Magazine research

1. Magazines

2. Q Magazine

3. -There are 130,179 magazines in
circulation (Jun 2007)
-Q magazine has a readership of
550,000 (Jun 2010)
-Q magazine, is the UK’s bestselling
music magazine since it was
launched
-Their average reader is 34 years
-Over 70% of their readers are well
educated and have a high paying
job (ABC1)

4.  Q magazine is a magazine that appeals to people with higher
education and wages, and also a bit older people in their 30’s.
The reason for this is because they can make more money on
their magazines, and when people are a bit older they are
most likely to have an education and a job. This makes it
possible for their readers to spend more money on a
magazine, and also put in adverts themselves. When people
have a higher education and a good job, they are more
intelligent than other people, which makes it possible to have
less photos and more text. Therefore, Q Magazine have a lot
more text than magazines that focus on younger people.
Therefore, Q magazine is a high-end magazine where the
magazine cost a bit more than others may do.

5. I went to Google again and did a search on Q magazine front
cover. The front pages for the magazine can be very different, yet
they have their similarities. The colour red is used on every cover,
and the person on the cover has text around them. I think the
magazine decide how it’s cover is going to be after what kind of
music the model represent. For instance the left hand photo is
very dark, edgy, and the logo is being broken by the model. This is
because it’s usually what we associate with rock, which the model
represents. On the other hand we have the magazine in the
middle, where the model represent a slow, relaxing pop music
style. We can also see that by the way the layout on the magazine
is made. We can see that the cover is in harmony, and seem
calming, because of the typography and the light colours.

6. The photos are framed different as well. However, most of them are
captured in a medium close up which I will have to use in my project.
Even though the photos are captured in a medium close up, you can
still see the background in most of the photos. The background is used
to underline the music style the model on the front cover is
representing. Also the typography is used in the same way, where you
can see on the typography what music the model represent. This is all
of course based on stereotypes to make the magazine less confusing.
They have also thought a lot about the hierarchy, which is very
important when you’re reading a magazine. The magazine are based on
a lot of text, and more of a stylish magazine, rather than a messy
magazine with a lot of photos etc.

7. The following three photos are all a part
of the December issue for Q Magazine in
2014. The front cover is very simple, and
clean. They mainly uses three colours: red,
black and white. The front this time
doesn't really match the music the group
on the front represent. This is not very
normal for Q Magazine, but the text on
the cover says that their new album us
haunted by the past. Therefore, they
probably wanted to create a gloomy, sad
feeling. The group is a rock/grunge/hard
rock band, so the typography matches the
band, it’s just the photo that’s a bit
different on this cover.

8. Photo:
The photo is captured in a long
shot. One of the persons on
the photo is placed in front of
the other. This indicates that
he is more important than the
others.
Mise-en-scene:
The people on the front are
dressed in blue and grey
clothes. This may indicate
something bad or sad. The
photo are captured with a
high-key lighting. The people
also have a mystic/sad facial
expression which can indicate
something about them.
Pug ears:
On this cover there are two pug
ears. One in each top corner. One of
them are the logo and the other is a
photo. On the logo there is also
some text indicating that there is a
CD with this magazine.
Text:
Q magazine uses simple and clean
fonts in their magazines. They
uses serif fonts, which people
often associate with something
exclusive. They also often have
some kind of fonts on the front
which suits the artist.

9. The contents page in the December
issue from 2014, uses the same
colours as the front. The front uses
mainly red, black and white, but it
also uses blue, yellow and a purplish
colour. These are the same colours
that you can see on this contents
page. Also you have a lot of text on
the contents page, which indicates
that it’s readers are more intelligent
and have a higher education.
Otherwise, the layout is simple and
clean, which is similar to the front
cover. There is also used a white
background which the front cover
also has.

10. The double page spread in this
magazine, consist of a photo, and
text. On the double page spread
they have changed their theme. I
think this is because of the lights
in the photo. Because the lights
in the photo are a purple colour, I
think that they decided to use
purple on the whole double
spread page. However, on the
front cover, and on the contents
page they have a small purple
bubble, which may be to make a
nice transition into these pages.

