Magazine Analysis: Front Cover And Contents Of Kerrang And PC Gamer.

1. Media: Magazine Analysis
By Declan Cook

2. Front Cover: Kerrang
Well Known Figure used to take up
the majority of the front cover
with faces kept clear. It is used to
attract attention to people who
recognise them.
Cover lines used layered over
the main figure head to not
take any attention away but
still be visible. These hint at
what articles are used in the
magazines issue.
Positioning statement at the top of the
page to get the point across without
taking away from the main picture. It’s
used to attract readers quickly with a
snippet of info about a feature or article.
Unique Headlining font used bold at the
top of the magazine and is used so that
font and things associated with it are
products of kerrang and customers will
recognise this.
A splash is used in this instance
as extra posters instead of a
unique offer and takes up quite
a large portion of the lower
page instead of being small.
However it is used, it still is an
extra incentive to buy this
magazine.
Key words are in bold so they are
brought to the attention of the
reader.
There are only 3-4 text fonts
used as not to make the page to
busy and so they are
recognisable to this brand.
The main image is contrasting in
colour compared to the block of
colour in the background. It is also
photo shopped/edited in a way
where the hand is layered making it
look slightly 3D again adding to the
eye catching affect. This is also due
to the rule of thirds and geometric
shapes drawing your attention
somewhere.

3. Contents Page: Kerrang
Main Image and article images
take up a large portion of the
page and are used to create
buzz and a sneak peak into the
article.
Front page used again as a small
image at the bottom of the
page to remind you what
magazine you are reading. This
sometimes is separate to the
magazines name on the page
where as in this case they are
one in the same.
Issue number and date are
sometimes used separate but
in this case together so that
you can organise a collection,
keep track of competitions to
see if they are still valid or just
to remind yourself what issue
you’re on.
The main articles are listed with
page numbers next to them and
the others are listed as features
or specials. These are listed at
the side of the page to not
distract from the main image but
still be visible.
This contents page doesn't have
any links to social media but does
have them through out the issue for
various reasons. They are used here
normally to summarise the info all
onto one page making it easier to
read.
Adverts based towards the
target audience are used next
the features along with page
numbers in order to make
more money from the reader
and gain a larger profit.
All of the page is structured
and organised with the images
at one point and all the
smaller pieces of information
underneath short snappy
heading making the magazine
easier to navigate for readers.
The colour of the background is a solid
block with a few shadows so the people
and main focus stand out so people can
easily identify them again keeping with the
organised theme.

4. Front Cover: PC Gamer
Well Known Figure used to take
up the majority of the front
cover with faces kept clear. In
this instance it is a very
recognisable screenshot from
the Skyrim promotional advert
which many Skyrim fans will be
able to relate to.
Unique Headlining font used bold at
the top of the magazine and is used
so that font is associated with the
products of PC Gamer.
The main image is all one photo
however edited so the ain character
and focus of the picture is layered
above the text and splashes.
Therefore it does not need to
contrast as much.
The splash in this instance is
offering a free and exclusive tf2
hat and a free trial to a
programme which may excite
people who are interested in
Skyrim and other articles
published in this magazine. This
offers incentive to purchase.
The cover lines are quite large and
intruding to grab the focus of the reader
however not to intrusive to take the focus
from the main image. This is backed up by
the fact large important cover lines and
titles are in bold and larger text.
There are only 3-4 text fonts
used as not to make the page
to busy and so they are
recognisable to this brand.
The positioning statement in this
magazine is a circle near the top
showing that there are “196 pages
biggest issue this millennium”. This
shows that this issue will be better
than all the others.

5. Contents Page: PC Gamer
In this page there is no picture of the front
cover but two reminders of what you are
reading because the magazines name is
repeated in the unique font. Again this is
reinforcing what magazine you are reading.Issue number and date are both
included in the particular
magazine contents page. This is
again used to just keep
everything organised.
The article cover lines are
followed by several lines of text
which basically preview the
article rather than a picture
which kerrang used. This can be
due to the target audience as
people reading PC gamer may
be of a different age range
where they would prefer text.
This is also evident in the size of
the main article images as they
are smaller and less of the
centre of attention.
Adverts based towards
the target audience are
still shown here below
the featured articles very
similar to the layout of
kerrang.
The layout and structure of
this magazine is the same in
many ways in the fact it has
a main article shown in the
centre and the features or
special attractions on the
side.
This magazine has many links to
various social medias of individuals
and other businesses that the
target audience would be
interested in. This could perhaps be
due to the fact it is more of a
computer based magazine than a
music magazine.