"RollngStone" Magazine - Pop Music

 

Masthead: Usually you would find that a masthead (also known as a logo for a company), stick to the same colours on each magazine issue that is published, using simple yet, easy to remember colours and designs so that it can be easily recognised by the target audience so that, it is easier to find. This is not always the case for some magazine issues like the one shown above, if it happens it be called a "special issue" or "special edition". If this is the case then the masthead is known to have a different colour that makes it look special that more important than any other issue allowing it to look more attractive to buy. The masthead on the magazine above is an image of a "RollingStone" special edition magazine. This magazine is recognised for having a powerful, dominating, dangerous looking red that stands out on the page, and is appropriate for both males and females, allowing it to have a bigger profit. This issue however, has a royal, proud golden masthead with an effect that makes it look like it is shiny in the light, making it seem like it is made of gold, giving that idea that the issue is priceless because of the articles inside, making the price of it seem more reasonable than it would seen for a normal issue. It looks really special by the fact that it brakes the tradition of the magazine, giving the target audience the idea that this magazine should be brought, and that it is better than any other "RollingStones" magazine in the past and far better than a magazine from another company. The font has serifs, making it look formal, making it look like it is full of good information, which, combined with the colour gold, gives the image of royalty. The masthead is however, in the same place as normal which is, at the top of the page where it can be easily be font when on a display stand, so it can be found and standout from other magazines.

Sell lines: It seems like there is no real need to have a sell line. The fact that it clearly says "Special Issue", is in itself a good enough sell line for a magazine. Most magazines have quote from the main article or say something along the lines of "The best magazine ever!" However, because of the golden fonts making it look as if it should be priceless, allowing this in itself to make people buy the magazine, therefore I feel that this is the reason why it does not have a sell line.

Bar Code: The bar code is nowhere to be seen to which is unusual because it is normally known to be at the font of the magazine to give room for advertisements, however, it may be because the attention is meant to be on the person in the main article, and to focus on the fact that this is a "Special Issue".

Main Cover line: The main cover line has some of the largest fonts on the front cover, allowing it to get more attention than all of the other information, to allow it to be more appealing and to point out that the main article inside the magazine is the reason why this magazine is a "special issue", making it appear that the article must be read by the target audience as it must has a lot of gossip about someone seems very important. It is place in the bottom right corner of the magazine cover to allow it to still be visible to the reader, but out of the way of the main photo to show the man on the front cover is more important than anything in the magazine. It is also overlapping the main photo to allow them both to line together to show what the title is about. The main cover line says "The Main Man Jay-Z". The fact that the magazine refers to the man on the font cover (Jay-Z), as "The Main Man" tells the audience that he is better than any of the information or images in the magazine, because he is better than any of it and he is the main focus, giving him the main article giving him his own "special issue". The top half of the main cover line "The Main Man" is in a strong, powerful, dominating red that allows Jay-Z to seem bigger and better with the bottom part of the main cover line "Jay-Z" being white which stands out better in Jay-Z's black clothes, making it seems that his name is the reason you should read the magazine.

Kicker: The kicker on this magazine is a harsh looking black sharp edged square that makes the information inside look serious and important, also allowing it to link to the colour theme which is mainly black and white. It is small, keeping out of the way of the main photo or cover story, yet placed at the top on the cover, where it can easily be seen and also overlaps the mast head, making it seem like it is better than the most identifiable part of the magazine.

By line: The name "Chris Rock" is the by line as it is the name of the person who wrote an article inside the magazine. It is white, so that it can stand out from Jay-Z's clothes, to give credit to this person for working on part of the magazine. The colour of the name also links to the colour theme allowing it to fit in.

Main Photo: The photo is of Jay-Z who is the person in the main article. It images is a medium close up, to allow people to focus on the emotions showing in his face. The picture fills most of the room on the magazine cover, to show how important Jay-Z seems to be. He look very serious, giving the camera eye contact, making him look more dominating and intimidating to attract attention and also seem more readable.

