look very
sophisticated.
The white writing, as well as the
bold subtitle, help the text stand
out really well, making it very easy
to read through.
The only thing that is not well
designed about this page is the
yellowish graphic at the bottom,
which cuts across the words,
making them very hard to read.