This document contains an analysis of various music magazine covers and contents pages. It summarizes the key design elements of magazines like URB, Disorder, and XLR8 which have unconventional layouts that emphasize images over text. These magazines use limited cover lines, strong central images, and minimal color palettes to attract readers and convey an alternative style compared to mainstream publications. The contents pages in these magazines also feature large images and minimal text to highlight key articles in a visually engaging format.

1. Music Magazine Analysis Yasmine Sadr Music Magazine Analysis

2. Front Cover 1 URB magazine is a monthly American magazine devoted to electronic music, hip hop, and urban lifestyle and culture. Based in Los Angeles, California, the magazine was founded in 1990 by Raymond Roker . This music magazine is very different to the typical UK music magazines on the market such as NME and Mix mag. The front cover is very simple and does not include the typical information such as, pull quotes and lead articles. The reader will not really know what the inside of the magazine is about until the open it. This could also give the impression that this magazine is important and well known so they do not need to advertise what is inside.

3. Masthead Main Image Lead Article Cover lines

4. Further Analysis URB magazines layout is in poster style, in the US this is used a lot, in the UK however, it is used for launch editions and also alternative magazines. The colour choice of this magazine shows that the magazines image and design is one of its main focuses, it shows that the type of audience that this magazine is targeted at are image conscious and will therefore want to buy a magazine like this. The main image is a profile shot, this shows the unconventional style of the magazine, this is not used very often in mainstream magazines such as Q or NME. The front cover shows a very limited use of cover lines which also adds to the whole image and design conscious plan of this magazine, the front cover of this is very stylistic and arty. The cover also shows no advertising or offers, which is unusual for music magazines as there is usually offers and competitions put on the front of the magazine to attract customers, this could show that URB magazine does not need to persuade readers to purchase as the cover is doing this because of its well designed and art appearance. I think having a limited use of cover lines on this magazine will therefore show more emphasis on the main image and show importance. The cover lines for the lead article are placed in the left third of the magazine, this is because it is the part of the magazine which is mostly seen when it is placed on the shelves of shops.

5. Front Cover 2 Disorder magazine originally started off as a London based magazine, but it is now extremely well known and is sold in over 21 countries. Disorder started off as a fanzine and copies were sold in Local record stores in London. Disorders objective of the magazine was to use the magazine as a portfolio and stepping stone for the founders’ talents, but the demand for more editions was immediate. Disorder magazine is very arty and shows a lot of photoshop skills that have been used. I think that the magazine is very different to any UK music magazines on the market. The layout and design looks more focused on art and design, this makes the cover very appealing and therefore attracting customers. Presentation is key with successful magazines and Disorder seem to have made this their main focus from the choice of colours, to the strong main image and the bold fonts.

6. Masthead Cover lines Lead Article. Additional Cover lines Main Image

7. Further Analysis Disorder magazines layout is again very arty and the design is one of its main focuses. There is a strong use of bold colours that make the magazine cover stand out from others. This magazine has quite a limited amount of writing such as cover lines and advertisement, quite similar to URB magazine, although this magazine does have slightly more cover lines. I have noticed in these alternative and more unconventional magazines that there house style for the front cover is a strong main image and limited cover lines, usually of just the lead article and a few cover lines. This magazine has nothing in the left third, there is the name of the artist featured in the lead article but that is all. The cover lines have been placed on the opposite side to the left third. The use of red for the masthead could show importance. It is also used to make it stand out. The colours used on the front cover of this magazine all coordinate together, I have noticed that blue has been used for the artists names and then all cover lines, competitions and offers are in red and black, this is to show a connection between them. The main image is a medium close up of the artist, the photo is taken straight on of the artist. This could show how it is engaging with the audience whereas if it was a profile shot like URB magazine.

8. Front Cover 3

9. Main Image Masthead Cover Lines

10. Further Analysis This magazines layout is again similar to the other two music magazines, URB and disorder. This magazine has a very limited amount of cover lines. It had no skyline, no pull quotes, there is no lead article and also no offers or advertisement for the magazine. All of the information however is placed in the left third of the magazine, this is done so that when the potential customers are looking to buy a magazine, they will be able to see easily what the magazines about and what’s inside. The colour use is different to most magazine, it is light pastel colours, they have not used bright colours to make the magazine stand out. The main image is very strong however and this will be the magazine stand out. I think if bright colours were used for the magazine it would take the attention of the main image, whereas now because lighter colours are used , the main image is the main focus. The main image is another very strong photograph, I think that because the magazine is in poster style it makes the overall view of the magazine look less like a magazine, because of limited cover lines and advertisement, the whole image could look like a poster or some sort of piece of art. The choice to use no pull quotes, cover lines and a skyline could show that this magazine wants you to have to open it to find out what’s inside and what it has to offer.

11. Contents Page 1 This contents page for URB magazine is quite normal and conventional compared to the front cover, although the contents page still does not include loads of additional information and advertisements, it just has the most important parts of the magazine included. The image on this contents page is very strong. There is a very limited colour pallet compared to the front cover. The have not titled the contents page, ‘contents’ but have used the title ‘guts’ instead, this is again to stand out and show originality to other magazines which would just use ‘contents’ as the title. All of the pages and articles that URB think would be the most popular are in bold, this to to make them stand out and therefore more people will read them. The main image is of the lead article, this was used on the contents page because this article is one of the key selling points of this issue, therefore it need to attract the readers and direct them to article quickly. This image is captioned stating that it is the main article and also giving the reader the page number to locate it.