"Q" Magazine - Pop Music

Masthead: The mast head is the same colour as it would usually is, to make it easier to identify and stand out more from other magazines being sold. It is a demanding, hot, thrilling and dangerous red at attract the attention of a target audience, to make it appear that the magazine always has red hot gossip about music and the singers themselves and hat fact that it is a red box allows people to think that the magazine does not need to have complex and fancy curved shapes to make it good, it is simple, yet amazing without even putting in the effect. The white "Q" differs from the red as it is innocent, calm and relaxing which, almost makes the red more outstanding. The white may perhaps be used to also appeal to a female audience as well as a male audience, by showing that the magazine can be calming and simple as well as busy and demanding. It is placed in the top left corner of the magazine cover so that it can easily be spotted by the target audience while, it is on a display stand in a shop.

Sell lines: The sell lines match the mast head to link them both together, with powerful and thrilling red to show how magnificent the magazine is, alone with the gentle white to attract a female audience as well as a male audience. The text is in thick capital letters to give the message out to people as if it is a fact, making it more desirable to look at. The words used are "THE ESSENTIAL MUSIC GUIDE" which is a big statement to make, showing how confident the company are, that this magazine will sell. This confident can be approved of by the target audience.

Bar Code: The bar code is on the front of the magazine cover, to allow space for advertisements at the back of the magazine, as well as making it easier to find to make paying for the product quicker and easier to do. It is put sideways near the bottom right hand corner, to avoid it getting in the way on the main details of the magazine and to therefore stop it from becoming a distraction to the reader. Although it overlaps some of the main photo, it is put away to make it less of a worry, so the photo is still the main part of the cover.

Main Cover line: The main cover line has a larger font than all of the other texts that is placed in the centre of the front cover, to make it standout more, to make it appear more impressive than any other part of the magazine. The text is a bold white, which stands out from the dark clothes the band pictured to increase interest the main article written inside. The main part of the main cover line is the name of the band pictured behind the font which is "COLDPLAY" which, is written in capital letters to make in standout more which is done better by the fact that it is written is a bright, bold and powerful yellow, which links to the text that says "JAY KAY" inside the kicker. The main cover Headline as includes a quote which says "Four months of fear, tantrums and nudity". This makes the magazine for more interesting to look at since; nobody goes around admitting their mistakes, especially not on a magazine cover.

Kicker: The kicker is small yet easy to notice because it is a rectangle unlike most kickers which are circle, and is turned at an angle, overlapping part of the Masthead which is the most important and identifiable part of a magazine, showing how important the information inside the kicker is. The text is done smaller to fit inside the rectangle but, it is written in capital letters to make it look really important to the reader. The first two word are a bright, energetic yellow, which links to the main cover line which has yellow fonts, allowing it to fit in better on the magazine and also stands out more in the black box it is in, which makes it better to see on the red and white mast head.

Banner: The banner at the bottom of the page, matches a recurring theme which matches the mast cover which is a demanding and dominating red, with a gentle white to show that this is a "Q" magazine and that it should be brought by the target audience. The colours also make the banner stand out yet; it also avoids it from looking out of place. The banner seems to go down at a slight angle, making it look more unique than other banner that looks neater in a straight line. Overlapping the banner on the left is the mast head which instead of saying the date reads "Review" which suggests that the banner is about an interview which is exclusive to the "Q" magazine, therefore making it more appealing to the reader.

By-lines: The name "Miranda Sawyer" is the by-line as it reveals who wrote the article inside. It is smaller than the main cover line so that people are able to focus on the main story and to believe that the band are the most important element of this issue of the "Q" magazine since the band "COLDPLAY" are very popular and it must be special for a magazine to get an interview from them. The by-line is under the main cover line in the colour white so that people can make the connection that, this person has written the main article about the band.

Main Photo: The main photograph is of the band "COLDPLAY" links to the main cover line which is about the band itself. The photo shows all the band members wearing dark clothes that, links to some of the text on the cover and allows them to stand out from the white background so that the audience can play more attention to them. They look very serious while giving eye contact to the camera showing that the main article about them is a very mature and adult matter which links to the main cover line, showing that the audience also needs to be mature.

