Analysis of magazines for AS

1. FRONT PAGE ANALYSIS

2. Masthead
The title of the
magazine, usually
formally placed at
the top left, or the
top. The font also
represents the
genre of hip hop
Direct Address
The directed audience of this
can vary. It may be directed
to young males as they may
see this as inspirational. Also
the colors and the capital
letters symbolise masculinity
and strength. Therefore
young boys may be
motivated to buy this
magazine to achieve this
body.
However, it may be appealing
towards females as he is in
the shower and is wet.
Therefore there are some
sexual connotations, which
may persuade females to
purchase the magazine.
PriceBarcode
Main Feature
Story
The main story in
the magazine,
which the picture
tends to relates
to
Buzz Word
The use of the
colour red
represents
danger however
contrasts with
the background
Advertiseme
nt
The background of the
image is of bathroom
tiles which is similar to a
prison room, which gives
off the impression that
the artist is a hard
character, which works
well with the facial
expression and tattoos

3. Masthea
d
Price
Barcod
e
Main feature story
Hence how the feature
story of the magazine
relates to the image on
the front cover
There are different
interpretations of this front
cover. It is directed to both a
male and female audience. We
can see this because
immediately there are sexual
connotations to the image. The
singer Ciara is quite clearly
naked which agrees with the
ideology of the ‘male gaze’.
The idea that she is allowing
men to view her and she is
subsequently teasing by not
revealing anything.
Furthermore we can see that it
may influence girls as they may
feel motivated by the image
and the caption following it:
‘I’m not gonna hold back’. This
shows that her story may be
motivational which pushes
women to read on.
The nudity of the R&B artist
Ciara almost gives us a view
that she is hiding something
and the little amount of light
makes us want to find out
more. However the main image
contrasts with the buzz word
‘Stand up!’ this reveals that in
the main article she reveals
more about what she may
possibly be hiding
The brand identity we can see
through the colour scheme,
black, red and white/grey. The
magazine has a professional
look to it because the masthead
‘vibe’ has a fading effect into the
background. Also the titles and
subheadings are all quite close
together
The quote ‘I’m not gonna
hold back too much’
contradicts the image of her
as she is completely naked.
Therefore there is an
automatic wonder of what
there is to be revealed
The header
represents
additional
information about
the magazine
which leads us to
carry on reading

4. Masthead
The masthead is around a
speech bubble or text icon,
which is what young
teenage girls enjoy doing.
Texting or using social
media therefore this shall
appeal to them because
this is what they enjoy
doing. This helps to
identify the audience
Barcode/price/web
address
Main feature story
The main feature story is
a boy band talking about
love, ‘One Directions
Lessons In Love’, this is
clearly directed to young
female girls as they enjoy
reading about this
certain topic
The mode of address is clearly directed
to young teenage girls because of
different reasons. To begin with the
colour scheme, blue, hot pink, yellow
and white are upbeat colours they’re very
vibrant and outstanding. Pink is a very
girly colour (it means love or affection)
which would not normally be associated
The main feature story
is also right at the
front, central in bright
colours which will
immediately catch the
audiences eye

5. CONTENTS ANALYSIS

6. This is clear indication that this is a
contents page because we can see
in large text it says ‘contents’ and
the background is black which
contrasts to the rest of the page
indicating exactly what it is. Also
the of the magazine ‘NME’ is a
different font to the rest of the font
on the page and also is a different
colour therefore highlighting
exactly that it’s a contents page
and the magazine is ‘NME’.
The main
feature
stories are
included here
The form of the contents gives off a harsh
effect, with the shapes being all rectangles, it
is more organized ordered and easy to
navigate. Which gives us an idea of the mode
of address as the magazine is about rock and
rock is a harsh sound therefore the layout of
this gives off a harsh effect. Furthermore the
brand identity is created with the three colour
scheme which also relates to the mode of
address using the three colours black, red and
white which connotates anger. This relates to
rock as again it is a loud harsh music and
rock artists tend to convey their passion for
music through aggression.
The anchors on the page show
which page the story is on which
makes it easier to navigate
They have separated different sections of
the magazine to make it easier to read
and easier for the readers to find exactly
what they want to read, also followed by
arrows from which was on the front page
so they know where to go
They have separated their
advertisement using different
sized font and different
colours, such as yellow and
white. They have also used a
black background which is
more eye catching and
appealing to the eye
They have put this in
front of a red
background so it stands
out more to the reader

7. Similar colour scheme to
the previous contents, the
use of colour here is used
to separate the different
sections. For example
‘features’ and ‘every
month’. Also to make
certain text stand out.
The ‘Oasis Special’ is in gold,
this therefore connotates
that it is a limited edition as
gold relates to royalty, or
presents which are things
received only at certain
times. Also it is called
‘special’ which also means it
is a one off and has a box
around it separating it from
the rest of the article.
The mise en scene of this image
is that they’re in a field standing
in a band structure, which may
lead the audience to think that
they’re at a music festival or a
concert which leads them to
read on. The image is very large
and dominating this
immediately allows the reader
to see the image as soon as
they open the page therefore
the reader can see exactly what
the magazine is going to
feature straight away
‘The worlds biggest and best
music guide’, there is also an
image beside it which shows
that the reviews have some
sort of importance
The every month
section shows that
the regular readers
can find the pages
they enjoy to read

