This document provides an analysis of the January 2012 issue of Q Magazine. It summarizes the magazine's circulation numbers, readership, mission statement, and target demographic. It then analyzes the front cover, including the layout, images, logos and theories that could apply. It also examines the contents page for its design, images and listings. In summary, the document conducts a close visual and textual analysis of key elements of this issue of Q Magazine.

1. MAGAZINE TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
By Liam Attridge

2. Q MAGAZINE
• Circulation – 64,596
• Readership – 369,000
• “Mission - “Q is the magazine that brings music alive. It draws together the biggest stars, the most exciting phenomena, the
new artists that matter and a healthy dose of irreverence to create an unmissable widescreen picture of what’s really
happening in rock and roll right now.
Q’s reviews section is the ultimate critical overview of music. And magazine’s unrivalled access brings its readers up close
and personal with the stars who set the agenda. Q is the ultimate rock and roll read. ””
• “Chris is 29 years old and lives in Leeds. Music is more important to him than anything else. It’s at the centre of his
social life. It soundtracks all the best moments in his life. It’s his identity, his social currency and his world.
Chris lives for gigs, festivals, and those electrifying moments of togetherness that only music can provide. He is the
one who sorts out gig tickets for his friends, turns them on to new bands and sets up the big festival weekend. His
tastes are “mainstream eclectic” – the big stadium acts like Muse or Noel Gallagher mixed with the best of genres
spanning rock and electronica, plus the finest discoveries from music’s past.
Chris works in a professional job and finally has the money and time to indulge his music habit to the full. He lives
with a partner (no kids yet) who is similarly music- mad. He is “discovering quality” in all areas, from sound systems
to deluxe reissues to cars, travel and clothes.
Chris loves technology – he was first with the iPod, iPhone, iPad and now streaming music services. He downloads
music but still prefers to own CDs. And he spends more on music than anything else: a big -ticket gig every week or
so, six albums a month plus a Spotify subscription and countless on-the-go downloads.”

3. Q MAGAZINE PUBLISHER – BAUER MEDIA
• The publisher of Q magazine is Bauer Media, a publishing company that has produced
magazines such as Empire, FHM, Closer, as well as Q.
• ―Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company headquartered in
Hamburg, Germany which operates in 15 countries worldwide. Since the company was
founded in 1875, it has been privately owned and under management by the Bauer family.
It was formally called Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG, appreciated to HBV and usually
shortened to H. Bauer.
• Worldwide circulation of Bauer Media Group's magazine titles amounts to 38 million
magazines a week‖

4. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – FRONT COVER
• The colours in the background of this
magazine reflect a graffiti style and the
coverline also reflects this style. The
coverline could also look like an autograph
and that would give the magazine a
personalised feel.
• Layering has been used to attract more
attention to the logo of the magazine, with
Chris Martins arm manipulating the Q. This
means that the magazine will be more eye-
catching amongst competitors, as not many
other competitors manipulate their logo.
• The layout as a whole is really
cramped, there is next to no open space
and this could be hinting at a magazine that
is cramped with information.
• The main coverlines font also seems as
though Chris Martin himself has wrote
it, mirroring an autograph.

5. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 - COVERLINES
• This image of the front cover shows the coverlines. The
headings of the coverlines appear to be in a Broadway
font, with the numbers ―50‖ and ―12‖ especially looking at
that way, which hints towards the scale of the magazine
being possibly on the same scale as a ―Broadway show‖
(obviously in the equivalent of a magazine)
• The colours used reflect an upbeat personality and remind
you of happiness, this is relevant since this issue in
particular is going over all of the good times in 2011 in
terms of the music industry.
• The positioning of these coverlines is in the bottom right of
the page, this means they are not detracting from the main
image or the main coverline whilst still being relevant to the
whole pictures design.

6. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – MAIN IMAGE
• The main image in this magazines front cover is of
Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
• It is positioned central to the rest of the
magazine, whilst steering clear of all of the coverlines.
• As I mentioned earlier, his hand is positioned so it
goes through the hole in the Q, almost giving off a 3-D
feel and to some extent making it seem real.
• The position he is in is heavily related to music and
dancing, and gives off a very happy and cheerful
vibe, this in turn relates to the theme of the magazine
(looking back at everything successful in 2011). His
choices of clothing also represent being relaxed and
calm, and perhaps suggests the tone of the magazine
is also reminds me of street dancing, which would also
match up to the pose.

7. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – FRONT COVER –
COMPOSITION AND FRAMING
• This image is a long shot, which allows
some establishment of the background
and also showcases his full body
language.
• The image is not cropped but has been
digitally manipulated to go through the
logo of Q, I will mention about this in
more detail in other parts of the
PowerPoint.
• The background is of graffiti, which is
very stereotypical of the street dance
scene which is what Q Magazine appear
to be going for here.
• The main image catches my eye
first, and rightfully so as he is essentially
the protagonist of this magazine. He is in
the centre of the page and should be
noticed first.

8. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 - LOGO
• The logo is very staple to Q magazine, it is
positioned in the top left of the page and this
has become a convention for this magazine.
It’s position has never been moved and to
switch things up they make the main image
manipulate the logo.
• The logo also has a staple red and white
colouring, this is incredible eye-catching and
can relate to the genre of rock.
• They have also gone for a one-letter
title, which stands for the person who
produces the magazine.
• The fact his arm is going through the logo
could show some attachment to the magazine
and the retrospective company, perhaps he
trusts them or they are his favourite music
magazine?

9. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – FRONT COVER
THEORIES
• The front cover could have multiple theories applied to it.
• Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory (1974) is relevant to this
music magazine because the magazine would be used for escape. The
magazine would allow the target readers to forget about their daily troubles
and the daily routine and be occupied by something that they in particular
take an avid interest in.
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory (1954) could be applied to this front
cover because they would want to know about the ―best 50 albums of the
year‖ so that they can still be a part of their social group. They want to check
out what Q magazine feels is the best albums of the year do that they can
continue to fit in with what everybody else in their group is doing.

10. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – FRONT COVER –
OVERALL OPINION
• This is a fairly good front cover, however I feel it is too
cramped. In-between the main image, coverlines, logo and
the main coverline, there is very little space for your eyes to
rest.
• I also feel the background is a little too busy, most of the
modern music magazines have a plain white background or
just a block colour background. This front cover has gone for
a full on graffiti front cover with too many colours and too
many patterns and it just hurts to look at.
• The positioning of the main image is good though, he is
positioned to be the centre of attention and is easily the first
thing you notice, I feel the way he is dressed and the post
he is in also compliments the background.
• The main coverline is interesting as well, along with ―2011
reviewed‖ as both of these look like they are hand written
and is an interesting touch to the magazine.
• Other than that I would say this magazine is pretty staple of
other Q magazines.
• If I was to take anything from this magazine, it would be the
positioning of the coverlines as they are not interfering with
the magazine.

11. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – CONTENTS
PAGE
• This is the contents page; it continues
to display the house style that was
represented on the front page via the
logo.
• The ―Q CONTENTS‖ at the top reflects
the same pattern that the logo
introduced on the previous page and I
would hazard a guess that it is the
staple of every issue of their
magazine.
• The red, white and black used are very
common for magazines that cover the
rock genre (regardless of if they cover
other genres as well or not) and have
been proven to be successful time and
time again. It gives the magazine an
upper class look.

12. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – CONTENTS
PAGE – LAYOUT AND DESIGN
• As you can see, if we were to apply the rule of thirds to this
image, it would be highly successful. Her nose is aligned with
the top horizontal bar, and the second vertical bar goes
straight through her nose. This means our eyes would focus
on her first.
• The rule of thirds provides insight into their layout, with the
listings appearing on the left third entirely, almost in line in fact
and the images appear across the other two pages.
• The bottom vertical line almost lines up with the top of the 96
box as well, and the ―ISSUE 306‖ circle is directly in the centre
of the top middle box. This all points to a well arranged context
page that is aesthetically pleasing.
• The conventional reading path in the western culture is top left
to bottom right, meaning we would notice all of the features
and the main story before the two smaller stories at the
bottom. This makes perfect sense and shows the company has
put a lot of thought into their contents page.
• The images on the page are nicely placed, with each one
getting it’s own amount of unique space and nothing feels
cramped.
• The fonts used are very simplistic and minimalistic and they
come across as quite modern. This can be backed up by the
white background and the amount of space on this page.

13. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – CONTENTS
IMAGES
• As you can see, the images used (especially
those that have a page reference) follow a house
style.
• They are all typical ―modern‖, simple shapes (i.e.
squares, rectangles) and continues to reflect the
upper-class vibe reflected by the magazine.
• The page numbers are all presented in the bottom
left hand corner of the images, and follow the red
and white pattern of the magazine. The main
image (of Florence from Florence + The
Machine)’s page number obscures none of the
image, perhaps to stamp its superiority towards
the other images.
• The issue number is also positioned near the
main image, and disobeys the house style by
having a circle layered behind it.
• The pose behind the main image is very
closed, she does not look comfortable, but this
may point towards the interview/story revealing
things that had never been revealed before, or
something across those lines.

14. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – CONTENTS
PAGE – COMPOSITION AND FRAMING
• The main image looks like it has been
digitally manipulated and cropped to fit the
box, much like most of the other images on
this page as well. It helps to create a clean
atmosphere that is pleasant to look at.
• The main image is also a medium shot
which allows us to see some kind of facial
expression as well as her body language
(which I have spoken about earlier in this
PowerPoint).
• My eyes moved as I said they would earlier
on in this PowerPoint, from top left to
bottom right, this is the normal way of us
reading due to our western culture and if
we were forced to read another way in a
magazine it would feel unusual/unpleasant.

15. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – CONTENTS
LISTINGS
• The contents pages listings follow the typical style of
the magazine with the red square and the page
number in white inside of it. The black text also
appears to be one of the many staples of the
magazine.
• The listings also seem to rely on capitalisation as a
way of drawing attention to them and making sure
the audience knows all of the content inside of the
magazine so they can be sure they are making the
right purchase.
• The main headline ―THE BEST THING I’VE HEARD
ALL YEAR‖ is naturally bigger than the rest of the
headlines in the contents page as that is the main
feature and what the magazine publisher hopes will
persuade the target audience to pick up and
purchase the magazine.

16. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – CONTENTS
HEADING
• Q magazine has a lot of empty
space at the top of the
magazine. This in turn reflects
the modern feel of the magazine,
as the popular view of ―modern‖
reflects minimalism.
• White is the prominent colour of
this magazine as well, again
reflecting the modern feel and
upper class feel this magazine
tries to proclaim to it’s intended
audience.

17. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – CONTENTS
PAGE THEORIES
• Some readers may find the musician featured on the contents page (hinting towards the
content featured on page 96) attractive and alluring due to her tight clothing, her position
on the page and the Photoshop applied to her image, these features are all summarsied
under Mulvey’s Male Gaze (1975).
• Branston and Stafford’s Stereotyping theory (2010) could be applied to this front
cover, based on the image in the top right of slide 9 (showing the 3 ―rockers‖). The
stereotypical rocker would be found on the right of that image, with the long hair and the
facial hair, the black clothing. It gives off a very un-kept look.
• The hierarchy of needs could also be featured here as the readers would want to keep up
on all of the latest information such as ―the faces of 2012‖ so they can share this
information with, keep on top of and be a big part of their respective social groups.

18. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – CONTENTS –
OVERALL OPINION
• This is a nice contents page; it is very spacious
whilst still providing a lot of information as to
what will be available for you to read in the
magazine.
• I like the idea that the images are wrapped
around squares, this is innovative and is
something rarely seen in magazines. It makes
the magazine look clean and aesthetically
pleasing whilst still keeping the modern feel I
personally think it is going for.
• The images used are all relevant and there is not
too many images, I would say there is just the
right amount with the text portioned off to one
side of the page whilst still not feeling completely
irrelevant.
• If I was to take anything from this contents
page, it would be the clean and simple look of it
as I feel that works really well.

19. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – DOUBLE-PAGE
SPREAD
• The first thing I noticed about this double
page spread showcasing a review of a
―The Maccabees‖ gig, was the fact that
yet again it replicates the magazines
house style. The Q logo is still evident in
the top left of the image, and the
red, white and black are still being
prominently used throughout the double-
page spread.
• The start of this double page spreads
text is a larger letter of the letter ―I‖. This
is known as a drop-cap and is commonly
featured in novels and other forms of
literature. It suggests that Q’s target
readers are knowledgeable and Q would
have expected them to have read books
before.

20. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD IMAGES
• The images featured in this double page
spread appear to be from live gigs and
could suggest the nature of the content
from the get-go. Gigs are general seen
as an ―anything goes‖ environment and
the text could follow a similar pattern.
• It also allows the audience to envisage
what the band(s) featured are really like
and Q magazine has chosen to
represent their true personality in this
double page spread.
• Q magazine has also chosen to feature
a large number of images, although
most of them were fairly small. This
maintains an accurate text to image
ratio whilst not making the target
audience feel smothered in one or the
other.

21. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD WRITING STYLE
• The first things you notice from this double-page spread article is the pull quote (featuring one of
the band members opinions about going on tour) and the ―your say‖ where one of the readers
gets to voice their opinion on the topic featured.
• One of these features is incredibly common (the pull quote) whereas one is a lot more
uncommon (―Your Say‖), and it allows the audience to feel a lot more involved with the
magazine as it is proof that when they write in to Q magazine their view actually gets read and
has the possibility of featuring in the magazine.

22. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD WRITING STYLE
• The writing style of Q magazine is not simplistic but it is not overly complicated, it is for the common person who has some knowledge
and intelligence about the topic at had.
• Q magazine uses some technical lexis, allowing for a much more in-depth article whilst not keeping people that might not know too
much about the topic frozen out, they are clever in how they write.
• Their target reader is a 29-year-old man from Leeds, who’s life is music. This would back up my point about them using technical
lexis, as if somebodies life is music you would expect them to know about the trends surrounding music as well as the current gigs, the
current bands, and the current interests in music.
• Q music still includes slang and swear words. However, only in quotes. This means that the register is not heavily dropped since it is a
quote and the standard of the magazine is not affected.
• Q magazine also states that the target reader is up to date on the technological side of life, which is why the ―Your Say‖ fe ature would
be such a success, the target reader would know how to get in touch with the magazine in a variety of ways and be able to get his
opinion across easily and simply.

23. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD -THEORY
• Media theorist Ien Ang (1991) stated that profiles he called ―imaginary entities‖ are when
researchers build up a profile of the average readership so that they can write in their
magazine as though they are targeting that particular age group. This can be seen across
all magazines.
• As always Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory (1974) can be applied
here, as a magazines primary purpose is to entertain the audience and allow them to
escape from the daily routine.
• Hyperdermic Needle theory (1940’s) can also be applied to this double page spread. The
company could be injecting their own opinion into the spread and the target audience
might not realise it and form an opinion that is not completely true and that Q Magazine
has crafted. It creates an opinion on their new album that we are designed to accept as
they are trying to convince us to go out and purchase the product.

24. Q MAGAZINE – JANUARY 2012 – DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD – OVERALL OPINION
• However, I feel the text to image ratio may
be slightly too much in favour of the
images and some people may feel a bit
overwhelmed at the sheer amount of
images on the screen. In fairness though
the images are of good quality and are all
relevant to the topic at hand.
• The text may also be too small as
well, this is a problem that would not have
occurred if the text to image ratio as not
so one sided. People with poorer eyesight
might not be able to read and
• Overall, I would say this is a good double therefore, enjoy this article.
page spread, I feel the idea of bringing in
their target audiences opinions is very • If I was to take anything from this double
innovative and is not used enough in page spread it would have to be the ―Your
modern magazines, especially music Say‖ feature as I feel that is very different
magazines were stereotypes and people’s and innovative.
opinion’s should be rife.

25. NME – AUGUST 2011
• Circulation – 23,924
• Readership - 289,000
• Mission – ―To Provide up to date and new information, reviews and listings of the best new music”
• Their slogan is "first for music news”
• The NME audience have a strong relationship with NME and completely trust the brand:
• - “I can trust it”
• - “Its full of facts that we should all know but don’t BUT we do now thanks to NME”
• -“Honest no-holds barred reviews”
• • NME audience feel a real affinity with the journalists “The writers seem to really understand what is important to me” (index 159)
The NME audience are very influential in their social circles and are twice as likely as the average to be the first amongst thei r friends to know what is going on. Not
surprisingly the NME audience are completely obsessed by music. Reader research has demonstrated that they rely on the editor ial and the ads to keep them up to date
with new music. This knowledge then makes them the authority in music in their peer group. NME readers are influential's when it comes to mobile phones. They are 3
times as likely to convince friends and family about what mobiles to buy

26. IPC ADVERTISING
• The publisher of NME is IPC Advertising.
• ―IPC Media (formerly International Publishing Corporation), a wholly owned subsidiary
of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United kingdom, with a
large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each yeah.‖
• This company is known for publishing magazines such as Now, Look, Country Life and
obviously NME.
• The British magazine publishing industry in the mid-1950s was dominated by a handful of
companies, principally the Associated Newspapers (founded by Lord Harmsworth in
1890), Odhams Press LTD, George Newnes Publishers, C. Arthur Pearson, and the
Hulton Press, which fought each other for market share in a highly competitive
marketplace.