School Magazine Analysis

It is easy to see that this is a school magazine instead of magazine sold in shops. Some of the key features are missing for this magazine cover. To start with, there is no sign of the issue's date, making it easy to buy an out of date magazine issue, resulting in the target audience being behind on the latest information. Another thing that is missing which is on most magazine covers is the price of the magazine which means unless the magazine is free, people will be unaware how much he/she needs to pay for the magazine. Although scanning the bar code would allow the price to be shown, it would be better for the audience to know straight away, how much they need to pay, so that they know how much money to carry with them. There is also no signs of a kicker on this magazine cover, giving no bonus information about the contents of the magazine to attract the attention of the target audience, and also makes the cover look very plain and therefore would make the reader lose interest quickly, resulting in them wanting to find something else to read. An easier way to see that this is a school magazine is by looking at the mast heading which says "STUDENT TIMES", which gives a huge hint that this magazine is for school pupils. Although the capital letters would make the magazine more interesting to look at the colours are no chosen very well. The mast head font is cut into two style of colours where the second half is simple sky blue which looks smart with innocent white which may match the audience but, appears a little blank compared to stunning reds like what is seem on real magazines covers. The first half of the mast head is a dull pale grey with white text, making it harder to read. I find that the subheading "Benton's Grammar School", is very distracting when so close to the mast head with it having a thick and slightly out of place black outline. The colour black seems too demanding for this bland cover, yet also the seems out of place, the colour does link to some of the books shown in the photograph dominating the cover. The banner seems to match the colour choice of the mast head yet, it is very difficult to read the font which reads "Educating for Life" which blends in with these colours. The font may suggest that the school provides great education to the students because the text looks fancy and look a bit like hand writing however, this result in the text being difficult to read. All of the fonts present on this cover seen to San Serifs, making it appear more modern which shows that the magazine is meant for a a younger audience, likely to be in his/her teenage years. The photograph on the cover seems to have no editing except for having fonts and a bar code overlapping it.The library image is clearly not a local library, as the layout looks like a school library. Because the photo does not focus on one specific area, the background is too busy because of all the books which are all different colours, that don't match the colour theme however, this image is linked to the main article making it appropriate that the image stands out more.

Two Page Spread 3

This article is very different from the other two examples because it looks simpler than the others. This article is clearly for females because of the pink frame around the article, which is pale, light, friendly and innocent looking while men usually are known by having dark blues. The pink is bubbly and energetic in a way, while framing the article like a picture which may link to the complement given to women "as pretty as a picture, but also links both pages together into one to make one huge article that look like it is about celebrities and fashion. The bubbly idea of pink links to the images in the centre of each page as they are round, close together, and give the image that they are floating upwards like a bubble, showing a sign of innocents, once again liking to females. Both pages copy these ideas like a mirror which also links to the theme itself. The Mast Heading is a deep, romantic, yet dangerous looking red, fitting the target audience and attracting people to read the article. The images are in the centre to draw the attention inwards to show the importance of them, making sure these images link to the article itself. The white, pure, sweet and innocent colour is the opposite to the read Mast Heading but fits with the audience and theme, also linking to some of the photos chosen, with a black font to allow the article to be read better on the white background and to draw in the attention as black links to the red as it is dark and mysterious looking but in a way, sexy, fitting in with the article. The text seems to go around the photos to show that the images dominate the article over all.

Two Page Spread 2

The article has a more modern look than to the cycling article, as this one shows signs of technology instead of nature. In this article the colours are harsher and look more demanding, giving the message that cars and technology are our future which couldn't be more different for keeping nature beautiful and riding a bike. The top half of the first page and part of the second page is dominated by screen pictures of what appears to possibly be is the inside of a car. The pure, natural greens and browns is replaced with harsh jet black, showing power and authority, and electric greens showing a modern life style and energy which links to the fact that cars need energy (fuel) to run. The dangerous yet, strong and demanding red shows reliability toward the cars shown, while the blue gives the idea that this article is for male adults who love cars, like have pink is known to be for females, yet a pink line separates the article in two suggesting that, this article could perhaps be for female adults too. The background of the article is white showing how efficient the car being shown is, making it more appealing to people, while being behind black text, linking to the image but, also making the article easier to read. The font is also easy to for people while, the Mast Heading is cut up like a car tyre, linking to the theme. The blue part of the article is a photo with the text overlapping it to show powerful the vehicle is while the font is white to make it easier to read.

