Analysis of Front Covers, Contents Pages and Double Page Spreads

Front Covers

This front cover is taken from ‘Vibe’ Magazine. The name Vibe suggests to the reader that this is a music magazine, with the central image connoting the magazine has a rap/hip hop/R&B theme. The masthead is the largest writing on the page, which the font colour matching the secondary colour of Kanye West’s jumper. West is the dominating central image of the piece as a medium close-up. This closeness acts as a visual lure to entice fans of West to buy the magazine as their eyes are drawn to this one. The background colour of the magazine is also the same colour as the primary colour of West’s jumper. By using colours which do not contrast with West’s clothes, it makes the central image blend with the magazine and when combined with the shading gives a 3D edge to the piece. The main cover line of the piece is situated to the left of the image of West, and is aligned in a similar angle to West’s head which informs the reader that this is the main article. The font colour scheme is a contrasting mix of blue, black and white, which helps to separate the different cover lines and lures. They are also a mix of different font sizes, with the larger fonts suggesting these articles are the most important. This front cover does not show the price, barcode or issue number.

This front cover is from ‘NME’ magazine. The name NME (when pronounced it sounds like the word ‘enemy’) suggests that this magazine is going to be controversial, which will attract the target audience of the magazine, which are predominantly rock fans. The central image of this magazine is a long shot of Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty. Unlike with Vibe magazine, where the main image was placed in the centre, this one is placed slightly to the right due to the layout of the magazine. The cover lines and lures for this magazine are placed in the bottom third of the magazine, with the main cover line placed in the central third of the magazine. The main colours of the front cover are black, white and red, which follow the magazine’s brand style and maintain the same colours and the font as the masthead. Underneath the main cover line of the front cover, a quote from the article is used as a lure. This front cover also features various puffs which offer the reader various prizes. This magazine features the barcode in the bottom right hand corner at a landscape angle.

This front cover is from the ‘Q’ magazine. The magazine gets its name from the word ‘Cue’, which it originally was going to be called (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. The single letter name makes the magazine seem bold and foregrounds it. Like NME, the front cover of the magazine uses the colours red, black and white which gives this magazine a gothic theme. The tagline ‘The UK’s Biggest Music Magazine’ suggests this magazine is successful, popular and interesting. The central image of this front cover is a medium close-up of singer Cheryl Cole. Cole is the main focus of the magazine, where she is pulling a sexually alluring pose in an attempt to attract men to buying this magazine. Her lips are a deep red colour which connotes passion and also links to the main colours of the brand theme. The main cover line is situated in the bottom third of the magazine, with the writing changing colour as well as the spacing between letters increasing. This gives the effect that the writing is leaping off the page which foregrounds it to the reader. The other cover lines are situated to the left of the magazine, with a puff located on the central right of the front cage. This magazine is unusual in the sense that the barcode is not positioned at the bottom. Instead it is placed below the masthead, along with the price and date.

Contents Page

This contents page is from ‘Vibe’ magazine. The main feature of this contents page is a large central image, rather than the usual central feature which is the text. The woman in the picture is sitting in a relaxed, provocative position which relates to the cool theme of the magazine. The woman is R&B superstar Ciara, which is a ploy used to increase the sales of magazine as people enjoy reading about celebrities they like. Ciara’s legs are placed in a ‘V’ position which is shadowed in the background by the ‘V’ of Vibe magazine in the usual house style and font. The layout of the word ‘CONTENTS’ stacked on top of each other means that all of the text is on the right-hand side of the page, meaning that the picture has the space on the left and along the bottom. The sections of the text are split into two groups; features and fashion. This allows a potential customer who is browsing the contents page to view the main articles that make this magazine unique as well as the standard articles which feature in every magazine.

This contents page is from ‘NME’ magazine. Whereas for the previous magazine the picture was the main feature, this magazine has the text and content as the over-riding feature for their contents page. In the top left-hand corner is the NME brand name to remind the reader what the magazine is. The phrase ‘THIS WEEK’ at the top of the page acts as a lure, leading the reader into reading the information the contents page is providing. It also informs the reader that this magazine is published weekly and it regularly features new articles and ideas. In the centre of the page is the major article, featuring a paragraph from the article which will draw the reader into that page. The colour scheme used on this page is predominantly red, black and white, which relates to the brand style. The contents are situated on the right-hand third of the magazine, similar to Vibe magazine above. They are also divided into groups like in Vibe, however for this magazine there are more groups such as News, Radar, Reviews, Live! and Features. Along the bottom there is an advertisement from the magazine to save money when pre-ordering NME, which is a clever ploy used to increase sales. In the bottom right-hand corner there is a box claiming that NME is ‘The UK’s No.1 Gig Guide’, which is used as a unique selling point to attract customers from rival magazines.

