Cover Analysis: Conventional magazine cover

Masthead, along top of page, sometimes in the top corner

Main image, modelled by a famous person. Has to be eye-catching to grab attention of buyer.

Colour scheme, made up of 3 colours. In this case pink, black and red.

Special offers! Stand out against background to grab readers attention.

Barcode, generally at one of the bottom corners of the page.

Plugs and lures. Make audience want to read the rest of the magazine. Cover line. Draws the audience in, at

tells them what the main focus of the magazine will be about.

Cover Analysis: NMENME follows the conventional style of a music magazine. The mast head is at the top of the page, and specifically in the top left corner to grab the audience’s attention, yet doesn’t obstruct too much of the image of the model, which is the first thing the reader will see.

The feature head acts as a title. In bold capital writing across the front of the magazine, tells the audience that the magazine will be about Jimi Hendrix. Due to the name of the model being larger than the rest of the title, suggests that this is done to grab the shoppers attention and make them aware of what it will be about. The smaller, not so eye-catching writing above the name, ‘the final weeks of:’ gives more detail about what will be inside the magazine, but is not as large as it doesn’t want to draw any attention away from the main selling point of Jimi Hendrix.

The main image is one of Jimi Hendrix, which fills at least 2 thirds of the whole magazine cover. The shot is taken straight into the model, and not at an angle. This almost makes it look like Hendrix is confronting the audience, making him more making him seem intimidating, leaving the audience in awe in the same way he did after they would watch him. Part of the image is coloured, whilst part is in black and white. This could suggest that despite he has died, hence the black and white, his music still lives on which is why the rest of the image is still colourful.

The colour scheme of this magazine cover follows the conventional style in that it is only really three colours, in this case violet, green and a sort of magenta colour. This differs to the usual colour scheme of NME, which usually has a red title. The change could be because this particular magazine was a special edition, and therefore will intrigue the audience when they pick it up as to why it’s different, encouraging them to buy it as they will want to know what it’s about. The colour’s used are very bold and contrast against the background of white and therefore will stand out against the rest of the magazines.

Cover Analysis 2: Guitarist Guitarist also follows the conventional style of a magazine cover by having it’s mast head going along the top of the cover, in a bold writing that contrasts well against the background so it stands out more. In this case, the heading is actually obstructed slightly by the main image on the front. Although the image slightly obstructs the audiences view of the mast head, it is still significantly visible, so the audience can still read the name of the magazine. I like this style, as we can include the whole image, yet still able to read the name of the magazine.

This shot is a long shot of the model, and is used to entice the audience, and show them what the magazine will involve. The pose that is pulled off suggests excitement, and exhilaration, and especially is something the target audience of rock fans are used to seeing if they were to go to a concert of this genre. The model on the cover, clearly isn’t real, but seems to be an image created in a graffiti style. This could suggest that the editor is looking to spread their business to other ranges of audiences, specifically, due to the way the image has been created, to a teenage market, who are renowned for their graffiti artwork.

The barcode on this magazine isn’t placed in the conventional location on a magazine. Where it is usually located on one of the bottom corners of a magazines, ‘Guitarist’ has located their barcode vertically on the cover on the left hand side of the page. This could just be because their is more space on the sides than at the bottom, or it simply could be because the editor wanted to be different, wanted to use a different approach to gain more attention on their magazine.

The title on the front of the cover not only tells the audience what the main feature of the magazine will be about, but is shown in a very eye-catching way. The title is moulded in the shape of the boot, and is done in that way as the title: best ‘Stomp’ boxes, has a clear connection to boots i.e. To stomp is to beat with a forcible downwards thrust of the foot. This is a clever design and is something that will also grab the audiences attention and draw them in, making them wanting to find out more!

Cover Analysis 3: Rolling StoneRolling Stone has also stuck to the conventional style of a music magazine. The mast head is at the top of the page, and goes right across the page. This method invites the reader to buy the magazine, as it is the first thing the audience will see. The title is obstructed slightly by an advertisement, but because of the famous band ‘The Rolling Stones,’ and also a famous lyric from one of Bob Dylan’s hits: ‘like a rolling stone,’ it is obvious what the name of the magazine called. The catchy name is not only bold and inviting, but due to it being a well known set of words, it attracts people because it is something they are familiar with.

