Print research magazine Lvl3 creative media

1. Magazine Research
Dan Thompson

2. Rock Sound Magazine Issue 165
The photographs used in this magazine cover are of the band Green Day. It features them making
odd faces and looking crazed. This is accompanied by a cartoon drawing style to give the whole
magazine a young, silly vibe. The writing style of the magazine cover gives off a rebellious energy
and uses persuasive techniques in the sub-stories to draw the reader in more. A lot of
exclamation marks are also used in the titles which could further push the rebellious and loud
tone that the cover gives us. The cover uses free products inside to draw the reader in too and
also uses terminology and slang that is aimed more for the younger generations to describe the
bands and albums featured inside. The text to image ratio is about equal but it is clear that the
visuals are intended to play a big roll in persuading the reader to buy the magazine. Although
there is plenty of stories available to read about on the cover, they are kept short and sweet as to
not give too much away but instead give just enough information to grab the attention. The
magazine addresses the reader in a none direct informal mode. This helps create a more casual,
care-free vibe which combines with the rebellious vibe to represent what Green Day radiate as a
band. The typeface used in the header is, again, an extremely young and childish design with
irregular sized and off centered letters. A lot of the sub-stories darted around the cover are also in
a casual looking font which looks like someone had rushed to write the cover him/herself.
The colour scheme used in the cover is bright and contrasting. The colours are used to help
important information or persuasive information stand out to the reader. As seen on the
magazine, ‘free cd’ at the top left and all of the band names featured in the magazine are
coloured pink as opposed to the plain white of the rest of the information and the primarily blue
background. Except for the clothing of the band members featured in the cover, there is a clear
lack of dark colours and the seemingly happy, up-beat vibe given off from the colour scheme
contrasts heavily with the depiction of danger, pain and death shown by the band’s actions such
as holding a gun to their heads and holding lit bombs, etc. From gathering this information about
the cover of Rock Sound magazine, you can tell that the design was meant to be more symbolic
rather than written plainly to see.

3. Rock Sound Magazine Double Page Spread
The photography used in the double page spread of Sound Rock magazine
is a lot more intense than shown on the cover. The main photo used covers
at least two thirds of the page and features all of the band members with a
much more serious and almost sinister tone. There is also a smaller picture
in the top right of the right page. There is a political quote displayed under
the main picture from the main singer which makes the whole thing feel
more personal. The language on the article side of the DPS is more formal
than the rest of the writing and helps describe what the quote is talking
about. Yet again, the address mode is indirect and never mentions the
reader at any point. The font used in the title Is the official font used by the
band. This creates a more familiar vibe for any fans that are reading the
magazine and due to the popularity of the band, draws more of a wider
audience. The font used in the quote is yet another font used by the band
often and, like above, gives the overall page a more familiar feel. Almost
every colour seen in the double page spread is related to Green Day and
their colour scheme. The quote box, as it is quoting the lead singer of the
band, is a dark green to symbolize that it is the opinion of the band, not
just a critic. It also links back to the band’s green font on the right page and
their coordination with colour as their eyes in the photo are green along
with the background too. Overall, the DPS is more written than symbolic as
it is an article based review of the band’s new album.

