One main picture of a well known celebrity popping up in the charts. They try to create a vulnerable vibe in order to lure the men and a sexy look in order to make women want to be more like her.

They try not to give much away apart from which bands are in the magazine, makes it easier for the reader to know what is in store for them. The boxes around the names of the

Simple colour scheme of red, white, black and grey although the red is a little too dark it can still stand out from the dark background. The colours they chose actually work together rather than using multiple colours for each font.

The font used is also simple and boring however because they use different font sizes trying to create a box with the words put close together. This allows more space to bring out the picture from behind.

The main logo and name of the magazine big font and takes up quite a bit of the top left hand corner. This blocks out part Cheryl’s head. I dislike this because covers up the main focus instead the should have either put the logo behind her head or made the logo smaller because it’s the biggest box on the page.

This contents page is very clean, crisp and basic, this gives a very sophisticated feel.The red, black and white colour theme is carried across from the front cover, this keeps some consistency and theme through the magazine.  The contents page is well divided in columns, the columns are titled in bold white text on red background.  The red numbers are medium sized and stand out on the white page.The large photo on the right hand side of the page helps promote one of the higher profile articles in the magazine, as well as make the contents page look more interesting.In Q magazine, there is usually a second contents page, this is because of vast amount of content that is in the magazine.

This double page spread from "Q" magazine April 2010, has a simple design, with one page dedicated to an image and the other to the article. The article is on the pop cultural phenomenon and controversial music star - Lady Gaga. The image on the left page, sees a mid-shot of Gaga, with her upper torso and head visible. She is naked and much of flesh is exposed, with her hands and a metal chain necklace covering the more revealing areas. In the photograph the model is posing The artist naked is both for controversy, which gains both the artist and the magazine an audience, and for sexual image and attraction. This very issue is very controversial, with Gaga covering the issue with a strap-on penis as part of her outfit and her upper half exposed, this got the issue banned in Barnes & Noble, the largest book retailer in the United States. However this was not a negative for the issue, as it gained the star and the magazine, press coverage and got people interested in the cover, to see what it looks like and to purchase it. Her hair is styled to be wild, eccentric and untamed, this represents the artist to have a wild, crazy and eccentric personality that cannot be tamed. The image itself has been edited in post-production into black and white, to create mood and a dramatic effect, and to give her the look of an old film star - commenting that she is already a massive star and will survive the test of time in her career.

The front cover is mostly took up by a medium close-up picture of Britney Spears against a grey background. Grey represents style and lightness, which also links to the picture as Britney is wearing a grey top, and is laughing so giving the impression she has no problems and also she is a style icon to some people. The masthead is in italic white writing and is partly covered by the image, which is a convention usually used. The image of Britney is one of her laughing and looking like the typical all-American girl which is a look most pop stars use. The main headline links to the image and is done in yellow and white. Yellow represents happiness which links to the picture of Britney laughing and yellow also represents positiveness which is what she represents because she has managed to overcome her problems. White is often associated with pureness, which is how pop stars are meant to come across because they are role models for young teenagers. There is an issue number and date line at the top right of the page. The main and other cover lines are down the left hand side of the page next to the image on the right. The other cover lines are done in smaller writing and use the same font as the main. 'The hot issue' is wrote in capitals and surrounded by a red box which is a connotation of heat. The main colours used are yellow, grey and white. Yellow represents happiness and positiveness which is what is shown in the image. White is often used to show pureness and peace which is how the pop industry wants their artists to come across. Grey shows respect which shows Britney is a respected artist, but also stylishness again linking to how Britney is seen.

     This magazine also follows through the house styles of the front cover, this seems to be the same with all magazines, so it is a convention that the audience expect; having a house style following through the magazine. This contents page appears to be similar to the Q magazine one with it's more sophisticated and professional feel. It has clearly marked areas with different features in, and unlike the other two it gives more detail of what the feature's are about with a brief summary. There are also more images which link to each of the more major features. This contents page is also pretty much monochromatic except for the red hints, which are very minute. This appeals well to the target audience as it's more 'grown up' and has a better feel to it. It represents everything in an actual way as it is, not in a stereotypical way as it wants everything to be represented as it is in reality. 

