1. This double page spread follows general and layout
conventions of a standard double page spread through
its use of things such as a main image, a sell line, a
headline, astandfirst and body copy. The double page
spread looks extremely professional; it isn‟t very text heavy
which is unlike Mixmag, however, it is obviously from
Mixmag; this is evident through its again simplistic layout.
Mixmag tend to „mix it up‟ with their double page
spreads, especially article based ones like the above, and
so it‟s design is different to other double page spreads
found in Mixmag. However, their interview based ones
tend to have the same layout and so although this
particular one doesn‟t look similar to other double pages
spreads found in Mixmag, it is conventional for Mixmag to
make each double page spread different and so in a
way it reinforces Mixmag‟s brand identity.

2. The title „PLAYING WITH YOUR SUBMOTIONS‟ is catchy and
appealing to the audience through the use of a pun; the
artist(s) featured are Submotion Orchestra and the title
makes light of the saying “playing with your emotions” – it
shows a picture of the band playing and so the audience
feels like they are literally playing a set with Submotion
Orchestra. The use of word play suggests that this artist is
fresh and unique, much like the magazine whilst also
indicating that both the magazine and it‟s audience are
intelligent, and on the same wavelength intellectually. It
also shows that the magazine knows that the audience is
likely to be clued up on popular dance acts, otherwise
they wouldn‟t have used the pun. The audience will
recognise this pun and will feel clever for doing so, and
the use of word play also shows the trust Mixmag has in it‟s
readers – it knows that the target audience is clever and
will understand it. It is written in a thin, white, straight lined
serif font with different shades of red, pink and purple
filling the holes (i.e. „o‟ or „p‟) in the letters, making the
headline/title and making sure it catches the readers eye.
The font helps to present the article as sophisticated yet
trendy and maintains Mixmag‟s simple yet sophisticated
brand identity.
There is only one main image on the page, which is a
wide shot of Submotion Orchestra performing and it is
shot so that we see from behind Submotion Orchestra
and we can vaguely see the audience in the distance; it
makes the reader feel as if the article is giving them VIP
access all areas with the artist and therefore they will
warm to the magazine. The main image also suggests

3. that Submotion Orchestra are very committed; they
haven‟t turned around and faced the camera, and are
busy playing the gig therefore we can only see their
backs – the only image we have of their faces is a few
smaller related images at the bottom right hand side of
the page. From seeing how into their gig they are, the
audience may find it appealing to go to one and so a
representation of the band being loyal, committed and
enthusiastic in their work is created through the main
image. There isn‟t much genre specific iconography in
the main image, as Submotion Orchestra is a collection of
talented musicians; it is conventional for the audience to
see an individual artist in Mixmag as dance music artists
are commonly DJ‟s who use special equipment, therefore
they don‟t need a band. We can vaguely see a
keyboard on the left hand side of the spread, which
could be argued to be genre specific iconography in this
instance, as well as funky lighting (the triangles) being
featured – lighting is unique in rave/club settings and so
can be argued as dance music iconography. The mise-
en-scene of the image is vague, however, it signal‟s that
the magazine is definitely a music magazine through the
background setting. The main image is viewable mostly
from the middle of the two pages; it appears to span
across both with the artist/stage being featured in the
middle. The image doesn‟t have a start or stop point and
so it creates an open plan layout and makes the article
seem much more relaxing and chilled – the lack of layout
structure also reflects the simplistic design within the
magazine. It may also be used to signify the fact that the
featured artist(s) are very down to earth. The small, circle

4. shaped, feature article photos are also important as they
show us who the band really are as, in the picture, we
can only see their backs. Their pictures appear very
normal and down to earth and are accompanied by
small pieces of text such as “both the overgrown kid and
the granddad of the band” and “…brilliant drummer and
very sporty too…”. The friendly, outgoing phrases and
language used helps the reader to relate the magazine
and form a bond with it as they understand what the
magazine is saying. The mode-of-address used also helps
to convey that Mixmag is aimed at a young audience
who are educated and street wise whilst also following
Mixmag‟s own conventions, thus maintaining brand
identity. The text used near the small images also helps to
anchor the personality of each member of the band;
there‟s the sporty one, the loud one and the moody one
etc, so the audience is able to define members of the
band as say, their friendship group, emphasising the bond
between the reader and the magazine.
The body copy, as stated earlier, is set out in two long
columns on the left and right hand side of both pages,
making the magazine look organized. The body copy
itself is an article, which heightens the sophistication of the
magazine and reflects that although the audience‟s
young, they have a mature attitude and want to read
well written pieces. The presentation of the text
emphasises this and helps to make the usually text heavy
magazine appear lighter to read. The body copy is also
written in white, linking with the title which is also written in
white and creating a uniformity across this article that

5. maintains the visually appealing and professional look.
The artist is represented through the information in the
body copy as a tight knit, down to earth group of friends
who came from humble beginnings and worked hard to
make it in the music industry. This also adds to the
relatable side of Mixmag, highlighting how the reader is
similar to the artists it listens to and thus attracting them to
listen to them. Intrestingly enough, no pull quotes are
used, and this is common in Mixmag‟s double page
spreads. The lack of pull quotes suggests that the
magazine is too cool and trendy for traditional techniques
of drawing the reader in – they can appear tacky as they
tend to appear more in pop/rock magazines and since
Mixmag‟s brand identity is sophisticated and mature, it
wouldn‟t want to jeopardize their brand identity. The small
snippets of text that are near the small feature article
photographs however, are separated by lines and so
appear in a small, square shape. The fact that this
information is broken down into bitesize pieces and isn‟t
included in the article makes the double page spread
more appealing –the long, textual columns on the left
and right hand side might daunt the reader if they don‟t
know much about the artist and so they‟d be much more
likely to read a smaller section separate from the main
body.
The colours which dominate the double page spread are
indigo, black,white and shades of pink and purple. This
colour scheme maintains the sophistication of Mixmag
and reflects the nightlife that the readers love and
associate with dance music. The colours used also reflect

6. the cool and trendy image/brand identity Mixmag has
maintained throughout the years. The colours also go all
together to create a much more professional feel to the
double page spread and also link to club atmospheres,
which are notorious for featuring purple/blue shades
inside.
The display font is also key in maintaining brand identity,
as it gives the double page spread a more serious feel,
showing how the readers take dance music seriously. The
fonts maintain brand identity as italic font is used for the
standfirst (which also breaks layout conventions in its
positioning) which is common as standfirst‟s usually have
some sort of text effect that makes it stand out, setting it
aside from the rest of the text on the page.