2. FRONT COVER
Kerrang magazine is a rock magazine, therefore it is no
surprise that their front covers are always bustling with
information/photos etc. The magazine cover’s main
advertising feature is the “Rock 100” which is centered and
written in an appropriate and impactual font. This
highlights the importance of the feature. Instead of merely
featuring one key artist or band on their front cover,
Kerrang have used multiple rock icons from Paramore to
Fall Out Boy, each of which has their own fans now more
likely to pick up the magazine it shops. The colour scheme
is bright, mainly reds/yellows and whites to make the
magazine seem more active and interesting. The masthead
is hidden behind the big picture, however this is not a
problem as Kerrang is a recognizable brand with and easily
identifiable font that furthers the onomatopoeia of the
brand name, “Kerrang”. There are many puffs and callouts
included from “Win” to “20 new interviews”, all of which
leave something to be guessed as whilst at the same time
promoting interest.
3. Kerrang’s contents page manages to keep up the
magazine’s energy whilst still being informative. The
use of an action shot at the top of the page incurs
motion and activity. The “Rock 100” feature is
prioritized once more here, this time having a box of a
different colour to advertise it. More important or
more prominent articles are accentuated with a photo
and a larger page number to promote interest and
there is also a mini feature article. The colour scheme
remains relatively similar of mainly reds/whites and
yellows and is balance accordingly so it isn’t hard on
the eyes or difficult to read through. The article titles
are accompanied by a brief sentence or two explaining
the purpose of the feature but don’t go into too much
detail so as not to ruin the read before it is read, some
titles are not even provided with a sell line as it is not
needed. This is often not the case with magazine’s of
other genres.
CONTENTS PAGE
4. One thing possible with magazines
dedicated to rock culture is the ability
to provide a suitable atmosphere with
their photos. In this case, the
atmosphere provided of the band
standing in front of a raring crowd fully
stretching over the two full pages
provides something almost surreal. The
colour scheme in this page is red, white
and blue, which are undeniably
patriotic colours which may serve
significance to the fact that the mast
head relates to conquering. Using
impactual vocabulary like “conquered”
or “battle” is more likely to draw the
eye of the reader as they are more
persuasive and violent. The band stood
together as the centre-piece wave their
hands in the air as something
reminiscent of victory, again directly
relatable to the patriotism in the
colours and the masthead significance.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
5. When a magazine builds a reputation and
becomes well known there are more
chances for synergising with other
companies for higher profit and higher
readership. Kerrang here are hosting an
awards ceremony with “Relentless” an
energy drink company. These two cancel
the other out, rock concerts are highly
energetic places where energy drinks will
be common so it applies very much to
one large audience instead of merely two.
The colour scheme changes here to
yellows/purples and greens, a colour
palette one could apply to something
toxic which makes sense paired with the
zombie imagery. The typography in this
double page spread is very comical,
something you’d probably see in a marvel
comic or a beano. Therefore the mix up
of fonts inspires new interest with each
change. A new colour scheme and new
font is often key to telling the direction
of the article and not just for the purpose
of aestheticism.
SYNERGY AND OPPORTUNITIES
6. Rock is an extremely diverse genre of music
with numerous subgenres and definitions,
Kerrang is a magazine that can apply to all of
them. In this page they advertise the
bands/artists attending a festival but ensure the
way they do it is recognizable. Instead of just
listing those attending they dedicate a page to
the logos of each band or artist. They clearly
advertise the date, when it takes place and
those attending along with the funders in the
bottom corner and leaving space for the
concert’s logo. The colour scheme here is
darker but still has reds/whites and yellows as
font colour choices.
FESTIVALS
7. Magazine pages where reader
participation is encouraged and needed
are often great ways to enhance brand
loyalty as well as offering chances to
improve the magazine however
possible. Here this page is full of
activity from a comic strip to concert
feedback to an opportunity to win
something, a chart and social media
interactions from the readers. All of
which make for a fun and interesting
read as there is so much to offer but
more to the point, Kerrang being such
a prominent rock culture magazine
they have the ability to offer so much
more than many others because they
have readership and they have
opportunities presented to them. The
page layout is grouped so each feature
is easily located and separated from fill
boxes of different colours to large
mastheads, this makes navigating the
page a lot easier for readers.
INTERACTIVE/FEEDBACK PAGES
8. Magazines will always feature large
amounts of text as there is so much to
fit in, making it informative but
probably less than interesting especially
if it is a feature the reader isn’t
particularly interested in. Therefore
layout is incredibly important. Being
visual in presentation can break up text
and make it easier to read, using
colours is a good way to sort the
content and photos draw the eye. For
example, in this page we see the “Rock
100” countdown continuing along the
bottom with a photo to accompany
each placement but no text needed to
affirm the place. There is also the use
of coloured text boxes and charts with
speech bubbles that make reading all
the more interesting. The articles in
Kerrang never seem to be all that long
so there is more room to visual without
leaving out important information.
LAYOUT
9. Photos have to have impact,
especially in rock, otherwise the
reader may be put off reading no
matter how good the article is.
Here we have an article spread
over a photo that stretches
across the two pages. The icon
of the photo, Izzy Hale, is stood
on the table in an energetic pose
with appropriate mise en scene
surrounded by flames which
both regard the masthead and
the atmosphere of the photo.
There is direct address as she is
looking in the way of the camera
and also through the bolded call
out that addresses the impact of
her fans on her career.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
10. The colour scheme for this
article is purple and white,
different from the main scheme
which shows that this feature is
apart from the main focus,
proven by the fact that it’s an
interview. The interview is
broken up into smaller parts of
having the information
regarding each band member on
scraps of paper, making it visual
and easier to read by not being
one big block of text. Also, each
band member gets a specific
focus and interview, so there is
no bias regarding favored
members or members with more
presence.
ARTICLES