This double page spread is quite disorganised compared to the likes of the other two I've looked at, which is unusual as the contents and front cover of Rolling Stone appear to convey a more adult, proffesional look. Although I do like the contrast between the sophisticated parts and more unorganised parts, I like the 'collage' like effect of this double page spread and the differences between the pictures. I also like the way it looks as though they're just pictures cut out and placed over one another, it gives it a more creative DIY effect. There's not really a main headline to these pages, which is unusual for a magazine, although any titles could be on a previous page if this is an ongoing story though more than two pages. The pages do follow a house style with the similarly colour photos and pinks, whites and reds. There is also a headine in the top margin reading 'Madonna'. All of the main writing is located right down the right hand side, except for a part in the centre. 

The title as always with NME magazine is in the top left hand corner. The colours they have used for the title this time are red with a white outline and the white outline then outlined with a black outline. This is sticking to NME's normal colour scheme of black, white and red. As I am basing my magazine on the NME style I am also going to be putting my title in the top left hand corner and it is going to be in a large, red font. The main image on this cover is actually more towards the right hand side rather than centred like where they normally have the image. Again both people are staring right at the reader to draw their attention to the magazine. 

The main colours used for this magazine are very obvious on this front cover. They are red, white and black (what NME normally use as their colour scheme). I am using this colour scheme for my magazine as NME is the style I am using. The only part of the front cover that is completely different is the piece of font that says ‘Jack White’s shock new album out this week’ as that is partly in yellow font. Also the font in the bar at the top of the page which says ‘Studio News’ is in yellow as well. This tells the reader that this is important information as it is in a completely different colour to the rest of the font so they are obviously wanting the readers to notice this straight away. 

As the main image is more to the right hand side of the page they have put most of the text on the left hand side in one big column. They have made the text more into a bullet point form as they have stated the little sub titles and then put a description with each of them. Bullet point form is a really easy way for the reader to be able to see what different bands and topics are in this magazine. There is a bar going along the top of the page which separates out that font from the rest. This means that the magazine is wanting to reader to notice this straight away as well as it must be an important piece of information to read about as it is separated from the rest of the font.

Like the Q magazine contents page the NME one also follow all of the front cover house styles through to the contents page, this gives the magazine continuity and allows the reader to identify that the contents page is from the same magazine. Unlike the contents page of Q magazine the NME one appears to want to give off a more 'street' sort of look, it wants to interest the reader and make the features seem more exciting and bold. Also, unlike Q it features a 'band index' for the reader to quickly find their favourite bands and locate them in the magazine. There's not really any 'main' photos on this contents page as it all seems heavily graphics based. The target audience; younger music fans; would appreciate the design of this contents page as it appears to look more 'young' and bright than that of Q magazine. It wants to represent the musicians in a fun sort of way which sees them as 'cool young people' as well as talented artists. This lets the readers connect with the artists as underneath the fame and fortune they have similar sorts of lifestyles.

 This double page spread features a large image, similar to the Q magazine double page spread. The image features a USA flag which relates to the word USA in the background, this is also red and white which relates back to the masthead colours for NME. Also, Florence Welch has red hair which is the only colour outside of whites and greys which features on this double page spread. The writing is all to the bottom right hand corner which leaves more space to the dominant image of Florence. This portrays Florence as a powerful woman, and her stance in the photo also strengthens this point as she looks omnipotent. The headline 'USA got the love' is also a play on words from Florence and The Machine's 'You got the love' song. This double page spread as a whole gives off a more sophisticated look for NME magazine as usually their stuff's more 'thrown together' than set out in a professional manner. This would appeal to the target audience as it features a modern pop star and has bold colours, such as the striking reds.