This document analyzes magazine covers and contents pages for two different magazines - Top of the Pops and NME. For the Top of the Pops magazine cover and contents page, the analysis finds that they target young girls ages 8-13 through the use of bright colors like pink and purple, images of popular artists like Cher Lloyd, and fashion/celebrity focused content. The NME magazine cover and contents page are analyzed as targeting males ages 16-22 through grittier band images, content focused on concerts and music news, and a simple color scheme. Key design elements like logos, images, and sectioning of content are also examined.

1. NME music magazine
Top of the Pops music magazine

2. Colours
The colours used on the magazine are pinks
and purples, this is very stereotypical as
these are the usual colours that young girls
will like, as they have used these colours
this will entice young girls to this magazine
as the colours are very vibrant and bold and
they are very girly. All of the Top of the
Pops magazines uses these colours as it
catches the attention of young girls as they
are colourful.
Masthead
The masthead is very big and bright on this
magazine, it covers 1/3 of the page. They have also
used the colour bright pink, which is stereotypical
as this will attract young girls as they like bright and
bright things, so by using this this will attract them
very easily. As the masthead is very bold this will
make it very easy to read which is suitable for
young girls because otherwise they would loose
interest and it is also very symbolic of a girls hand
writing.
Layout
The layout of the magazine is very busy and
has many different features on the front
cover. This is because young girls have a sort
attention span, so if the magazine is covered
in artist and actors that they like then they
will be interested in this magazine as they
like everyone on the front cover. It is also
very informal as they are using ‘text talk’ as
they young girls would only want to read the
smallest amount and look pictures the rest
of time as they young.
Central Image
The central image is a picture of Cher Lloyd she has
been a star on the X-Factor and has released a few
songs. They have put Cher on the front cover as she is
young and stylish and therefore young girls would
want to aspire to her, as she wears the latest clothes
and she has nice make-up and hair. Young girls would
aspire to look up to Cher as she is successful and
popular. As young girls will know who this artist is this
means that they will be more inclined to buy this
magazine and also Cher is represented in a positive
way to girls.
Anchorage text
On the front cover of the magazine they usually
use text from inside the magazine to draw buyers
to the attention so they will be interested in
magazine. This makes them want to purchase the
magazine just from reading a little incentive about
the magazine. This is positioned next to Cher
which the anchorage text is about.
Barcode, date & price
This is important as it lets the
target audience know if they
have to up to date issue of this
magazine and also shows the
price of the magazine.
Institutional presence
This allows the target audience to
know about the institutional
presence and as it’s the BBC
everyone will know about it as
they are very well known.
Puffs
Puffs are used to attract the attention of the
audience, as they are usually about the latest stories
and the best deals you can find, on this magazine they
use a puff with the latest stories about the celebrities
which would attract the target audience as they are
interested in fashion.
Graphic features
This helps incise the target audience to
read and buy this magazine, as they use
images on the magazine that are
popular with the target audience and
also they are the latest images from the
media. They use well known images that
are very popular with the target
audience.
Target audience
The target audience for this genre
of magazine is young girls from age
8-13. As they have different artist
on the front that they would listen
to as they are popular with young
children. They enjoy listening to the
latest music and wearing the same
clothes as this artist, as they want
to be like them.

