2. Front cover analysis #1 - Q
The magazine is aimed at young people (from the age of
16 to early 20s) as bold colours have been used to
attract people and most adults would go for classic
colours such as black, white, red and any dark shades.
The house colours have been included along with the
bold yellow and pink to show consistency throughout the
issues. The red helps the white to stand out so that the
name of the magazine can be seen. The handwriting
style font of “Lana Del Rey” makes it more personal for
the reader as it‟s as if Lana Del Rey has written it herself.
Pink is mainly dotted around the magazine to help guide
the reader‟s eye around the whole of the cover. The
reason pink has been used is because it has
connotations with femininity and is also an eye catching
colour alongside the yellow. Using „you‟ in most of the
cover lines helps to include the reader and make them
want to read on. Imperatives like „40 songs you must
download now‟ demonstrates that the reader has no
choice and has to download the songs otherwise they‟ll
be missing out.
3. Front cover analysis #2 – NME
The three main colours are classic and unisex, as well as suitable for
any age so this will attract all types of people. The logo consists of all
three colours which emphasises it and sets the house colours. The
direct mode of address from both people in the picture makes the
reader feel more involved and the stern look in their eyes is as if they
are waiting for you to open the magazine and read. The pull quote is
very gripping as for music fans, Oasis is one of Britain‟s well loved
bands and for another band to say that they are the bigger than them
is shocking. With all of their cover lines they haven‟t included much
text to go with them so that if the reader wants to know about that
story, they have to find it within the magazine. Although the magazine
doesn‟t include a lot of information, it seems very busy and this has
been achieved by the use of different sized text to fill as much free
space as possible.
Unlike most magazines, this front cover has used the colours to direct the readers‟ eyes from the top of
the magazine to the bottom rather than all around the page. The black starts at the top and then is
joined with the red and white in the sticker above the headline. The white from the sticker then works it
way through the headline, pull quote and the other bands mentioned at the bottom. If you closely look
next to the barcode it says: “Meet you in West Germany/October 1983…” which is a lyric by The Rakes
who are mentioned in the list at the bottom of the cover. The person who designed the cover is
obviously a Rakes fan and wanted to make it a tad personal for other Rakes fans as he knows what
they are going through due to the split, (The Rakes RIP).
4. Front cover analysis #3 - MOJO
One of the main reasons that it will grab people‟s attention is
because the main image is of legendary musician Paul
McCartney alongside the other Beatles members. They all have a
direct mode of address which makes the reader feel connected
with them. The colours used are very timeless and classic which
could symbolise The Beatles as they are also timeless and
classic. The colours also match the band‟s outfits so that
everything matches and nothing clashes. Because of the colour
choice, anyone could buy the magazine as although they are an
old band, people from this decade still listen to them because of
their timeless music. Red and grey are also included to break up
the black and white and to help guide the reader‟s eyes across the
cover. The red highlights different cover lines which emphasises
them. The cover is rather neat and everything is set out in
columns .
The magazine also offers a free CD which will encourage people to buy it for the free gift. Using
words like „unseen‟ and „exclusive‟ draw more people in as the magazine has something that the
world doesn‟t know about and the only way they will know is if they buy the magazine and read
the story. It‟s shocking to see the cover line “How I survived… THE BEATLES” whether you are a
Beatles fan or not as they were perceived in their time as clean cut, baby faced boys who wrote
love songs and so to see „How I survived‟ will intrigue others. Personally, I would buy this
magazine because I am a big Beatles fan and I like to read about them even if it‟s information I
already know especially if it‟s an exclusive interview with the renowned Paul McCartney himself.
5. Contents page analysis #1 - Vibes
This contents page doesn‟t have any bold or bright colours to draw
attention and has minimal text. The majority of the page is taken up
by an image. The background has used black which then fades
into the colour of the outfit the woman is wearing for some diversity
amongst the plainness. Instead of having „contents‟ traditionally at
the top in title form, Vibes have broken the word up unequally so
that the page looks busy even though it isn‟t. This contents page is
relying on the image to attract readers rather than language
devices in the headlines and story summaries. This can be tricky as
most people like to read a little bit about each story so they know
what they are expecting and if the stories interest them but for
others, Ciara (the woman pictured) may be their favourite music
artist and therefore will buy the magazine anyway because they like
her.
Her direct mode of address will help with attracting others as it is making a connection between
reader and magazine. For most magazines, they like to make their name bold so that it is known
however this contents page has an outline of a „V‟ behind the image and „Contents‟. It seems as
though they are depending on the image to do all the work. There is a lot of flesh bared by Ciara
which could be a selling technique as they say „sex sells‟ and Vibes may be using her body as a
way to grab males attention as well as young girls who aspire to look like her.
