This document analyzes the layout, design elements, and house style of three different magazine covers from the music magazine Q. Some key points made in the analysis include: - The masthead is consistently placed in the top left corner for recognition purposes. - Cover shots are usually medium close-ups that frame the celebrity's face and draw the reader in. - A limited color palette, consistent fonts, and framing of cover shots with subheadings helps maintain a clean, professional style. - Additional images, colors, and text sizes are used strategically to draw attention to important elements or stories within the magazine.

1. Research: Magazine! By Abigail Green

2. The main Sub heading reads “Cheryl Cole Rocks”, this links well into the clothing she is wearing in the shot as her outfit shows the inner rock chick. The spikes and leather trousers show her harder rock side. The heading could also link to the background as it could show how she could rock a city. The masthead is also placed in the top left hand corner this will be part of the magazines house style. I believe the main reasoning for the placement is because when the magazine is sold in a magazine rack it will still be able to be seen. Also at the top of the magazine there is a banner saying “The UK’s biggest music magazine” this is placed here so it can been seen by potential buyers because if they were looking for a magazine they are more likely to pick this one if it’s the biggest in the UK. This Q magazine cover is an unconventional cover as it does not have the usual framing of subheadings around the splashed cover shot. However there is still the conventional masthead and barcode which reminds the reader and tells them which magazine it is. This magazine is Q, this issues contained Cheryl Cole on the front cover. The shot of Cheryl is a medium long, as it shows her upper body and the top of her legs. The front cover has a very simple and elegant colour scheme which is black and white. This applies to all of the front apart from the masthead of Q, which is it’s original red. I believe this works well on this front cover as it stands out from the rest, this will allow it to be recognised by the target audience. This will also show how bold and important the magazine sees themselves as. The background behind the main image of the celebrity is not plain. It is an image of a busy night in a city, with all the lights on and the moving car lights. I believe this is linked to the artist on the front cover. This shows the reader that Cheryl has the busy city life and how much is happening in her life. It could also represent that she is stylish enough to fit into a busy city such as New York. With Cheryl also been splashed in front of the city could show how her talent shines with in the busy city. Having a celebrity on the front is a main point to most magazine front covers. On this cover the celebrity is Cheryl Cole. The shot of Cheryl Cole is a medium long shot. Her clothing on the picture is black and sliver which shows her sexy inner rock star. The sliver spikes on her black vest top could resemble a more edger side to her that we don’t always see. By her sliver shoulder wear also been torn could show how she has fought for her success and make people want to read to see how and what success she has got. Also on the image Cheryl’s hair is flying throughout the air as if she has just flicked her head back. This could so the rock side to her again which many people may not see, it could also show how wild she really is. How ever it could also show the passion she puts into her music. Her hair also flies over and covers some of the mast head. This could show how she believes she is bigger than the magazine. However it could also show that the magazine believe they are big enough to be recognised even if their masthead is slightly covered. Cheryl’s facial expression also shows all the energy which is put into her work and the way she feels for it. Magazine One!

3. Some of the main subheadings are in a gold colour, I believe this shows how wealthy the music industry is. There are also red subheadings on the front cover I believe this helps to link this with the house style of the masthead. By linking them all in it will aid the reader to remember what magazine they are reading. Also within some of the black subheadings there is a change in font colour which switches to red. This red is usually when a name is dropped of another celebrity. I believe they have chosen them to be red to also show the importance as they are the same colour as the masthead. Also on the magazine there are only around five different colours used as in many of the other Q magazines. By doing this it allows Q to have a professional and clean image which is not to busy. Also on this cover if there is a colour on the top it is also on the bottom which creates the effect of a frame around the main image. This is an issue of Q and it contains Jay-Z on the front cover. The shot of Jay-z is medium close as Jay-Z head and shoulders are seen. On the medium close up shot Jay-Z has very plain and serious facial expressions which could show nothing fazes him not even the cover of Q. Showing the reader that to succeed in music nothing must bother you. It also could show that he is answering the questions he wants to and he fears saying nothing. The shot of Jay-Z also dominates around 70% of the front cover, which shows how big of a star Jay-Z is and how much he means to the magazine. Within the shot Jay-Z is also having direct eye contact with the reader which draws them in and shows what he is saying is for the reader. The subheadings and masthead also frame the shot drawing your eye in. On this front cover the overall house style is really clear throughout the three magazines I have analysed. It is now clear that the masthead of Q is always in the top left hand corner. I believe the main reason for this is so it is seen when it is been sold in the stores and therefore can be easily recognised by their target market. It is also a white Q on a red square background, I believe this is because whatever cover shot or background they have it stands out and can easily be seen. So this cover carries the very conventional look of Q magazine. This includes placement of the mast head and also the splash of the cover shot framed by subheadings. Another main house style carried out throughout the three Q magazines I have looked at and the other issues is the price issue number and barcode are always in the same place within the layout of the magazine. Magazine TWO!