Rolling Stone follows the convention of having a model that stands out in the middle of the magazine to attract customer attention. Yet doesn’t follow the conventional method of having the model looking into the camera, in this case, Bruce Springsteen is playing the guitar. I think it has been done in this way because by striking a pose, the cover is more eye-catching yet also makes Springsteen more intimidating. He is performing on the cover, and seems to be getting into his stride. By doing this, the magazine will attract Springsteen fans, and will specifically draw in people who are familiar with this sort of genre.

Rolling Stone has gone with an American theme to this issue of the magazine. This is clearly because the main feature of the magazine is an American artist. Yet to make the American theme stand out, the national flag is pasted across the front cover in the background. The flag is made up of three bold contrasting colours; red, white and blue, and therefore, makes it more eye-catching, and will draw the audiences attention. On the white strips of the flag, there are small phrases that describe the model in the centre of the cover, but are quite vague, and therefore will draw the reader in as they will have to buy the magazine so they can find out more about what inside.

Contents Page Analysis 1: NME NME have followed the conventional style of a magazine contents page by having a title at the top of the page in bold, visible writing; a large picture in the middle of the page with a caption which will give the reader an idea of what the magazine will be about, as well as a contents on either the left or right of the page, which draws the reader in by telling them what is in the magazine in an informal manor.

Unlike the conventional style, NME have put a ‘Band Index’ on their contents page, which is unusual as this sort of thing usually appears nearer the end of the magazine. This sort of index informs the reader about where they can find a certain piece of information, in this case, NME is telling the reader which issue of NME they can find certain information about specific bands, for example, it may say: Kasabian (19), which will mean there will be something about Kasabian in issue 19. This has probably been situated here so the audience can see straight away where they can find out about there favourite bands, and then will purchase that magazine, resulting in more profit for NME.

The picture is unusual because, seeing as Kasabian are a rock band, seeing them in church playing their instruments is the last thing the audience will expect from them. The bold caption and the paragraph beneath it will also cause confusion for the audience, as they still won’t understand what the magazine is going to be about, so therefore they will want to turn to the double page spread to find out what it’s about. The use of the large picture in the middle and caption interesests the audience and makes them want to find out more, and will make them want to buy the magazine again.

Contents page analysis 2: Kerrang Kerrang also contains a lot of typical features which we expect to see on the conventional magazine contents page. It has a clear title to inform the reader, the content column on the right hand side, and a main image in the middle to invite the audience in and keep them interested. The title: contents is in a yellow colour on a black background. These two colours when combined together suggests danger and alert. This could be a quite risky approach as this could put the audience off, yet I think the magazine is only really intended for the target audience and doesn’t really appeal to others in anyway. So therefore the dramatic, dangerous approach of using yellow and black on top of each other will really appeal to those from the target audience, and really draw them in, whereas it’s almost warning away other groups of people.

As well as including a main image, Kerrang have also included a lot of smaller images around the main one to show what else is in the magazine. This is directed towards the younger target audience. Most stereotypical teenagers probably prefer to see less writing and more pictures on a page as it can be easier to comprehend. As well as this, pictures are more interesting to look at than a paragraph of writing, and therefore together, these two things suggest to me that this technique has been used because it’s more eye-catching and interesting to use pictures, and it’s easier to show the audience what will be inside the magazine than to try telling them from one sentence.

Contents Page Analysis 3: Q Magazine Q Magazine follows the conventional style of having a title

at the top of the page in contrasting colours so that it stands out and informs the reader about the page. There is a main picture in the centre of the page which informs the reader what the main feature of the magazine will be, with the contents list on one particular side. Beneath the picture is a caption, which gives the reader an aspect of what the story will be about, and therefore, combined with the picture, influences the reader to turn to that page.