4. Modern Screen Magazine
The photography in this cover from ‘Modern Screen’ is simple and straight forward. It features just one
picture of the subject of the magazine with a heart shaped frame surrounding it. The heart suggests that
there is a theme of love throughout the mag and tells us who it is aimed at – Elvis. This shows extremely
obviously to the reader what the magazine theme is and helps the reader quickly determine what they can
expect to find in said magazine. The style of writing in the cover is rather informal as there is use of very
casual, emotion themed quotes along with slang words and unusual ways of addressing people. There are no
obvious persuasive texts around the cover, instead the magazine tries to grab your attention by making the
quotes from excited fans and the man himself bolder and larger in size than the rest of the sub-story’s
descriptions. There is also an excessive use of exclamation marks in the quotes given to emphasize the
happiness and excitement conveyed to the reader. It also makes the stories sound like breaking news and
creates tension with the reader who at this point will be wondering what the ending to the stories are.
Overall, the cover is text based and relies on gossip to draw the reader in. The magazine cover gives its
information in an indirect manner to the reader, mentioning only the stories and information about what you
can expect to see inside. There is no mentioning of the reader at any point in the cover. The typeface style
used in the cover is for the most part simple and plain in the cover lines as the stories are relied on therefore
need to be easy to read. The header is made to be plentifully larger than the rest of the page and uses the
same font as a lot of Elvis’ albums, making it more familiar to fans and the public in general who know of
him. It is a more bolder, exaggerated font which you would not expect to find in a normal magazine with no
celebrity featured such as a fishing or car magazine. There are two bits of text around the picture of Elvis
showing us the context of the magazine and it’s purpose. These two texts are in the same smooth, warm
looking fonts. They accompany the romanticized vibe gained from the whole cover and gives us further hints
at what is to come in the contents of the magazine. Colour is used as a mood setter for the magazine. The
red in the background symbolizes love and romantics while the golden yellow used in some of the texts is to
both make the writing stand out more and also to symbolize richness and smoothness accompanying the red.
The header’s colour is a more dull grey. This is to set it apart from the mostly colourful cover and create an
obvious contrast. There is a bright white border on the header to further contrast the colours used to make it
stand out even more. Overall, this ‘Modern Screen’ magazine cover is a perfect blend between being
symbolic and written as there are hints of colour meanings and placement of texts and fonts used, etc but
also straight up stories given that the reader could easily read and want to find out more about.

5. Official Xbox Magazine
The photography in this particular magazine is of gameplay as opposed to the rest of the magazines
which feature actual photos. It features a close-up of a menacing character from the ‘Fallout’ series
staring at the reader with no emotion. The language used in the cover is more mature and formal
than a couple of the other magazines in the previous slides. There are no slang words or
abbreviations used at any point. The readers are addressed in the cover lines directly being told to
get ready for a game’s launch which could suggest to the reader that a good game is on it’s way and
could make them want to have a look at said game. Persuasive writing is used also in the cover lines
with highlighted bits of text saying phrases such as ‘exclusive access’. This could make the reader
start wondering about what features and details are released inside and therefore make them want
to buy it. The fonts used in this magazine cover are mostly logo fonts. A couple of examples would
be the game logo with a noticeable italic and thunderbolt inside the O and also the official logo for
the Xbox brand shown as the header. This creates a sense of familiarity between the magazine and
the reader which, feeling comfortable with the knowledge that at least something they know about
will be inside, will feel happier to buy it. There seems to be two colour themes applied at the same
time, one for the game and another for the brand of the magazine. The first and most important is
the magazine brand. It has a prominent full green colour to it which has always been the brand’s
colour since it was created many years ago. It makes it easily distinguishable in comparison to
PlayStation’s magazine which uses blue and PC Gamer’s magazine which uses a red and white
colour theme. The second theme which is used for the game is a lot darker and grizzly to fit the
game’s image. The area around the character is all dark and clearly means for the reader to focus
on the image in the foreground. The character referenced is wearing some sort of power armour
which is all rusted and a horrible, murky brown/bronze. These dark colours represent the dark
theme and gritty, violent vibes that the game gives off to it’s players. The fact that everything but
the character is shrouded in darkness makes the reader question where it is and what is going on
around him/her. It gives off a mysterious feel to it. This could further the persuasive efforts of the
cover lines around it. Overall, the magazine gives off a more symbolic method of advertising as you
can gather more from the picture than what the writing actually tells you before you buy the
product.