4. In this issues unlike the others the main title splashes across the main cover shot. However with the main title been red it links to the main masthead of the magazine which then acts as a frame around the main image. This also keeps the amount of colours within the cover limited which shows the magazine is professional and sophisticated and not a joke . Once again on the Q magazine the house style is clear. The masthead is identical to all other copies of the magazine and is placed in the same place. This is for the main reason of been recognised by the target market. Similar to the front cover I previously looked at the cover shoot is slightly covering the masthead. I believe this shows the status of the person on the cover shoot . From the three front covers from Q I have looked and analysed I believe this is the busiest of the three. I believe this as there are more subheadings, titles and slogans. This is also the only cover out of the three which has another image on it, although this image is much smaller in size showing it has less importance to the magazine than the main cover shot which covers a large percentage of the front cover. However the main house style is still carried through this front cover even though there are differences. The elements that stays the same throughout is the font and the colour of the font. The main cover shoot is a medium close up. The shoot on the front cover is the celebrity Madonna who is extremely well known for her music carrier which would link very well to the theme and purpose of the magazine. In the shot Madonna is wearing what looks like a boxing robe which could show she is up for a fight and you have to fight to succeed Magazine Three!

5. Contents one ! The highlighted subheading follow the house style of Q magazine. The colours and the font of the subheading is the same as the masthead of the magazine which links the contents together to create a frame around the main image. The page numbers on the contents are also red which limits the number of colours used and could also be mirrored from the subheading. The colours are also limited to carry out the professional look that Q wishes to hold. This is the main shot on the contents page and is a long shot of the band the courteeners. This could have been placed on the contents page to show that there addition to the magazine is the second best story, however they are not the best addition in the magazine as they did not make the cover shoot. A bolder text is used next to a page number to outline what is on this page. I believe this is to make it easy for people to see what is coming up in the magazines and what each page is filled with. This smaller image is also used to display an upcoming story or article in the magazine. However this article has even less importance to the magazine than the larger image on the contents. The masthead is still carried through onto the contents page. And is placed in the same place as the masthead on the front cover this could be to still recognise the magazine throughout.

6. Contents Two! The V in the background could be the masthead of the magazine. However it is very unclear in contrast to the background colour. So therefore I believe this masthead is not as effective as Q’s masthead. The heading ‘contents’ does not fit onto one line which could represent that the magazine is that full it spills over. Or it could show that the magazine is big and bold and doesn’t follow the magazine trends. The title ‘contents’ is also in white this is good as it looks as if it is standing forward on the black background. The subheadings are in a bold but feminine text, this links to the target audience of women. It is also bold enough to catch women’s attention but still has a feminine edge to stay with the theme of the magazine. The shot of the woman is long on this contents page and mainly concentrates on showing boldly all her legs. There is also minimal clothing to cover her legs which could show how this is her main and best feature. The woman also wears big and bold heels which could show she is load and bold which makes her suitable to fit the magazines theme. The background starts off black and fades as the page goes down until it is lit up on the woman in the main shot. So this is resembles a spot light shining over her because she is such a star (celebrity). The model/celebrity has also been dressed in very chunky and bold clothing and jewellery. I believe this is also to connect to the bold statement the magazine is trying to show.

