analysis of existing magazines

1. Magazine Analysis

3. Colour scheme - bold
makes the cover more
attractive, 3 predominant
colours are black, blue and
white
Barcode – typical
media convention,
method of
identification
Masthead - bold &
informal font
(EmBauhaus Bold), the
colour white is
effectively used as it
contrasts with the black
background
Price – small print in
the right hand
bottom corner so
customers don’t get
put off from buying it
Plug – draws
audience attention
to the free things
inside they’re going
to get when they buy
the magazine
Tagline – impresses audience and
reinsures them of their choice of
magazine
Splash story –
Big, bold font, looks
luminous and attracts
audience
Main Image - Iconic
images of Daft Punk
cover nearly half of
the cover
Inter-textual references -
between Daft Punk and the
futuristic, electronic feel of
the cover, and the story that
they produced the Tron
Soundtrack
Freebie – draws in the audience
as they feel they are gaining
something from purchasing the
magazine

4. Heading – ‘Contents’ is
clearly placed at the top
of the page to inform the
reader what the page is
about. The font used is
bold and white which
contrasts with the black
background and draws the
readers attention
Main image – the main
image used is 3 young
people at some kind of
party, mixmag is a dance
music magazine therefore
this image is effective. The
people in the image all look
like they are in their 20’s,
there is one man and two
women and this suggests the
magazine is gender neutral.
They look as if they are
having fun and this gives the
magazine a fun, youthful
feel however the emphasis is
not so much on them, it is
on the page number which
makes the reader want to
read on to find out more
about the image
Colour scheme – the main 3
colours used are black,
white and yellow. Both the
yellow and white contrast
with the black background,
which makes all the
important content instantly
visible
Freebie – ‘your free CD’ –
draws in the audience as
they feel they are gaining
something from purchasing
the magazine, it also makes
the magazine different from
other competitors and gives
it a unique selling point
Layout – the contents page
is well ordered, most of the
content is on the right third
of the page and the bottom,
this makes it easy to access
for readers and does not
waste their time

5. Main image – the
main image goes
across both the left
and middle thirds of
the page which shows
the Brother’s
significance as artists
Heading/subheading
– both headings are
simple and clear
fonts, the heading is
underlined which
makes it stand out
even more and shows
it is significant. The
use of an
abbreviation makes
the tone of the
article seem less
formal. The
subheading ‘Martinez
Brothers’ is placed at
the top right third of
the page so if
someone was flicking
through the pages to
find this article it
would be
recognisable
Main image – the main image used is a picture of the 2 brothers
DJing, it is a fun image and looks like they’re both having a good
time. There are 3 sub images too, these are all in black and
white which suggests they were taken at a different time to the
main image? They too look like fun places and this makes the
article more enjoyable for readers
Features – the giant
red ‘L’ on the second
page is the first
thing the audience
will notice on that
page as it’s size and
colour make it
impossible not to
focus on. The letter
‘L’ has been used
because L is the first
letter of the article
and it is in keeping
with Q’s theme
Layout – the layout of the text is
quite small and insignificant
compared to the image, this could be
to tell us that the main focus of the
article is the artists not so much the
story

7. Masthead – simple, bold font yet
it stands out as the black
contrasts with the pink
background
Splash feature – similarly to
masthead, the feature headline
contrasts with the pink
background which draws the
audiences attention
Colour scheme - the 2
predominant colours used are
pink and black, this creates a
very contrasting cover, however
yellow also features and the use
of flowers give the cover a
summery/feminine look
Main image – the main
image on this cover is of
Katy Perry, the image is a
medium long shot and there
is a use of direct address as
she is looking straight at the
camera/audience. Her
makeup and outfit
compliment the floral props
used as they boost the
femininity of the cover
Masthead – the image of
Katy Perry covers the
masthead to show that the
magazine is so popular that
people will recognise it even
with an image over the front
Cover lines – all 4 smaller
cover lines have a
consistent colour scheme,
where as the big stars are
in black and white which
make them stand out
Plug – the small plug
is on the right third
and surrounded by a
circle which makes
it more visible
The left third - contains
the most content which
draws the audiences
attention to it but also
gives focus on the main
image as it does not
distract from it

