Music Magazine coversBy Chris Clark

1st Cover

There are small captions round the other pictures at the bottom of the magazine, in a less obvious colour which helps us to see that the entire magazine isn’t all manic and rock’n’roll.

The masked text of ‘Kerrang’ is shown to be shattered, given the impression of the loudness and also the idea of destruction which comes with a rock and roll lifestyle.  The main text that catches our eyes, is the name of the band ‘Avenged Sevenfold’, as it is in a bold, thick , white font. The subtexts above and below it act as the border for the main text, drawing us even closer to it.

1st CoverPhotographs

The main focal point of the magazine is the picture of the band ‘Avenged Sevenfold’. The picture seems very dark as the band members are holding weapons, such as chains and knives. There facial expressions seem very aggressive and ‘zombie like’.

At the bottom, there are pictures of 2 other bands; Panic! At the disco and Funeral for a friend. These are little snippets so you can see what else is in the magazine, attempting to make the reader to want buy it.

1st CoverColours & Text Size

The key text on the cover are mainly in a large contrasting font with a phrases around it to make it the first thing you read when you pick up the magazine. If the key texts catch the reader, then they might go on to read the smaller texts which explains more about the rest of the magazine.

The main colour on this magazine cover is black. As the Kerrang title and band are all in black. I think they did this to connect with their target audience better, as the majority who listen to this sort of music normally wear black.The subheadings and captions are either in red or white, contrasting with the black theme, but still making the magazine seem violent and exciting.

1st CoverDesign Style/layout & Language

I think they have used the space well in this magazine cover as they put in a header and a footer to display some key information that’s in the magazine, instead of filling up the sides with it.

The main design style of this magazine seems to be, to make it as bold and hard-core as possible. They use harsh images and strong words such as ‘violence’ and ‘dangerous’ to help make it look destructive and different from other magazines. The rest of the text are mainly just the names of different bands which are featured in the magazine.The layout of it however looks very tidy, as the placement of text hasn’t covered up any the band, they put ‘Kerrang’ behind them so it doesn’t overlap the people’s faces.

2nd CoverThis magazine cover is fairly simple, but is a very clear portrayal of music, due to the name of the magazine being called ‘Vibe’ and because of the way T.I is dressed.The R&B rap artist T.I, who’s on the front cover looks very sharp and modern. His  facial expression is one of a focused, strong look, which works well with the contrasting colours. This also helps the audience connect with the magazine. T.I’s shirt and tie combination gives him a classy edge which is distinctive as rappers are usually associated with the bad boy image, this overall gives the entire magazine a high profile professional look. Which will also help T.I’s image as he is a dominant male character in the rap industry.

2nd CoverFonts and Colours

The red colour stands out against the monochrome theme, and this is what initially attracts the eye. They used a thick, large contrasting font for the main title with side headings in black and red to resemble a sense of it being ‘fierce and hard’. The cover uses Bold and simple colours to appeal to men and those who listen to R&B.

Vibe is written in a large font, dominating the top of the magazine, and would be the first thing people read when they pick it up. On the side captions, the main information is in black, tricking your brain into reading it first before the text in red.

2nd Cover

The caption underneath T.I. reads: “The untold story behind the deal” this urges the reader to take greater interest into what it is about as the word ‘untold’ gives the impression that this story is exclusive.

Target audience & Layout

For obvious reasons, due to it being a hip-hop / R&B magazine, it will mainly be bought by those types of listeners (teenagers and older). Thankfully the layout is easy to read and looks trendy which is good as it relates to the target audience. T.I’s name has been written in black, however the quote underneath that has been written in red this is to give the audience awareness of what to expect in the interview.

2nd CoverLanguage & Impact

Due to the simple layout of the cover, the main language of it, is his body language. He gives off a sense of power and a high ego. This helps make the overall magazine seem strong and forceful, that it is one of the best.The quote under T.I’s name which emphasises T.I’s speaking voice and this makes the interview with T.I more personal. The cover lines titled “50 cent, Prince, Lauryn Hill… 51 LOST ALBUMS "is another contributing factor for the reader wanting to buy the magazine, as again the content seems to be exclusive as the albums are ‘lost’.

3rd CoverIn the picture of this issue of Q is Matt Bellamy from Muse in a destructive pose, smashing up the Q logo. The title of this article is ‘Matt Bellamy is out of control’ linking with his behaviour in this shot. The picture of him in this shot has been photoshoped to give him a cartoon look, which helps make the overall piece stylistic.The rest of the magazine has the ‘common’ aspects of magazines. On the sides there are phrases and list of other bands which are mentioned in the mag later.And an attention grabbing article which makes the reader think the information is exclusive, followed up with a picture of the band underneath, which also grabs your attentsion.

3rd CoverFonts & colours

The font that first catches your eye is the Muse, as it contrasts with the background and is one of the main focal points. Down the right hand side there are a list of other bands mentioned in the magazine. They are in a single boxed format, as if it’s been cut out and stuck onto the page. It looks different to how a lot of magazines list their contents as its subtle and only when you read the cover do you notice it.In the lower right corner, there are 3 different colours for the title. ‘200’ and ‘The Beatles’ are written in bold fonts to grab your attention before you read ‘things you didn’t know about’. This way the reader will only be engaged if they’re interested in the two bold titles.

3rd CoverDesign Style and Layout

The main design layout is that the picture of Matt Bellamy is in the middle as the focal point, and all the phrases and information are on the sides. This way, you can read all the text but still makes the finished product look clean. The skyline at the top is an advertisement for itself, giving the reader information about the magazine and their accomplishments, this is done so the skyline is visible on the shelf above other magazines.The colours of the magazine tie in nicely by how Bellamy has been dressed; black with hints of red. Even the guitar is black, this keeps in the running  colour scheme of the magazine. Making look professional

3rd CoverFont Size & Language The overall feeling I get from this

magazine is that they are very strong representatives of the typical modern day music magazine. They appeal to a large range of audiences as they have classical and new artists on the cover: The Beatles and Dizzee Rascal.They highlight the more popular bands by using bigger and more eye catching fonts and colours. They also use very normal phrases and words that communicate with their target market, without the use of propaganda.My verdict is that this magazine is ‘breaking the norm’ for music magazines as the mood is much more powerful, as the layout and colours seem much more refined then most magazines.