3. Colours
There are many colours used on this magazine
such as, red, yellow, blue, black and white this
colours are all primary colours and are very bold
which creates the magazine to have a 3D effect.
This attracts the readers as it looks like the text
is coming out of the page because of the colours
that are used. The articles on this cover are
mainly in blue and the main cover line is yellow
causing to stand out than anything else on the
page, this will grab the attention of the buyers as
they know that it is about The Wombats.
Puffs
Puffs are used to attract the attention of the
audience, as they are usually about the latest stories
and the best deals you can find, on this magazine they
use a puff with the latest list of gigs and events that
are happening that their target audience will be
interested in. As they are writing about gigs, the
target audience will want to know about them so they
can see their favourite artists.
Graphic features
On this magazine they have other
graphic images, these are images of
other boy bands and artists, which are
popular with the target audience. This
attracts the buyers to this magazine as
they can also see what else is featuring
in the magazine, this makes them
interested so then they will want to
purchase the magazine.
Layout
The layout of the magazine is very informal
as the target audience are males and at
young age this will attract them, as they
only want to read small articles. The layout
is busy but structured so you can see
everything on the cover very clearly and its
easy to read and also there many articles
and pictures on the cover so it doesn’t look
empty.
Central Image
An eye level shot has been used on the front cover of The
Wombats they are looking directly at the camera which
makes it look like they are staring straight at the buyer,
this makes the buyer feel like are developing a relationship
with the magazine. The Wombats are all at different
heights, this may show the different levels of responsibility
and authority they have within the group. In the image
they all look scruffy and they are wearing messy clothes
and they all look lazy and effortless, this portrays the
target audience which is students as they can relate to this
image as most students are like this.
Tagline
The tagline is bright yellow with black writing which
will attract the buyers attention straight away, this
will then lead the buyer onto reading the article
about ‘Glasto’. Readers like seeing information
about different festivals coming up as they can
prepare themselves and also know the line up so by
using information about Glastonbury this makes the
magazine very popular.
Barcode, date & price
This is important as it lets the
target audience know if they
have to up to date issue of this
magazine and also shows the
price of the magazine.
Masthead
NME is a very popular magazine and this
why the masthead is very recognisable. The
masthead have colours such as, red black
and white and is also very bold this makes
the masthead easy to remember. The
masthead is always at the top of the
magazine, as this is the first thing you would
be able to see when looking at this
magazine.
Target audience
The target audience for this
magazine is mainly aimed at males
ages 16-22 years old, as they are
messy and lazy like the image is
portraying on the front cover. They
also use other bands and artists
that males like which would also
entice them to read this magazine
as that is what they would be
interested in.
Slogan
The slogan used for NME is
placed just below the masthead
and it stands for ‘New Musical
Express’ which lets the readers
know that it’s a music magazine
straight away.
Main cover line
The Wombats is in bright yellow and is very big
and bold on the front cover, covering part of the
main image. This attracts the buyers straight away
as the yellow stands out and is the brightest
feature on the cover. This also lets the target
audience know that their will be a article on The
Wombats. This entices them to buy this magazine
as this band is popular with the target audience.

4. Top of The Pops contents page
NME contents page

5. Layout
From looking at this contents page you can clearly see that it is the contents of the Top
of The Pops magazine, as it uses the same colours and layout as the front cover did.
This is very important that the magazine keeps to the same theme or it can confuse the
audience and they may not be interested to read on in the magazine. The layout is very
structured and organised so this makes it easy to read.
This contents page has an image of the front
cover of this magazine, this reminds the
target audience of the front cover so they can
remember the different articles that are
shown. They have also labelled the different
articles very clearly, this shows the page
numbers which those articles are on so they
can flick to that page straight away if they
want too. This makes it easy to refer back to
each different article.
They have highlighted many articles in yellow
on the contents page, this is what they feel
the target audience will be most interested in
reading. They have also used images of
different clothes items to direct the audience
to that page if they want to read about
fashion, this helps the audience know where
the fashion features are within the magazine
as this may be the only thing they are
interested in. They have also got a section
about boys, this is very suitable for the target
audience because girls at that age will start
getting interested about boys, which means
this will attract them to read this magazine.
The magazine is also promoting 3D
posters, this will attract the target
audience, as they will want a poster
to have on their wall of a popular
artist and also this is very unique
and different in a magazine which
will also attract the audience as they
might not of seen it before.
On the contents page they have spilt
features and stories into sections, this
shows organisation within the magazine.
Also some of the features are highlighted
within that section this shows that those
stories are more important than others and
also it allows the audience to get the that
part easier of the magazine if they are
interested in it. This is something I would
include to my magazine if I was to choose
this genre as it makes it very easy for the
target audience.
They have also used a image of a boy band- One
Direction, this relates to one the competitions
under the section ‘@wins&offers’ . This will
attract some girls as if they are interested in One
Direction then they will want to try and win the
competition. This is very relevant as this
magazine is focused on the music industry and
they are very popular.

