Sherie Allen

Analysis of magazines

MastheadFollows codes and conventions of magazines by having it the whole width of the page and at the top. Mastheads are normally the biggest on the page to stand out but this one doesn’t because the whole page is packed with loads of large text and images.

HeadlineThere is a large headline in the middle of the cover making in the focus point and therefore the main headline. Underneath there is a strapline to give a clue about what the articles going to be about, using words like ‘revealed’ to make the reader think its going to be an exclusive and so a must see.

BarcodeThe barcode doesn’t follow the normal codes and conventions of a magazine as they are usually in the bottom right hand corner whereas this one is rotated and in the middle on the right. With the barcode there is the date, issue number and price, these are only displayed small as not an important part of the magazine but have to be there.

PuffAttracts audiences attention

Cover imageThe cover image is of four well known celebrities – who are all pop singers. The expressions they have are all quite cheeky and fun and I think this the vibe they are trying to get across, that their magazine is fun and enjoyable.

Selling lineThe selling line is ‘bursting with backstage gossip!’ giving the impression that there is loads and loads of celebrity gossip inside which is what the target audience of top of the pops would want.

Mode of addressThe cover using a lot of informal language and slang, this is to give a friendly feel to the magazine as the audience is quite young.

Footer with extras in the magazine, selling point that would encourage the reader to buy the magazine as there is a little bit extra, in this case the ten ‘gorgeous’ posters

ColoursThis magazine uses a lot of bright colours giving it an informal and friendly look

FRONT COVER

MastheadThe masthead follows the codes and conventions of magazines by having it at the top of the page and spread all the way across. The picture slightly covers a bit of the masthead because it’s a popular magazine and so people already know the name of it. The name of the magazine is ‘Classic fm’ which lets the audience know the genre of the magazine which is classical

Selling lineThe selling line is above the masthead, this is unusual for a magazine and is it usually underneath it. It puts the word ‘favourite’ in red making it stand out and emphasising just how good it is

Cover image

The cover image is of 4 girls all dressed in white, they look very formal and sophisticated and I think this is the look an audience of classical music would be like, helping them relate to the girls.

Barcode and price are kept in the bottom right hand corner, this is like many magazines as they just want it small and out of the way - its not a main feature but it has to be there

ColoursThere aren’t many colours on this magazine, it only consists of red and yellow. Its very calm and toned down compared to top of the pops. It makes the magazine seem very formal

Cover linesThe cover lines of this magazine are kept to the left and out of the way – nothing eye catching or overpowering. Makes the magazine cover look very neat and tidy. However the main cover line is spread across the middle in large san serif writing standing out and being the main feature of the magazine

FRONT COVER

Masthead The masthead is in the usual place (top of the page and spread across the whole width of it) following codes and conventions. The mans head is covering 2 letters in the masthead which for a new magazine wouldn’t work as people wouldn’t know the name of it, but because kerrang is such a popular well known magazine they are ok to do this. ‘Kerrang’ is in a font that is cracked and looks like smashed glass representing disruption and rebellion

Cover image The picture is quite dark and gloomy, with a dark background he stands out with his red shirt and he looks slightly brighter but not majorly. The expression on his face looks moody and his eyes look slightly closed although he is still making eye contact to give intimacy with the reader. He has a tattoo on his arm showing rebelliousness which is what the audience of the magazine is supposedly like

Kerrang doesn’t have a selling line which doesn’t follow the usual codes and conventions of a magazine

Main cover line, spread massively across the middle, about the size of the masthead, it is like this to stand out as it is the main cover line and the most important part of the magazine issue

PlugThere is a main selling point of this issue of the magazine and so it is put in a box separating It from the rest of the magazine making it stand out, it says ‘8 page special’ so the reader will think its an exclusive and so worth buying

FRONT COVER

Same logo as on the front cover, shows continuity making the magazine flow better and everything goes together, it also has the date line underneath which is also on the front cover

Pictures all neatly spread out, perfectly in a grid form making It look very clean and tiny. Looks like it has followed the rule of thirds here. Each picture has the story line and page number on to let the audience know where to look, these features of the magazine look more important than the ones written down the right, as they are with images and so automatically look more appealing. An offer of buying every month to save

money, this is a way of selling more magazines as people will see it as a bargain and so buy as a bulk instead of just buying it here and there when they want it. This will keep regular consumers. The offer is put in a box with a dotted outline which is a design feature just put In to look nice, it is very slightly rotated and it is written in bold to stand out.