The contents is clearly organized into subheadings which are in bold to highlight what is included in the magazine. Beneath each subheading is a small description which informs the reader about each section, to give them a little more detail about that section, in an attempt to persuade the audience to turn to that page. It is situated on the left hand side of the page, so that it doesn’t take the attention away from the main picture, but is still quite visible so it’s the next thing the audience sees. There is a second main story which has clearly been highlighted on the contents, as it is in bright colours and in another font. This has been done as this story is one that will particularly draw in audiences so therefore it is made as bold as possible so it draws attention to it, yet the colours don’t contrast against each other so it doesn’t stand out as much, and this has been done so that it doesn’t take any attention away from the main picture.

There is a general colour scheme that is seen on this contents page. This colour scheme contains red, black and white, which is the general colour scheme of Q magazine, and is the same colour scheme that will be seen on the front cover, and throughout the rest of the magazine, even the main picture seems to stick to it. The colour scheme only ever consists of 3 base colours or less, as the magazines don’t want to overwhelm the audience, or look too tacky, but stay simple, with recognisable colours which will attract audience.

Double Page spread Analysis 1: NME

I like the colour scheme used on this double page. I think the pale blue colour used is friendly and inviting, and works very well with the blue and white writing. I also like the little fact box that is situated near the bottom left of the page, as it doesn’t obstruct much of the image, yet gives us some information about the focus of the page. I don’t like the right hand side of the page where there seems to be a separate section about something else, I think I would rather that the page was focused on the topic at hand, and gave us more information about it, or included more pictures to make it more eye-catching, than including something else completely different. I quite like the text being to one side of the image in smaller writing, so that it’s not ‘in your face’ and putting you off, but it’s slightly to one side so it doesn’t draw attention away from the main image and so therefore allows the reader to make the choice of reading it, other than being forced to.

Double Page spread analysis 2: Kerrang

I don’t like the colour scheme used in this double page spread. I think the red and black that is used make this double page spread seem quite sinister and menacing. Although, having said this, I do think that this colour scheme has been chosen well as it appeals to the target audience, which, judging by the article being about the band ‘My Chemical Romance’ is probably a sort of gothic and punk audience, what I do like is that the colour scheme has been consistently used in this DPS, including in all of the images. I like the way that the page is arranged, for example how the main image is on it’s own on one page, and then the text has been positioned beneath the title on the other page in small appealing writing contrasting against the black background. As well as this I like the way that the title is a quote that has either come from the text or has been said by one of the members of the band.

Double Page Spread analysis 3:

I think the colour scheme is a bit boring, as it is basically black and white, with some small parts in orange. I like the fact that there is a quite a lot of images in the double page spread, yet i don’t know which is the main image, as the biggest two are about the same size. In my opinion there is too much writing on the DPS as it fills one page and there is also some more on the other. This makes it the first thing that the audience see’s when they open the page, and it therefore draws attention away from the images, and is likely to put the audience off when they open the page. I don’t like the fact that there isn’t a title, as it doesn’t attract attention towards the page and doesn’t make you want to read on. In my opinion, this isn’t a very good double page spread, because although there are some good eye-catching images, and could be some good writing on the page, I think that there is too much writing, the colour scheme is a bit monotonous, and there is no title. All these things make me think that the audience would be put off the page which is why I don’t think it is a very good DPS.

Inspiration:I like Classic Rock’s magazine covers because they don’t usually consist of too much. There’s never too much colour, and the images on the front are usually simple. I like this simplistic style as it’s not too in your face and doesn’t put you off, yet it’s simplicity in my opinion draws me in to a magazine like this. I also like the idea of having a guitarist playing a guitar on the front cover as I think this appeals more to a music fan.

I like NME’s style as they consistently produce good quality magazines, and never differ there style so they keep there readers interested. I also like the fact that they introduce new artists and make people more familiar with them. This allows the artists to become more successful and encourages the readers to listen to the music advertised. By doing this consistently the readers constently want the next issue to find out who is in the next issue.

Image Inspiration:I like this image of slash because I think this would look on a magazine cover. The guitar is in his hand, which draws the audience in, and the pose also does this. The hat is an iconic item with slash as you won’t see many images when he’s not wearing one. The fact that he is wearing sunglasses suggests to me that he doesn’t want to make eye-contact with the audience as he doesn’t want to intimidate the audience or come across as too aggressive. I think this is a good image and I could take good tips from this image.

