Magazine covers, contents pages and double page spreads analysis

By Ollie Davison

Covers

This NME magazine cover is an effective magazine cover as it clearly shows the recognisable masthead in the top left hand corner, it is big enough to be recognisable from a distance as people walk past in shops but not too big that it dominates the magazine cover and takes up space for other important information. Also the picture of Tyler, the Creator is the main feature of the cover as his photo spans the entire vertical length of the cover and around half of the width. His clothing is chosen to allow the trademark red colour scheme of the magazine to still be used for the text and it be clearly visible to show readers what the issue contains. The main articles from the magazine are displayed on the front page, by having "I don't give a shit about a royal wedding" at the time of the Will and Kate royal wedding created controversy as it provided an opposite stance to every other magazine at the time, by having gripping quotes from articles within the magazine it helps to sell magazines. Finally it advertises a free gift with the magazine in the top right hand corner which is an incentive for people to buy the magazine.

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The mast head ‘VIBE’ dominates the top third of the magazine cover, the name is in very large bold capital letters with a black color fading into red and is easily recognisable even though part of the word is hidden by the artist. There are sell lines positioned either side of the artist which show the most appealing articles within the issue as an effective way of selling the magazine, they also use the same color scheme as the rest of the magazine cover. The artist is positioned in the middle third of the magazine with the artists head partially covering the masthead, this draws attention to the artist who is well known to show readers what this issue contains. By having a plain background colour, attention is drawn towards the masthead and the sell lines.

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With this magazine the masthead is once again in the top left hand corner in large bold capital letters to catch the readers eye, also the artist is positioned to look straight down the camera in order to have the impression the reader is being stared at. The artist is dressed in smart clothing to set a business like tone for the magazine, this is further implied by the sell lines on the left above the artists name reading ‘Strictly business’. This magazine has a red background unlike the white of the other two, however it does not draw attention away from the masthead or the sell lines as it is not patterned.

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Contents

This contents page is from XXL magazine, it has the issue’s main article in large letters, it has another large photo in the middle third which will relate strongly to the photo on the cover, the picture however will be smaller than the one on the cover as the focus of this page is on the different articles which the issue contain. The article titles are in a larger font size with brief information about each one in a slightly smaller font size beneath. Articles regarding the cover stories are found separate from the others and are on the left hand side split by the photo of the artist. This is to easily show readers the main articles within the issue. The date of the issue’s release is shown above the vertical columned articles to show readers this is the latest issue. A plain color scheme is used to not draw attention away from the money, therefore the light blues are effective as making it appear more appealing without shifting attention.

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A white and black color scheme is primarily used with the only real colour coming from the red heart held in place by the mysterious and intriguing hand coming from behind Kanye’s back. As this is the only colour on this page the eye is instantly drawn towards it, as it is a heart in connotes that the article may contain information on Kanye West’s personal love life. The word ‘contents is laid out stylistically in a bold, striking font, this abstract way of presenting the header gives the magazine an iconic style. The large ‘V’ in the background stands for the magazines title ‘VIBE’ and is placed there for a subtle reminder of the magazine. The background is plain and simple which draws attention to the foreground which is a serious picture of Kanye West who’s look fits with the general tone of the rest of the contents page. The simple lay out makes the contents page easy to understand for the reader which is one of the most important things about a contents page.

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This NME magazine’s contents page has a clear header to show both the magazine name and the contents as they are both written in large bold lettering and span the entire top of the page. It has a picture of the Artic Monkeys who this issue is based on with the article on them shown in larger writing directly beneath the photo and separate from the list of the other articles the issue contains as it is the main article that is selling this issue. The contents are in a vertical column on the right hand side of the page and are arranged into sub headings so readers have an easy job of locating articles they are interested in reading. It follows a simple colour scheme in order to make the readers job easy to locate different articles quickly.

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Double page spread

This is a double page spread from Q magazine, it’s purpose is to be able to expand one article across two pages whilst keeping the information together, this particular article is on Jay-z and shows a full page picture of the artist on the left to clearly show at a first glance what the double page spread is about. A highlight of the article is copied and placed in quotation marks in the bottom right hand corner of the photo in large red letters to bring attention to it and show the reader what sort of topics the article discusses. The right hand side of thepage is plain apart from the writing of the article, this is because readers will want the information provided to them as simple as possible. The only design on this side of the page is the large red ‘J’ which stands for ‘Jay-Z’ which is added for readers to easily see the two pages are related to each other. The color scheme used is a red and white scheme which is mostly plain as the information provided is the main aspect of this double page spread.

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This double page spread is from an NME magazine and features the band ‘Kasabian’. It shows a picture of the band on the left page which completely covers the page, the photo also slightly overlaps onto the right page with the effect of showing readers the two pages are linked to each other. The article also has a heading which shows the band name in large bold lettering which overlaps the two pages and also begins on the photo and crosses over to above the text of the article. Underneath the band name there is a paragraph in larger writing than the rest of the article which highlights some of the more interesting quotes from the article to give the reader a preview of the article and what it contains before they read it. The colour scheme used is plain to not draw the readers attention away from the information the article contains.

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This double page spread features popular rap artist EMINEM, the colour scheme used in this double page spread is clever as it uses plain colours that do not draw attention away from the text or the picture of the artist but also make the colours appear appealing, this is done by swapping the standard white background with black text around. The picture of the artist spans both pages and is very large to show the reader who the article is about, it also has in large bold lettering the name of the artist as a header of the article.Once again the article starts with a quotation from EMINEM himself which follows a theme of the rest of the article, it serves as a preview for readers. Finally EMINEM is wearing sports clothes which shows he is not a fashion icon, it allows readers to associate him with his laid back attitude and appreciate how he sticks to his roots.

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