analysis of the double page spread of music magazines

1. Main Image
The main image of the double page article isof a male artistwearing
sunglasses.Thissuggesthisfame andpopularityasthe typical
celebritieswearsunglassesonduringanyweathertoavoidthe flash
inphotographers.The mainimage inlocatedinthe middle of the
double page spreadwhichconveysthatthe artistis the main
attentionof the article. Asshownbythe size of the image,it
crystallisesthatthe otherimagesof artistsare not the centre of
attentionasthe mainimage is5 timeslargerthanthe rest.
House Style
The house style of the double page depicts that the genre of music that the
magazine is,is EDM (electronic dancemusic) or techno. This is shown by
the colours design of the double page as it is restrained and limited to:
black,orange and white which are contrastingcolours thatsuggestits
modern layout.The artistalso wears clothing’s thatsuggest that he is a
EDM artistas he wears sunglasseson and also wears clothing’s that
suggests his sophistication as itis a typical ,classic,colour shirtbutis
juxtaposed by the colours combinationswhich creates a more modern feel.
Design Balance
The design balance of the double page
suggests that it is informal as the main
image of the article is on the right side of
the double page. However, as it is on the
left side of the right page, it is almost in
the centre suggesting that there are
formal elements. As well as the fact that
the main artist of the double page uses
direct mode of address therefore making
it more formal and less tidy. There are
many text columns on either sides of the
main imagetherefore suggesting a
symmetry but it is not the case as one
side of the article has more text that the
other.
Guttenbergprinciple
The Guttenbergprinciple appliesto
thisas the primaryoptical area
consistsof a large orange,graphic
drop cap of an ‘F’. Thismakes the
immediate attentiontobe focusedon
the ‘f’as it is interestinganditis
designedtomatchwiththe house
style whichisEDM. EDM is mostly
processesmachine musictherefore it
ismore modernandmore precise.The
orange is alertingaseye catchingas
the majorityof the page isblackand
white.Orange contrastsbetweenthe
twocolourstherefore makingitmost
eye catchingand enhancesthe
Guttenbergprinciple.
Mast Head
The mast head is located in the strong
fallow area which is located in the top
right corner. This is alerting as it in in a
black box, juxtaposed on a white
background with white and orange text
colours. This makes it obvious to the
audience that this is the mast head as it
is also in a large font than the other text
in the columns. However, the fact that it
is located in the stronger fallow area
instead of the primary optical area makes
the masthead less visible compared to
the graphic that is used in the left page of
the double page spread. The mast head is
in a serif font compared to the majority
of the text which makes it more
noticeable. The word “Explosion “is in
orange which is used to emphasis the
colour contract and makes the audience
alerted.
Text
The article consistsof a lot of over-exaggeratinglanguage like “responsibleforsome of the mostmemorable tunesindance history”which
over-ratesthe festival .Thisistomake the festival more appealingandattract the audience towardsit. The mainstoryof the article isto
promote an artistcalledthe “groove armada” as the article isusedcompletelytopromote them.Thisinformsthe audienceof the artistas
theyare overlydescribed(exaggerated)andconsistsof the artistslife.The article isinaformal and entertainingstyle.Itisformal elementto
thisas it consistsof a lotof adjectivesandlittletonoslagand informal language.Thislanguage usedsuggeststhatthe audience isforan
audience thatenjoysliterature more thanentertainment.Howeverthisisalsoentertainingasthe language usediscreative writing.An
example of thisis“the ecstasygeneration”whichisanover-exaggeratedadjective towardspeople. The photoshotthathas beenchosenisa
formal directmode of addressas the artistlooksdirectlyatthe audience.Thissuggestsitsdesignbalancewhichconnotesitsmusicgenresof
EDM. The headline is”insidethe dance explosion”suggeststhe type of musicgenre thisis.WithEDM(the musicgenre of thismagazine),the
dance towardsthisis more modernandmore energeticasit createsa hyperand jumpingsensationwhendancingtoit.The language usedis
personificationasduringanexplosion,thereisn’tanyformof dance whichsuggeststhatthe type of musicgenre thatthe magazine is, is
chaoticlike the word”explosion”

2. House Style
Firstly the magazinethat contained this double
page is from the NME. The NME is generally for the
age range of 16- 25 and the music genre of
alternativeor Indies music.The is depicted by the
plain and sophisticated layoutand the colour
scheme of the double page as itis not colourful
enough to attractthe younger age and doesn’t
depict that it is of any mainstream genre; The
colour scheme depicts that itis not of any
mainstreamgenre as it does not appeal to
everyone(or a large audience)therefore it
suggestthatit isindiesmusicthatappealstoa
niche audience.Thecolour scheme is black white,
grey and red which alerts the audience’s attention
the selected words.eg..”Everything!” is in red.
