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1. Textual analysis
Ellie Maddison

2. • It is clear it’s a lifestyle magazine rather than a fashion or sport magazine
because of the images and the content it uses. This means that as we’re doing
a women’s lifestyle magazine it wouldn’t fit the genre if we did a car on the
front cover as it’s not clear what type of magazine it is.
• It is clear to see that this is a regional magazine apposed to a nation
magazine because the content links to the county it’s set in, this means that
it is clear to the reader that it’s a regional magazine rather than a national.
• The issue talks about local attractions that are happening within the area
for example ‘fun fayres’ this is a typical convention of a regional magazine
that it includes days out, what’s happening within the region and even how
to make faces in pumpkins. This is something I’m going to add to my
magazine as it will enable to me create a realistic looking magazine. As our
region is East Midlands we will have to have pictures on the front that
resembles East Midlands, such as the clock tower in Leicester this means we
don’t necessarily need a main person on the front as we’re writing about
local life apposed to someone in particular.

3. Layout
• I personally like the idea of the magazine with having an image set in the middle of the page, this is something I’d
like to replicate onto my magazine as I think it allows you to write around the outside and not cover images.
• This is a front cover page for a regional magazine set in Suffolk, this is clear by the title but also by the front cover
image, it is clear to see it’s on about country life as the image of the deer shows this. The image is a shallow focus
enabling you to focus in on the main image. The blurry background of a nature setting make the main image of
the deer pop out, this makes it obvious that it’s a magazine set in a rural setting which Suffolk is an East Anglian
county full of old English culture. The layout of the magazine is the image in the middle with the typography of
the main title at the top, with short overviews of the content within. The image is right in the middle with it’s
antlers sit perfectly on either sides of the magazine title, this is effective as it enables you to read the front page
without cutting any of the image out.
• The barcode is located in the right bottom corner, this is common on a magazine either on the cover or the back
of the magazine. The price of the magazine is also In the corner as this is a place where it’s hidden away from the
main image. Most regional magazines tend to be available for an online subscription, costing around £3-4 more
than an average magazine. They also contain many adverts on places to visit within the region.

4. Colours
• The colours that are used contrast with the green background, the colour orange links in with the
Halloween time of year. The orange, green and whites which are all colours associated with nature
and outdoors link in with the county it set in this further shows the region, and helps recognise what
type of magazine it is. To have the masthead in white, it stands out against the green background
making it clear to read and understand. As the orange is a running theme as it’s the October issue
this means that if I was to make a magazine set in December we could do colours such as red and
green.
Cover lines
The cover lines all relate to the region of the magazine, this means that the it’s clear to see it’s a regional
magazine rather than a national magazine. The cover lines are short and straight to the point, this means it’s a
clear overview as to what’s inside for the reader. The title of each cover line runs with the theme of orange,
this stands out on the page. The orange cover lines make it clear to separate the sections on the page.

5. Pull quotes
• The pull quote ‘13 spooky Suffolk spots’ is an alliteration that pulls the audience to find out the spookiest places
to visit in Suffolk. Pull quotes are used to pull the reader in to want to read the magazine, if on the cover it has an
exciting thing that appears within the magazine it allows the potential reader to have an insight as to what's in
the magazine. The definition for a pull quote is “Pull quotes are short excerpts from the presented text. They are
used to pull a text passage out of the reader's flow and give it a more dominant position in the post or the
article. Pull quote included into an article. The pulled out passage is mentioned few blocks further.”
WebsiteAt the top of the magazine it supplies the reader with the web address, this makes it easy for the reader to
possibly sign up to the website or visit the website for any further information that is required. On our magazine
we will place our ancillary task of the website on the cover of our magazine, this will make it look like a real
magazine creating the idea that it’s a professional regional magazine.

6. Masthead
• The typography of the magazine is very bold and sophisticated.
As it’s bold it’s easy to read and looks more grown up. For
example is this was a kids magazine the typography maybe
swirly or look childish. This shows that the magazine is aimed at
an older demographic. The white stands out against the
background making it clear to read.
The Masthead’s colours make it easy to read on the page and
doesn’t get lost upon the page, for example if it was in grey it
doesn’t pop out like the green/brown on white. This means
that when doing our magazine we should look into the colour
of the masthead with the background.