There is a tiny logo of classic fm at the bottom of the page next to the page number, I think they will have this on every page and it looks good as a design and is for presentation

Footer of the offers spread across the bottom has a little illustration of the CD’s and it is in a pink box. All writing on the page is either pink black or white apart from the end bit in the footer of the ‘FREE CDS’ which is written in capitals bold and is yellow, the yellow stands out the most on the page and so seen as important that they are giving away the free CD. People are more likely to buy the magazine if there are free features in it

Header is just a plain back line just for design, it doesn’t stand out or overpower anything in the magazine, seems quite elegant. It just has a small box with ‘contents’ written in which is in a pink box so stands out, it doesn’t need to be written large as being the only one of two things written in a box on the page automatically makes it stand out

All images on the page look like they are in churches/cathedrals, this is the type of place that the audience of classical music is seen to be interested in

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

Pictures One main picture and then 5 smaller ones, presented in a grid form, the square pictures make them look like they should be on a cd cover relating to the theme of music. The images take up about two thirds of the magazine, making it appeal to a younger audience by making it more visual, there are also the page titles and numbers so the reader can identify where to find the article relating to the image

Subheadings The different categories are all highlighted to make them stand out. All the different headings and the fact they are highlighted makes it easier for the reader to follow the contents page and clearly see where everything is

Quote from interview Having a quote from an interviews creates a sense of what’s involved in the magazine right from the start. Here they are trying to create humour by using a quite by where ‘Kirk’ out of this band is wrong, he calls the band Blink 42 where actually the band is called Blink 182

Image of front coverThere is a copy of the front cover here with the editors message. I think this shows continuity and having the editors message makes it seem more personal and creates a relationship between the editor and the reader.

CONTENTS

Band indexThis magazine has a band index which makes it different to others. It has a list down the side in red of bands mentions in this issue and then in black a page number where you can find them. This makes the layout clear and easy for band fans to find what they’re looking for

MastheadThe masthead is in the top left and in red keeping it the same as usual. It uses the words ‘THIS WEEK’ instead of the usual ‘contents page’ making it unique and different to other magazines

SubheadingsThe different headings are all in black boxes but the actual writing is in white capital letters making them stand out. Having subheadings for different sections makes it easy for readers to find their way around the magazine. The page numbers underneath are written in red and big so easy to see, there are then the article titles next to it with a little description underneath explaining what its about.

PicturesThere are only two pictures on the contents page but look like they go together because of the similar lighting. They take up about 1 third of the page and give a preview to what's going to be inside the magazine

OfferAn offer of ‘Subscribe today for just £5.57 a month’ is written in bright yellow writing at the bottom of the page making it stand out loads against the black box it is in. An offer of this will persuade the readers to subscribe as it says ‘for just’ making it seem cheap and like they’re getting a bargain

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

HeadingThe title of the article is written very large and takes up most of the double page spread. The font looks like cut out letters from a newspaper and they are all different sizes making it look quite unusual and quirky. The title is a quote from Lily Allen as it is an article about her

ImageHere Lily Allen looks quite gothic, with all the black and red. She has a lot of dark eye makeup on and the way she is stood makes her seem like she has an attitude. As this is a rock magazine I think she fits in well with the genre as this is what the audience seems to be like and so they can relate to her. She takes up a whole page of the double page spread – the article is about her and therefore she is the most important feature

TextThere is a little bit of writing underneath the heading explaining what the articles about, making the readers want to carry on and read the rest. There are only four small columns of writing in very small font. It starts with a drop cap which is used as a design tool making it look attractive

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADThis double page spread is very plain it doesn’t have a lot going on, it looks very elegant and there isn’t a lot to distract you from the article, her red hair and the red sheet really stand out compared to the rest of the dull greys and blacks on the article.

PictureThere is only one main image on this page, it takes up a whole page, which shows she is the most important thing about this article – she takes up half of it, and the article is clearly about her. The way she is posing looks very confident and making direct eye contact creates intimacy between the model and the reader.

TextThe text is written in three columns down the page in a very small font size. This is a typical convention of a magazine, all text is kept very small. The title however is very large, ‘got the love’ are lyrics from Florence’s song, everything in the article goes together and flows well

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

HeadingThe heading of this article is in two different fonts and styles for the two different words making them clash even though they go together. It is large and stands out although it isn’t that big compared to other magazines.

TextThis article is an interview with the Jonas brothers, you can clearly see where the different questions are as each question is highlighted in green, having different bits of the text highlighted makes it less boring than if it was all just plain and written in black.There is a big pull quote on the left of the second page, it is large and so stands out – used to bring attention to this bit of this text as it could be most important.The amount of text evens out with the amount of space used for images on the pages/

ImagesThis article has many different photos, this is because it is aimed at a younger audience and they will be attracted to them. Each photo has an anchor explaining what is going on the picture. There are different types of shots in each image showing the band in different ways, all the poses seem natural and like they are taken from a live gig.

ColoursThe colours on this page are mainly pink and green. They are bright colours and so are bright and attractive, they are also girly colours and so are perfect for the audience of this page which is young girls