The Guttenberg design principle
The Guttenberg design principleimplies
that the primary optical area is the
masthead of the articlewhich is the main
aspectas it gives an insightto the
audienceof the summary of the article
but itis also used to attract the audience’s
attention to encourage them to read
more. The axis of orientation,makes the
readers next attention to be on the main
image which emphasises the theme of
spotlights.As the stronger fallowarea is of
an image, the spotlightemphasises the
artistfaceas itis the useof a spotlightand
also makes a link to the circletext. The
terminal area is when there is littleto no
attention given to the area. In this case,
the double page contains nothingas the
artists imagefades into black into the
corner as there is no attention given.
Text
The kicker summarises the overall articleby usingcertain
words(without givingaway the full information).For example
the kicker starts with the question” how does noel Gallagher
spends his days in 2011?Ridingthetube” which creates a sense
of informality as “the tube” is the common name for the public
London underground whichcreates a sense ofinformalitywith
colloquial language. The purpose ofthis article is to express the
artist(noelGallagher)point of viewon the music that people generally
listens to. The article is for the use of entertaining as well as informing
as the audience is informed about the opinionof the artist but this
also entertains the audience as it is intriguing to knowabout the
opinionof others on music, but moresowhen a well-knownartistis
commentatingon newartists andthere music. The article Is inan
informalandchatty-style of writing as this shows the artists true
opinionof the music. The use oftaboo language such as “Fuck that”
“fucking”, ”shit” suggest its informallanguage .Bythe fact that the
use of taboolanguage is quite vulgar, it suggests that thisarticleis
specificallyfor an older audience as taboo language is common for an
older audience to use. There is an interesting graphic towards the text
of the article as it is inthe shape ofthe a circle , which is linkedto the
spotlight onthe face of the artist whichmakes inuncomfortable. This
makes anemphasis to both ofthe pages ofthe double spreadas it
creates a repetitive theme withinthe article. The head line consists of
two parts as the first sentence is a question“what amI listening to?”
which makesarouses curiosityinthe audience andit forces to make
the audience thinkandreflect of their genre of music. The headline
then replies withanexclamationof “fucking everything” which
suggest hisnegative viewof music. This makes the audience curious
to his negative behaviour therefore encouraging themto readmore.
The headline alsoconsists ofrisqué language as it uses “Fucking” as
an adjective. The useof this language makes the article immediately
informalas it is commonfor people to use slag incommondaily
conversations.
Design Balance
The design balanceof the double page is informal as thereit would not be the same if there was a lineof symmetry in
the middle. As the image of the artists covers half of the page, there isn’tdesign symmetry as the other page consists
of text. However, there is a similartheme between the two pages of spotlights.The design balanceof this double page
spread uses spotlights to balancethe two pages. The main text of the doublepage is specially written in a shape of a
circle.This could bedue to the concept of the double page which Is spotlights (as depicted from the main image which
has a spotlightof the artists face).The colour of the text is in white on a grey back ground which emphasises that the
text is in the shapeof a spotlight.This makes the text more interestingto read as itis not formal or common likein
other articles as itnotin a plain column but in a shapethat is intriguingand rare.
Masthead
The masthead is a quote from the artist as it is shown by the speech marks
and the fact that the artists image suggests that the interview is from him.
The fact that the masthead is a quote makes the headline informal which
attractsthe audience to the headline. The use of taboo language in the
head line like” FUCKING “suggests an informal audience and is a common
use of languagewithin most of the audience’s daily life. This attractsthe
attention of the audience as it is a taboo language which is commonly used
as an expression of aggression or slang. The font of the heading is not the
same as the main text of the article as it is in a serif font and in capital .The
design of the font suggests that it looks Sophisticates but it is juxtaposed
by the vulgar language used in the masthead.
