Front Cover
NME
This NME magazine front cover is very aesthetically pleasing, and offers lots for the reader to look at. The main image of Lana Del Ray shows her sticking her tongue out with a background of an American flag. The American flag clearly represents the fact that she is an American act who has taken over the British music charts. The action she is pulling with her tongue relates to the quote ‘I’m a psycho!’ The font throughout the cover is sans-serif, bar a small ‘plus’ in the bottom left of the cover. This is used to show a separation in the magazine and represent the smaller articles that do not have a large heading such as Lana Del Ray, Noel Gallagher, Pete Doherty and Enter Shikari. Each of these has a quote attached to them which tells the reader that there will be a large article in the magazine for them. The main article of the magazine though is Lana Del Ray, hence her being the main picture and having the largest heading. The colour scheme is very interesting and clever. The blue that is used on the artist’s names and on the ‘free posters’ box matches the colour of Lana’s nails. This subtle link has a huge affect on the magazine, making it intriguing and a successful look. I would like to try something like this on my own magazine front cover as I think it is a very sophisticated way of choosing which colour to use as the theme of the front cover. Once again, the bar-code on this magazine is clearly in view but placed in the bottom right of the cover, not obscuring any of the image or article headings/artists names.
Q Magazine
This Q magazine is very cleverly and sophisticatedly put together. The main image is of Cheryl Cole in the rain, showing that she is the main feature of the magazine. A pun is used for the main article heading ‘3 Words...Cheryl Cole Rocks’. This heading uses Cheryl Cole’s album title ‘3 Words’, which she would have been promoting, to describe the pop sensation. This is a very good idea as it really sells the artist and their album, and I may try to include something like this in my own magazine. The font used for half of the magazine is serif, for example on the ‘3 Words’ and ‘Rocks’ but the ‘Cheryl Cole’ is in sans-serif, to make it stand out from the rest and grab, potentially Cheryl Cole fans’, attention. As well as being in a different type of font, ‘Cheryl Cole’ is written in a different one of the house colours. The house colours for Q magazine are white, red and grey. Down the right top half of the magazine, a ray of different coloured fonts, styles and sizes are used to separate articles. This technique is good as it takes your attention there due to the hectic layout, but still manages to be clear of which article is which. A feature I may take from this magazine is the circle emblem. This adds to the professional feel of the magazine and gives extra important information to the readers, something that if just written onto the picture, might miss, when it is in fact quite a major part of the magazine, just not as major as the main story (Cheryl Cole, in this case.) The bar-code is clearly in view but not obstructing any of the main parts of the image.
Billboard
This Billboard magazine front cover has a very interesting
concept. Firstly, the main thing you notice about this magazine is the colour
red. This magazine was made when Rihanna’s red hair was the latest craze so
Billboard jumped at this opportunity and based their whole front cover on this
craze. The whole image is taken with the colour red in mind, from the
background of red flowers, to the red lipstick, and plain coloured clothing, to
make the extreme red colour stand out. The red inside of the lower case ‘b’ in
board is the usual colour, but Rihanna’s head is covering some of the letters,
but due to the fact that the ‘b’s inside is red, this letter has been left
uncovered, to fit with the running theme. Another colour reference is the
inside of the ‘d’ is yellow, so the ‘Film & TV Music Conference’ is the
same colour as the yellow, to link with the colour. The other dominating colour
is white, which is the colour of the actual letters for Billboard, and the
colour is used for the main article of the magazine, Rihanna. A direct quote
from the article is used under the artists name to intrigue readers to read the
article and find out what she is talking about, and why she is saying that. The
smaller article headings are written in black but with a white background, so
that they don’t blend into the background. The white background stands out
against the dark background and attracts the reader’s attention, so that they
are aware of the other articles in the magazine. The bar-code, probably one of
the most important parts of a magazine, is placed in the bottom left of the
magazine, once again not obscuring or obstructing any of the image, but conveniently
placed so that the price can be seen.
Rolling Stone
I do not see myself as using Rolling Stone as a heavy influence when it comes to inspiration for my magazine as I do not like the overall layout of the magazine front cover. Saying this, this particular Rolling Stone front cover grabs the reader’s attention very well. It shows a facial close up of Jay-Z, one of Americas most successful rap artists. This fact is backed up by the supporting heading ‘How Jay-Z became king of America’. The font used for the whole front cover is serif, an unusual convention of a front cover, but it is used to match the signature title of the magazine. The white of ‘King of America’ stands out against the black leather jacket that Jay-Z is wearing, and is also larger than the rest of the heading, making it prominent on the cover. The house colours of the magazine are red, black and white, and this is shown through all of the article headings on the page. The article headings are separated by lines which provide a definite and clear separation, making a clean look for the front cover. An odd feature of this front cover is that there is no bar-code or price visible. The issue number and month of the magazines release are in the top right corner, clearly in view but not obstructing any of the article headings or the picture, not distracting attention. Despite all of the negative views put forward, I understand that Rolling Stones features artists in the similar genre to what I am basing my artist on.