Two Page Spread

I think it is very clever how this has been set out. The article for this magazine is only one page and yet, both pages are linked together using a large images that take up all of the space on the other page and some of the space on the page next to it, giving it a far more interesting look than most articles than are on just one page or on both sides of a page, making this article stand out more and make it more attractive to the reader and more desirable to read. It also gives the image of large open space, linking to the topic of the article which is about riding bikes in the outdoors as seen on the image. The photo is very interesting because it focuses more on the plants than the refreshing, pure and breath taking outdoor green rather than the people on their bikes, perhaps to prove a point that the outdoors is a beautiful place to relax and explore, away from busy buildings and roads and what better way to do it without damaging the environment than on a bike? This probably why the article itself is on the opposite page, to focus on the outdoors feeling. It is also good, how the font at the bottom "Jedburgh" is fat and chunky instead of thin and fancy, to represent a rough and dirty outdoors look, yet is done the white text to show how pure and innocent the outdoors can be which links to the background on the opposite page, to show the beauty next to the roughness as the font is black, making it easy to read, but also to fit in with the theme, making people feel a need to ride their bikes and be more grateful for the wildlife. The text in neatly set out yet, some text is pushed away by images, showing that the wild cannot be stopped easily and will fight to stay strong.

Contents Page Analysis 3

This contents page explodes from head to foot in bright, young and refreshing colours, rather than dark, harsh and ugly colours, like you would see in an article about a horror movie. These gentle colours all suggest youth, and are very girly, focusing on "pretty pinks" showing that this magazine is for a young female audience up to teenagers, with a colourful, yet simple look. It is trying to keep as simple as possible which is ideal for this type of audience since young people want thinks to be quick and easy to understand. The yellow is upbeat, sunny and full of energy, while the green is refreshing, new looking and pleasant in overall appearance. The red is dangerous, yet full of energy and full of character and the blue is innocent and pure and think is bubbly, and cheeky. All of these is what describes a typical girl, especially in the media. None of these colours are suited to a male who, may be seem as fresh and cheeky, but also rough and messy so word use darker colours like darker green, blues and browns, but light colours too, if it was for a younger male. The white background blank yet innocent, pure and young, like the pale blue and is widely used behind black text which stands out from the brighter colours so it is far easier to see the information to guide the reader to each page. Each section is connected to a section on the magazine like a key to make the magazine contents page easier to use. The model near the bottom of the page is larger than the other images suggesting that she may the main person in this article which may explain why red is used a lot - to match her outfit.

Most of the font is the right, making it easier to find while the images are on the left to link to each article. All the numbers match the section it is in and set out as if they are in text boxes inset of all being spread out to avoid the page becoming too complex to the reader. The most important information appears to be in a different coloured box to attract attention and point out what should be read about and point out special features in the magazine like, a competition for example.

The Mast Heading are in bigger, thicker and more curved text which is easy to read an spot out form the other texts to identify the title of the page and also looks more girly. There is lots of curved, fancy looking which would be inappropriate for males. The Subheadings and the rest of the fonts are smaller but easier to read for people with poorer eyesight, and so it is better to find out about each article.