6. Contents page analysis #2 - NME
This contents page is very busy and although the colours are plain
and basic, the layout makes them look snazzy which makes this
the perfect magazine for teenagers and young adults. The colour
red is helping lead the reader‟s eyes around the page as it starts
at the top on the logo „NME‟ and then down the side of the page
with the band index. It then moves over to „The moment
that…‟, goes down the other side of the page with the page
numbers and then finishes at the bottom right hand corner with an
arrow which is a hint to turn the page and start reading.
Everything is arranged neatly as there is a lot of information and
without order the contents page would look like a mess and put
readers off. As well as listing the cover stories and other featured
stories, they have also included a „band index‟ to make it easier
for readers to find their favourite bands within the magazine.
Also, there are arrows next to specific headlines which read „on the cover‟ indicating where
you‟ll find the stories that were featured on the cover. This makes it quick and easy for the
reader to find the story that persuaded them to buy the magazine in the first place. The headline
„The moment that Kasabian got romantic in a church‟ is misleading making it more appealing for
readers until they read the summary underneath and realise what the story is actually about.
This is a good technique as the headline is ambiguous and fans of the band will be shocked to
read that. On the bottom left hand corner is a subscription advert for the magazine to help
increase sales even more.
7. Contents page analysis #3 – Kerrang!
This is a very well-organised contents page which will be
a relief for most people as crowded, random-placed
information can be confusing. To make it easier to find
your favourite band, whereas NME made a band
index, Kerrang! have sorted the bands into categories for
example: News, Live Reviews and Features. Basic
colours, black and white, have been used alongside bold
colour yellow to keep it simple whilst adding a splash of
brightness to the page. Unlike most magazines, there are
several images with the stories rather than mostly text.
This is a clear sign that it is for teenagers and young
adults as young people get bored and put off if there is a
lot of text and so images keep them engaged. To make it
more personal, the editor has made a comment about a
band that featured on a previous cover and their progress
from that issue up to the current issue. There is a
subscription ad in the bottom right hand corner to
increase sales and to keep current readers by offering a
discount. As well as including reviews and news, there is
a competition to win a game console which would excite
any person who is reading this magazine.
8. Double page spread analysis #1 – Q
Lady Gaga looks very elegant in the
photo due to her hair and makeup and
adding the black and white effect to the
photo really enhances the
sophistication. Because of this
theme, the rest of the article is also
black and white with the exception of
the big red „L‟ behind the text to add a
splash of colour. There is no pull quote
or title so the story could be about
anything and plus there is nothing to
give the reader a little taster and
incentive to read the article.
The magazine are depending on the image to attract readers which is probably
why it is quite provocative. At a first glance, it seems like a massive chunk of text
which is quite off putting although some of the starting letters have been made
bold to try and break it up a bit. For me, the only thing that is keeping me on the
page is the big red „L‟ because it is the only colourful thing on the page. I think if
they added a bit more red to the page it would seem more interesting. For some
people, the double page spread may be very appealing because it is about Lady
Gaga who is one of the biggest celebrities around in this decade.
9. Double page spread analysis #2 – Kerrang!
The layout of this double page spread looks
very interesting. The colour scheme is
based on what the lead singer is wearing
so that everything matches and nothing
looks out of place. The style of the article is
question and answer so the interviewer will
ask questions that fans would like to know
the answer to. The main image takes up
most of the page so there isn‟t too much
text to take in. This contents page has the
typical pull quote and introduction
paragraph so that it‟s not just one image
and a load of text. The smaller images were
clearly taken during the interview so for the
reader it feels as if they are there and it
makes it a bit more personal. Because the
title is „Dirty Little SECRETS‟, the word
„secrets‟ looks dirty and the pictures look as
if they have been stuck onto the main
picture with duct tape so it looks
unorganised.
10. Double page spread analysis #3 – NME
From the title „Paramore are a bunch of
sell outs‟ it seems as if the writer has
written this about the band and it‟d be
very disheartening for fans to see that
and would want to read on to find out why
they‟ve said such a thing. Although the
layout is organised, there are elements
that are meant to make it look messy
purposely because of their album name
„Riot‟. There are wiggly red lines
separating the columns, the pull quote is
uneven and the page looks as if it‟s been
ripped around the main picture which will
resonate with the angsty teenagers that
listen to the band. The colours used
match the colours of the album so there is
organisation within the chaos. Above
all, after reading about your favourite
band you get to enter a competition to win
merchandise which will always grab the
reader‟s eyes.
