This double page spread features singer Solange Knowles. The top features black and white photos of her in different poses to appear natural. The main color photo of her grabs attention against the black and white. A pull quote in black near the photo will be read before the lighter gray text and gives insight into the interview. The spread profiles Solange wanting to establish her own identity separate from her famous sister, Beyoncé, though Beyoncé fans may still be interested in reading more about her.

1. Double page spread research

2. This title is related to the picture of the singer as she has a song called ‘you got the love’. This will also attract her fans as they would know that already. ‘USA’ is also included in the title but is a much bigger font and put into the back ground, where as ‘got the love’ is in a different and darker font. This draws the readers attention to the title just as much as the picture of the singer. The text is positioned around the picture and the bold title. The header at the beginning of the text has Florence Welch’s name in blue as opposed to black, to show the reader who the article is about if they weren’t familiar with who she is. A famous singer, Florence, is used on the double page spread as her fans will be attracted to the magazine in order to read the article about her. The background is a plain, light colour, and the text is a darker grey colour which means the picture on the left hand side stands out much more due to the bright red on the American flag and the jet black outfit that she’s wearing.

3. The article is about Lily Allen who is a well known UK singer. The whole theme of the article is quite dark colours, and the singers hair, make up and outfit al blend in with the colour scheme with her dark black hair and dark make up and red/black shirt. Apull-quote (a quotation taken from the interview and is made larger in a separate area) is used at the title. This is used to give the reader an idea about what will be in the interview they are going to read. The reader can instantly tell this is an indie/rock magazine just by looking at this double page spread due to the use of colour and fonts. The title is very bold and unconventional which makes it stand out. It’s eye catching and it is the first thing you look at when you see the double page spread. It is reversed out as each of the individual letters have a black background, giving the effect that the letters have been taken from somewhere else and stuck down onto the page together.

4. This double page spread features a popular band, The Black Eyed Peas. They have been portrayed as a close group as they are all wearing clothes of a similar colour and style. However, the lead signer of the band has been put in a more opaque colour in comparison to the other members who’s pictures have been put in a more transparent colour. This draws your attention to the main member of the band and it shows his importance. The colour scheme running throughout the two pages is quite simple, black and gold. The gold portrays a feeling of wealth, maybe implying that the band is successful. The colours stand out against the plain white background, keeping the readers attention on the contents of the page. The layout of this double page spread is conventional and basic, with the picture on the left hand side and the text on the right hand side. The title of the interview is on the left, placed in a white box over the photograph of the band. ‘Will he won’t he?’ draws in the readers attention as the use of a rhetorical question as the title makes the reader wonder what this is about, and wants to find out by reading the interview.

5. This double page spread is instantly eye catching due to the close up of a model on the left hand page. The bright, messy make up grabs the attention of the reader, and put together with the title ‘The return to make up’ the reader would be drawn towards reading the text to find out what it’s about. The left hand page is full with text, but half of the page is taken up with the title. The two-tone title is effective, as the words ‘return’ and ‘make up’ stand out more than the other words as they are more important. The font used here is quite elegant. I think this font is used as the magazine is aimed at women, seeing as what the article is about, and it would appeal to them. I think these pages are bold and eye catching, however I think there is too much text on the left hand side page, and this could be off putting to some readers for example, the younger audience reading the magazine. The photograph captures the attention of the reader due to its bold colours, but I don’t think many readers would stop to read all of the text.

7. The title ‘She’s the man’ is very bold and takes up most of the page on the left hand side. The colour used for the title graduated from a bright red down to black, with a dark red/maroon colour in between. This is very effective as the word ‘she’ is put in red, which is a feminine colour, and then the word ‘man’ is in black, which could be related to being a manly colour. This title also has a humorous side to it as there have been rumours in the press about Lady Gaga being a male, so I think using this title will attract many readers as they would be interested to see if the rumours are true or not. This double page spread is the beginning pages of an interview with American singer, Lady Gaga, which will instantly appeal to people who are fans of the singer. There isn’t much text on the page, and the whole of the right hand page has been taken up with a photograph of the singer. I think the lack of text on the two pages is very effective and captures the attention of the reader more than if it had gone straight into the interview on the same page. This double page spread makes the reader want to turn the page and find out what is said in the interview. I think the plain white background was the right choice of colour as it makes everything else on the page stand out more, and seeing as the text and pictures used on the page are bold already, the plain background emphasises it even more.

8. This whole double page spread is black and white, which relates to the title ‘American Gothic’ as it gives a spooky, gothic feel to the reader. The title has been put in two different fonts, the word ‘American’ is in capital, block letters, and the word ‘gothic’ has been put in a gothic font to match. The photograph on the right hand side takes up one and a half pages which draws the readers attention here. The Church and the dark clouds in the background adds to the spooky feel of the article, as you would associate these things with scary films or Halloween. The reader can tell that the article is going to be written about, or by the man standing in front of the church in the photograph as he is taking up half of the page. The diagonal divide in the left hand side page draws the readers attention to the text after looking at the picture. The reversed out text on the black background makes it easier for the audience to read, but still maintains the gothic theme.

10. This is my favourite double page spread out of all of the ones I’ve researched. The use of photographs on the pages are very effective. The top line of black and white photos of the singer ‘Solange Knowles’ in different poses makes the page look less staged and put together, and more relaxed and natural. This could put her in a good light as some readers may see that she’s not trying to put on a front to impress the readers. I think an audience would be interested to read this article as it is about the little sister of Beyoncé Knowles, and how she wants to be known as her own person, not the sister of Beyoncé. However I think that fans of Beyoncé would want to read this too as they would want to find out more about her. The main photo of the singer has been put in colour, which is very bold against the black and white background and the other greyscale photographs. This photo is what will first grab the readers attention as it is so different to everything else on the page. A pull-quote has been taken and put next to the photograph of the singer in black text, where as the rest of the text is in a lighter grey. I think that the quote will be read before the rest of the text as it is in a different colour, and will also give the reader an idea of what will be in the interview.