6. The header conveys NME’s logo, so it
will be easily recognised to who
produced the magazine and this also
makes the magazine consistent as they
use the same logo every time. This
gives the reader a constant reminder of
the magazine so they don’t forget it and
they will be able to remember it well.
Also they have used ‘NME this week’
this shows that they are giving off a
young and current style of their
magazine as they are producing one
every week with the latest news. This
also gives the magazine a new edge so
the magazine isn’t the same every time.
The colours that are used are
following the colour scheme in
which NME always uses, this
makes the magazine
consistent and easy to
recognise straight away as the
colours don’t change. The
colours are used very
effectively as they all contrast
each other and make
everything clear and bold to
read.
The layout is very clear as everything is
in sections, which makes the contents
page very structured and easy to follow.
This also allows the reader to
understand which story fits in with each
section by their titles used. This lets the
readers look at certain sections which
appeal to them so they can go straight
to that page. On the contents page
there is only one main image which
shows that there is only one main
article in this magazine as this is the
only image used on the contents page.
Just by looking at the contents
page you an easily tell that it is
related to the front cover, as
they use the same colours and
font in the contents and also
the image is also related to
the front cover and also it is
very obvious that this genre is
rock from the images, layout
and colours used.
If this was the genre of magazine I would
chose then this layout is one thing I
would think about because it appeals to
the audience and by giving it structure it
makes the magazine look professional.
On the contents page they also have the band index which appears on every NME
magazine. This is very useful to the target audience as they can the list of bands
from this index and go straight to the page which that band is on. This also entices
the target audience to keep buying this magazine because of they are interested
in a band which is shown in this band index then this will persuade them to buy it
as they can find out new information every week.

7. Top of The Pops double page spread
NME double page spread

8. The main image on this double
page spread is Cher Lloyd as she
has featured on the front cover
and the contents page. This image
is a full body image of Cher Lloyd,
she is wearing fashionable clothes
which will appeal to young girls as
they want to keep up with the
latest's trends so this shows that
she like fashion. Cher's pose is
very unique as she is holding a
camera with her hand over her
mouth whilst bending over, this
shows that Cher can be cheeky
and mischievous sometimes this
portrays the image of the target
audience as this is how they
would act as well.
The colours that are used are the same as the front cover and the contents
page so this magazine is easy to recognise and also makes the magazine
consistent and professional. By using the colours pink and yellow this makes
the text very bold and clear to read and by using the yellow this is highlighting
the text and feels like that those parts are the most important to read. This
allows the target audience just to read those parts and still be able to know
about the story, as the target audience is young they won’t want to read a lot
as they have a short attention span.
This double page spread
has been broken down
into columns so it is easy
to read and doesn’t seem
like there is lots of text on
the page. If I was to do
this genre of magazine
then I would use this
layout as it would be very
appealing to the target
audience.
Under the pull quote from the text
they have a sub heading this gives
an incite to readers about what is
happening in the story and this
makes them interested in reading it
as they have said “forget everything
you think you know about Cher
Lloyd” this makes this article seem
like its one off and you should read
it as you will get new information
about Cher that you cant find
anywhere else.
On the page they have a page
number this allows the readers
to go straight to that page to
find out more about he story
this is very useful as then they
don’t need to go through all the
pages to find the story. They
can ensure that they will go to
that page as they have been
given the page number.
This double page spread is very applicable to read and
to interpret when looking at the magazine. This
suggests that the magazine is aimed for younger girls
as they don’t want to read a lot. This is very clear
from the magazine and this is useful for other people
as then they can see straight away who is it aimed at
and this would one thing to include for this genre of
magazine.

9. This image shows a boy band who
looked very engaged with the target
audience trying to draw them in to
buy this magazine as it looks like
they are looking straight at you, they
also look a bit ragged in their
clothes and this would appeal to
men as they don’t really care what
they look like. To be successful you
don’t need to be wearing the most
expensive clothes as this image
portrays and this again would
interest men as they don’t really
worry about their own appearance.
Also this emphasises that if you
want to be successful you should
just be yourself as you don’t need to
look and be the best.
The background used is the same colour of some of their clothes it is very simple and plain
which suggests that the band don’t want to stand out they just want to be seen as simple and
they don’t want to be like other music artists. The clothes portray the image that this band is
very vintage and this appeals to their target audience as people that like rock generally wear
vintage and unique clothing.
The image is a medium shot as you
can see their clothing from the
waist. Also they are positioned in
an order which shows that the man
at the front is the lead singer and
that he is the most well known of
the group and the other members
are still important but many people
many not recognise these people.
The use of simplistic colours and the
vintage look for a boy band is very popular
and I think it sells the magazine very well.
This is something that I would like to use in
my magazine as it gives off a great effect
about the band and how they are as a
band and if you were to see them then this
is how they would be.
The title of the magazine is very plain
which links well with the design of this
magazine which is very simplistic. This
makes it appealing to young men as they
like simple things to read because if its
complicated then they won’t want to read
it. This is something that I may incorporate
if I use this style of magazine.
This article is set out like a news
paper with the columns used. This
shows the basic layout for this
genre of magazine, this is useful to
use as if I was to do this particular
design in my magazine then this
would be the layout I would like to
have. Also by using the blue this
contrasts the usual colour of red
for the NME logo.