11. Mojo

12.  Mojo has 91,678 magazines in
circulation (Jun 2010)
 However, they have 218,000 readers
(Jun 2010)
 Their readers average age is 37 years
old.
 Their readers are well educated and
have a high income (ABC1)
 They also are interested in records, and
like to spend money on them

13.  Mojo as well as Q magazine focus on making the magazine
for those who have a high education. Therefore, they are
smart people, and need less photos and more text in their
magazines. The reason I chose to analyse mojo magazine is
because it is a simple, clean and stylish magazine, which is in
the same style as I would like to make my magazine. Mojo
uses simple fonts on their covers, and the fonts look a bit like
the font they use on the logo. However, they slightly tries to
make the font fit to the model on the front of the cover. Q
magazine did the same thing, only that mojo do not
exaggerate it that much. However, if you focus on the small
details on the front cover, you can see that all the different
magazines have slightly different fonts.

14.  The colours are simple, and no one really stands out. They mainly
uses black and white, and red. These are the colours I think is most
common that high-end magazines uses. This makes the magazine
look very put together, which I think is important when you spend
a lot of money on a magazine. Also because the magazine focus
more on people in their 30’s, they do not use many pop out
colours, as they might want to do if their readers were younger.
Also as you can see on many of the front covers there is a CD. I
think they do this because they can both have a higher price on
their magazine, as well as they gather readers that collect on music
CD’s.

15.  Most of the photography's that are on the front covers are captured
in a medium shot. Therefore, they get to show more of their models
than if they chose a close up photo. However, they focus a lot on
the model’s face. This will be relevant to my magazine, because I will
need to focus a lot on the face. Because they have put a CD over the
model, we can not see more of the model than we would if the
photos were captured in a close up. This is also probably the reason
why they capture the photos in a medium shot rather than a close
up. Because, if they captured the photo in a close up, the model’s
face would have been covered by the CD. They have used a lot of
light settings on their front covers. I think this makes the magazine
more interesting, because it adds something mystical, and different.
Therefore, I think I would like to focus on the light setting in my
photos, because it makes the magazine look a lot more put
together.

16. On this front cover of mojo magazine the
model is captured in a long shot. This is
probably to show the guitar. The colours
are red, black and white. There are also
some yellow and blue on the cover. As
usual they have put the model over the
masthead. The text is around the model on
both sides, which also is very usual for mojo
magazines. This is the front cover for the
same magazine that the contents pages
and the four pages spread. This makes it
possible to see that they have used the
same colours, and the same theme
throughout the magazine. Therefore, the
magazine appears elaborate.

17. Photo:
The photo is captured in a long shot.
The man in the photo is holding a
guitar, and that’s probably why the
photo is captured in a long shot.
Mise-en-scene:
The man is dressed in a blue suit,
he is also wearing a white hat.
This is probably to create more
contrast over the headline. That
way we can clearly see both the
headline and the hat. He is also
holding a red guitar, this is
probably relating to his career as
a musician. This will probably
drag the attention of a music
lover towards the magazine.
Pug ears:
One of the pug ears on this issue
is a photo, and the other one is
text that says that this issue
includes a free CD. This is also a
way to frag attention to the
magazine. Because by placing a
image as a pug ear, the potential
readers get an idea of what’s
inside the magazine. Also by
using a yellow box, you get
people’s attention very easy.
Because yellow contrasts the
other colours on the front.
Text:
The text on the fronts on this
issue is simple but a bit edgy. The
fonts are types of fonts that are
often associated with western
things. However, in this context it
just makes the cover a bit more
edgy.

18. The contents page’s follow’s the
same theme and colours as the
front page. The colours are mainly
red, blue, yellow, black and white.
In this magazine, as well as in Q
magazine, they use quite a lot of
text on their contents page’s. This
is probably because their readers
are more educated and therefore,
prefer more text. The layout is a bit
messy, but they make it appears
clean and simple. The hierarchy is
also very easy, and does not
confuse people.

19. For this issue of Mojo magazine, I did not
find a double page spread, but there were a
four sided spread. In this spread, we can
see the same colour as the other pages. We
can also see that they have a lot more text
than a lot of other magazines. However, the
first double spread is mainly put together
by a photo. On the two other pages, there
is two other photos, but there is a lot of
text. It could look a bit like a newspaper,
which I think is what they are trying to do.
Because they readers are well educated,
they probably enjoy newspapers, so I think
that they tried to make it look like a
newspaper.

