Analysis of Q cover, contents, double page spread and background information.

1. The house style of the magazine includes the colour scheme of Red, white and black and occasionally includes items in yellow. For example in this edition the flasher of a ‘free CD’ is in yellow to make it stand out to attract the reader/consumer. All of the fonts are son-serif yet the headings of the cover lines are all bolder than the rest of the copy. The majority of the copy is in red and black except for the header, footer and date of issue. The header ‘ the essential music guide’ suggests that the reader must buy and read the magazine influencing them as it suggests it will contain information , features or articles that the reader will be interested in. The masthead of this magazine is a single lettered name ‘Q’. This makes the title of the magazine far easier to remember and recognise. Therefore, this allows the image to overlap and obstruct some of the masthead as it is already clear what the masthead is and is a well known and recognisable magazine anyway. It is also made more memorable and prominent as it is the largest text on the page. Plus by boxing the letter in red when the background of the magazine is white makes it the most poignant item on the page. The footer shows that a common feature of music magazines is extended and made one of the most important features of this magazine, by showing that there are reviews for all the things the reader will be interested in. The mode of address of this magazine is fairly serious and intense. This is creates through the language such as ‘battle’, ‘Vs’, ‘essential’, ‘exclusive’, ‘the full story’ etc. It is also more formal and serious than many other magazines suggesting this is a sophisticated music magazine. The largest text on the page except for the masthead is the title of the issue ‘the 80’s issue’. This is to attract any fans of ‘80’s music’ and to clearly state to the consumer of the theme of the content in this issue. The barcode, price and date of issue are all included together and as the smallest items on the page as in most magazines. Yet they have placed it underneath the masthead on this cover. The rule of thirds has been used in the main image to prevent a dull and symmetrical image. They have used an artist not only related to the music genre but also related to the music in the 80’s and the music at the time of this issue. Madonna is an iconic artist that the majority of people will recognise and be interested in, thus this will attract a ride audience. The mise-en-scene of the image matches the house style as her hair and make up follow the colour scheme, making her dress the only other colour. This creates a slightly more dynamic and appealing cover. Madonna’s name in the cover line other main cover lines are all of band/ artist names (also associated with the genre and 80’s period) and are all the third largest text. Also all of the copy are in capital letters to really make them stand out. There is a small flasher advertising the free musical gift given. This alone may attract a buyer.

2. Despite being spread over two pages both of these contents pages are very image led. Rule of thirds is used however on both pages the images are spread across two columns and the first column is the list of articles, split into sections. The listing of the articles are split into subheadings. The ‘Review ‘section and ‘The 80’s issue’ section are boxed in grey and black boxes. This is to highlight these aspects. This is because the feature of reviews we know is a prominent feature of Q magazine as stated on the front cover footer. Plus the other section is highlighted as they are specific to this theme of edition. Each subheading is boxed. On the first page, the entire colour scheme is red, black and white, with only the grey and slight purple of the image. On the second page the colour scheme is kept, however as the images are more colourful, they have also included the colour blue and yellow to box the subheadings and to highlight the section more. On both pages the masthead is included in the exact same design, colours, and position as on the cover. Yet it is smaller so that more content can be included. This is so that it is far more recognisable and the repetition makes it more memorable. Plus as it is positioned in the top left hand corner it is the first item that the reader sees. As most content pages the title ‘Contents’ is placed at the top and in the centre of the page. This is a common feature of magazine contents pages, this magazine also follows this with the date of issue. The footer on the first page is a pull quote from the main article that is related to the front cover of Madonna. “I WONT BE HAPPY UNTIL I’M AS FAMOUS AS GOD”. This purpose of including this include it suggests that Q have interviewed Madonna, it insinuates the topic of the article and will engage readers due to the fact that it may be seen as a very controversial comment. It is also in capital letters to make it stand out more and to follow the house style of the magazine. The house style is continued by keeping the colour scheme except for the introduction of blue and yellow boxes. Also the pull quote and all of the article titles and subheadings are in capital letters. The masthead is kept the same and the title ‘contents’ is kept the same on both pages. All of the images include a small tag to show who if shown in the photo and where the related article may be found. The mode of address also remains fairly serious and intense throughout these pages.

3. This is also very image led as the article is only two small columns long. The rest of the page is made up of two more images, the title of the article and another title for the main image. Like many magazine double page spreads one of the pages is completely filled by one image that relates to the article usually through the artist. There is a small tag added on the picture stating the price of the concert tickets shown in the photograph. There is also another tag showing the price of another Madonna concert in the second photograph. The house style in again continued through the reoccurring colour scheme of red, black and white as well as a little item in blue. Also the picture title and the article title are in capital letters as well as the title of the statistic box. Plus the title ‘Rising’ is boxed in red. There is a stand first included which out lines the topic of the article. The phrase ‘no sign of stopping’ is in red t o highlight this aspect to create alarm for the reader and the music fans. The red colour may not only be used as it follows the house style but because the connotations of red are danger, warning and alarm. The layout of the page is challenging common layout conventions as the page has been divided into four rather than 3. This allows the columns and the statistic box to take up two columns and the second largest image takes up the other two columns. Then the article title uses 3 columns to show the main issue the article is addressing. Q also challenges the conventions such as the drop capital as the article is only fairly short and the double page spread in image led. There is also no by-line or picture credits . Madonna shown in this image is a well known artist of the 80’s relating to the editions theme. Yet as she remains well known and famous today more people will be able to relate to the issue being addressed as they may have seen Madonna’s concert ticket prices rise over the years.