Magazine Mock ups: Front Covers

Genre's brainstorm

Format Research Evaluation: Double Page Spreads

As the second part of my analysis we had to research the contents pages of the magazines we used for our front covers. Within my format research, I researched and analysed three different music magazine double page spreads and their norms and how they defied convention. From the preliminary task, I feel as though I have improved my skills when researching and evaluating different magazines which will help me when designing and creating my final product.

In my format research for three different music magazine double page spreads I researched; Vibe music magazine, Q magazine magazine and NME music magazine. Each of the three double page spreads were similar in one way or another, but as well as this, they did have their differences which set them apart from one another and defied convention by not sharing the common norms used in most double page spreads. All three of the double page spreads that I researched had one large, main image which was used to catch the eyes of the reader's and make the spread more appealing to the reader. One which defied convention to the rest of the double pages spreads was the Vibe magazine. Within the double page spread, it had the large main image which dominated most of the spread, but as well as this it had smaller sub images within it which related to different parts of the text. Taking this into account for when I create my music magazine, I may use this technique as I feel that having these smaller images which relate to parts of the text make a double page spread much more appealing to the reader. The other two magazines Q and NME magazine does not use this technique, but despite this their spreads are still effective due to the fact that they both have still used a very large main image within their spread.

The Vibe double page spread defies convention in another way as well and does not follow the common norms of the other two double page spreads. This time, I believe that it does not improve the spread, but in fact makes it slightly worse than the other two as in my opinion it does not contain vital features which are essential to a double page spread. The features that the Vibe double page spread is missing are; a by line, a pull quote, an anchor or a caption. Q Music magazine and NME magazine all have these features in the double page spreads that I researched in my format research and allow their spreads to be much more successful and appealing to their target audiences as it allows them to find out information before actually reading the article and also makes them want to read on. Despite the Vibe double page spread's use of these features, like the other two double page spreads, it does contain the other main features of a double page spread. These are; a drop cap and an article title. Again this allows the reader's of the respective magazine to gain more information about the article and attempts to persuade them to read on. All three of the double page spreads that I researched used these features to good effect and I hope to emulate this when creating my own music magazine.

Taking everything into account from my format research, I will use some of the common norms shared by the three double page spreads that I researched, but as well s this, I will take into account the spreads that defied convention and will consider using some of these features which may help develop my double page spread into a successful one.

Format Research Evaluation: Front Covers

My format research consisted of looking for 3 different front covers of music magazines to analyse the norms and the difference between varied magazines. The three front covers i analysed were 'NME', 'Q' and 'Vibe'.
Firstly NME's audience was mainly based on those who are a fan of the music that their magazine is predominately published about. This is shown by the main image situated on the front  along with each insight into what is in the magazine. The informality of the text itself also suggests the audience of the magazine.
The text of the magazine, like i have already stated is seemingly informal  which again indicates towards a younger audience  as well as this the main headings and the sub headings are all in bold which emphasises their duty which is to inform the reader of some of the information inside the magazine, as a whole it is there to draw attention to the reader. The font is written in the same font through out which gives it a more professional feel and allows it to flow better whilst reading it and scanning over the page. The main image of the front cover suggests what the magazines main story would be about, this is seen through out all the other front covers i analysed. The two persons on the page are engaging with the reader which adds a mysterious feel to the page. Them mast head of 'NME's page is situated in the top left of the page, which is very common among most music magazine front covers.

Similarly Q magazine also shows a main image which relates to the main story inside the magazine. The audience for this magazine would appear to be aimed at young adults due to the bands that are advertised on the front, this differs from NME because it was only the image in which we can ascertain who the audience might be where as in Q we can tell from both image and text. The 'easy to read' style and layout of the page also suggests that it is for a younger audience because of its ease of reading.
The mast head although itself being slightly smaller than other magazines, it still stands out clearly predominately due to it sitting on a contrasting background of read which gives it emphasis. I feel that the magazines masthead has bright contrasting colours and the unique shape helps it to stand apart from other music magazines despite it have some aspects of it that are similar to other magazines. The Q magazine masthead is always seen in the same place across all of their magazines and is never fully obscured by a main image meaning remains poignant and really stands out in the page, however this may be down to its small size, which frees up more of the cover for images and cover lines. Vibe magazine differs from both 'Q' and 'NME' because the mast head spreads across the whole page rather than just in one corner. The main image is situated in the middle of the page with the person Staring at the reader. The audience however can be determined similarly to that of Q because it is the main image that gives us an insight into who the magazine might be for.

Format Research: Double Page Spread 3

Branding - The double page spread for the vibe magazine continues to show the colours that would be situated with this magazine. The black, red and white all compliment each other and links to other pages with in the magazine. The colour scheme is simple which helps the page to stand out more. The colours of the 'Vibe' Magazine are also apparent on the person who is the main image, there is blood on a whiter shirt of Eminem, an artist who the article is featured.