12. Contents Page 2 This contents page is my personal favorite, I think that it has been very well edited and designed. It is very different to the usual music magazine contents page, firstly because they have chosen to have it horizontally covering two pages, usually it is vertically covering on page, sometimes two. Another difference would be that they have created a ‘key’ for this contents page, each showing different topics and genres of the magazine, for example, there is a key for music, fashion and regular. This therefore makes it easier for the readers to locate what they want to read.

13. Analysis of contents page 2 continued The colour choice for the contents page is very effective, the background is all white, and the images across the middle of the page are all brightly coloured, this draws the attention to the page numbers and therefore makes it easier and quicker to locate a specific page. Each image that is beside the page number relates to the topic of the article, again making it an easier and more convenient way to locate a certain page of the magazine. I think the way that this contents page is designed is one of the most attractive layouts and also the clearest and easiest to read. The two main images that are places the end of each page both relate to two of the articles that are the main ones in the issue, this is why these images have been chosen, when the reader looks at the contents page and see these images they will want to know more about the article and will therefore locate it in the magazine. The font colour choice is very effective in this contents page, it is a light colour and is quite hard to read, I think when the magazine editor was designing this they wanted the graphics to be the main part of the magazine just like on the front cover, so by making the font a lighter colour to the other parts of the magazine make the images stand out more. The theme of the bright, arty and different style to the magazine follows through into the contents page, this particular contents page maintains the magazines house style well and keeps the magazine looking original and alternative. I think that the design is one of the most important parts of this magazine for many reasons, to attracts readers to purchasing and also to inform the readers, from looking at many different music magazines, I found that this magazine did not have much text on it, but I still found that it was a well informed magazine, they have used images to tell the readers what is inside the magazine and also on the contents page they have done this, I think this is effective because the first thing a person will look at is the images and design of a magazine and if it is well presented it will attract more readers.

14. Contents Page 3 The layout to this magazine follows on with the unconventional and alternative theme of XLR8 Magazine. The there is a very limited colour palette where the main image is again the main focus.

15. Analysis Of Contents Page 3 The contents page continues with the house style of the magazine, the design and layout is kept very minimal and plain, and the things that they want the reader to attract to are put in colour, this will therefore be the first thing the readers will draw their eyes to. The colours used in the contents page are not the same as the colours used on the front cover. The way the text is set out is very basic and easy to read, parts that the magazine designer felt would be of most interest to the readers are put in bold or of a colour that stands out. This therefore attracts the readers to this particular article. The main image on this contents page is of an artist which features in the magazine, the reason they have used this on their contents pages is probably because this is the selling point of this issue, therefore when readers open the contents page and see this artist, they will want to read the article about him. There is a caption underneath the image stating the name of the artist and the page he is featuring on. Like most contents pages, XLR8 have page numbers next to each of the articles and features on the contents page, making it easier and more convenient for the reader to locate their page of interest. All of the topics such as ‘regulars’, ‘reviews’ and ‘features’ are clearly labelled, making it a lot easier to find what you want in the magazine. The main image was used mainly because this artist and its genre of music is most likely to be popular with the people that read this magazine, by using an artist the magazine knew was popular and well liked by their customers, they would increase purchases of the magazine and also attract more readers.

16. Double Page Spread 1

17. Analysis Of Double Page Spread 1 This DPS is mainly image lead as there is only one page of writing. The first page of the DPS is an image of the artist featuring in the article. The image is taken as a profile shot, like the front cover of the magazine. I think that this shows and continues on with the unconventional and alternative style of URB magazine. The colours used in the DPS are the same to the front cover of URB, they have used these bright colours to attract the attention to the magazine and therefore get potential readers to pick it up. This DPS definitely does not show much text at all, on the second page of the DPS half of the page is used up the the title ‘high gloss’ this is again very brightly coloured and follows through with this magazine issues typical house style. The are not pull quotes from the article used in this DPS, this is unusual for a DPS to not include this, but again add to the overall image that URB magazine has created. The image of Kid Sister, is very strong, I think that there editing on this image is really good. In the image, there is what look like broken glass going across the image, this could portray destructiveness and an urban and street ethos. Therefore showing a relation to the genre of the music, which is mainly listen to by people who like hip hop and also a lot of people in USA. The parts of the DPS that are the most important and that they want to be seen the most are again put in different colours and made bold. I have noticed that the images and titles are the parts mostly brightly coloured, whereas the text is plain white.

18. Double Page Spread 2

19. Analysis Of Double Page Spread 2 The DPS follows on with the house style of the magazine. The colours used in this are quite effective because they have quite a limited use of colours, the background colour is quite similar to the images and photographs. There seems to be a popular use of the colour blue throughout all of the magazine, which could possibly show the masculinity of the magazine. This DPS is very image lead as the images are placed across the entire DPS. The blue colour pallet that is used throughout this magazine is very effective. They have included a pull quote on the left hand side of the page, this is the first part that will be read and will therefore pull the reader into reading this article. Using the bold letter to start the article off will also pull the reader into continuing reading it, it also improve the appearance of the article. The text layout shows the columns have been cut in half, this makes it look like there is more text than there actually is.

20. Double Page Spread 3

21. Analysis Of Double Page Spread 3 The main image in this DPS is very strong, it has been placed on the entire first page of the DPS, this shows