NME
I particularly like this NME front cover, as it is plain but effective. Firstly, the bright red hair and hat of Florence stands out against the dull background, and this compliments the bright orange writing of 'Florence'. The colour choice of this sans serif font is to fit with the fashion statement of Florence's ginger hair. The same style font is used in every part of the front covers writing, but the colours black and white are used, rather than the orange. The words are written in capitals throughout the front cover and have a slight italic style to them. This makes them neat and tidy and the fluidity of it all adds a neat stylish finish to the model. The bar code is visible in the bottom left corner of the magazine so that it is not drawing any attention from the main photo and stories.
A banner type 'free iconic Joy Division posters' is visible at the top with a preview of the posters taking up the right hand corner. This promotion is likely to tempt people to buy the magazine, as well as the 'world exclusive' above Florence, making the magazine seem to have an importance of being the first in the world to have this interview. I may use the idea of a promotion in my magazine because it is a simple but effective way of getting attention over other magazines on the market. The colour orange is also used at the bottom of the page as a story divider and fits with the colour scheme and does not seem out of place.
Contents Page
NME
This edition of NME magazine uses the blocking technique to set it out. This provides a simple lay out that is easy to read and has a photograph to match each section. I like this idea of using multiple photographs in a simple block layout as it creates and interesting page, rather than a photo dominated or text dominated contents page, it has a nice balance. This is something that I would be interested in trying out. The date of issue is evident under the 'Inside This Week' and is written in serif italics, the italics adding emphasis, but the actual font size means it does not take up any major space on the page. A variety of fonts, sans serif, serif, italic, and different sizes are used on the quotes that are under each picture on the page. This shows makes the page more intriguing and removes any bland element from it. The large bold page numbers attached to the photographs really stand out and are prominent on the page, making sure that the reader notices them. I like this idea and may use it on my magazine, so that the importance of the articles is spread out and not all put on one particular article. The actual article summary under the quote attached to each article is in a small sans serif font, written in bold. The fluency of this throughout the title page adds a clean look to the magazine and a slight sophistication, despite the jumbled-ness of the different quotes' font. The use of thin lines dividing the articles makes them separate and is a sophisticated idea, making the contents page on a whole seem cleaner.
Q Magazine
Billboard
Firstly, Billboard has a very unique layout for a contents page. It is very blocked, but has an extremely unique music chart taking up the entire left hand side of the page. This is an excellent idea as many people will be constantly wondering which song/album is number one. Having this information on the contents page means that readers do not have to flick through the magazine to find this chart as it is on the first page after the contents. I like this because having this in a magazine makes it more likely for people to buy your magazine as it has very useful information in it, as well as interviews and articles that people will want to also read. Moving onto the actual contents page, the word 'Contents' is in an intriguing sans serif font, and is placed clearly at the top of the page. There is nothing above the word so there is nothing for it to get lost in. Similar to the Rolling Stone contents page, the different articles in the magazine are split up by separate headings, which use a serif font to write in. These are also written in black which stand out against the white background and contrast with the blue article headings in the different sections. Also contrasting as well as colour, is the fact that the heading articles are written in a sans serif font, just to ensure the clarity between the section headings and article headings. This is a good idea as it provides easy reading for the reader and prevents confusion. The pictures used are all relevant to the different articles, and this is evident by the page numbers attached to the photographs. The traditional magazine convention of having the magazine name, issue number and page number in the bottom corner is visible. Also visible are the credits of the magazine, going vertically up the page on the far left. I will try to include both the credits and page/issue number on the contents page as I believe it has a more professional feel.
Rolling Stone
Firstly, in this edition of Rolling Stone it is evident that it the designer has used the ‘blocking’ look to organise the page. The title for the contents page uses all of the house colours, the red background with write text and a black line above it. This makes it obvious that the contents page is relevant to the front cover, and (if I had found the matching contents page for the front cover I have used) there would be an article heading relevant to the cover main image. The three images used are presented very neatly by being the same width and taking up just under half of the page. They also have a number attached to the image, which matches one of the ‘features’, ‘national affairs’ and ‘departments’ headings. The house colours continue through the whole contents page, giving it a thorough professional feel. The page numbers and different section headings are all in the signature red, making them stand out. The page number and magazine name at the bottom of a page are usual conventions of a music magazine and these are visible on the page. Credits of photos are visible written vertically up the right hand side of the page. I may use something like this myself as I believe using credits make the magazine seem more professional, and doing it like this means it takes up less space on the page and does not interfere with anything. A short summary of each article is also under each article title, sticking to the convention of not being more than one paragraph. These are ideal for my magazine as I do not want to give away whole stories in the summary; I just wish to put enough to intrigue the reader.
NME
This NME contents page is very similar to the other one that I have looked at, as it is the usual style that they use. The style is blocked with lots of images. Each image has a bold page number in the bottom right hand corner, instantly informing the reader of which page to find the story on. I will most likely use this in my own contents page as it is very effective and hard for the reader to miss, lessening any chances of confusion and misunderstanding. The stories that do not have images on the page are listed in a thin box on the left hand side of the page titles 'plus'. The 'plus' is written in italic serif font. This makes it stand out to the other writing in the section as it is larger and the other writing is written in sans serif font, with the page numbers bold, so that they are not missed. Once again, each photo caption/article heading is written in a different font to the article description, making them easy to distinguish as heading and description. A thin line is used to separate the sections, adding a neatness to the contents page. I will attempt to incorporate thin lines into my own contents page as I like the effect it has, adding to the finished look of it all.
