Deconstructions of double page spreads!

NME Magazine

Vibe Magazine

Top Of The Pops Magazine

NME double page spread…Double page spreads are included in magazines as the main feature, and normally, in music magazines more often than others, includes a certain artist that has either been interviewed or talked about on the spread. This feature is also usually shown on the front cover due to being the most important feature. An article title is used to define the page and to stand out to the reader. This s particular title reads ‘The Gospel According To Nicki Minaj’. Nicki Minaj is sown in huge bold text and in a darker shade of pick to contrast against the light pink background, which is effective, as it looks good on the page, but it also adds an effect of the artist as it compliments her style and personality which would be another insight for the reader. A sub head is also included. This is to compliment the title and to give the reader a quick piece of information to let them know what the article is about. The first sentence of the subhead reads ‘Bow down mortals, the newly-crowned Day-Glo queen of Hip-Hop stands before you’ . Not only this piece of text but the whole article has a royal element to it, as if it is implying that the artist is classed as a queen of her particular genre. This is effective as it is quite different to style a magazine in this way instead of just creating a simple interview and putting it don in words they have made it quite quirky and fun for the reader. This spread doesn't’t include a common strap line, however it includes an introduction about two paragraphs long before creating the interview based content. This is effective in a way that the reader can get an idea of the rest of the article will include and who the artist is. The dominant image is a photo of Nicki Minaj, and is placed in the middle of the pages. This image encapsulates the nature of the artist’s and articles style. The colours of the artist's outfit fits in with the design of the age which makes the article look professional and more appealing to readers. On this current article there is no sub image included. Drop caps are used in the first paragraph on the first letter of the first word. A lot of prints use this technique, as it used to hook he reader in, and to also notice where to start. They have made sure that the letter W stands out by giving it the same shade as the title ‘Nicki Minaj’ as it contrasts against the other background, and also makes it look neat and as colours have been used more than just once. Saying this, that certain colour may be used to highlight the most important parts of text. Throughout the article there s one use of a pull quote. A pull quote is something that has already been mentioned in the normal text, nut is emphasized as it is an important part or element of the information, or something that is worth highlighting. The magazine does this by adding text in a bigger size and highlighting it pink and using different colours for the text to try and catch the readers attention. There is no kicker shown in this article, as there s not a section of text highlighted The composition and the layout of the article has been represented very well. It isn't too overloaded with text, and includes the right amount of images and text throughout the spread. The ratio of the image is appropriate and is very clear and easy to see for the reader and is definitely a decent size. The text has been placed in spaces where it doesn't affect the impact of the image, however the text could have been made slightly bigger so that is easier to read. The de of address is different throughout the article. It starts in third person when explaining about the artist. Then once it goes in properly, it is interview based but most of it is just the artist talking and less of the magazine editors asking questions . This is effective in a way that the reader can learn more from the artist. The magazine also includes bylines, what explain the credit of the photographer or interview. On this particular the credit to the photographer is shown under the title..

Vibe double page spread…Vibe magazine is a popular rap and Hip Hop magazine, and it has a target audience that would probably range to 18-35 year olds, therefore, it has quite an older audience and older readers. This double page spread doesn't include a bold headline or title. This is quite uncommon. However, it does include a quote of some form to work in the same way as a main title. This allows the double page spread to look more sophisticated and more suitable for an older audience. It also stands out by the bold colour red, which contrasts with the colours white, black and grey, which have also been used on the spread. This double page spread also doesn’t seem to include a subhead, and goes straight into the solid information and feature of the artist. There are two images shown on the double page. I would suggest that the main image would be the one of Drake on the left hand side as it covers half of the page. The image presents a picture of the artist, and has a background colour of black which stands out against the white background for effect and to allow it to catch the readers attention. The other image is smaller but is still significant, as it is generally the main image on that page. However, I think it would be classed as the sub image. Drop caps have been used on the letter ‘T’ to hook the reader in and to not make the text look too overloaded or boring. This is shown and presented by making the letter bigger and bolder than the rest of the text. There are no pull quotes included on this spread. This could either be because the particular article isn't a interview, or just simply because they weren’t needed. One reason could be that the page is already clearly occupied by other features and the re wasn’t really a huge need for quotes to be shown. A kicker isn't involved either. The only highlighted text is the text at the beginning of the paragraphs to possibly create a barrier between the two pieces of information. The composition shows a huge ratio of text, and also image. The text seem to cover most of the page that is left from the image. The pictures of Drake seem to even out the ratio and helps the magazine refrain from looking boring by the large amount of text. The mode of address, or style of information would be in 3rd person, as it is not showing Drake’s actual words, as he has not been interviewed. The tone is quite professional and focuses on talking about the artist, and is not presenting a gossip element like some magazines do. This article is focused on the work of drake and his career. The language is definitely sophisticated, which does present the fact that the article or magazine may be for an older audience. Under one of the images we do see an example of a caption, it gives a small piece of information about the artist or the picture itself. However, there is also another piece of information that has been separated slightly from the caption and this may be the byline , possibly explaining the writer of the article or the photographer who produced the images used.

Top Of The Pops double page spread…

Top of the pops is essentially a magazine that focuses to create their prints and content based on the fact that it is read by young teens, and they base their magazine on chart music. The article title is shown at the top of the double page spread and is a quote from the article below. It is presented in red and black, to contrast against the white background, to allow it to stand out, and also to match Justin Bieber’s clothing on the main image, which makes it look sophisticated and well put together. To follow that, the text also had an appealing font and has been presented in a large size to represent the fact that it is the article title. A strap line has been used to give the reader a little piece of information before the real article starts, to allow the reader to get a tester of the following information on the page. This is effective and useful to the reader. The dominant image is a professional photo of Justin Bieber, to support the theme of the article. The picture takes up half of the page , to allow readers to get a visual of the article and to give the readers another sense of information. A sub image has also been included . This is shown within the text on the left hand side of the page. This is for additional material that would supplement the article. This is shown in a much smaller format than the main image as it may just be attached to a certain part of text in the article. Instead of using drop caps, the article goes straight into the interview with the artist. Most magazines use drop caps to hook the reader in, ,however with some articles, and the article shown, readers can be hooked in by other factors, like the colour used on the text, as this would make it look more interesting to the reader than just sticking to one colour. No pull quotes are featured, this is quite unusual, as the article is an interview, and interviews tend to highlight significant pieces of information that the reader many find interesting from the rest of the article by using this technique, to hook them in further. Saying this, the article title could technically could be an example of a pull quote , as it read “Girls give me a headache” which is from the interview shown. At the bottom of the page, there is a separate section of information that has been clearly highlighted. This is called a kicker, and is used to highlight a certain piece of information form the article , or to highlight a different matter, but still includes information on the artist. In this case, the kicker isn't part of the interview, but still does present information on Justin, this keeps the readers interested and refreshed in a way, as they can read about different facts on the artist. Due to the fact that that this is a young person’s magazine, the amount of text is acceptable and doesn’t flood the page. Just the right amount of composition of each feature has been set out suitably. The mode of address would show that it is mainly 1st person as it is an interview. We see this as the artist would be speaking, along with the person asking the questions. It is also quite informal or relaxed in a way as the artist is talking about his personal life and his career. Captions have been used on images to describe what is occurring in the images and to also support the text in the article. However there doesn’t seem to be any bylines included, which would be used to explain information on staff involved with the spread.