Contents page analysis

1. ContentsPage Analysis
K! 1502
House Style – The house style isthe same inall Kerrang!Issueswiththe layoutchangingveryrarely.
The white backgroundisusedto provide aframe aroundimages,givingthe layoutafar more
organisedlookonthe inside contentspage thanisusedonthe frontcover.Unlike the Mixmagissue
however,the font andcoloursusedare still quite outlandishandshow excitementandare still
designedtobe quite loudtofitinwiththe target audience.The fontusedisalsoquite thickand
capitalisedportraythe theme of rockandthe capitalsmake the informationloud,asif itis being
shouted.Overall,while the coversare quite blandcomparedtothose onthe frontcover,theyare
still more outlandishthaninothermagazinesmakingthe magazine more appealingtothe younger
demographicandthe layoutislesssophisticatedthanthatof othercounterparts.
Imagery – The imageryonthe page isquite metal androck orientatedtofitinwiththe theme and
genre of the magazine andto draw the target audience intothe articlesinthe magazine.The main
image at the top of the page showsthe audience the mainarticlesfocal point,whichinthe case of
thisisBring Me The Horizon’sWembleyTourDates,whichmaybe placedhere as an incentivetobuy
the magazine.There are several smallerpicturesspreadacrossthe page whichisverydifferentto
the Mixmagmagazine,whichonlyhadthe one magazine.The othersmallerpicturesare alsoof band
memberstoattract the eyesof the audience intothe variousarticlesabouttheirfavouritebands.
Thismakesthe page lookreasonablyclutteredbutallowsforthe attractionof the audience’seye.
DesignBalance – The Designof the magazine seemstobe quite unbalancedandinstead,appearsto
be splitintoblockslike so: (Black= Areas,Red= Images,Blue =Text)
Thisshowsa more informal balance which ismore effective asthe chaosappearsto fitinwell with
the theme andgenre of the magazine,showingthe general outlandishcoloursanddisorganisation
that makesrock andmetal edgygenres.However,the page doesseem tobe splitintothree distinct
areas,makingit easierforthe targetaudience tofindthe specificstoryandthe bandstheyare
lookingfor.
Target Audience and Need – The targetaudience forthismagazine canbe seenthroughthe
contentspage as beingteenagerstoyoungadults,fromthe age of 12 to 22, mainlymale ingender.

2. Thiscan be seeninseveral ways,throughthe colours,layoutandimagerywithinthe page.Firstly,
the imageryismainlyof all male bands,particularlyinthe more metal genres,whichsuggeststhe
audience isalsomale,asthese bands,withparticularfocusonBringMe The Horizon,are portrayed
ina masculine way,makingthe imagespurpose toinspire othersinbandslike theirs.The colouris
alsoa majorfocus,withplentyof reds,yellowsandblacksbeingused.Eachof these backsup the
genre andthe type of people whowouldreadKerrang!Magazine,eachcolourconnotingthe various
areas of rock; redconnotesdangerand,possibly,evil,somethingwhichhasbeenassociatedwith
metal and‘metalheads’since the eraof bandslike IronMaidenandBlackSabbath,yellow connotes
energy,somethingall metal androckbandsand fansare full of,made especiallyclearattheir
concerts,and then,again,connotesdanger,andblackconnotes darknessandgothictendencies,
seentobe popularwithbandslike BlackSabbathandMarilynManson. Finally,the layoutshowsthe
target audience asthe overall waythatthe textand imagesare displayedisquitechaotic,beingseen
to be synonymouswith the general bands,genreandfansof rock, especiallythose of ayoungerage.
The GuttenbergDesignPrinciple – The GuttenbergDesignPrinciple isappliedinarathercleverand
unknowingwayinthiscontentspage,withaquicklookoverthe page seemingtoshow noregard for
any order.However,the principle hasbeenusedtodraw the attentionof the audience toall areasof
the page,includingthe weak fallowarea.Straightaway,the eyesof the audience are drawntothe
mainimage of the page inthe primaryoptical area, makingthemaware to the maintopicthe
magazine isdiscussingwhich,inthiscase,isBringMe The Horizon’sWembleyTour.The page then
containsseveral smallerpicturesplacedcarefullyinall the cornersof the magazine,fillingthe strong
fallowarea,the weak fallowareaandthe terminal area.Thisdrawsthe audience’seyestoall areas
of the page,withthe picturesbrightcoloursmakingthemstandoutfromthe black text.The textis
alsoplacedcleverly,makingiteasierforthe audience toscanacross the page to findthe storythey
are lookingfor.
Mixmag (May 2013)
House Style – Unlike the Kerrang!Magazine,the MIxmag
ContentsPage isquite sophisticated,organisedand,in
termsof colour,bland.Thiskeepsthe magazine page
simple andsuitable forthe restof the magazine,being
usedpurelyforone purpose:allowingthe audience tofind
the article theyare lookingfor.The coloursfitinwiththe
restof the magazine,beingwhitefontoverablack
backgroundand capitalsbeingusedforarticle headings.
This,coupledwiththe basicbold sansserif font,keepsthe
house style suitableforthe targetaudience,drawingthem
intothe magazine.
Imagery – Ratherthan the sheermassof imagerythat
Kerrang!chose to spreadacross theirpage,Mixmagwent
for one huge image whichfitwiththe mostpopulararticle
inthe magazine,thisbeingforahuge electronicmusic
festival.Thisisdisplayedtodraw the attentionof the
audience tothisone specificarticle,makingthemaware of

