PRODUCT RESEARCH

Melissa Storey

This is taken from NME

magazine, they use a lot of

images to show the band and

what they have been up to. I

like the way the biggest image

goes over to the second page

and then the other images are

like a timeline of what has

been going on during the tour.

The typical colours for NME:

black, white and red are all

used to keep the house style.

Important text is either

changed colour or in bold. This

splits up the text a bit so you

can read the article

better.

Common conventions of an interview/article include column style which this article does. This again makes

it easier to read as it looks like there isn't a huge block of text to read. It can also split topics up easier.

Dropping a quote in bold in the middle of the interview interests the reader to find out what and when this

quote was taken out. It is usually a grabbing quote that will induce the reader to find out more.

I like the idea of a side bar and how extra information, maybe not related to the interview, can be quickly

thrown at the reader, like a fact bar. It is usually something that will interest people, like grabbing quick facts

and figures. These are put into a bar that is separate from the interview.

This double page spread just has

one large image taking up a whole

page. I like the way the headline

goes across both of the pages. The

layout of this article is quite spaced

out at the top but lower down there is

quite a lot of information in a small

space.

Again red, black and white are all

used in the house style. These are

typical colours for a rock/indie

magazine and used all the way

through the NME magazine. Having

important names or quotes in the

standard red makes them stand out

quickly as well as keeping to the

house font.

The text is split into columns so it is easier to read. This article has a summary of the article before it starts.

This is blocked off by a red strip and underneath is the main

article.

It has a drop quote, personally I think this it too small or not placed in the right place to be a successful

drop quote, but maybe for a slight hint before going onto the next column it is good.

A small caption on the image tells you who the photograph is about, or who took it or a funny pun to go with

the article. These are only very small.

This is a special “World Exclusive” from NME

about the Arctic Monkeys. They designed a

simple but professional front cover which

leads onto lots for information about the

Arctic Monkeys and other indie British bands.

Again the typical NME house style is used:

black, red and white colour scheme. Bold or

a change of colour is used to highlight

important information like names.

Lots of images are used, they have all been

edited into black and white to make it look

professional and to a high standard. And it

keeps the whole page to the three colour

colour scheme. You can just see that there is

a drop quote, this splits up the content and

grabs attention to an important or exciting

part of the interview. Small captions on the

images describe what is going on in the

photographs and gives more details like who

is in the picture and what they are doing.

Depending on the magazine puns may be

included.

I like the idea of sidebars

that’s give extra information

about the artist or band.

This could be facts and

figures about them or

information on singles and

albums. the can either be

placed on the right side of

the interview or in the

middle to break it up a bit.

Large titles grab attention quickly.

Using one large image with small

pictures of the album or single

around the page I feel could be

more successful as there is more

space to use column text and create

a more professional layout.

NME

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic MonkeysMain body

Main Body

Main Body

Main body

Drop Quote

Drop Quote

Picture

Picture

Picture

Picture

NME

Arctic Monkeys Headline

Interview and Drop Quote

Interview

Sidebar

Quote/C

aption in

spaces

Picture

NME

Arctic Monkeys Headline

Interview and Drop Quote

Sidebar

Picture

Picture

Picture

Pic

ture

Quote/Caption in

spaces

Picture

NME

Arctic Monkeys Headline

Sub Headline

Interview

Sidebar

Picture

NME

Quote/Caption in

spaces

Headline

Sub Heading

Text

IDEA

My interview would be placed in the British NME magazine. The Arctic

Monkeys feature in this magazine a lot already so there are a lot of existing

examples for me to look at and follow. The only problem with choosing NME

is it has a lot of different layouts. From looking at other interviews, depending

how big they are, if it is a main story, a smaller one or a special edition then

this could change the way they like to layout their interviews unlike other

magazine like Company or Cosmopolitan that stick to the same layout every

month. This will let me be more creative.

I will stick to the NME house style and use the convention colours of red,

black and white. The main body font will be a serif font just like it is in the

magazine but the headers will be in san serif.

The pictures will have small captions with them and I will possibly use black

and white images.