MAGAZINE TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Masthead

Cover Lines

Selling Line

Date & Price

Barcode

Main Image

website

Cover lines: On the right the cover lines are a lot more eye-catching and the font is a lot thicker than the cover lines on the right hand side. This is because the readers eye will always start from the left hand side. Therefore the magazine needs to be rearranged in this type of layout in order to capture as much attention as possible. The left hand side also features most interesting stories what will captivate readers into buying it. The reason why some text is black is to make the contrast stronger from the background which further makes it stand out. Out of every text in cover lines I believe that “Review of The Year” and “X-men Origins on Set World Exclusive” are most important out of any other (cover line text) because they are bigger in size and thickness and are places on the left hand side.

Selling Line: The letters are relatively large written in capital. However, the font is thicker on one word which is “Wolverine”. This is because he is a popular character amongst Marvel fans this actor could also have an audience since he is also known as Hugh Jackman. The bold letters on his fictional name stand out more and could catch attention of a potential Wolverine fan. The selling line leads to the Masthead by making it feel like an incomplete sentence “Wolverine has returned for…”. This makes the readers complete the sentence by adding the word “Empire” after the Selling Line.

Masthead

Cover Lines

Selling Line

Date & Price

Barcode

Main Image

website

Masthead: The Masthead is in in bold capital letters, one of the most noticeable parts of the magazine. The reason why it’s so eye-catching is because it’s red and incredibly vibrant. This text is also larger than any other text seen on the magazine making it feel important. The magazine has a colour palette and a gradient from light to dark, the top of the magazine is black but as I look down, the colour and contrast is getting lighter . Therefore, the contrast of the masthead is lighter than the background. Additionally the word “Wolverine” (right above the masthead) has a really strong contrast from the background

Main Image: Additionally, the dark background at the top makes the actor’s face stand out more because it’s a lot lighter than the background making the audience focus on him. Since he is the first thing that an audience should see (in order to get as many fans buying the magazine) the actor is placed above the text (Masthead for example). This creates layering which is an appealing technique in magazines for layout composition. The photograph is a half body shot of Hugh Jackman playing a role as a Wolverine which can be clearly seen from the blades on his knuckles.

Masthead

Cover Lines

Selling Line

Date & Price

Barcode

Main Image

website

Barcode, Date and Price: In this magazine, the barcode is placed separately from issue date and price. All of these important aspects are made small and less eye-catching in order to draw attention to pats that will get the viewers to buy the magazine. For example, the barcode is placed on the right bottom side of the magazine where the background is light (which matches with the colour of the barcode). Since the barcode and the background barely create any contrast, it blends in with the whole magazine making it the last thing the consumer will be looking at. However, the contrast of the date and price is strong since it is placed on the dark part od the magazine with a white coloured font. This creates a lot of contrast but the text is incredibly small compared to other text. Therefore, it will not be the first thing the customer sees when he or she picks up the magazine. Judging by the price, this magazine is available in U.K as well as U.S because of the currency signs (‘£’ Pounds and ‘$’ U.S Dollars). This makes it easier to distribute the magazine in these areas without editing and printing out individual copies, saving money.

Colour: The colour mostly consists of blue, red, black and white which is a simple colour scheme. Red is quite far away from blue in the colour wheel but it’s not quite a complimentary colour. Even though these two aren’t complimentary, they go well with each other depending on how much saturation is used which in this case, red has more saturation than blue making it ‘pop out’. Using black and white is a simple way to add more to the magazine while keeping it organised and clean.

SkylineDate & Issue

Masthead

Sell Line

Main Image

Main Sell Line

Cover Lines (with Images)

Puff & Barcode

Skyline: In this magazine, the skyline seems to be separated from the whole magazine making it look like it’s a part of a different section. The whole Skyline is written in capital letters, in a big and bold font making it look eye-catching. The white background also creates a strong contrast because most of the Skyline text is completely black. However, ”44 New Movies” is red compared to the rest of the sentence matching with the whole magazine’s colour palette. The colour red against a white background makes it ’pop out’ even more making the audience eager to know what are the “44 New Movies”.

Cover Lines: Unlike a traditional magazine, this magazine has it’s cover lines going through the middle attached with photographs. This is an effect that matches well with the film genre because the design resembles a simplified version of a film roll. This also gives the audience a visual guide to the content that is going to be featured inside of the magazine featuring popular actors with the film titles below the images. The border of the images is white which creates a nice contrast from the dark background of the magazine. The cover line is slightly tilted making it seem interesting and not too symmetrical.

SkylineDate & Issue

Masthead

Sell Line

Main Image

Main Sell Line

Cover Lines (with Images)

Puff & Barcode

Masthead: The font of the Masthead is incredibly bold, taking up one quarter of the magazine (space). Additionally, the word “TOTAL” is ‘carved out’ of the first letter ”F” creating two words overlaying each other whilst keeping it simple, and most importantly, original. Not to mention, another text is overlaying the Masthead which is a tag line/graphic on the letter “M”. It makes the magazine look a lot more busy and full of content which is something a consumer would want when buying a magazine. On the other hand, the colour of the masthead is also vibrant red against a dark background creating a strong contrast and saturation which makes it a lot more eye-catching.

Main Image: The image features three actor head shots in the middle of the magazine which are well known actors. The most recognizable actor is placed in the middle. The characters seem to be interacting with the background by holding candles. This makes the magazine look a lot more detailed. Additionally, the image creates layering in various laces such as the Masthead and the Sell Line by placing the text under the image and make the layout a lot more usually appealing.