Layout - The layout of this magazine is very simple and doesn't offer much that entices the reader directly onto the page. The writing is written in straight clear columns which could suggest its formality and that it is quite an important piece of writing, this is very unusual taking into consideration the other magazines i researched. Others had the writing in a more jumbled up fashion that was split up by images and various quotes which could give suggestions as to who the audience might be. The Title, situated at the top left of the page however does seem to stay inline with other magazines because this is seen quite commonly by other magazines where the title is either in 1 or the other top corners. The 'Eminem' at the bottom right of the page is used to determine who the story might be about and again it is written in vibes colours of black and white. This is written in an 'empty corner' of the page which helps it to stand out especially due to the contrasting background.

Main Image - The main image of this double page spread is of an artist holding a butchers knife with blood all over his shirt. This image is quite large and so instantly can be seen from a the turning of the page. The use of the blood and the butchers knife suggests the seriousness of the article and also suggests the audience should be old enough to understand the story. The fact that shows visible injuries and blood again suggests that the article is not for younger view as this could be seen as 'self harm' which is a common issue among teenagers - a common age. 

Format Research: Double Page spread 2:

Brand:
The double page spread continues Q magazines brand more strongly than it seems the contents page does, with the continuous appearance of Q magazines red and white colour scheme standing out on the page more this colour scheme has been apparent throughout almost all the the pages with in the magazine. The giant J covering the right hand page immediately draws the readers eye and is an inverted use of the magazines logo, which is traditionally a white letter on a red background despite this being eye catching, the fact the 'J' covers some of the writing it could be difficult to read for some audience members. However the black text on the white background improves  the article as readers can easily understand it due to to the big contrast on colours. The Red J also helps to fit in with the picture and pull quote as they both heavily use the colour, helping to link the article to the picture.The 'J' also represents the artist/rapper who is the main image on the page as his name begins with 'J'. The J is also a similar lettering to the Q logo helping it to link to the magazines brand and style creating consistency in the magazine. The RapRadar logo located along the bottom of the left page, looks incredibly out of place and reduces some of the pictures impact. However RapRadar is likely to be a section of the magazine that covers rap music, which is Jay-Zs style and genre of music. Rap music is popular among young adults and teenagers who the magazine is aimed at and the articles focus on a popular young rap artist is likely to appeal to them.

Picture:
The picture is extremely effective on the double page spread. It takes up an entire page and Jay-Zs face takes up the Moriarty of the photo. His mode of address is directly towards the reader and he comes across as intimidating, with a serious expression and the dark sunglasses concealing his expression and reinforcing his intimidating appearance as they hide his eyes, which are key to understanding a persons expression. The colours used in the photo also help to impress on the reader his unclear and intimidating personality. The use of colour in the picture is also very impressive and effective, with half of the page coloured red and the other half a light blue white colour. These conflicting colours, one representing power and control and the other showing innocence help to present Jay-Z as having a conflicting personality. The use of colour is effective and the closed lips further help to emphasise the unclear expression as it appears to the reader that he does not want to speak about his situation to the reader. 

Text & Language:
The magazine uses a basic font style for its text with several large drop caps used to emphasise the different paragraphs in the article, to great effect. The layout of one picture page and another page of text is very effective at conveying the different sections of the article to the reader and the J is easy to read and to read the text inside it with the back plain font appearing easily on both red and white backgrounds. The articles header labels Jay-Z as "One of the most exciting people in music". This interests the reader in the article and makes them want to know why he is described as such. This language help with conveying the articles purpose to the reader. The pull quote references another popular artist in the music industry, which suggests that some prior knowledge is required in order to fully understand the article and its contents. 

Format Research: Double page spread 1

  

This double page spread of an issue of NME clearly shows that NME want the reader to know every single bit of detail about this story, this is clearly shown by the size of the article at the bottom of the page. The writing is small and there seems to be a lot of it which suggests that this could be an interesting article to read. However this could deter people away from the article because of this factor

The font used on this double page spread is used to indicate that the article is formal and shouldn’t be read by people with a short attention span, hence the actual length of the article its self. The font also indicates that the article will contain sufficient detail for the reader to feel that they know a lot about the story and who it is about.

The picture to the side of the page immediately catches the readers eye because it stands out from the rest of the page due to its size and also because it contains bright vibrant colours which are eye catching. As well as the main image, there are 3 smaller images set off to the right of the page which also tell us more of what could be in the story.

Format Research: Contents Page 3

Layout:

The layout of 'Vibe' looks very professional and keeps to a simple layout which isn't too clustered and this aspect makes it look very effective which is easier to read and comprehend for the reader.

 The way this magazine is laid out suggests a lot about what the audience of this magazine could be. It is a very simple layout which keeps to the norms and the shows some of the expected features of the magazine contents pages, which are normally, a large image in the middle which acts as the main image of which the most attention is drawn to from the reader which will tell the reader more information on what the story of the image could be. The rest of the contents page is the content of the entire magazine, and this is down the left hand side of the page. As we can see, the majority of this contents page is the main image of "Chain Gang" with a small description about the article and page number which informs the reader where to find this article if they want to read more. Down the side of this magazine it also has more information on what else is included in the rest of the magazine.

