I chose this music magazine as

inspiration for my publication. The

cover-lines are bold and vibrant

which attract the audience. There

is a variety of different font

styles used, for example, the main

cover-line is bold to indentify the

name of the music magazine. In

contrast the explanatory text typed

in capital letters to outline the

content of the article.

I chose this music magazine because

it has similarities and differences

to the previous front cover I

analysed. I was attracted by the

simple design layout which

highlights the editorial pillars

and explanatory text. Overall, this

magazine is bold and appealing to

the audience. I will use this

particular magazine as inspiration

for when I produce my music

magazine.

Selling-line

strap-line

Master-head

Barcode

Kicker and explanatory text

Main cover-line

Splatter

Left third aligned to the left

and right third is aligned to

the right- therefore it is not

challenging the conventions.

A kicker is a short phrase found set

above the explanatory text. The kicker

can serve as an introduction or as a

type of section heading to help the

audience identify or assess an article

before committing to reading the whole

thing. This gives the reader a small

hint as to what the type of article they

are about to read.

The explanatory text provides a brief

description about the kicker. This gives

the audiences an insight about what the

article is about, therefore, music

magazine often make the explanatory text

short and snappy to catch the audiences

attention.

Explanatory text

A barcode is the

identity of a product

via a code which is an

optical machine-readable

representation of data.

Splatters are used to create

interesting effects that grab the

audiences attention. This can be

used to attract the audience with

the latest gossip, event or news. It

is usually used in informal

magazines.

The main cover-line is

the focal issue or event

that has happened. This

is what the target

audience are appealed by.

The master-head is the

brand or name of the

magazine. This is what the

target audience will

recognise. Therefore, the

brand needs to ensure they

have a good reputation and

well-established.

The language is informal which addressto a wider audience, and most of thepublic sector. I can infer form thelanguage that the target audience forthis music magazine is between 16-21years old, written by an Americanauthor. This can be referred from theword ‘DUUDE!’ which is used as theselling line. The language is directwhich has an impact from the responsesreceived from the audience. It issignificant for the language to bedirect as this engages and persuadesthe customer to purchase and read themusic magazine as they know what theyare to expect. For example, we canidentify the focus of this issue fromthe kicker, ‘ROCK’S MESSIEST BUST-UP’.This kicker is bold and it ispositioned in the central whichattracts the eye flow. The kickercommunicates with the audiencedirectly by outlining the content ofthe article. And for the majority ofreaders, they are attracted by thesetypes of articles which reflect ‘bust-ups’ between celebrities.

There is a consistency with thefont applied to this front cover ofNME. Two sans serif fonts have beencombined together to distinguishthe main cover-lines to theexplanatory text. A sans serif fontis a typeface that does not havethe small features called ‘serifs’at the end of strokes. A sans seriffont is appropriate for writingannotations and clear heading. Thistypeface is useful for bold headingand master-heads. It has been usedas the main master-head in thisfront cover because it gives aprofessional finish to the magazineand it is legible and clear toread. Therefore, this enhanceseffective eye-flow. The barcode ispositioned in the bottom left handcorner, it is not noticeable whichis important as this does notdistract the eye-flow or the layoutof the page.

In the mise-en-scene, you can denotetwo models being caught up in a ‘bust-up’ or conflict. The costume of thesetwo models complement each other andcontrast. There are no props involvedin this shoot except for the casualclothing and the model themselves. Thismakes the image simple, which attractsa wider audience. The body language ofthe two models, appeal to the audience.The lightening has been edited to add afocal point on the faces of these twomodels. This attracts the yes to thefacial expression. Therefore,automatically the eyes gaze over themain cover-line, ‘OASIS’. The sellingline and strap line is positioned inthe top left hand corner. This is thecommence of the eye flow. Therefore,the first text the readers read is theselling and strap line. This is so theyknow how the magazine costs. Overallthis magazine is attractive and has aneffective use of eye-flow.

The colour scheme is appealing as the colourof the font used complements the costume ofthe celebrity photo shoot which is positionedin the on either alignment of the page. Thisis effective as it makes the eye-flow morepowerful. The colours used adapt to thecontent of the articles, and the coloursrepresent the mood of the articles. Forinstance, the kickers relate to ‘smashedguitars’ and ‘bust-ups’ which reflect a mood ofanger. And the colour red symbolises thisparticular mood. Instantly, the audience aredrawn to this magazine by the use of colourand I can denote the articles which will beincluded by the strong, vibrant colours.Furthermore, the font is bold and the usagesof colours are limited to white, black andred. This is effective and draws attention tothe kickers and explanatory texts. Thecolours used are primary colours.

The use of white spaceattracts the audience becauseit draws focus to the mast-head and the focal photo onthe page. This is effectiveas it appeals to the audienceand it enhances eye-flow asthe white backgroundcontrasts with the text,which makes it striking andattractive. The layout on thepage is interesting andengages the audience due tothe eye contact made by themodel gaze. The eye contactcommunicates the audience,and it contact with the modelon the right alignment.

Skyline

Master-head

Barcode

Main cover-line

A barcode is the

identity of a product

via a code which is an

optical machine-readable

representation of data.

The main cover-line is

the focal issue or event

that has happened. This

is what the target

audience are appealed by.

The master-head is the

brand or name of the

magazine. This is what the

target audience will

recognise. Therefore, the

brand needs to ensure they

have a good reputation and

well-established.