Contents Page Analysis 2

Unlike the last contents page, this contents page has no fear about colours and uses a large variety of tone, making it look more outgoing and modern, allowing it to be read a younger audience. This contents page's most popular colour appears to be bubbly, energetic and bold pink, giving the idea of fun and excitement in each article shown in the magazine. The colour is associated with females like how blue is associated with males showing the target audience is more than likely to be for female teenagers and young adults. The colour stands out from the blank yet innocent and calm looking white background which makes the look simple yet effective, which also makes something one the page look very modern, as younger people prefer things to be a lot more simple and easy to understand. I like that idea of the kicker being pink as it matches the theme yet, is easy to spot. It is also eye-catching because of the fact that most kickers are round yet, this kicker is a triangle that fits neatly into the corner, so it does not get in the way of reading the information written on the page. It is also clever how the font inside the kicker is white, which matches the background colour, almost as if the text has been cut out of the kicker which has been stuck on the page, allowing the background colour to come through, and differs from most of the page which was a white background. The pink also links the photo of the model in the top left corner, because she is wearing pink, and also links to the photo of the product packaging on the right side of the magazine as it is pink. The black text is very bold from the white background, like the pink, and pulls in the attention of people which is why the Subheadings are black, plus it links to the photo of the shoe on the page, matching the theme, making the page look better rather than put lots of different random colours on the page which would be too busy, putting people off reading the magazine. It is also clever that the background of the photo in the top left corner is a gentle blue which goes well with the pinks and purples and the fact that it matches the product in the blue packaging  on the right.

The Subheadings and information is in the centre of the page, like a list, grabbing attention straight away to give the details quicker and easier, which matches the target audience who are young females who are into make-up and fashion design, and want things simple and easy to use. There are images including shoes and models on both sides of the text that links to each article for a better understanding of what each article is about, which can help a great deal for people who have poor eyesight. Each images is bright with the key colours involved: blue, pink and purple, which are all known to be feminine colours, which allows people to connect with the magazine more.

The font for the Mast Heading for the page is in capital letters and each letter is spaced out making it a lot easier to read for the audience, allowing people to understand which page they are looking at. The Subheading "Cover Story" is more curved and fancy like handwriting but, also gives it a more female look, and matches the page numbers, allowing it to fit in easier on the page. The main information is in a simple to read font, for people to focus on the important information which is the main interest of the page.

Contents Page Analysis

 

 

This contents page has very simple colours that are red, white, grey, black and a small amount of pink and blue. The background is a calm and relaxing creamy colour with hints of grey for the shadows, which is the complete opposite to the model who is wearing a dress which is sliver, which is very feminine therefore more appropriate for a female audience and stands out from the cream background along with her golden belt which, gives the idea of glamour, and a romantic looking colour that is red on the bottom half of her dress which shows us that with this outfit she, the main reason that you would want to buy this magazine, showing that the main story is about her, which means that she is more than likely to be on the front cover of the magazine too. She is holding a white and red mushroom, which clashes with the background and matches the model's outfit. The mushroom is blown up, giving it a look that makes it too big for a normal mushroom, showing that the article about the woman is interesting like a fantasy such as Alice in Wonderland. The Mast Heading "Contents" is in a bold black which matches the model's hair colour and also draws in attention so that the audience knows where to look to find a page in the magazine and to tell them about the contents inside the magazine. The Subheadings and information under them are black linking with the model and Mast Heading and draws in the attention of the audience because of how dark the colour is compared to the pale background colour. There is some text that is not black. The colours chosen are a dark pink which is good for a female audience, and a bright blue. Both differ from the other colours to make people look at them as these will provide important information about the magazine.

 

The model is holding the mushroom away from her so that she is still centre of attention, showing who this magazine is about, as she stands in the centre of the page. She has no text overlapping her, showing how important she is this issue of the magazine. The mushroom however, overlaps some of the Mast heading showing some importance to the object, making the person holding it even more interesting, therefore making the main article based on her, more interesting to read about. The subheadings and main information are all on the right side of the magazine, leaving plenty of space to keep the model as the main focus of the page, but in a place where it is still easy to see and look up what in is where inside. The information about the photograph taken of the model is on the left side, out of the way of the model but still noticeable for poeple who want to read it.

 

The font of the Mast Heading is chucky and more modern looking, making it better for a younger audience and is in a bold colour, drawing attention to it, so the people know what page they are looking at. The Subheadings are easy to read, and is also in black are also easy to notice and read next to the cream background.

