2. COVER. ‘Q’
I have chosen to analyze Q magazine, due to the fact this specific cover
is rather intriguing and not your stereo typical cover because it has an
extreme close up Lana Del Rey’s face.
The magazine works well due to the simplicity and colour scheme, such
as the red with the ‘Q’ masthead and the red blood on her face.
The main story ‘Everybody’s mad for Lana Del Ray, What’s so bloody
good?’ works well due to the fact the ‘bloody’ relates to the blood on
her face and it makes the magazine stand out. Lana Del Rey’s name is in
bold to suggest the main story is about her.
The photography and the text engage the reader due to the simplicity
and freshness.
The text in the far right next to the barcode in my opinion doesn’t work
because it’s rather small and you can’t really notice it because of the
other bold context.
The masthead is vibrant on the left hand side because when the
magazine is place on a shelf in a shop, you can see the mast head
clearly. The red symbolizes energy, passion and violence, and is
contrasted with the elegant face of Lana Del Rey.
‘Q’ magazine normally has photography of bands and lots of writing, so
this edition is rather unique and I like it due to the uniqueness and
colours.
3. CONTENTS. ‘Q’
The contents page is rather simple and clean, which is effective
because it is easy to read and easy to work out what’s what.
Again, they have used the theme of red followed from the Masthead
onto the contents page, we can see this by the red colour band with
‘features’ on, the red ‘Blob’, to symbolize which magazine it is, the
large red boxes with page numbers in and the quote is also in red.
This theme follows through the magazine each time to represent the
Q magazine itself.
The main story images have been placed on the contents page to
enhance the importance of them, and to show what is actually in the
issue. They have been placed in a clean simple way so it’s easy to make
out what’s where.
I like the fact that the feature stories are all on the left hand column
because again, it’s easy to read and looks professional, not messy. The
layout has been well organized and well thought about.
The Lana Del Rey story image is larger than the cover line images
because it’s the more important story. (Lead Story)
4. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD. ‘Q’
As you can see, the red ‘blob’ is on each and every page of the ‘Q’
magazine, the show that it is ‘Q’ magazine, and it remains red
throughout each article.
I like this double page spread because of the page of photography, I
like the image because of the colours and the pose; it’s striking and
draws your attention.
I also admire the very large ‘S’, on the story page, they have used this
to add impact and too add more detail, because if not it would have
been rather boring. They have used ‘S’, because the story starts with
the letter ‘S’.
The article is in neat columns and looks professional and clean. Even
though it is rather simple, it still looks effective and easy to read.
The black and white look like a newspaper article and this also helps
the article look professional.
In my opinion, I think more colour should have been added to add
more drama and less boring.
The shot of Lana Del Rey is a close up of her face.
5. COVER. ‘WIRE’
This magazine cover is very simplistic, but at the same time
effective, this is due to the photography, masthead and use of font.
The masthead is bold, large and over the main image which draws
more attention to the masthead. The colour grey is subtle and blends
in well with the colour scheme and photography.
The masthead has a heavy weight to it, which also makes it masculine.
The cover line, ‘Flying Lotus’, is over lapping the masthead which is
effective because you can’t miss any information; it’s all in the same
area and easy to read.
The lead line text is rather masculine and doesn’t use sans serif. The
font is easy to read and clean. The chosen colour for the text: white, is
effective because it stands out, it’s much brighter than any other
colour on the front cover.
The photography is my favorite feature, this is because it’s unique and
wacky, it draws you into the magazine because it’s so different.
The magazine itself looks professional, clean and inviting.
The camera shot/angle, is a medium close up, which most magazines
use.
In my opinion, I think more text should have been added so the free
space would be used up, because it looks unfinished!
6. CONTENTS. ‘WIRE’
I like the contents purely because again, it’s simple. The
theme, simplicity, runs throughout this magazine.
I like the ordered columns, everything is easy to read and easy to find.
In my opinion, I feel that this page needs much more detail, they could
have added more colours to brighten it up and it could have made it
more cheerful, they also could have added more images, as there is a
lot waste space.
The text could have been bigger, bolder, and different sized fonts
would have made it more intriguing and lively.
The cream background is simple, and bland, they could have added
some coloured boxes or strap lines etc.
Again, this magazine is rather masculine due to the plainness.
7. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD. ‘WIRE’
The double page spread has the simple theme
running though.
I like the columns, they are well structured and
look professional and easy to read, and they
are lined up properly and are not messy.
I like the quote, due to the fact of its
structure, it has been made to look as if it’s
squashed, it’s going on like a list and this adds
much more drama to the page.
However, this could have been in some sort of
colour to add more depth and more liveliness.
The photography makes up for the lack of
detail, the colours are very bold and add
drama.
A design feature used on the double page
spread, and every other page is the ‘blob’
which says the name of the magazine on each
page to identify the magazine.
8. COVER. ‘NOTION’
This is my favorite cover due to the fact it’s unique and has a classy
feel to it.
Again, this front cover is very simple, but works well because of the
photography and colours. The camera angle/shot, is a medium close
up, which most magazines use.
The white text works well with the pink; it’s elegant and reflects the
photography.
The colours used are feminine, and the pose, model is also very
feminine and sexy, this photography looks like a high fashion shot, but
it’s a musician.
The masthead is the same colour as the beam of light which is
effective because is flows.
The masthead itself is feminine, and uses sans serif.
I like the fact that the cover lines are at the bottom of the front
cover, and are in italics and bold.
The lead line is in a much larger font, and is placed bottle middle of the
cover, this is to make the reader aware that this is the lead line.
9. CONTENTS. ‘NOTION’
I don’t like this contents page as it looks rather messy and plain.
Although the titles are in columns, the text still looks messy and
childlike.
The images could have been bigger; there is a lot of white space which
could have been used up to make the page look more intriguing.
The images used on the right are the main stories, and the images on
the left are the lead stories.
They have used a line across the corner of the page, (design feature) to
add more detail, but in my opinion they could have made this a vibrant
colour from the front cover to make the page more interesting.
The page and ‘contents’ is placed right in the top center of the page, to
catch attention.
The text used has been use din italics and capitals to add drama and
detail.
Underlining words adds a statement and gets to the point.
10. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD. ‘NOTION’
I like the double page spread because it’s simplistic but has detail at
the same time, such as the enlarged quote in the middle of the text
and it surrounded with brackets.
I like how the text is organized in clear, neat columns. The title is at the
top, and is rather small; you would expect the title to be rather large
as it’s a main story.
I like how the text is at the bottom half of the page, it’s different and
looks good.
In my opinion, they should have added more colour and more design
features because it is very bland and not very feminine.
However the photography is nice, I like how it has a whole page to
itself, the colours are bold and actually add some interest to the page.
The shot is a medium shot, (head to waist), which looks like a fashion
shot.
