2. COVER. ‘Q’
This is a Front Cover taken from Q’s Members Only Edition with Lana Del Rey. I’ve
chosen this specific cover due to the fact it has personality and I haven’t
experienced a cover like this before.
As you can see, Q use their rather large Title Piece (Logo/Masthead ) in the Left
Third, this is because when the product is on a shop shelf covered by other music
magazines, we are able to see the Title Piece (Logo/Masthead) clearly due to it’s
vibrant powerful appearance.
The text (LANA DEL REY), used for the Lead Line has a lot of weight/boldness to it
and is rather masculine, this is due to the fact they have used a Sans Serif font.
However, the text in front and after this is feminine, this is because it’s thin and airy.
The photography used is a Close Up of Lana Del Rey’s face. This specific shot was
used as this imagery links with the Lead Line. ‘So What’s So Bloody Good?’ The link
between them connects well as the photographer has used blood on her face which
obscures her, and added this humorous Lead Line of ‘So What’s So Bloody Good?’.
By only using one Lead Line, we can instantly discover that this is an unusual
issue, this is because Q normally have many other Cover Lines which are normally
situated in the Left Third and Right Third. However, in this case, Q have used only
one Lead Line and this is situated nearly in the centre of the Lead image, this is so it
stands out and makes a statement.
I think they used blood and this Lead Line, as Q’s House Style colour is red.
Red is associated with the emotion,: passion. In my opinion, I feel using Lana Del
Rey for their Front Cover is great as people have a passion for her and idolise her.
Her make-up is subtle and comforting as it uses pale colours. The model is looking
right into the readers eye’s, which draws the reader in further.
Another feature I can see from this Front Cover is that the Masthead, Lead Line and
Barcode are diagonally going across the Front Cover. This is because the models
features are mostly in the Left Third/centre and if they covered her features
up, they wouldn’t be following the conventions within media and also not being
able to see Lana Del Rey’s face would be pointless.
3. CONTENTS. ‘Q’
Instantly looking at this Contents Page, I can see that the Lead
Line is obviously the Lana Del Rey story due to the fact the
Lead Image is larger than the Cover Lines. It stands out and
takes up most of the Contents Page which portrays it’s
importance. The page number is also very apparent and in
red, this is following Q’s House Style. We gather that the
Cover Lines are less important than the Lead Line as they are
below and at a smaller size.
The other Articles are neatly presented on the left hand side in
a wide column. These articles are at a less importance due to
the fact they are at a smaller font. However, at the top of this
column there is a Cover Line which is presented with
subtitle, this is much larger as it’s relevant and interesting. Q
have used this mouse point curser to empathise the
‘download now’.
Also, the two Cover Lines underneath the Lead Line are in line
with each other, and end in the same position as the page
number (48).
Again, the text is rather masculine, this is down to the
boldness/weight of the text and the Sans Serif style.
Q also add their End Blob at the bottom right of their
Contents Page, this is so you know what magazine you are
reader and maintains the House Style.
4. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD. ‘Q’
As you can see, the red End 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, as said, this maintains as their strict House
Style.
I like this double page spread due to the Close Up Facial Shot
photography, I admire the image because of the colours and the pose;
it’s striking and draws your attention. The Blue light in the left is rather
cold but contrasted with the warm brown neutral tones within Rey’s
face. In my opinion, I feel Q have used a whole page for this
photography to portray the importance of Lana Del Rey and the
story/article.
The Drop Cap is added for impact and detail, because if not it would
have been rather boring and full of White Space. They have used this
Drop Cap as the Body Copy starts with the letter ‘S’. The Drop Cap
uses the font of Serif and this portrays elegance/femininity.
The article is in neat columns and looks professional and clean. Even
though it is rather simple, it still looks effective and classy.
The black and white looks like a newspaper article and this also helps
the article look professional.
A Title has been situated in the top right corner of the second page,
this reveals what the article is about.
5. COVER. ‘WIRE’ This magazine cover is very simplistic, but at the same time
effective, this is due to the unique photography used, it looks as if they
have purposely used camera shake to achieve this rushed/moved
image.
The Masthead is Masculine due to the fact it has a heavy
weight/boldness to it, and the pale grey colour. The font is Sans
Serif, which is a standard block letter.
The Cover Line, ‘Flying Lotus’, is over lapping the Title Piece
(Logo/masthead), this is acceptable as Wire are a well known
magazine and by obscuring the Title Piece (Masthead /Logo) we are
able to get a better view of the Models Medium Close Up shot.
The Lead Line is masculine, just as the rest of the text as it uses 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. White is a pure, clean colour.
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 inviting and unusual.
There is a lot of White Space left on this Front Cover, but I feel that
they can get away with at as it’s a very classy structure.
