Mix mag analysis

1. Masthead – The masthead is
easy to recognise due to its font
style. It is a simple san-sarif font
that uses a lot of curves. The ‘I’
has a stylised dot on it which
creates a brand for the
magazine. On top of these
things it is also all in lower-case
which makes it stand out from
the rest. Also, because it is a
well established magazine, the
masthead goes behind part of
the main image.
Puff – There is a small puff just
under the masthead which refers
to something specific to the time
the magazine was released. The
use of the word ‘massive’ makes
the reader believe it is an
important, must-read article.
Main image – The main image
goes against convention in more
than one way. Firstly, the obvious
one in the way that the image is
not a photo but instead a cartoon
of an artist. This makes the
magazine stand out from the rest
and potential readers will be drawn
to the magazine. I think it works
quite well because the artist that it
is of is well known in the dance
music scene and also his style is
very iconic of him and therefore he
is easy to recognise in cartoon
form. Another thing that goes
against convention is the fact that
it is a long shot rather than a
medium close-up. This gives the
image a very different look. Finally,
the subject is not looking at the
camera. This gives a feeling of
separation between the reader
and the subject. The mise-en-
scene conveys a feeling that his
music is exploding through the
scene due to him sitting on a
bomb. His black clothes are
associated with the club scene.
Barcode – The barcode is in an empty space in the
corner as per convention with the price and date next
to it.
Main coverline – The main
coverline is noticeably larger
than the rest of the coverlines. It
also follows the colour scheme
of the writing on the page with
yellow and black. A different font
is used and a 3D shadow effect
has been added to make it stand
out even more.
Cover lines – The coverlines
have both yellow and black font
colours, following the colour
scheme of the page. They talk
about things that the target
audience would find interesting
to lure them into reading and
buying the magazine. The black
highlight behind them makes
them stand out more and look
visually appealing.

2. Title – The title and the magazine
name is at the top of the page,
following convention. The stylised
font of Mixmag creates a brand
for the magazine and is
something people will recognise.
The title (contents) is the same
colour as ‘Mixmag’ so that the
page fits together and they relate
to one another.
Date – The date is clearly
shown at the bottom of the
page which follows the codes
and conventions of a contents
page.
General text – At the bottom
of the page there is a small
section about the free CD that
was included with the
magazine. It tells you a bit
about it and intrigues the
audience into listening to it.
This goes against the general
convention of contents pages
as you do not normally see this
sort of thing on a contents
page.
Contents – The contents of
the magazine are labelled
clearly down the side of the
page with page numbers to the
left of each article and a small
subheading just underneath to
give the reader a better idea of
what is included in that
particular article. The colours
link to the rest of the writing to
make it fit in.
Where else? – In a small
section in the bottom corner we
are given a website where we
can find them. This helps us
find them elsewhere
Image – The photo on this
page is extremely eye catching
due to the action happening
within it. The mise-en-scene
shows gives us an image of
clubbing due to the dressed up
clothes and hair of the girls and
the guy being topless. It
conveys an idea of fun through
the emotions on the club-goers
faces.
Colour scheme – The
background is a solid black
colour which sort of makes us
feel like we are in a club
because it is very dark. The
white and yellow colours are
continued on from the front
cover which connects the two
pages.

3. Title - The title is very stylised
and unique and therefore stands
out to the reader. The font is
san-serif and has some extra
lines here and there. The
wording is also intriguing as the
word orchestral is not normally
seen in this genre. Because of
this a reader will be interested in
why it is here in this magazine.
Colour scheme –
The colour scheme is
very simplistic and
relates to the title of the
page. The darkness is
emphasised using light in
the images. Also all of
the writing is white which
creates unity on the
pages and makes it all
feel linked together.
Subtitle – There is a
couple of sentences in
the corner of the page
which gives the reader
a little more information
before they start
reading the article. This
has been made
interesting but at the
same time sort of a cliff
hanger so that they
read the article to find
out the whole story.
Article – The actual article follows all the
codes and conventions of a double page
spread. Firstly, it is in 4 evenly spaced columns
which makes it look neat. Secondly, the colour
of the font is white which matches the colour
scheme of the page.
Imagery – The first image on the left shows
the band in poses. They are wearing shirts ties
and jumpers which is typical of more upper
class music i.e. classical. This is ideal as the
article is about combining classical music with
dance music.