7. Our opinions
• I personally like the idea of the magazine with having an image set in the middle of the page, this is
something I’d like to replicate onto my magazine as I think it allows you to write around the outside and not
cover images. I also like the idea of having it as a theme, for example with magazine is a Halloween addition
as it was released in October, thinks such as the pumpkins, the orange typography and the ‘13 spooky
Suffolk spots’ all link it to the date of the issue. For my magazine I thought about doing a summer addition
this means I can take pictures and write about summery things like places to go or drinks to make at home.
This is something I feel confident in writing about as it’s more accessible to me. As this is a regional magazine
for Suffolk which is a countryside place so having the green nature theme wouldn’t fit Leicester as it’s a built
up city. So having pictures of the scenery around Leicester would fit the brief.

9. Layout
• This is a contents page for a Bristol regional lifestyle magazine. The
layout of the magazine is very simple, with pictures and numbered
text covering the whole page. This makes it very easy to find out what
page you want and where to find it. This is something we’d like to
replicate on our magazine as it’s very simple but looks effective, the
colour scheme is very simple with the pink 2014 that stands out
against the darker colours. It is clear to see it’s a regional magazine as
the content is places to see around Bristol rather than nationally this
is a key convention of a regional magazine as it has to link to the
region it’s set in. This means as we’re doing a magazine set in
Leicestershire we will have pages relating to places to go within
Leicestershire apposed to a wide range of cities. The layout is very
simple and sleek, this makes the magazine look more refined,
• It is clear to see that it is a lifestyle magazine because all 5 pictures
are of different things for example the first is fashion, the second is a
narrow boat, the third some ballerinas, the fourth a child in school
uniform and the last being nature. This is a convention of a lifestyle
magazine because it covers a whole range of topics such as fashion
and places to visit. As our magazine is going to be a women’s lifestyle
magazine we will cover topics such as fashion, food and places to
visit.

10. Contents
• The page numbers all relate to places within Bristol as someone from Leicester wouldn’t read a Bristol
magazine for places to visit within Leicester. Such as ‘City Updates’ ‘family fun’ are clear conventions of a
lifestyle magazine they need to relate to the place the magazine is set. In the corner of the page is a
picture of the front cover, this allows the reader if viewing the page online know where it is from. There is
also a brief description as to what’s on the page, this allows the reader to know what’s on the page. For
example ‘Post summer skin- the hardest working beauty products to restore and rejuvenate sun damage
skin’ this type of information is important for everyone, so this would mean that in our magazine we will
add information that is needed for all people.
Colours
The white background contrasts with the pink and black colours on the page, they help them stand out on the
page. However I think the beige colour of the page numbers is hard to see due to the colour, this would mean
when designing our magazine we will have to think about the colour choices. The colour scheme is plain and
simple, but the gold colour of the magazine makes the magazine look more luxurious, but it needs to be a little
darker to see the colour on the page.

11. Typography
• The font that is used is very bold, this is a convention of a
lifestyle magazine because it’s aimed at an older demographics
so swirly typography wouldn’t work. This is sophisticated and
easy to read so in our magazine we will experiment with
different types of text to make it look professional.
• The typography of the word ‘contents’ is very bold however it is
small in the corner, a convention of a magazine would be to have
a big title saying contents sop it’s easy to understand it’s a
contents page.
• The September 2014 is big located on the top of the page, the
font is similar to the Suffolk magazine making it look
professional. For example if it was a wedding magazine they’d
use typography of a wedding invitation this links the theme to
the content.
• The pink relates to the stereotype of women being their
favourite colour, this is the only pink on the page making it stand
out against the white background.