The Lead line is in the Right Third, along with two other Cover Lines.
We know which with Lead Line is Due to the Fact it’s heavier in weight
and bolder/larger.
Overall, this is a unique Front Cover which draws your attention, but in
my opinion I think Wire should situate their barcode/price/issue
number in the Left Third, this would enable the buyer/reader to see
the price easier when covered by other magazines on a shelf in a shop.
6. CONTENTS. ‘WIRE’
The Contents has a lot of White Space, this must be a House Style for
Wire. I admire this though as it’s pure, clean and classy.
I like the justified structure of the columns, they are well situated as
we can see them clearly and effectively.
We can clearly see what the Lead Line is as there is an image , (only
image on the Contents). We can also see the importance of the
articles, as four articles are much larger than the rest, these must be
Lead Lines, where as the remaining articles are Cover Lines.
We instantly see that this Contents page is masculine due the
cleanness of it.
7. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD. ‘WIRE’
Again, we see Wire’s simple House Style
recurring through out. There’s a lot of White
Space.
The Pull Quote is unusual, due to the fact of it’s
structure, it has been composed into a list like
form. I like how Wire dare to be different, in my
opinion many magazines look messy and
unprofessional with out justifying their
work, but I think Wire get away with it as it just
looks so classy.
The Body Copy has been spilt into four
columns and have been justified to appear
clean.
In my opinion, I think the photography could
have been better by actually showing his face. I
admire the Medium close up bit it just seems
pointless having a model without seeing his
face…
A Design Feature Wire incorporate is the End
Blob, they use this on every page through out
their issues to identify their magazine.
The masculine theme is still visible due to the
White Space and cleanness. However, this is
contrasted with the pink background within the
photography , this is portraying femininity. In
the media, pink is normally associated with
females.
8. COVER. ‘NOTION’
I’ve chosen Notion to analyse as it’s very different to Q and Wire.
Notion is more feminine than Q and Wire, this is portrayed by the
pink lighting covering the Medium Close Up Photography and Title
Piece (Logo/Masthead).
In my opinion, this photography would be associated with fashion. It’s
acceptable for the Title Piece to be obscuring the model’s face as
she’s a well known singer.
The Title Piece (Logo/Masthead) uses a Serif font, this is a feminine
font due to the lines coming out from the letters. Notion use Serif
through out the Font Cover to portray elegance, class and femininity.
Like Q, we can clearly see which line is the Lead Line. This is the Jessie
Ware text, which is situated in the bottom centre of the Front Cover. I
think Notion have situated the Lead Line here as it doesn’t obscure
Jessie Ware’s face, body or elegant pose.
We can also tell that the Cover Lines with more importance are the
lines that are larger in font and heavier in weight/boldness.
I admire how Notion have used colours that are based around the
Lead Image, for example, the Masthead is the same colour as the
lighting, and the text/Copy is the same colour as the crisp, pure white
shirt. The text is very apparent white on the pink back layer.
This Feminine theme is contrasted with the masculine suit that Ware
is wearing.
The barcode is in the Left Third, this is down to the fact that when the
magazine is on a shelf in a shop, the buying/reader can see the price
clearly when covered by other products/magazines.
9. CONTENTS. ‘NOTION’
This Contents Page is original, which I admire.
We are instantly knowledgeable about the importance of the articles.
The Lead Lines are Bolder/heavier in weight and larger in font, where
as the Cover Lines are thinner and more agile. We also know what the
Cover Lines are due to the fact there are ten small images on the left
hand side.
Notion have used a slightly obscure Design Feature which is the
random black line in the bottom right corner. This may have been
added to add more detail or to obscure their magazine further, either
way, it’s pretty random.
The Title is positioned at the top in the centre, this is so it catches your
eye. In my opinion, I think they should have enlarged this slightly as it
looks out of place. This title is rather masculine, due the weight of the
Sans Serif font (heavy).
Notion have used a simple but effective type write font, which has a
stylish twist and is rather masculine as it’s in capital letters. They have
underlined their captions which adds a more feminine touch.
They also have the End Blob in the bottom right corner, which
identifies the magazine.
10. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD. ‘NOTION’
I admire the Medium Shot, (torso to head) as it’s funky and
brightens up the page, we haven't seen much colour in this
magazine. I like how they have used blue clothing, blue is a
pure colour which is clean and relaxing and portrayed as a
‘good’ colour in the media.
The layout of this DPS is unique, I like the clean, neat justified
columns with the Pull Quote surrounded by the Body Copy.
They have also used these Semi-Colons (Characters) to add
more detail, this also makes the page more feminine.
They have also used a Serif Drop Cap I. Serif is a feminine font
and this is contrasted with the masculine white space at the
top of the page.
The title is masculine, Sans Serif and heavy in weight.
