Abbie Corbett

Evaluation

Although these are two different magazines, one is a Q magazine and one is an NME magazine, they do have similarities as well as their obvious differences. Like most double page spreads, they each have a main headline, images, text and a certain house style. They use quite similar colours apart from a few, such as the large amount of red that is used on the NME magazine. However, both of these magazines have a certain house style and the thing they have in common is that they both keep to the same house style through the other magazines that have been made. On the other hand, there are some differences. For example the NME magazine seems to focus a lot more on the main image rather than the text, as there is only a small amount of text used but a large image that is very eye catching. This is different on the Q magazine because although the image is big and covers both pages, there is a quite a large amount of text used which balances out the ratio of image to text. One of the main things that both of the magazines have in common is the fact that it is obvious what band or artist is being presented. For example, the large images give it away to audiences and as well as this, the bands name and artists name is used more than a few times to properly aware audiences who and what this article is about. To conclude, both of these magazines are based around the same sort of genre of music and so therefore there will be some similar features on the pages and articles etc, but because they aren’t the same exact magazine there will obviously be differences like within the house style. These are bound to be different because they like to keep their own magazines unique from others to keep people buying, so they aren’t all the same otherwise there would be no point in buying more than one type of magazine brand.

Abbie CorbettHouse Style: The colours used on these pages are quite dull this is because most of the colour shown is coming from the background image that is used to fill the two pages. The colour of the text is mainly white and has a little bit of blue; this is so that the image can be the center of attention. These colours however work really well together as it isn’t standing out too much. Q magazine tends to keep to the same house style, so that audiences can identify with the magazine and when they see this magazine, they will know it is a Q magazine.

Text: The text used on this double page spread of Q magazine is quite informal and there is a lot of taboo language used. This could be a convention of all Q magazines, but also it suggests that the reason this type of language used is because of who the article is about. It is an interview with the band Oasis, we can see this as Liam Gallagher is featured across the whole double page. It is set out in a more formal way, but still uses bad language and explains how the band actually is.

The Guttenberg Design Principle: It seems like the Guttenberg Design Principle can be applied to this magazine, as in the top left corner is the primary optical area, where peoples eyes are drawn to first and this is where the main headline has been placed that will certainly interest audiences straight away. Then in the terminal area, a little piece of writing has been placed there that is a lot smaller compared to the other text, showing it is hardly important. Then in the strong fallow area is a image of the band and there isn’t really anything in the weak fallow area.

Main Image/Images: The main image shown is of a member of the band Oasis, Liam Gallagher. This image fills both pages and the band member is shown to be holding a cigarette in the foreground, with what looks like plastic cups in the background, possibly used for alcohol. This image makes it clear to audiences what the band is like, from this images, it helps to establish genre of rock, this band isn’t a pop band or a boy band, it is clear they are some sort of rock band. There is another image used which is a lot smaller and it is a black and white one that shows the rest of the band Oasis.

Headline: The headline says “We’ve booted the door off its hinges!” There is a use of an exclamation mark to emphasis how the actual words were said by the band Oasis and not only this, but the words have been shorten down, almost like slang words. There is a use of ellipsis when it says “we’ve” rather than we have, which could be a way in which the magazine has tried to get their audiences to identify with the band being shown, as it is Q magazine and many teens/young adults do read this magazine. The language is also quite aggressive, which again describes and gives audiences an idea of how Oasis is as a band. For example, they have been known to be quite violent themselves at times and they don’t change the way they act for people. Other than this, the typography itself is big bold and it stands right out to audiences, exaggerating this strong band and how they come across.

Design Balance: The double page spread has been set out in a formal way, as it has most writing on one page and then it allows us audiences to see the main image on the other page, even though the text used is quite informal, the design of the magazine is formal and neat. They have included a large image, but have balanced this out with quite a large amount of text, to keep audiences interested.

Abbie Corbett

The Guttenberg Design Principle: This double page spread is very formally balanced and in a certain order. The guttenberg design principle can be applied to this magazine. As it follows the design principle, from adding the most interesting information or titles in the strong fallow area and leaving audiences eyes to drift down towards the weak fallow area, which is just small text from the interview that won’t be of most interest to audiences.

Design Balance: The design balance of this magazine is well balanced and is set out very formally. There are four rows of text with two on each different page, with the image slightly towards the center and the headline all the way across both of the pages. It looks well set out and it is neat.

Main Image/Images: The main image is of the music artist Rita Ora herself which covers both pages, but her body and face is more so on the left hand side. The image doesn’t include much in the photo, however, it means we are able to focus more on Rita Ora. From the image, I think that audiences will be able to see what sort of genre of music the artist is. It is quite clear the genre of her music is pop or RnB. There is only this image only used, there are no other images, but it again allows us to focus more on the text and the big bold letters that read her name.

House Style: The house style of this magazine is kept similar and therefore allows audiences to identify with the different magazines. The colours used are quite typical of an NME magazine; they are red, black and white. This again links back to the actual house style of the NME magazine. These colours are typical, but they appeal to audiences and they catch people’s eye and this is what the magazine is aiming to do.

Headline: Unlike on the magazine above from Q, this magazine from NME has the headline as the music artist’s name. It reads in big bold red text, ‘Rita Ora’ Straight away, audiences know that these magazine pages must have something to do with this artist, as the name has been spread across both pages and is the center of attention. Also, the colour of the headline is the same as some of the text that is used on the pages. Therefore it is trying to keep the same house style.

Text: The text used on these pages is informal to a certain extent, there is no explicit language used, but Rita still talks as though she would with friends or family. It isn’t an interview with big words used, which when audiences read this, they will feel more comfortable and will be able to identify a lot more with the artist. Some of the text is in red and some is it black. The reason some is in red is to make it clear that a question is being asked and then Rita will give her response.