Double-Page Spreads

This double page spread is from ‘Kerrang’ magazine. The colour scheme of the magazine is predominantly red, white and especially black which relate to the gothic fan base. The interview with My Chemical Romance is claimed by the magazine to be a ‘world exclusive’, a unique selling point against other magazines. The title of the piece is a quote from the interview, acting as a lure. It again features the house style colour scheme of Kerrang, making it stand out on the black background. The text is arranged into two columns on the right page, adding more importance to the pictures which are arranged on the left page and across the bottom. In the tagline, the text states that MCR ‘invite Kerrang to their recording studio’. This makes the article seem personal to the band as well as showing it to be unique, coupling the effect with the ‘world exclusive’ claim in the top corner. Along the right-side of the right page there is a list of questions the band have answered in a short format, which makes the reader feel closer to the band.

This double page spread is from ‘Beatweek’ magazine. In a contrast to the other double page spread, the colours are much less severe and calmer. This is because the ‘Kerrang’ magazine represents a music style that is more emotional and aggressive than ‘Beatweek’, which features R&B music that is predominantly calmer. The main colours are white, grey and beige which are very calm colours. This represents the laid-back approach of the Black Eyed Peas as well as the style of the magazine. The use of a rhetorical question as the title of the article is meant to engage the reader, to lure them into reading the article to find the answer. The picture of the Black Eyed Peas covers two-thirds of the double page spread, following the rule of thirds with text in the final third. The contrast in the colour of the picture shows the reader that Will.i.am is the main focus of the blog, as well as reminding the reader of where they will know him from. The introducing paragraph is positioned over top of the picture as this foregrounds this text as the start of the article. One part of the text is emphasised by being surrounded by a black text box, showing that this quote from Will.i.am is the main theme of the article. The questions are emboldened so the reader can differentiate between them and the answers. A pair of arrows are used to show the beginning of the article, with the use of this image being similar to the ‘fast-forward’ symbol that will subconsciously remind the reader of music.

How to create a questionnaire for a Music Magazine

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Treatment

 Beats is a music magazine that focuses on breakthrough artists, specializing in forms of urban music such as R&B and Hip-Hop. The target audience for my magazine is predominantly people of both sexes aged from 16-21.  The unique selling point against its competitors is that it focuses on up-and-coming or breakthrough artists such as J.Cole rather than established artists such as Lil’ Wayne. Other new artists who collaborate with urban artists are also featured, such as Ed Sheeran. One could argue that this magazine would appeal more to young black people, or people of an urban background, but I am hoping to target a mixture of races and social backgrounds. I will keep the price at a relatively cheap, competitive level, as the audience for this magazine will have a limited amount of disposable income.  They will either have to rely on money from their parents or a part/full-time job so they will want a magazine that is affordable. The average Beats reader is interested in new urban music and in supporting up-and-coming artists.

Beats is an A4 full colour magazine which contains interviews with urban artists as well as reviews and information about events and gigs. For the cover I have chosen the picture a picture of my model Dale in an cool pose because this confidence from Dale interests the reader and makes them more likely to read about a confident artist than a timid one. The main cover for Beats will mostly feature a mid-close up of a new artist who the features in the main article. There will also be a regular ‘Favourite Song of the Week’ as well as a social media section and various competitions to meet the stars in the magazine. The main colour scheme of the magazine is going to mix the calmer colours that you associate with R&B magazines (such as blues and greys) along with the harsher colours of Hip-Hop magazines (blacks and yellows). The magazine will sell at £2.99, the average price for a teenage/young adult magazine, making it appealable.

A range of brands will advertise in Beats each week, concentrating on adverts that are related to the genre. These will include headphones such as ‘Beats’ by Dr. Dre and offers for discount when downloading urban music on iTunes.