20. NME

21. There are 33,875 magazines in circulation
However, their readership is 325,000
42% of their readers are students
68% of their readers are in the ABC1
category
74% of their readers are males, while 26%
of their readers are females
The average age of their readers is 23
years

22.  NME magazine is bit different than the other two magazines I have
analysed. The other two magazines appeals more to people with a high
education, and a bit older. NME’s readers are young and 42% of their
readers are students. However, 61% of their readers are of the category
ABC1. Therefore, NME is cheaper than the other magazines I have
written about. NME is priced somewhere in-between two and three
pounds. This means that they need more adverts to cover their
expenses, or that they spend less money on making the magazine. You
can also see that the magazine readers are young people by the colours
and fonts they use. They use huge colourful fonts on their cover pages.
Even though they only use red, black and white on their cover pages,
they makes it appear like they uses a lot more colours on their cover
pages than the other magazines I have written about.

23. NME uses mostly the same fonts on their front covers. They uses a
simple font (grotesque). Because grotesque fonts are often related to
something exclusive and high-end. Therefore, does this makes their
magazine appear a bit more exclusive than it really is. However, they
often uses a background for their text to make it stand out. This makes
it seem a bit more unprofessional, and it something that we associate
with young people. Therefore, it is clear that this magazine’s readers are
young people. It appears that they uses different coloured background
on their text to catch people’s attention. Also it appears like they want
their text to stand out a bit more than it would without it.

24.  The magazine normally uses a medium shot on their front covers.
However, they also uses a lot of medium close ups as well. I think this
is because you can easily tell which artist (band/group) is on the front.
This makes it easy for the magazine to reach people who normally
doesn't buy the magazine. This also make it possible to show more
than just the face. This can be used to make the magazine seem
interesting. Again, this makes it easier to reach new audience. Because
the front cover is what sells the magazine, it is important to make an
appealing front cover. Therefore, it is very important to think about
every detail on the front cover. I think that NME does a good job on
their front cover, because they make the magazine appeals to their
audience.

25. The photo on this front cover is captured in
a medium long shot/long shot. The
magazine appears a bit messy, but at the
same time organizes. This is probably a way
to appeal to their target group which is
young people. They mainly use three
colours: black, white and red. The people
are dressed in black and two of them are
wearing something red which suits with the
colour theme. Also the wall is a red-ish
colour which again suits with the colour
theme. There is used a high-key lighting,
and they have made it appear like the
photo is taken outside. This gives the
readers a feeling of that the magazine is
very thought through.

26. Photo:
The photo is captured in a
medium long shot/long shot. On
this cover there is a photo of a
band/group. One of the guys are
placed in front of the other. This
may indicate that he is more
important.
Mise-en-scene:
The guys are dressed in
mostly black clothes that
appear edgy. They are
dressed similar which gives
the impression of a
band/group.
Pug ears:
NME uses their own logo as one of
the pug ears. This makes it easy to
reach for the magazine in the store.
Because the magazines are placed in
a way that usually just show the left
side of the magazines. There are also
a photo and some circles as a pug
ear on the other side. This indicates
what’s inside the magazine, which
may help to reach new readers.
Text:
The text is simple on this cover,
but it is placed on top of a white,
black or red box. I think this is
used to exaggerate the text.

27. The contents page in this issue follows
the same colour theme as the front cover.
There is only used one photo on the
contents page, and the whole contents
seems very organized. They also use very
much text on their contents page, which
is a bit unusual considering it’s readers.
However, I think that they managed to
appeal to their readers by using black
squares behind their text. I think it makes
the text eye-catching, which probably is a
way to appeal to their young uneducated
readers.

28. This double page spread in NME
contains one photo, and a few
sentences with text. This is
something that appeals to the
magazine readers. Because most
people who are uneducated
usually prefer many photos and
less text. Because 42% of NME’s
readers are students, this double
page spread appeals to it’s
readers. The photo on this double
page spread is a photo of Mac
DeMarco. The photo has gloomy
feeling, which reflects what the
text says about him.