"Q" magazine -Adele

Like the magazine with the photograph of Rihanna (see the other magazine analysis I created), the model (Adele) dominates the majority of the magazine cover showing that she is the most important part of the magazine as she overlaps some of the "Q" Mast Heading (the logo) which makes the magazine unique, showing that the company has full confidence that their  magazine to both loyal and new customers. The fact that the logo can be seen through parts of Adele's hair where is divides, makes the cover appear more professional and therefore more appealing to people. The logo is red, showing danger and romance which can appeal to a female audience, along with the innocent white, once again giving a feminine touch, proving that this magazine is not for a male audience. The kicker is a dull gold that shows glamour and fame, which matches the appearance of Adele yet, not enough to take the eyes away from Adele. The barcode is out of Adele's way to give her  more attention. It is located right at the bottom in the corner  so it is out of the way, but easy to find so that the audience can quickly pay for the product and give more space for the advertisement on the back cover. The subheadings are next to Adele so that we can still see her, but so can easily read what the content is. Adele's name overlaps her on her photo, in capital letters to show that she is what this issue of the magazine is all about her.

Rolling Stone

In this magazine "Rollingstone", the company seems to be so confident about their sales that they have put their model Rihanna in front of their logo (Mast Headline), covering most of it up, showing that this magazine is very successful, and are happy to let someone's photo hide the part magazine that is the most identified on the product. It also shows that Rihanna is the most important part of the magazine, as she dominates most of the cover's space, showing that this magazine is about her; she is the reason that you should buy a copy of the magazine. The background is white, making it look dull compared to Rihanna herself, who fills up the space, so the incomplete background does not matter, once again, allowing the reader to focus on the medium close-up of Rihanna. The little of the logo we can see is a strong and powerful, dominating red, that stands out more and can still be noticed, even with Rihanna's picture over lapping it, and really stands out from the white background, and would stand out more if Rihanna was not there, but that is the whole point of putting Rihanna in this part of the cover. The barcode is not visible, which could have a negative effect on the advertisements on the back cover, but this allows the company to give Rihanna more of the space, and therefore cause no distractions. The kicker is a rectangle instead of a circle, that most people put of their magazine covers but, the rectangle allows the magazine to stand out more, as it is different to other designs. The text in the kicker is in capital letters to look exciting and interesting to look at, attracting the target market. The subheadings are on one side of Rihanna that draw the audience's eye on them, to inform people on what content there is but, not enough to make you forget about Rihanna. Rihanna's name is over lapping her, but instead of capital letters, this font is in mainly lower case text, with elegant curves, to give a more female style, compare font of the logo, which seems less for woman, and more for a male audience. Rihanna's name is in black to stand out from the subheadings to show that this name is more important than anything in this magazine.

"Q" magazine analysis

 

This magazine is interesting because there is no background colour because the model's hair is the background with her face in the centre of the image, giving the idea that she is the most important part of the magazine, which is shown with a medium close up shot. Her appearance includes bright hair and make-up which, makes her eyes and lips stand out more than any other part of her face. The fact the she is giving the audience eye contact shows that she is important and the reason you should read this magazine more than any other magazine on the market. I like the fact that all of the subheadings frame her face so that she is the main attraction. The Mast Heading (the logo) is a bright red, giving the impression that this magazine is bolder and better than other magazines, and shows that the magazine if for a female audience, because the colour red is known to be the colour of romance and thrills, combined with the while "Q" which has gentle curved lines, giving it the style expected for please a female audience as well as the fact the colour white is known to be the colour of innocence. This combined with the danger like red is a good combination, giving the idea that there will be interesting and exciting content inside. The "Q" is cleverly placed in the top left corner which is the location the audience are most likely to see first, as it is the top of the magazine that people see first when they look at the magazines on a display stand. The kicker is out lined with an exciting and attractive sky blue, which stands out from the white text, so that it can give important information to draw in the buyer of the product, yet not enough to draw your eyes away from the model who is the main attraction, plus has some blue eye shadow around her eyes to match the colour theme, allowing her to part of the magazine and not look out of place. The bar code is easy to find, making it quicker to pay for the product, but to also leave space of the advertisements on the back of the magazine.