Magazine Word Jumble - Key Words

Background Information into Magazine Publishing

Vibe – Intermedia Vibe Holdings LLC

Quincy Jones formed Vibe in 1993 in partnership with Time Inc.

Time Inc. is a subsidiary of the media conglomerate Time Warner the company formed by the 1990 merger of the original Time Inc. and Warner Communications. It publishes 130 magazines, most notably its namesake, Time. Other magazines include Sports Illustrated, Fortune, People, InStyle, Life, GOLF Magazine, Southern Living, Essence, All You and Entertainment Weekly. It also owns the UK magazine house IPC Media, whose major titles include What's On TV, NME, Country Life, Marie Claire and Nuts.

Audience Research

             The target audience for my magazine is predominantly people of both sexes aged from 16-21. My magazine centers on the genre of urban music, such as R&B and Hip/Hop, but the unique selling point against its competitors is that it focuses on up-and-coming or breakthrough artists such as J.Cole rather than established artists such as Lil’ Wayne. Other new artists who collaborate with urban artists are also featured, such as Ed Sheeran. One could argue that this magazine would appeal more to young black people, or people of an urban background, but I am hoping to target a mixture of races and social backgrounds.

Moodboard

Main Project - Music Magazine

Introduction to Main Task

            For our main task we were asked to analyse the forms and conventions of real-life music magazines, so that we can create our own front cover, contents page and double-page spread.

Action Plan

Date	Content/Tasks
16th January	Compare Magazines & Research the magazine market place Research similar products: 3 front covers, 2x contents pages, 2x double-page spread
1st February	Initial ideas Audience Research Writing a treatment plan
20th February	Layout/masthead ideas Plan photoshoot and take photos Drafting of pages Audience feedback
Friday 9th March	Drafting of pages Audience feedback
Friday 16th March	Evaluation

Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Before I created my student magazine I looked at other examples of student magazines in an attempt to get ideas. This gave me an insight into how professional student magazines are formed and what sort of content they include. There are certain characteristics that can identify a magazine as a student magazine, such as the content being focused towards students and the language is generally younger and colloquial. Examples of content in my magazine that applies to students include revision tips and music reviews. For my contents page, I inserted an editorial as this introduced the magazine to the reader as well as being a used media convention.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine is aimed at students so I wanted it to look and feel like something that I would want to read myself. I used photographs that link to the college itself but I focused more on the people at college.  For the front cover I chose a picture of a boy looking stressed, which will hopefully make the potential audience relate to the magazine as they too are stressed about exams.

For the contents page I used a photograph of myself revising to replicate the situation of many other students who are currently revising for their exams. I also chose a picture of the lunch lady Dawn to symbolize that there is more to college than just the students.  I changed the background colour of the contents page to a blue, which is a lighter colour than the black background of the front page. This makes the contents page more visually appealing, which will entice the reader into looking at the contents page to see the articles within the magazine. The font type is kept the same as on the front cover, although the colour of the font changes. The cover lines on the front page were kept short as this attracts the audience’s eyes without boring them with massive amounts of text.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Before we created our own student magazines, we looked at examples of other student magazines, both professional and students of previous years.  ‘Verge’ magazines cover of Ke$ha inspired my front cover with the black background and the bright writing. It could be sold at college to the students who are interested in what is happening at college and in the future. It could also be sold to students at other colleges who are interested in what our college is like.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My audience is 16-18 year olds (college students). It does not have a specified gender group, as the stories are those that interest both gender groups, such as music and parties.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience through the use of brightly coloured writing on a dark background, as well as the image choices and composition of the front cover. The colours I used were bright and eye-catching which will hopefully attract the audience it is aimed at, but I was careful to avoid using tacky colours or too much text because I didn’t want the design to look cheap. The colour yellow was used to enhance the lure so it foregrounds it more.  I chose a lighter background for the contents page so it gives the reader a warmer feel when they open the magazine, with the pictures being placed in positions to split up the text to make the text seem shorter.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing his product?

When creating this piece I learned to use different software that I have not used before. I used Adobe InDesign to design my magazine and magazine mock-up, as well as using Adobe Photoshop to edit the images I have used. I also used software that I have used before, such as Microsoft Word for the action plan, analysis and evaluation. I also used blogger.com to put my information online.