Double Page Spread
NME
This is a very neatly put together Double Page Spread. The simple range of colours, blue and orange, contrasting with the black and white accompany each other very well. The layout is simple but sophisticated. An example of the sophistication is the use of orange serif fonts, aligned with a bold, blocked, blue 'Mission'. I hope to use something like this font mix as I think it is aesthetically pleasing. It looks very professional and shows the quirky-ness of the magazine. An unusual convention in this Double Page Spread is the lack of going over the centrefold. Neither the photo or the heading cross the centre fold, where most Double Page Spreads cross over in some way. I believe that for my magazine I will have the photo just on one page, like this example, but will have the heading crossing the centre fold, sticking to the usual convention of Double Page Spreads. An interesting space filler in this article is the statistics box. It clearly shows the artists' success but fits in with the article on a whole and does not stick out like it has been misplaced. It fits in by being the same blue as the blue on the front cover and that is the title colour. The alternation between white and black font splits the facts up as well without having the box full of dividers.
Q Magazine
This Double Page Spread for Q Magazine follows many usual conventions of a music magazine. For instance, the large photo graph of Cheryl Cole takes up the whole right hand page, and instantly draws in the readers attention. As well as this, there is a smaller photograph from the same shoot which takes up the bottom right hand corner of the left page. This photo is accompanied by a caption which adds information about the photo. Another convention is the use of the magazine logo, page number and month of issue being show on the bottom of the left page, only showing on the page with the writing. I like this as it is important information but has not been put on the photograph page so that attention is not drawn away from the photograph. A drop capital is used in the article, but not at the start. Instead, one is used halfway through the article, possibly when a new topic is being talked about.
Billboard
Billboard Double Page Spread of Rihanna follows many conventions but also goes against some too. For one, the article title is not noticeable as it is not very large and it is actually the first part of a sentence, rather than a stand alone heading. In a way this is intriguing as it makes the reader want to read the article, and by having such a large opening part of a sentence it makes reading it very easy and simple for the reader. All of the font in the article is sans serif and this fits with Billboards style on a whole, which is known for being modern with many modern and upcoming artists in it. The colour scheme of this article is pink and black to match the main photo. I wish to have a two colour theme in my article as well, but only colours that are relevant for the image of the artist I am trying to bring across. The main photo goes over the centrefold of the article and takes up over a quarter of the Double Page Spread. As well as this photo, two other smaller ones are used, which are related to what is being talked about in the article. The caption for the pictures are in pink, so that they stick with the colour scheme but are obviously separate from the main story text. In the main image there is a large black space and this is filled with a chart of Rihanna's main hits. This information is interesting, relevant and fills the space sensibly. I would like to use something like this, showing statistics of the artist, if I need to fill space.
Rolling Stone
On this Double Page Spread for Rolling Stone magazine, there is only one main image used, taking up the entire right hand page and crossing over the centre line, adding dominance to the picture. Lily Allen is wearing a half undone checked shirt, and her hair appears to be short, making her look more masculine. This image is mirrored by the type of font used, large sans serif font with a mix up of letter sizing. The title takes up over an entire quarter of the double page spread, and is a direct quote from the article. This is the heading so that it intrigues readers and makes them want to know more about what she is talking about. Using something like this in my article will intrigue readers straight away and has the ability to add to the aesthetic pleasing of the DPS on a whole.The colour scheme for the DPS is red, black and white, having the white writing on a black background and having important words, such as names, in bold red writing. A drop capital is used to open the article, this being 'I'. The actual article is also written in sans serif and is spread over four columns. For my magazine I only wish to use 3 columns.
NME
This Double Page Spread for NME uses only one image, and it is of Florence Welsh. The photograph used grabs the readers attention because it is so large and unmissable. The colours used in the photograph are the colours used in the article, making it very aesthetically pleasing, and adds a sophisticated look.Both serif and san serif fonts are used for the heading of the article, and they are also completely different sizes. This makes the 'USA' stand out but you are also able to tell that it is all one title. The colours are also different, making the ‘USA’ blend more into the background but still remaining very dominant on the page. The use of dull colours for 'USA' actually makes it stand out against the bright colours evident on the image, also helped by the size of the text. I like the way that the serif font of 'got the love' is the same font as used for the beginning letter 'D', adding to the fluency of the whole article. The text is split up into three columns, but they are not the same size. This does not affect the aesthetics of the article and it still manages to look organised and sophisticated.The main colour scheme is obviously to link with the article and the fact that Florence Welsh has managed to break America. This is shown through the red and white and size of the 'USA'. This is portrayed well by use of colours and text that we immediately see when looking at the page. The article has the ability to attract both men and women as the colours are unisex and the photograph can entice males but attract females to read the article as well. The image is attractive but still sophisticated and makes the artist look glamorous and interesting.
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