Magazine Analysis

Georgie Lloyd

Mojo front cover analysis

MastheadThe title is big, bold and black which makes it stand out against the plain background. As the title of the magazine is so well known (Mojo) they are able to hide some of it behind the singers head.

HeadlineThe headline for this magazine is ‘WORLD EXCLUSIVE! SPRINGSTEEN’. This attracts attention as fans of Bruce Springsteen will see this is a special interview considering its ‘world exclusive’. They are also in contrasting white and red font which stands out against the mans figure and the background which makes it easy to read from a distance.

Main imageThe man image is mid shot of Bruce Springsteen, a well known singer. The fact he is making eye contact at the audience makes it more personal and also makes it seem more realistic by the size at which the photo is taken.

Mode of addressThe language on this front cover is fairly informal therefore drawing readers in by making the magazine easy to read and giving them snippets of information on what is inside.

BarcodeThe barcode is in the expected place to which you would normally find one on a front cover. Its out of the way and doesn’t hide any thing that the audience would want to see which makes it barely noticeable which is what the aim of the publisher might have been.

Cover linesThese include information on what the audience will find inside the magazine. One of them has a quote from an article inside – ‘Syd still haunts us…’, which will make the audience want to buy the magazine and carry on reading. Cover lines are only a few words but contain enough information for fans of the magazine to identify what is going on inside.

GiveawayAnother way this magazine attracts the audience’s attention is by the thing they are giving away for free which is a CD. They also state there are ‘two to collect’ which could further promote their next magazine as well.

Mojo contents analysis

MastheadThe masthead appears again on the top of this page which will make the name stick in the readers head by promoting the title more and more. The fact it is in black and white also makes it stand out and makes it easy for the audience to read and identify.

Background colours and fontsThe use of a black and white image makes the theme of this magazine very classic, maybe linking back to ‘rock and roll’ back in the day. It also makes the font and background clash and makes it stand out to the reader and also makes it easier to read. They also use red font on some pieces of text which could lead us to think that these pieces of information are more important than others, such as page numbers.

ImageThe image on this contents page is a singer from a well known band, The Babyshambles. His stance is very casual again proving the in-formalness of the magazine, which is again proven by the fact he has a pint of beer in his hand. The fact this is such a typical ‘lad’ image could suggest that the main target audience for this magazine is males.

Date and issue numberThese are provided at the top of the page in small font. They are usually un-read which could be the reason that these aren't in big text or in bold, so as not to draw any particular attention to them.

QuoteThere is also use of a quote on this contents page, from the man that is featured on the page. This will make fans of this type of music/the band to read on as he is talking about something personal and something people may find interesting.

Cover linesThe cover lines on this magazine sum up what each article is about and gives the reader an idea of what they will find later on. They also make it easy for the reader to find what they are looking for as they are spaced out and easy to identify.

Mojo dps analysis

FontThe title of this article is in a graffiti type font which again links to the target audience being males. Its white which jumps out from the black background and instantly grabs your attention.There is also a sub-title which gives a little introduction to the interview what Pete Doherty talks about.

ImageThe main image fills up a whole page and it is also a mid shot which gives it a realistic sense about it and also makes it more personal as the audience are able to see every minor detail on this mans face. Under the image is a subheading giving the name of the man in the image and a quote from him. This is in a white font which clashes with the blue of his t-shirt therefore making it easier to read.

ArticleThe article here follows the typical dps layout. Its in columns and in relatively small font which makes it easier to fit in all the information the magazine wants to provide. Its in a classic black and white layout (black background, white font) making the font stand out and easy to read, while also linking back to the theme that started in the contents page.

LayoutThe layout for this double page spread in 50/50 with an image of the man being interviewed with pure text on the other page. This gives it a more realistic sense as the man is more life-size therefore giving it a personal feel.

Smash Hits front cover analysis MastheadThis is more a teenage magazine aimed at the latest pop bands and celebs. As the target audience is possibly quite a young one they have shown this in the masthead but using 2 shades of pink which could also have connotations that this is magazine for females. The font is an unusual one, and looks almost 3D, making it stand out against the page.

HeadlineWhile this magazine is quite busy and promotes a lot of articles on the cover the one that stands out is ‘SHAYNE X FACTOR’ as this is spread across more of the page, and also links to the biggest image. The white of the text clashes with the pink background makes it jump out and draw your attention. This also links to a cover line that goes with the quote- ‘ The truth behind those girlfriend rumours’. This tells us that maybe the man featured here is liked by girls, and the audience will be then inclined to read on and find out about his love life.

ColoursThe colours used on this magazine are pink, yellow, white and black. These are quite contrasting colours and really clash with each other and make the atricles jump out. They are seen as quite fun colours again showing that this may be a magazine for the younger age range.

BarcodeThis is situated at the bottom of the page, and is quite hard to find due to everything that is going on. This is usually the aim of magazines and they don’t want the bar code to cover anything important. Next to it also contains the date and price in smaller text which suggest the unimportance once again.

Cover linesThe cover lines most feature the names of famous pop singers, this shows the genre while also getting the audiences attention as they will want to read about their lives.

GiveawaysThe cover also tells us how they are giving away ’10 hot posters’. Posters are something the younger generation like which will again attract the target audience one more.