3. the importance or notorietyof the story.The onlyotherimage onthe page isthe coverof the free
albumincludedinthe issue,thistimebeingGroove Armada.Thisisdisplayedjustforthe purpose of
introducingthe small article aboutthe albumincludedandthe artistbehindit.
DesignBalance –
Thoughmore formal than Kerrang!,the overall page isstill veryinformal. Unlike Kerrang!,the
contentspage of thismagazine ismuch more textbased,withthe picturesbeingreducedtoplace a
higheremphasisonthe text.Thisshowsamore sophisticatedandmature audienceasthe bodiesof
textare muchlarger.However,similarlytoKerrang!,the designisnotsymmetrical andisunevenly
balanced,done todrawmore attentiontothe mainimage thanthe text.Thisis effective asitmakes
the picture standout more,displayingaclearimage of the magazinesgenre andtargetaudience.
Target Audience – The targetaudience forthismagazine is,again,veryobviousforseveralreasons.
The target audience ispeoplewhoenjoyorare avidfansof the electronicgenresof musicsuchas
house,technoandtrance,mainlythose of a more sophisticatednature,agedaround25-40.This is,
firstly,made apparentthroughthe colours.The magazine usesonlyblackandwhite,withthe only
colourbeingsituatedinthe twoimagesonthe page.This,while drawingmore attentiontothese
images,showsamore mature audience who,unlikethose whoreadKerrang!,donotneedbright
coloursand heavyimage use tokeeptheminterestedinthe articles.Secondlyisthe font,witha
more sophisticatedandsimplisticfonttype beingusedtoshow control andorganisation,something
mostpeople wouldassociate withthe electronicgenre.Finally,the layoutof the magazine isnot
chaoticand is quite well structuredandorganised,showingmore intelligence andahigherlove of
textthanimagery.
The GuttenbergDesignPrinciple – The principal hasclearlybeenthoughtaboutwhenmakingthis
page,withthe title of the magazine andthe mainimage beingsituatedinthe primaryoptical area,
drawingthe eyesof the audience directlythere. The weak fallow area,however,seemstohave
sufferedwiththe mainitemsinthe areabeingtext.Thisdoesn’tdraw the eyesof the audience to
that area which,unfortunately,meanstheyare lesslikelytoreadthisbodyof text.Finally,the main
texthas beenplacedinthe strong fallow areaandleadsdowntothe terminal area,makingsure the
audience readthe text.