Main Image
The main image is of an artistwhich a spotlighton his facewhich crystallises
and emphasises the main person of the article.The image covers half of the
double page spread which suggest its dominance over the double page and
also the main focus of the article.The artistuses an indirectmode of address
as he is lookingaway from the camera which suggests its informality.The
artists facial expression suggestthat he is uncomfortablewhich conveys his
lack of professionalismand also howuncomfortableit is to be an
entertainer(as depicted by the spotlighton his faceand his facial expression)
Rebecca Chow- Double Page Article
Analysis

3. House Style
The house style of the double page is
techno or remix as depicted by the main
image of the articlewhich (which uses
the rule of thirds,of dominating2/3 of
the double page).The image is of an
outlineof an image of the artists with:
computers, speakers, microphones,
which is the equipment necessary to
make techno music or remixes. The age
range that would read this articleand the
magazine would be 18-25 as itcontains
more mature lookingand limited colour
themes. The de-saturated colours makes
the background look more subtle
therefore attractingan older audience
than a younger and mainstream
audience.
The Guttenbergdesign
principle
The primaryoptical area
consistsof the mastheadinan
attention-lookingdesignasit
contraststhe blackbackground.
Thisis inthe primaryoptical
area of the double page asthe
mastheadisusedto attract the
attentionof the audience.
Furthermore the mastheadis
the name of the artistwhich
alertsthe audience andalso
informsthemof the general
summaryof the double page
article.The readinggravitates
the audience’sattention
towardsthe terminal area
where there isaudience would
see a silhouetteof the two
artists.The image dominated
the bottomof the two double
pageswhere the audience sees
a more modernandmore
mature –like image.
Main Image
The main image is of a silhouette of two
artists with musical equipment’s in front of
them which suggest that the genre of the
artists in remix or techno. The main image
dominates most of the bottom half of the
double page which makes more attention
towards the largeimage. The image also
gives the page more mystery and modern
techno as the artist’s faces areopaque
therefore reinforcingthe idea of focusingon
the music rather than who the artistis.
Masthead
The masthead of the double pages is in the primary optical area as it is the main focus that the audience
sees when they open the article. The mast head is in a black box with white colour text on one word and
orange coloured text on the second word. The makes the masthead more individual and unique as it
emphasis the two words by juxtaposing the: black, white and orange. The serif font makes is the
masthead more individual as it contrasts from the text of the article. The size of the masthead is five
times largerthan the text of the article which makes the masthead the most noticeable feature that the
audience notice. The words capitals in “groove armada” creates a senses of attention as capitals suggests
that it is loud .However, this is contrasted by thee font of the masthead which makes it look more
modern and subtle.
Text
The headline issimplythe artistsnameswhichisina san serif fontwithwhite andorange colour
scheme.The size of the headline createsanimmediateattractionasitis locatedinthe primaryoptical
area (whichisthe firstsightontoa page) and the size of the font.The mainimage istakenof the artists
as theyare playingthere musicwiththeirequipment’s.Thismakesitmore natural towardsthe artists
.However,the mainimage isonlyasilhouettewhichcreatesamodernfeelingtowardsit.The style of
the article isinformal asit isto informthe audience of the artistsandis alsoover-exaggerate the artists.
The main purpose of thisdouble page article istoinformthe audience of the artists”groove armada”
but itis alsoto pursuedandadvertise towardsthe audience tomake the artistsmore known. Wordslike
“festival legends”and“Ibizaicons”generalisesthe artistsmusicandtheirfame.The exaggerationsof
“festival legends”indicatesthattheyare enthusiasticandhappy,muchlike there musicgenre.The
emphasisof theirmusicgenre isemphasisedasthe words”Ibizaiconissuggested”Ibizaisassociated
withpartyingand dance electronicmusic.Thisimpliesthatthere musicisEDMas itis stereotyped.
DesignBalance
There isan informal design
balance as half of the page
consistsof the textand
masthead,butthe otherhalf
consistsof a silhouette of a
person.However,despitethe
informal balance one of the
silhouettesof the artists
dominatedhalf of the page as
he is closertowardsthe
camera duringthe photo.This
makessome attention
towardsthe lesser,audience
attracting,area whichmakes
it useful of the audience and
the magazine,whichisto
make use of the empty
spaces.