8. The title ’contents’
and ‘Q’ are together in
front of a black
background, both are
different texts and
colours which catches
the readers eye and
shows the importance
of the magazineThe largest picture dominates
the page, and appeals to the
reader. The image takes up
most of the page showing that it
may be an interesting article,
and the anchor below shows a
sneak peak into what the article
is about
At the bottom of the page there is a
review and it has been separated from
the rest of the page by using a black
header with bold white text saying
‘review’, this draws the reader to the
text as it is separate from the rest of
In the bottom left
hand corner there
is an ‘every
month’ section
which helps
regular readers to
find exactly what
they enjoy reading
every month and
it is easier for
them to navigate
to the correct
page

9. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ANALYSIS

10. Drop
capital
Large photo
on the left
Anchor
Copy in columns
Info box
Upcoming bands:
Different but linked,
e.g black not white,
separated by blue
Signifies teenagers in
their room, lazy. The
photos show what
goes through a
teenage boys mind,
‘girls’ – ‘filthy tunes’.
Sexual pun.
Parents décor out of
date, dreaming of
escape of their
everyday lives.
‘NME loves’, this will make
readers read on as a
professional magazine
company has almost
recommended/persuaded the
reader read on
The title is covering the
main image and matches the
text in the bottom right
corner and the top left which
catches the readers eye and
they continue reading on
The layout of the double page spread is
similar to other magazines, there is a
large image central and text on the right
hand side. We know the brand identity
through the colour scheme, blue, white
and black which again gives us an idea of
the mode of address. We know it is
directed to an audience of predominately
males because of the colours. We also
know it is specifically directed to young
teenage males because the main image
is a group of apparent ‘young’ males in
their bedroom thinking about as I spoke
about earlier the ‘sexual pun’ this then
leads young teenage male readers to
read on as they can relate to this

11. Large photo
on the left
Drop
capital
Copy in
capitals
Colour scheme
Black, orange,
grey
An alliteration in the top hand right
corner which makes the article fun and
gives us an insight of the artists
personality and what the article may
contain
More
image
s
The mention of other
artists draws the reader
in as everyone can relate
to her and see she is
quite famous. Also
‘meet our new girl
crush’ warms the article
as it puts a personal
feeling on the article
Relating to the other magazine we can see it is directed at young females
due to the genre of the magazine ‘pop’ and Jessie J is a large pop icon in
todays music world. Also we know it is aimed at young teenage girls
because as we can see there are headings and a smaller amount of text to
keep the reader amused as young females will not want to read a large
amount of information. Again the subheadings also help them as they
can only read the paragraphs they want to read making it simpler for
The colour scheme also
helps to understand
who it is aimed at. The
colours are an orange,
white and grey. This
gives off a calm
atmosphere and that
the article is quite calm
and not so intense

12. Large photo
shows main
feature story
The masthead of this
page is taking up most
of the page. It is two
contrasting fonts as we
can see followed by two
different colours. This
makes the article stand
out because it
immediately catches the
readers eye
The colour scheme of this magazine
is quite clearly pink and black with
different shades of pink. This gives
the magazine a feminine touch and
immediately we know it is aimed at
females. Also the main image is very
over powering and shows almost an
example of an independent woman.
She is giving off the idea that she
wants you to view her and read on
We can also see
that this is
aimed at young
teenage girls
because that is
who listens to
Nicki Minaj
Only one image has
been included it is
bright and colourful
and popping which
represents the genre
‘pop’ of the
magazine and the
artist is also wearing
a bright pink lipstick
to match the pink
colour scheme
The layout of the text is split up into
different sections each discussing a
different topic. This will appear to a
younger age range as they may not
want to read such large amount of text
therefore smaller amounts of texts
with key information is more appealing
to them. The subheadings also make it
easier to read as they can read certain

13. KEY TERMS/CONCEPTS
Form – formal, formulaic: format of page
Mise en scene – clothes, background etc and how they work together to create a mode of address
Mode of address
Convention
Connotation – ‘ this connotates’
Semiotics
Uses and gratifications – why/how do we use the media and how are we gratified (what do we get out of
it) by it?
4 things we get out of the media: entertainment, (escapism), information (knowledge is power), social
interaction (a large part of our lives) and personal identification (the media we consume tells us
something about our everyday life)
Maslow- dreams and aspirations never will be fulfilled, therefore the media sells dreams and aspirations
Brand Identity – three colour scheme, masthead, general design consistency
Exchange – Web 2.0, interactivity, we don’t just consume with the media anymore we engage with it and
create. (Interactivity)