2. Audience
The NME magazine has a specific target audience of usually males
aged 15-30. The magazine is aimed at people who enjoy NME’s genre
of music which could be classed as Indie/Rock. However both
genders could be attracted to NME magazine as the font could
appeal to both men and women.
The house style links with the young target audience as the colours
used on the front of the magazine show connotations of rock and roll
music, with a black background highlighting the bold rebellious red
font, indicating a dangerous impression on the genre of their music.
The colour red is the dominant colour as it catches the eye and
draws the audience’s attention to the specific primary optical areas.
The way in which Noel Gallagher is representing the front of the
magazine, resembles the style of magazine and gives the audience an
idea of which artists the magazine includes.
The Guttenberg Design Principle is used on the front cover in order
to enable certain parts of the page to be identified easier. An
example of this is the primary optical area in the left hand corner of
the page where the title of the magazine. Then the terminal area in
the bottom right hand corner is where the eye next meets which
includes the cover lines that promotes what is also included in the
magazine. These cover lines are placed in the strong fallow area
where the eye meets in order to encourage people to want to know
what the magazine has inside. The model credits ‘starts over’ are
located below the image as an addition to what the main person’s
purpose on the front of the magazine is. The weaker fallow area of
the magazine is in the left hand corner where the eye meets last
including Noel’s name, as it’s the least relevant piece of information
as the main focal point is the artist used on the front cover. The

3. masthead is in the primary optical area of the magazine to catch the
reader’s eye and make the reader aware of the title of the magazine.
NME is a pun as it could relate to the word ‘enemy’ suggesting a
rivalry within the music industry. It could also suggest a rebellious
tone to magazine, resembling the rock and roll artists that would be
a part of the magazine.
Similarly, the MixMag magazine has a similar target audience, both
male and female aged 16-30; however, the genre of music it is
representing would appeal to a younger target audience rather than
the older. The artist used on the front would also be associated with
the audience, as La Roux is a more contemporary artist who would
be more ideal for younger readers. The brighter use of colour is more
relevant for the genre of music it is advertising, that would attract
the specific target audience. The house style could also reflect the
more youthfulness and stylish image of the MixMag, however both
magazines target audience are in the economic category C1 to E as it
targets relatively younger students. Although there are some
similarities between the two, the two genres of music provides a
more informal perception on the NME magazine compared to the
MixMag which is aimed at people who prefer dance music instead of
the more rock and roll stereotypical attitude of the NME.
Unlike the NME magazine, in the primary optical area of the
MixMag magazine is the name of the artist used on the front of the
car. This is the opposite of the NME magazine, as well as in the
terminal area of the MixMag where the cover lines ‘plus’ draws the
audience into what the magazine offers. Both magazines include
similar techniques, which both take advantage of the weaker and the
stronger fallow areas of the magazine in order to highlight the
features that are more likely to sell the magazine.