27. NME – AUGUST 2011 - COLOUR
• The colours used in this magazine change
frequently (from issue to issue). In this issue they
have focused on the colours red, yellow and a
calmer blue.
• The red and the yellow are a direct contrast to each
other and are commonly used in rock magazines;
they are a safe option that is known to work.
• The red and yellow also match the logos of the
Reading and Leeds festivals, which is presumably
one of the features in the magazine.
• The background is very calm and juxtaposes the
other colours featured on the page (the red and
yellow).
• The rest of the magazine attempts to impersonate a
newspaper and has large serif headline and smaller
black body text, much like broadsheet newspapers.

28. NME – AUGUST 2011 – LAYOUT AND DESIGN
• The layout of the body of this newspaper is very much
reminiscent of broadsheet newspapers like I stated earlier.
The serif headline is positioned to the top left of the page in
a very bold style, with a sub-headline and then the body text.
• The text in this double page spread is in a column
style, again replicating what newspapers do. It allows for
more stories/text to be crammed into the page.
• The theme of red and yellow still carries over to this page
but is a lot more minimalist, with the main focuses of this
page being the writing and the images of the band featured.
• Red text is highlighted when it is important and the double
page spread kicks off with a big red letter, it looks very
typical of rock magazines in its colour palette.
• If we were to apply rule of thirds to the front cover, you can
clearly see that all of the coverlines are positioned in
particular sections, with the majority of them appearing in the
first third.
• The main image (of Muse frontman Matt Bellamy) is
positioned to conform to the rule of thirds as well, with his
eyes matching the top horizontal line and the important
features of facial expression lining up into the second
vertical line.
• You can clearly see that everything has been carefully
positioned and well thought out.

29. NME – AUGUST 2011 - IMAGES
• The main images here are mainly showcasing
the band Muse, as they are the band being
featured in the magazine, so naturally they
would appear in the front cover and a double
page spread.
• The main images are also said to reflect the
target reader, if this is the case then NME’s
target reader would be middle aged men, I
feel this could be slightly appropriate and
could point towards the more mature style of
presenting information (like a broadsheet
newspaper).
• As I have stated above, the images reflect the
content, in the double page spread Muse talk
about headlining some big upcoming gigs (or
upcoming at the time of production) so it
would only seem adequate for NME to include
images of them performing live.

30. NME – AUGUST 2011 –
POSE, STYLE, HAIR, MAKE-UP
• The front cover is shot at a low angle, which makes
the man on the front cover appear imposing and
powerful.
• His expression seems stern, as if he is trying to
keep a lot of information to himself that will later be
revealed later into the magazine.
• The pose seems staged; there is obviously a sense
of photo shopping happening to it as well, such as
the airbrush tool.
• In the second picture he is also from a low
angle, this time holding and playing a guitar in a
live environment.
• This image is a lot more natural than the one above
it and he seems much more comfortable and less
forced to perform something in this image.

31. NME – AUGUST 2011 – COMPOSITION AND
FRAMING
• The front cover utilises a close up so that you can see
the full expression on his face.
• The background is a plain blue image so that the focus is
on the coverlines and the main image as opposed to the
background. This is different to the issue of Q I analysed
as in that issue the background was very vibrant and
distracting, it all seemed too busy.
• The first thing you notice about this page is obviously the
main image, this image is representing the main story in
the magazine and will convince people whether or not to
purchase the magazine so it would have to be noticed
first, otherwise the magazine company are doing
something wrong.
• In the other piece, the images are framed around the
text, you would notice the images first because they are
almost directly in the centre of the page and then go
ahead and read the body text.
• As I have said before, your eyes naturally move from top
left to bottom right in western literature, but this double
page spread tries/attempts to steer away from that
ideology.

32. NME – AUGUST 2011 – WRITTEN CODES (HOW
WORDS ARE USED)
• The main coverline suggests that Muse are headlining
this magazine via a double-page spread. The subtitle for
the main coverline also suggests that they are
performing live soon and may possibly be hinting at an
interview (how would they know about it being their most
insane shows if they didn’t ask them what they were
doing at said shows).
• Also it states ―We’re bringing Origin of Symmetry to life‖
which hints that they might be going back to their roots
for the show and playing one of their older albums (10
years old in fact) at the retrospective shows.
• ―The truth about the next album‖ tells us that during what
I presume will be an interview they spill the beans on
their newest album (which as of me writing this
PowerPoint has been released) and how they are going
to produce it.
• The smaller coverlines across the left and right of the
page tell us the basic content of the magazine. ―V
Festival Verdict‖ suggests that their own opinion is rife
and that their opinion is not the thoughts of everyone, it
is not set in stone.