Smash Hits content analysis

Editors noteAn editors note is a common feature of a contents page. Here it introduces the ‘all new’ magazine, suggesting that this is one of its early copies. It tells us the genre and what we should expect to find in this copy and the ones coming up. It also gives the magazine a more personal feel, as if the note was to you.

LayoutThis is an example of the ‘rule of thirds’ both vertically and horizontally. Although you cant see the divide you can make out that the text and images fit into 3 different sections. This makes it easy to spilt up and to just look at the information you want. There is also use of a pug here, which grabs your attention.

ContentsThe contents and page numbers are featured at the bottom which isnt a usual place to have it as its probably the last place you would look, but it does include a white background and light pink text showing up on it which gives it the emphasis needed. It also split up into categories, again makes it easier for the reader to find the page they are looking for.

ImagesThere are 3 images at the top of the page in a ‘snapshot’ kind of style which gives the magazine as fun vibe and links back to the target audience. There is also a larger image of a very famous band with also a subheading of how there is a possible chance that they may be number 1 this xmas.

Smash Hits dps analysis

LayoutThis article is mainly made up of images with subheading rather than a lot of texts. This could also have connotations of a younger audience as they prefer pictures instead of pages and pages of text.

Colours and fontsThere are some glimpses of pink on the page which links to the cover and contents, promoting the brand of Smash Hits. However the main colour scheme on here is just a plain black and white with colourful images. This allows them to stand out and grab the attention of the audience.

HeadlineThe headline of this article is ‘boy racers’ with a subheading saying the name of the band and say what the article is based on. This gives the reader the ability to see if they would be interested in the article or not.

ImagesThere is one main image on this double page as to introduce the whole band, then they other pictures are mostly individual. These pictures allow us to see a famous band and how they spend their leisure time. They all contain sub headings with quotes from the band and this gives the target audience insight into what is going on here.

Q front cover analysis

MastheadThe title of this magazine is just one single digit but this is recognised by the way it is presented. The red background and the white ‘Q’ clash and stand out against all other features instantly grabbing the audiences attention. The colour red has connotations of sophistication meaning that this magazine may be more formal that other magazines.

PugThere is use of a pug here to further promote that this is the ‘300th issue’. This gives the reader a good impression as it must be a successful magazine for it to be celebrating selling that many copies therefore promoting the magazine further.

HeadlineThe headline of this magazine is just ‘”If you’ve got it flaunt it...” ADELE.’ This gives the audience an idea of what the interview is about and what will be said. It will also make the audience want to read on. And as Adele is a well known renowned singer people will be interested in her viewpoint.

ImageThere is only one image on this magazine and that’s of the cover story’s artist. It is a mid shot, with her making eye contact with the audience therefore giving this magazine a personal feel.

Cover linesThe cover lines are all compact, suggesting that they aren't as important as the main article. The famous artists name appear in bigger font than the rest so they gain attention whereas the minor details on the article are in smaller font.

LayoutThe layout of this magazine follow the rule of thirds as it had the masthead and cover lines down one side, her eyes at actual eye level on the pae then the information to go with the cover down the right hand side.

ColoursThere is only white red and black used on this magazine, which again link to the sophisticated theme of this magazine.

Q contents page analysis

ColoursThere are no bright colours on this contents page, only black and white and the conventional colours of Q- red and white. This keeps up a continuous theme and links the title image to this page.

LayoutThis contents could be said to follow the rule of thirds horizontally as there is a strip of information at the bottom then another in the middle, and then lastly a separate block of contents at the top, which are eye level with the woman featured on it. This makes it easy to identify the article that is wanted and is eye catching without being too busy. It has the title of the magazine featured at the top but much smaller than the cover as it doesn’t need to be promoted as much seeing as its inside the magazine now.

ImageThere is one main image and then a smaller one at the bottom. The bigger image is of Madonna, and the reason that this could be taking up much of the space of the page is that Q is wanting to get the attention of the reader and persuade them to read this as Madonna is a world renowned star, therefore the size of the picture linking to the immense popularity this woman has. The smaller image at the bottom belongs to the section of ‘Review’. This is the part of the contents page with the smallest writing, and the picture therefore makes it more noticeable and gives the reader a insight into what is going to come up.

Date and Issue numberThese are featured in the conventional place that is the top of the page in quite small font as it is mainly irrelevant information and tends to go un-read/un-noticed by readers. The use of small font further proves this as they aren't particularly aiming to get peoples attention to this.

SubheadingsThere are subheadings featured under the contents article names. This tells the reader a little of what should be expected and will make them want to read on.

Q dps analysis

LayoutThis is a simple layout. One page featuring the person that the article is about and the other with a lot of text featured with small writing. This is quite a sophisticated layout and lets us know who the target audience is as articles with a lot of text tend to appeal to older people rather than teenagers/children. There is no title to this article, only her name ‘Lady Gaga’ featured at the top at reasonably small font.

ColoursThere is only black and white used throughout this double page spread on both the image and article. There is only one use of colour and that is the huge ‘L’ that covers most of the second page. The use of the colour here of red has connotation of Q magazine itself and also sophistication and seduction. It also gets the audiences attention as the L represents the name of the woman featured here while also linking her back to the connotations that red links too.

ImageThe image also backs up the sophistication and seduction's of the article as she is featured with no clothes on with quite a sexy expression. This will attract male and woman readers as the sexiness of the article will appeal to men while the woman herself will interest the women.