12. Our opinion
• We like the positioning of the page, having the pictures at the
top corresponding to the page numbers below. The pictures that
are selected are all very different, they all link to different
contents. For example the main image on the page of the female
wearing some fashionable clothing is clearly the main focus of
the magazine. They’ve laid the image out to allow the full image
to be displayed, this means that in our magazine if we had a
portrait image we could lay it out like this contents page is.
• It is clear to see this is a women's lifestyle magazine because it
has different type of content, such as nature, fashion and school.
This shows that it is a lifestyle magazine because it doesn’t just
focus on one topic such as fashion or nature alone it focuses on
all of them. This is something we will do in our magazine like
having a few different pictures relating to different topics.

14. Layout
• The page is full of images, all linking to weddings. Such as a wedding cake, wedding dress,
bridesmaids and flowers. As this magazine would be aimed at women, the content is very
stereotypically girly and traditional with white wedding dresses and pink bridesmaids. The images
are laid out on the page in a random order, with some text underneath some. The page contains
mostly images with minimal text as people prefer to look at something than read about it. The
page is about Natalie and David’s wedding, the purpose of the page is them describing and
showing their wedding, their wedding is very traditional and ‘simply stylish’ the quote “To keep a
contemporary feel, we chose a monochrome colour palette for many of the detail” is written in a typical wedding invite
style, this ties in with the wedding theme. This is a main convention of a wedding magazine as
they use wedding themes such as black and white and the swirly style text. The images layover
each other, allowing more images to be on the page. I like the idea of having multiple different
pictures on the double page spread, something I’m thinking of replicating in my magazine.

15. Colours
• The main colour on the page is white, a traditional wedding colour. The white background allows all the images to stand
out on the page, the black is plain and easy to read on the page. There are different types of lighting used, for example in
the picture of the bride and groom the lighting is natural, with the sunlight and green background making the bride and
groom standing out on the page. The other one would be the picture of the two girls it is in an artificial lighting standing
out on the page as the rest are all natural or white lighting and colour. The lighting that is used really captures the beauty
of a wedding with the green grassy fields and old buildings, then having the bride and groom stand out on the page. If the
main image of the bride and groom was in black and white it doesn’t have the same effect as the natural lighting. The
black and white eliminates the colour of the background so in my magazine I’ll use natural lighting to make my images
stand out on the page.

16. Text
• The page allows you to read about the wedding and possible take different aspects of the wedding and use
them. Such as the text on the page writes about their opinion on their wedding and how they did all the
aspects of the wedding. It allows you to read about who took the photo’s, who supplied the flowers, cakes or
dress. This allows the reader to have the same wedding as them even has the web address as to where to
contact them.
‘simply stylish’ this alliteration is catchy and is used to get the readers
attention.
The text used is written in a clear bold font, that is easy to read as well as
the page having a black and white them this is a traditional colour scheme
or a wedding with the brides dress being white and the grooms suit being
black. This occurs throughout the page with black and white photos and
random pops of colour such as the bridesmaid dresses and grassy
background. The black text on the white background is easy to read, as it’s
clear and stands out on the page. The text is broken up with bold black
text with subheadings of what detail is being explained, this allows the
reader to scan through to find the bit they want to read about.

17. Our opinion
I like the idea of having a colour scheme throughout the page as it makes it look more uniform and
neat. The minimal text on the double page spread is also good as it allows multiple pictures to be
displayed on the page, without the reader having to scan through loads of text to find some
information that they needed. The images also all relate to the wedding theme and even includes
where they got them from. This means the reader can copy or take elements of the wedding and
put them in their own as it says where to buy that cake from or the photographer. This is something
I’d like to do in my magazine as I’d like to have places to go within Leicester and have where you can
find them. Personally I like the the layout of the double page spread as I feel that having loads of
pictures on the page as it breaks up large amount of text and stops the reader from getting
overwhelmed with large amounts of text. I think the layout of this magazine would be easy to
replicate, as it’s simple but as I’m doing a regional women’s magazine weddings could be an article
that we cover but it’s not too available as weddings aren’t the most available to us. I’m thinking of
doing an article on places to go in Leicester, this would cover places to eat and places to have fun
this would mean I’m able to have multiple pictures on a page with minimal text like this one.