8. Heading – ‘Contents’ is
clearly placed at the top
of the page through both
the middle and right
thirds. This makes the
heading very visible, it is
black and bold which
contrasts with the white
background and makes it
stand out
Sub images – the 4 images
on the contents page all
have page numbers next
to them so the reader can
easily find the
corresponding article
Colour scheme – the 3 main
colours used are black, white and
blue. These are very simplistic
colours and make the contents
page very easy on the eye, it
suggests the focus is mainly on the
music.
However the blue is quite
highlighting and is used to show
the important articles
Chart – the No.1 chart
takes up the majority of the
left third of the page. It
shows the top albums,
songs and the week’s music.
The font and colours aren’t
very exciting however
‘Billboard’ is shown at the
top which is a recognised
company and will show
readers that the magazine
is focused on the music
rather than the glamour
like other magazines
Layout – the layout
of the contents page
is clear and simple
as it is separated by
2 main lines, it
makes the page
clear and makes the
different sections of
the magazine
accessible for
readers

9. Main image – the
main image is candid
long shot of Rihanna
. She is dressed and
posed in a
provocative way
which is what she is
generally known for,
although the picture
is not direct address
it still draws the
reader in as it is an
usual image
Colour scheme –the
main 3 colours used
are black, pink and
white. This is an
effective colour
scheme as the
colours all
compliment each
other, the pink
signifies the
femininity in
Rihanna’s act and the
black signifies her
edginess
Text- the most
important parts of
each article are
highlighted pink, this
attracts the readers
attention
Features –
‘Pon De
Airplay’ is play
on words of
one of
Rihanna’s
most popular
songs, it is
used in the
top right
corner as the
title of a list
of her most
popular songs
that have
reached the
chart and
when they
were
released, this
shows
Rihanna’s
popularity as
an artist
Sub images – the 2 sub
images are significantly
smaller than the main image
that suggests they are there
for detail rather than
information
Layout -
The layout of this double page
spread is simple and organised,
however text box at the bottom left
third of the page stands out and
contrasts to the rest of the page

11. Masthead – the masthead
of this cover is also the
logo for Q Magazine which
makes it instantly
recognisable. Its white
and red colour scheme
suggests the magazine is
gender neutral
Colour scheme – the
pastel colour scheme
effectively makes the
rest of the cover stand
out, especially the
splash feature and
cover lines
Barcode & price – the
barcode and price are
typical magazine
conventions, Q magazine
is £3.90 and the barcode
is a method of
identification
Puff – makes the audience
awake this is no ordinary
magazine and that it is
part of a special
collection
Puff – emphasises
that this is the first of
25 special edition
magazines that the
audience can collect
Splash feature –’Tinie
Tempah’ stands out and
draws the audiences
attention to the fact
the first edition is
about Tinie Tempah
Main imagine – the main
image is obviously a
picture of Tinie Tempah as
the edition is on him, it is
a medium close up and
includes his iconic
sunglasses that audiences
will recognise

12. Heading – the Q logo and
heading are relatively small
on the page, they aren’t so
small that they aren’t visible
but compared to the other
contents pages I have looked
at
Main image – The main
image is a medium close up
of Adele. The image covers
two thirds of the contents
page which highlights
Adele’s importance as a
singer and celebrity
Colour scheme – the 4 main
colours used in this cover are
black, red, grey and white. The
headings ‘every month’ and
‘features’ and in a red block
which keeps up the theme of
squares and blocks, like the one
used in the Q logo. The colour
scheme is very simplistic and
organised which suggests that like
the other magazine I have looked
at, the focus is mainly on the
music and not so much on the
layout
Page numbers – the page numbers
are clearly visible for the reader
which makes the contents page
easily accessible
Layout– similarly to the other
magazines I have studied, the
layout of this contents page is
very simplistic and easy to view. It
is based around rectangular boxes
which make it look ordered

13. Features – the giant red ‘L’
on the second page is the
first thing the audience will
notice on that page as it’s
size and colour make it
impossible not to focus on.
The letter ‘L’ has been used
because L is the first letter
of the article and it is in
keeping with Q’s theme
Main image – the main
image is a medium shot of
Lady Gaga. The image
obviously has a lot of
significance as it takes up
half of the double page
spread, this could also
signify her as being very
important in the music
industry. The image has
been put into a sepia/black
and white effect which
makes it look dated but
classic at the same time
Title – the title of the
double page spread is
‘lady GAGA’ the ‘GAGA’
part is in upper case
letters where as the
other part is not, this
could be to show that
she is unique, as ‘lady’
is quite common
however ‘gaga’ is not
Colour scheme –
the 3 main colours
used are white,
red and black
which is in
keeping with Q’s
logo and usual
layout
Main Image – the way Lady Gaga is posed is
very provocative and sexual, the image is an
example of direct gaze which also makes it
more intense. This is what Lady Gaga is
recognised for as the majority of her pictures
are similar to this. Her hairstyle is wild and
untamed which reflects her as an artist
Layout – this double page spread’s
layout is very simple as the image
and text are organised, however
the red ‘L’ contrasts to this and
makes the pages a lot more
interesting and eye-catching