6. Games Radar Online News
Photography on websites is not as common as in magazines (especially with gaming websites) but
there are plenty of screenshots from games and logo pictures, etc. On this website, they are helping
the reader picture what the title of the article is saying next to it, making it easier to distinguish
what the post will be talking about. The language used on this website’s news and review section
uses a lot of persuasive phrases which entice the reader to subscribe to various services and
download things. There are also a lot of quotes used in the review section giving a summary to how
the critic reacted to the game. These summarizing quotes act like cover lines for the page, showing
the reader what kind of content he/she can expect to find further into the website. There is no
direct addressing to the reader in the texts but instead, the website takes a more informative
approach to its stories much like a news show would. The fonts used in the screenshot of the
website are all plain and simple except for the website’s logo. This is done for a few reasons: to
show very clearly what website you are reading from, but also because the rest of the page needs
to be easier to read. The font used in the game reviews are notably bolder and a little bit larger
than the rest of the page’s text. This is so that the stories stick out in comparison to any other bits
of information that is not as important. The only colour used on the page is the official website’s
colour theme which is a striking bright orange. This is to grab the reader’s attention at first glance
and create a familiarity with fans like Xbox or PlayStation does with green and blue. The rest of the
page is just plain, simple colours such as grey and white. This is because the brand does not need to
actively compete with other brands while the reader is using their website. The most important
piece of the website to an online user will be the content, not so much the colour scheme and
aesthetic designs. They will most likely have known about the brand beforehand to get to the
website in the first place and therefore be there for what the reviews and news has to say.
Furthermore, the simple design could help any users that are not too well suited to computers get
to read the news online instead of buying a magazine. Overall, this website (and in my opinion,
websites in general) is a more written based one as opposed to being symbolic. The information is
supplied straight away and simply right in front of the user.

7. National Geographic Double Page Spread
The photography in National Geographic magazines is usually used at a
minimum, but when they are used, they are always high quality and
sometimes symbolic. In this example, there is a photo on the right page
showing life in ‘Sanaa’. It is clear what is going on in the picture supplied as
they give you a small caption to describe the action, places and people
shown to give context. The picture’s main use in this case is to accompany
what the text above is talking about. The language used in this double
page spread is all formal and uses no slang. It also does not address the
reader in any way which further proves that this magazine is made to be
more factual and formal. The beginning of each subject is marked by a
very large and bold capital letter which grabs the readers attention should
they somehow not know where to begin reading. Persuasive language is
not needed in such a magazine as there is nothing for the magazine to sell
to the user. As you can see by the example, the magazine is article based
and therefore the text to image ratio is very high with usually up to 2 or 3
photos per couple of pages. There is no colour scheme involved in this
magazine except on the cover. This is because the magazine is focused on
a more refined and mature audience. With gaming magazines for example,
there needs to be plenty of colour and content scattered around to keep
the attention of a potentially large younger audience. The content of this
book is most definitely more written than symbolic as it is article based.
However, it is clear that symbolism does exist in this magazine as many of
the photos are still set up to look good or reflect the mood of the writing
around it. This helps support the text and makes it easier for some readers
to understand.

8. Music Express Cover The photography in this music magazine is simple and straight to the point. It clearly shows a
different celebrity each issue who has the headline story or a new album due for release. This
accompanies the cover lines and other information on the magazine and brings context to
them in most cases. People who are familiar with the celebrity will also be able to pick it up and
instantly distinguish the magazine as a music mag without even seeing the brand or title. The
language used on this cover is extremely persuasive, constantly asking the reader questions
that the reader could be wondering or want to know the answer to themselves. There are also
plenty of playing on words to make the reader laugh and draw them in more. The slogan under
the header is persuasive too, making the reader feel as if that particular brand stays hot on all
new rock music from Canada. It could also make any Canadian fans feel almost patriotic
towards the magazine and want to buy it. The magazine does not address the reader directly
and uses a mix between formal and informal, with no slang but lots of puns, etc. the fonts used
are also expressive and out there. The header’s font is pretty unique and could definitely be
picked out from a crowd, especially due to the 3d design of it which few other magazines use
even nowadays. The header’s font could also be regarded as symbolic as it looks space-like and
futuristic. This could possibly be implying that the magazine features hot-topic artists and
bands/singers that are the future of the world. Due to this, it could also be seen as a persuasive
technique. The colour scheme, as you can see from this example is purple and pink. The pink in
the screenshot stands out in comparison to the rest of the magazine, ruling out the important
parts of the cover that shows the brand and features of the magazine
(bands/singers/celebrities). The only exception to this is the main feature of the particular issue
– Phil Collins’ story. His cover line is in a more plain colour and in a larger, more bold font. The
fact that his story is in a totally different colour could raise questions for the reader and make
them wonder what is so important that he is ruled out in comparison to the rest of the artists.
It gives the reader more of an incentive to buy the magazine and find out why. Overall, I feel
that this magazine is more of a written design instead of a symbolic one as it relies more on its
puns and rhetorical questions to draw in readers and keep them interested.