I like this image of Matt Bellamy from Muse. I like this one because it is a really good action pose that looks good with black and white. I like the idea of using black and white in an image but I also like the idea of highlighting the main parts of the image such as a guitar in colour, whilst the background is black and white. In most good poses, eye-contact doesn’t seem to be made between the model and the camera. I think this is because it makes the model feel more secure and results in a better image.

Audience profile:Age: 16 Occupation: StudentGender: Male Background: Finished GCSE’s, starting A-levels, works

in a DIY shop, enjoys maths and has a passion for music, and enjoys experiencing the media.

Likes: Music; Sports (football, rugby, cricket); Video Games; films; maths; design; fashion; food.

Dislikes: Overconfidence and cockiness; people who brag; Manchester united; celebrities who milk attention-bad role models.

Ambitions: To study maths at University, and progress to become an actuary or work in an environment involving maths.

Hobbies: Listening to music; playing guitar; watching television; playing video games; playing football; being with friends.

Music Preferences: Rock Music; R’n’B; Chart Music (now and again)Favourite artists: Guns ‘n’ Roses and Dire straits

Idols: Slash; Mark Knopfler; Keith Lemmon; Mr Panchal

Favourite colours: Pale blue; light grey; green.

Media consuming: Pay money for video games; spending money to buy films; spending money to buy music of iTunes; attempts to keep up to date with fashion, but only when it’s appealing; uses Facebook and Msn.

Fonts:• Garage Band;• Garage Band;• GARAGE BAND;• Garage Band;• GARAGE BAND;

• v

I prefer the bold styles because in my opinion they stand out more. I thought I would look at certain graffiti styles, and other ones similar to that, as I thought that these would appeal more to my target audience of a male teenage audience. I think the styles that are completely in capital letters are bolder, and more eye-catching, and therefore appeal to me more as I think that these will be good for grabbing the audiences attention.

Choosing Fonts:Heading:For the heading, I have narrowed my decision down to 3 choices, as they are bold, unique and more eye-catching than the others.

Sub-Headings:For the Subheadings, I have decided to go with a graffiti style as I think this will be better at attracting a teenage audience. It will be more aesthetically pleasing for a teenage audience, and is something they are familiar with, which is why I have gone with that.

Text: As for the text, I think I am going to use a text called KaiTi. I am going to use this text because it is simple, but not plain, and looks appealing for the target audience so they won’t be put off reading the pieces of text.

Text in KaiTi

Colour Pallets:

Here are a range of colour schemes that I have put together. In my opinion most colours combine well with the plain and simple colours such as black, white and grey which is why all these colour schemes are a primary or secondary colour combined with black, white or grey. The colour schemes that I prefer most are the ones with the stars by them. I think this is because of the pale blue colour that is part of them as I think this sets a calming mood, and is also a popular one amongst young people. I quite like the idea of having a greyscale image in which the important parts of the image are highlighted with colour. I think one of the bottom two colour schemes, with the claret or brown and blue will work best with this idea.

Magazine Title:I have gone through a range of ideas for the name of my magazine but I have a had to thing specifically about what will suit the target audience, how will it relate to the magazine and whether it will be able to attract attention. I don’t really like titles that are only one syllable such as ‘Q’, because I don’t think that this inspires somebody to buy a magazine, and doesn’t really give an idea of what is inside. I quite like the idea of using one word for the title, yet in my opinion this only works when an iconic and catchy word is used such as ‘Kerrang’ as it draws the reader in because it is exciting and different and will make them want to but the magazine and find out what it is about. I especially like the idea of using more than one worded title. This is because I think it gives a lot more detail about what the magazine will be about such as ‘Classic Rock,’ it is bigger so people are more likely to spot it, and it can still be catchy and exciting as it can be something that people have heard of like ‘Rolling Stone.’

I have decided that the genre of my magazine will be rock music, and my target audience is teenagers. By combining the two I have decided that the magazine will be about encouraging young people such as teenagers to listen to more rock music from the past and will hopefully encourage them to start a band themselves. To draw them in I needed a title that is catchy, yet also relates to the genre inside, so therefore I have decided to go with a title of Garage Band as I think this unique, interesting, and when spread across a front cover will be eye-catching.