7. Contents Three! The masthead is also shown to carry out the house style of the magazine throughout the magazine. However it is slightly smaller than on the front cover and is also placed in a different place than the front cover which could show that the magazine does not need to be recognised from here so the layout of the masthead is not important. This is an advert, advertising a subscription to the magazine. I believe this is placed on the contents page so it is been seen at an early date. Which could represent two things about the magazine. It could firstly show that the magazine is confident that you will love the magazine straight that you would want to subscribe. Or it could show that if the magazine is not sold to you early then you will lose interest and therefore the advertisement would be a waste of time. These little arrows on the page direct your eye where the editor wants you to see so it highlights the key events in the magazine. This is an added feature which NME has added in for their readers to show them good bands, this is a popular feature and adds something unique to the magazine. I may want to think of having a similar feature to suit my target market to add something extra to my magazine. However this extra feature still follows the house style colours of the magazine so it still looks linked to the magazine. I believe the editor has decided to have this letter larger and in the same font as the headline to link the story and to encourage the reader to read on. These are images relating to headlines. These images are framed by the headlines, I believe it has been laid out this way so you will read the headlines after viewing the images.

8. This is the main heading for the double page spread. Which is white writing with a black background so the text clearly stands out. The smaller sized font is giving a few more details on the story however has the opposite colours so this could show that it is less important and does not need to stand out as much and the larger text. This is also part of the title of the double page spread however the font colour and size is much bigger and bolder. This could be because this is the band that the magazine is all about . It could also resemble that the band had great importance to the selling of the magazine . These small pieces of text explain what is happening in the picture, I believe this important to the reader as it allows them to feel as if they were there & will therefore have a greater understanding of the article. These are images relating to the headline “behind the scenes with little birdy” the images are large and over lap each other which could give the appearance that a lot happened backstage so there is a lot to read about which could therefore invite readers in. This is a different coloured bar of information. I believe this gives the look as if it is extra information the reader is getting so therefore they will believe this magazine offers them more and buy it over other magazines. Double Page one!

9. The main title is bold but made of what looks like ripped up newspaper, I think this could show the life and personality of the artist. I think it also shows that she is not perfect and you can read all about it in the magazine. The first letter is larger and in the same font as the headline. I believe this is to make it easier for the reader to make a connection from the headline to the story. This is a medium long shot of the artist. The artist has her hands on her hips which I believe shows she has attitude and does not care what people think of her. The page numbers at the bottom of the page are part of the magazines house style. I think it is very important to have page numbers in order to navigate around the magazine and be ale to link to the contents page. The article is written in columns which I really like as it makes the magazine really easy to read. I believe if the article looks easy to read then readers will make the effort to read it . Double page Two!

10. Double Page three! Within the double page spread there is a house style colour of orange. This is used to highlight sub-headings with the main article. I like this technique as it breaks up the texts which makes it easier to read. However it also draws the reader to key parts of the article and the text in which the editor want you to see. These quotation was clearly important to the editor as they have gone out their way in the layout for it to stand out. I believe it is written in a very gossip style texts which links to somebody talking about another. It is also the only area of the layout which has a black background which I think really highlights the importance of this to the whole article. It also has two sets of large orange speech marks, I believe this draws the readers eye in even more and creates a frame around the important quote as you would frame an important picture. This is a medium long shot of a celebrity. I believe they have chosen to use this shot to show the distress throughout her whole body. The celebrity has a very distressed but almost angered face as if she has been hurt badly which links into the title ‘bust-ups’. She is also scratching her face which shows she is not comfortable which could make the reader feel deeper emotions towards her. This could be showing past articles linking to this from the magazine showing that they will always have the story for the reader. The font of headline is very feminine to link to the target audience of women. It is white text on a orange background to stand out but also follows the house style colours of the article. However there is no masthead on article which shows the magazine does not need to be recognised at this point.