double page spread analysis

1. EXAMPLES OF DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
ON TV PROGRAMMES IN LISTING
MAGAZINES
By Emily Thompson

2. THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN
ANALYSING A DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD!
• Basic layout – ‘grid’
• Column width and positioning
• Font type and size of font
• Use of the space
• Colours
• Images
• Page numbers
• Branding
• Captions
• Titles
• How images and texts are integrated

3. EXAMPLE 1:
The title and image of the celebrity
take up most of the double-page
spread. This shows that the article is
a feature of the magazine and one of
the big stories/articles. There is little
writing on the article, however the
language used is grown up and
effective to the article and its readers.
The text can appear slightly crammed
and squished onto the second page
of the double-page spread. The
stylistic ‘D’ used at the beginning of
the text fits into the theme of the
magazine and the article in particular,
this grabs the readers attention as it
is bold but simple at the same time.
The image is very striking and elegant. This portrays the celebrity in a
classic and elegant form. The pose of the celebrity does make her look
powerful and empowers women. It attracts the readers as to an extent
the image sexualises her, this could attract male readers even if they do
The font used is very conventional
and quite basic, ‘got the love’ is in a
more classy and exciting font which
contrasts with the other fonts. The
title ‘USA got the love is a play on
one of her songs ‘You’ve got the
love’. This attracts and entices the
reader as it makes them connect
with the female celebrity and know
that it will be about her music which
they are interested in.
The colour palette used is
very basic and only really
consists of red, white, grey
and black. This symbolises
simpleness and can attract a
younger audience such as
young adults and teens.

4. EXAMPLE 2:
Image of Jay Z takes up half of the
double page spread, it is a close
up of the star which allows the
readers to immediately know who
the article is going to be focused
on. He is pulling a very stern face
which makes him seem powerful
and strong. He looks quite scary
and intimidating which entices the
reader to read the article to find
out about him.The text is very small and there is
quite a lot to read with no pull
quotes. This can put off readers
as it makes them feel there is a
lot to read and it could take a lot
of time. Pull quotes would have
made this article better as people
could have skim read the text.
There is one pull quote in red which is good as it contrasts
with the black background it is placed on. The large J over
the text is very affective as it is unique and introduces Jay Z
without having to yet read anything.
The capital H and T allows the
reader to easily find the start of the
text without having to scam the3
article and miss bits. The article is
in two columns which is quite a
formal layout which surprisingly
doesn’t really fit with the theme of
this celebrity.
The headline is at the top of
the second page of the
double-page spread, it has two
different colours to make it
stand out more as it is quite a
small headline. Even though
the text is small it is still very
readable.

5. EXAMPLE 4:
The title is bold and shows you who the article will be
about straight away. The world ‘gospel’ suggests the
artist is holy and god like in some way, (someone to
look up to). Her name stands out in the title
suggesting a bold and big personality.
The article layout is very balanced.
For example, the text is spread out
on both pages of the double-page
spread. The image is framed by the
text and stands out the most. The
double-page spread is quite
symmetrical and allows everything
to fit in well.
The image of the celebrity is
placed virtually in the middle of the
double-page spread, her outfit and
the colours used grabs the readers
attention almost instantly. The
lipstick on her lips matches her
name in the title, this simply shows
they are the same. Overall the
image creates a sense of fun and
women empowerment, this entices
the audience and would make
them want to read the article as
they feel a connection to the
celebrity.

6. EXAMPLE 4:
The title of the article is
disjointed and wacky. This can
represent of show the article
as being different to most
which it seems to be. The
black and white colouring of
the title is very bold and also
links in which the celebrities
appearance which is affective. I
don’t think the fact that the
title nearly take up a whole
side of the double-page
spread as more content could
have been added. However
taking up most of the room
shows they want to grab
readers attention from this
pull quote alone.
The first thing the readers will see is
the image and title. This allows them
to know what and who the article will
be talking about. The mid shot of this
celebrity shows a powerful, reckless
and not caring attitude. The image
allows the readers to see her tattoos
which backs up this presentation of
the celebrity as reckless etc.
The language that the article contains is very
basic and easy to read. The magazine is aimed
at younger people and mostly teenagers so
the language has to be basic and easy to
read.
The colours used on the double-page
spread are very basic and kept to a
minimal. The colours mostly include
white, black and red, this gives the
idea of rock music and
reckless/powerfulness. Which clearly
links with the article.