Date and Issue No: Like in the previous magazine, the date is placed in a similar place using a similar white against black technique. However, unlike the other magazine, the text features an issue number instead of the price. The price, on the other hand, is placed on the barcode.

SkylineDate & Issue

Masthead

Sell Line

Main Image

Main Sell Line

Cover Lines (with Images)

Puff & Barcode

Puff & Barcode: Both, puff and the barcode are located on the bottom of the magazine. Additionally, the price is located on the barcode in small letters. The text of the puff matches with the colour of the barcode which is white. Not to mention, both of them also have red so they match with each other and the overall magazine. Since mostly barcodes have to be white, adjusting the colour scheme to fit the barcode can be effective in order to make it less noticeable and blend in with the magazine.

Sell Line: The sell line is shaped as a circle which matches with the graphic on the masthead's letter ‘M’. Additionally, it is placed on the left hand side which is a side English speaking countries read from. Since it’s on the left, it will be read before anything that is on the right hand side (such as the graphic or issue number). This sell line is a lot smaller than the main sell line because it’s not as important as the main sell line. However, it is coloured in white which fits well with the overall colour scheme (black, white and red). Not to mention the sell line features a “007” which is a reference to a James Bond movie increasing the chances of fans (of this movie) to buy this magazine.

Main Sell Line: The main sell line is placed completely in the middle of the page. Behind the text, there is a light cloud texture in order to bring out the text. The font itself, is in bold red and quite large and has a white outline to make it appears a lot more detailed. The reason why this text is in the middle is because it fit’s with the layout which looks balanced in both sides of the magazine. Therefore, the reader will be mostly focused on the middle of the magazine rather than one particular side.

Skyline

Masthead

Sell Line

Main Image

Barcode &

Price

Main Sell Line

Puff

Skyline: Skyline is quite simple. The font is white and is all in capital letters in order to make it sound ‘louder’ than it actually is. It is placed on top of the magazine (in the middle). It is placed in the middle in order to get a balanced layout of the magazine. Additionally this font has special effects which is a drop shadow, this makes the text look like it is hovering above the magazine making it look three dimensional.

Masthead: The masthead might be the most vibrant and eye-catching thing about the magazine. Since the magazine itself is blue, using colours such as vibrant yellows and reds are effective as they are close to being complimentary colours. In this case, the magazine uses both, red and yellow. However these colours are minimal in many places. For example, yellow only appears on the masthead and on the puff and red only appears on the price, sell line and on the word “Plus” that is located below the main sell line. Not to mention, the masthead does not use capital letters unlike the other two magazines I have analysed giving it a more professional/casual look and making it appear as if it has more variety than it actually does since this magazine does not look as busy as the other two. The magazine is called “Sight & Sound” these two words create repetition and make the name a lot easier to remember and the word “Sight/Sound” clearly indicates that the magazine is about films (visually and audibly). The “&” sign is in red separating the sentence in 3 sections. Moreover, the masthead also has a 3D effect further bringing out the letters and make them ‘pop out’.

Skyline

Masthead

Sell Line

Main Image

Barcode &

Price

Main Sell Line

Puff

Sell Line: The sell line is a small circle on the right hand side of the magazine. It stands out a lot because it is vibrant and red which contrasts well with the colour of the main image. Additionally the red colour matches with the overall colour palette (red, blue, white and yellow) However, it uses a colour of font which isn’t used anywhere else in the magazine front cover, which is black. Using the black font for “Plus” matches with the image because the actor has black hair making the word stand out from the whole sell line (it also contrasts with it because it’s darker than the red and white). The font is in capital letters and the number “2015” is larger than other font within the red circle. This sell line doesn’t give away too much information whilst still making it interesting to find out the best films of 2015.

Main Image: The main image is a portrait shot of an incredibly known and popular actor Leonardo Dicaprio who was the protagonist of various films throughout his lifetime, therefore he has a ginormous fan base which will increase the chances of this magazine being bought further increasing the profit. He is also dressed as a character of a film he was nominated and awarded for, therefore the audience this photograph might bring could be even bigger.

Barcode, Price and Date: This time, the barcode and price are located on a different part of the magazine, placed vertically (on the right) on the edge of the magazine. The price is also more noticeable than previous magazines I’ve analysed, it is vibrant red and a lot bigger which is easier to spot. The date and issue number, are located separately at the top right of the magazine in faint grey font colour and small font so it doesn’t stand out.

Skyline

Masthead

Sell Line

Main Image

Barcode &

Price

Main Sell Line

Puff

Main Sell Line: Like text on this front cover, it is placed in the middle. However, unlike two previous magazines the font appears slightly larger than the Masthead, but it doesn't seem as eye catching as the Masthead because it has a simple effect (small drop shadow) and the font colour is completely white like most text in the magazine. Above “The Revenant” there is a sentence with a smaller font stating the actor’s name (who is shown on the front cover) to make it clear to the audience that this magazine will feature this actor in it’s content. On the other hand, “The Revenant” is a name of the film this actor is cast in. The film is successful which increases the audience.

Puff: The puff is quite simple, it is placed on the bottom of the magazine (also in the middle section). The font is white with yellow bullets in between to separate the text and make it more visually interesting. It is also all in capital letters and it features names of various popular/well known people.