Kicker and explanatory text

A kicker is a short phrase found

set above the explanatory text.

The kicker can serve as an

introduction or as a type of

section heading to help the

audience identify or assess an

article before committing to

reading the whole thing. This

gives the reader a small hint as

to what the type of article they

are about to read.

The explanatory text provides a

brief description about the

kicker. This gives the audiences

an insight about what the article

is about, therefore, music

magazine often make the

explanatory text short and snappy

to catch the audiences attention.

Explanatory text

Selling-line/strap-line

Left third aligned to the left

and right third is aligned to

the right- therefore it is not

challenging the conventions.

The language used in this magazine

is formally written in order to

promote the events to the audience.

This music magazine is more solemn

in comparison to the previous

magazine I analysed. The language

is more technical and directly, as

also seen in a professional

industry in theoretical music. For

example one of the kickers is, ‘the

memoirs of Keith Richards’. This

kicker is more grave, whereas in

the previous magazines, the kickers

were related to celebrity ‘bust-

ups’. Therefore there are different

genres within the music industry,

the gossip, then the more solemn

subjects and showcases. This

builds a formal relationship with

the audience which is provoked with

the image in the centre of the

page.

The cover-lines are bold and vibrant,

although it has been placed behind the

model gaze, because the brand is well-known

and the model gaze is famous, the users

automatically know the name of the

magazine. Therefore, we can denote that

this magazine is well established, so for

me to analyse this, it will help my for my

own music magazine. The kicker and

explanatory text have the same typeface,

but different size and style. The kicker is

bigger and bold which attracts the users to

the articles. And the explanatory text is

in a smaller size to give the reader some

description of the kicker. And as the font

is the same, the users can relate the

explanatory text and kicker together. The

master-head is a similar font to the rest

of the text which keeps a consistency

throughout the front cover. All of the

text is typed in capital letters, this

attracts the users instantly. However, the

capital letters are only used for on

explanatory text on the far right of the

page. This is because is particular kicker

and explanatory text are special featured

in this magazine. The featured article is

noticed by the audience has the format is

different from the other text; therefore

this attracts a wider audience.

The layout is simple and attractive. The text is

structured in the shape of the models body. In the

mise-en-scene where is a model leaning towards the

camera. The shot is a median high angle shot, which

makes the model look superior to the target

audience. This intimidates the audience to read

this magazine. The props within this frame include

a cigarette, jewellery (watch, chain, ring,

necklace), also known as ‘bling’ and a hat. These

props are associated and familiar with younger

audience, therefore this images relates and

communicates with the younger audience from the age

of 16 until about 22 years old. Using props which

relate to the target audience encourage them to

read the magazine as they can relate themselves

directly to the model gaze on the front cover. The

barcode is positioned in the bottom left hand

corner, this is generally the standard formatting

to position the bar code here because it does not

disrupt the eye-flow on the page – as the main

focal is the eyes of the model, which leads to the

featured kicker in the bright lighting. Similarly

the price line and selling line/strap-line is

positioned in the top right hand corner, where the

eye-flow starts. This is significant as the reader

knows how much the magazine is worth and then they

can judge the front cover. The selling line is at

the top of the page, where it states the main

artists in this magazine, as well as upcoming

events.

The colour scheme is limited and

selective. The colours have been

selected from the primary palette;

therefore this creates a bigger impact

on the appearance. The colours stand out

and attract the users instantly. The

colour scheme is consistent as a hint of

red has been used on the skin colour of

the model gaze; this makes the front

cover successful and attractive. The

black font relates to the black costume

and jewellery worn by the model.

Finally, the hat the man is wearing in

the photo shoot associates with the skin

colour and the red strand on the design

matching the skin tone. Overall, the

colour scheme is limited in colour, with

different shades. This is used as to

highlight shadow or lighter areas. With

the colours being limited, the yellow

exclusive text stands out and draws

attention to the eye. This attracts the

users to read this magazine.

The model gaze has direct eye contact with the

audience which makes the communication more

effective. The body posture of the model makes

the magazine look realistic and this convinces

the audience to purchase this magazine. This

photo has been edited in Photoshop. Changes have

been made to the face, where artificial

lightening has been added to highlight the face

of the model gaze, which is the focal point in

this magazine front cover. Therefore this

appeals to the audience, as the light tints

makes the white background stand out. As well as

highlighting the brighter areas of the image,

shadow has been used to complement the black

jacket which reflects the kicker and explanatory

text. The effect of black costume and shadowing

effect contrasts the white background which

makes the front cover more interesting and

realistic. The use of the white spacious

background is effect because it allows the text

to stand out which allows effective

communication to the public. A shadow effect has

been used to add a shadow behind the model to

make the photo more realistic. Artificial

lighting has been used where the feature kicker

is positioned. This attracts the audience as

this bright light contrast with the shadier side

on the left alignment. Therefore, this suggests

to the user that this kicker is exclusive and

one not to miss.

This PowerPoint has been presented to you by Rita Sharma

St Marylebone School 2010

Differences

Target audience

Language

Genre

Design layout

Purpose

Similarities

White background

Model gaze eye contact

Limited font and colour scheme

Barcode positioning

Unchallenged conventions

White background

Median shot, point of view angle photograph

Limited font and colour usage

different colour font to highlight exclusive feature

Bar code positioning in bottom left hand corner