Images: There is only one image on the contents page of this magazine, which as we can see from my previous contents page analysis is very unusual because both 'Q' and 'NME' both have more than on image on the page. This image is a rather large image of the band "Chain Gang". We know that it is of Chain Gang because it says so underneath the image in larger text than the rest of the text which makes it stands out and emphasises the bands authority in the story. The image is in black and white which creates effect and can give connotations which you could suggest that sort of links to the audience. As proven in the format research of the front covers, Vibe magazine's target audience is males between the age of 18 - 30, primarily because of the aggressive look that this magazine portrays, it comes across that males are within that age band are more likely to read this magazine. The mode of address and the expression of the two people creates an effect on the message that this magazine is trying to create. By looking at the camera and addressing the reader it shows importance in the people. They are sort of looking at the reader with an expression on their face that says 'we know we are rich and famous, bow down', because of how the man is holding is head and standing upright and proud.

Language: 

The language used in this magazine is a very normal use of language. There are no linguistic devices used to make the text sound interesting. It is just a load of simple and compound sentences that just briefly explain what the main pages and articles are, which doesn't seem to link to the audience directly. Although I say its boring because there isn't much detail, there can't be too much detail because it would get too boring and people would lose interest and wouldn't bother reading the article. Therefore, good magazines need to find a balance between too much detail and not enough detail the other magazines i have looked at show a good balance in language however they dont necessarily link directly to the audience.The lexis in my opinion is very boring and minimalistic and doesn't entertain the reader at all. 

Branding:

When the reader looks at the page they can instantly see that this is a Vibe magazine due to the way they lay the page out, the font used and the Vibe logo displayed. This makes the magazine really successful as customers can constantly relate to the magazine and consequently feel a part of the Vibe family.Just like all music magazines we have looked at, every single one is trying to create a brand on every page of their magazines and this magazine is no different. The main bit of branding on this magazine is the red 'V' at the top right. This 'V' represents the 'Vibe' logo in the same Vibe colours which we see are very common throughout the magazine, this is another technique to portray the branding of the magazine. It is the same throughout their entire magazine range, they always display their 'V' logo which represents their brand 'Vibe'. Furthermore, the way in which they keep to the same font in their writing and even the style of the page numbers helps the reader know what the brand of this magazine is. 

Format Research: Contents Page 2

Branding:
Q continues its use of the red and white colour scheme to continue its brand inside the magazine. The red and white colours work well together on the page and the black on red text header allows the reader to easily read the headline, as well as this the colours are the same that are used for to logo of the magazine which further promotes their product. The contrasting white background allows the text to stand out and be easily read. The month for the magazine is clearly shown at the top of the page so that the reader can tell how relevant and up to date the issue is for them. The magazines review section is given its own name and set apart from the rest of the contents, which suggests to the reader that it is an important part of the magazine.  

Layout:
The contents page layout is organised and seems to have a lot of information crammed onto the page without it looking cluttered. The magazines three main cover stories are placed at the top of the page where they can be easily seen by the reader. The rest of the magazines features are then placed below the three main cover stories in a light coloured band that sets this part of the magazine apart from the rest of the page, allowing the three key stories to stand out and become more visible.The magazine gives its review section down the right side of the page which can have the impression on the reade that it is an important part of the magazine and the rest of the magazine reinforces this image by almost displaying the review section as if it were quite pleased with it along with colour coding each of the reviews sections to present an organised  The features are listed in columns to show a professional magazine style and the headline is highlighted in red so that each article can be seen and combined with the black page number helps each feature to be clearly separated.

Pictures:
The picture covers the header, which shows the magazine is well known and doesn't need to show what page it is. The model in the photo is looking away from the camera and is wearing sunglasses to hide his expression. This gives him the appearance of looking cool and uncaring, which reflects the attitude of the magazine as a result of this. 
The main picture is focused on the cover story and this is clearly indicated by the flasher placed on the picture clearly labeling it the cover story. The cover story is also placed at the top of the page where the reader can easily see it and the magazine premises that the cover story is a major factor in the reader picking up the magazine. 

Language and Text:
The contents page uses informal language for each of its descriptions to engage its readers. Humour is also used to relax the reader and engage them with the magazine and give off a friendly impression from the magazine. The magazine also uses swear words on the contents page which helps to reinforce the relaxed and informal style of the magazine. The sentences are short one liners but are extremely effective at conveying the purpose of each feature or article. I like the use of this method and would use it for my own magazine. The magazine makes the name of each the bands featured in the magazine the small headline for the articles and reviews. This helps to attract readers as they can easily tell the content and genre of music that the magazine covers by examing the bands listed.