33. NME – AUGUST 2011 – WRITTEN CODES (HOW
WORDS ARE USED)
• ―Alex Turner Goes Rockabilly‖ could be a long shot
hint at stating somebody is combining rock and
country. Hillbilly is a typical slang term and Rock is
obviously a music genre, so combining the two to
create ―Rockabilly‖ could be hinting at a new genre
he is up taking.
• From a distance, the coverline that would stand out
most is ―MUSE‖, as this is the headlining band for
this magazine issue as I stated earlier. If this was
positioned on the shelf however, you probably would
see NME and some of Matt Bellamy’s forehead, so
they really are relying on the brand name to carry
the magazine and create purchases.
• Of course if it was positioned differently on the shelf
so that you could see the main coverline, then that
may persuade people to purchase the magazine.

34. NME – AUGUST 2011 - LANGUAGE
• The main headline would catch peoples
attention, it is a line that would make people
inquisitive about what is inside the
magazine. Also it appears to look like a
quote which will make the reader want to
find out what context this was said in.
• A drop-cap is employed via the letter T and
it appears emboldened and is a bright
colour. This will give readers a starting point
and allow them to begin reading this double
page spread. It is also a common feature of
literature and backs up the point I stated
earlier about NME structuring the writing of
their magazine like broadsheet newspaper.
• Adjacency pairs are found here as this
interview almost appears like a
conversation. When the question is asked it
seems appropriate for one or more of the
band members to respond, and once they
have responded it seems appropriate for the
interviewer to ask another/a new question
for the band to subsequently answer.

35. NME – AUGUST 2011 - LANGUAGE
• The language used obviously expects the
reader to have some shared knowledge with
the writer of this double page spread about
Muse. It mentions albums and song names
as though you would have heard them
before, understand how they go and
understand any relevant jokes about them.
It also uses terms such as ―mosh‖ that
certain people might not understand if they
had not been to gigs or a place that has a
similar environment to a gig.
• The language is a mixture between
sophisticated and slang. Words such as
―hallucination‖ have been used
which, depending on the age of the
reader, the reader may not have heard of
before. However, swear words such as
―shi—loads‖ have been used which give the
interview a much more informal feel but also
confirm to us that it is an unedited
conversation with the band.

36. NME – AUGUST 2011 – OVERALL OPINION
• Overall I would say this magazine is a success, the front cover especially. The
front cover uses typical colours associated with the genre (red, yellow, white)
whilst creating a major contrast with the blue that makes sure the front cover is
eye catching whilst still being aesthetically pleasing. The image does not swamp
the page even though it covers a majority of it, and he is looking right at the
reader which may make them identify with the front cover.
The coverlines are positioned around the drawing (except for the main coverline
of course, which needs to be a bigger part of the page than the regular
coverlines) and therefore do not detract a lot of information away from the main
image and the main coverlines.
The title stands out off the page whilst still not taking attention away from what I
would call more major aspects of the magazine.
• The contents page is not as big of a success as the front cover in my opinion and
the colours are a little bland, but they are going for a newspaper-esque feel and if
it is constant throughout the whole magazine and other issues of the magazine
then I would be more obliged to say it is a good idea. The contents page is very
simplistic, with all of the images being either squares of rectangles, and their
retrospective pages in the magazine overlaying the bottom right of each. There is
a pale blue box of a similar colour to the background of the front cover in the
bottom right, which suggests that the background colour could be a staple of this
issue of the magazine and would then promote good continuity.

37. NME – AUGUST 2011 – OVERALL OPINION
• The double page spread is nice, the headline makes people
want to start reading it and the interview is presumably raw
and unedited. The text wraps around the images as they
would be what attract the audiences attention and are
therefore the biggest part of the page being positioned almost
exactly in the middle.
There is a small box at the bottom in red that is advertising the
gigs that muse would be appearing in and one could say the
entire double page spread is trying to sell the gigs to it’s
readers and if that is the case then the double page spread
was successful as both festivals did very well.
• If I was to take anything from the magazine, it would definitely
have to be the layout of the front cover, I feel it works really
well and looks extremely professional above all else.