Magazine AnalysisLeanne Westbury

•colour palette mainly focuses on bright, eye catching colours

•limited amount of colours- purple, pink, yellow and red- yet the cover is bright and chaotic as there is so much content.

•amount of cover stars is unconventional as they are not part of the same band: they are grouped together as they feature in the same article. This may attract the attention of a younger audience more as there is broader range of fans•masthead acts as a logo as it is

an established magazine

•font and colours are bright and informal as the magazine is aimed as a young audience of around 7-14 years old.

•varied fonts used on different sections of the cover- adds to the chaotic and eye-catching style.

•target audience is identifiable by colours, informal tone of the cover lines, fonts and hectic layout- specifically designed to attract a younger audience.

•generally follows the rule of thirds. The eye line of the main cover stars are in the top third and the cover lines are mainly within the vertical sections.

•images have been superimposed and arranged so you mainly only see the faces of the stars. If you were to see the whole of each image the shots would be mid-shots and medium-long shots

•cover line ‘out of control’ anchors the main image. Colour of the text- yellow and black- connotes danger when appearing alongside each other: symbolising the nature of the text.

•fonts used are mostly sans serif however there is a limited use of serif font such as on the cover line ’28 looks you’ll love’

•sell line ‘bursting with backstage gossip’ shows that the genre of the magazine is gossip as well as music

•expression on the faces of the cover stars shows the tone of the magazine and makes it appear more ‘fun’

•Offer of ’10 gorgeous posters’ would attract a younger audience as it generally younger audiences who have posters up of their favourite celebrities

•Issue number and price in plain font underneath the Masthead- price is not obviously advertised as the focus is not on the price

•Masthead is largely covered by the cover star as the magazine is already established and recognisable by only the letters ‘M’ and ‘O’

•Colour scheme links with America- all text is red, white or black however the blue is incorporated through the clothing of the cover star

•Use of exclamatory sentences creates a tone that would encourage the audience to want to read on by turning to the feature inside

•Cover lines are mostly references to artists

•Anchoring text font is also used for smaller cover lines- is different and edgy yet still sophisticated and ‘tidy’ to connote the style of the magazine

•Font is either red, white or black and varies in size according to the importance of the cover line

•Attitude of cover star- confident and slightly arrogant. Facial expression and the scruffy way he is dressed show his nonchalant and laid back personality

•Anchoring text covers part of the image horizontally however does not cover the face

•Rule of thirds is applied through the use of cover lines on both sides of the cover

•Cover lines on the right are right aligned to create a clean cut edge

•Puff in the top left corner is accompanied by the CD covers that come free with the magazine- links with the colour scheme and American theme

•All fonts are sans serif to connote the colloquial vibe of the magazine

•Masthead partially covered by one of the cover stars shows that the magazine is established and already recognisable to it’s audience

•Connotations of the colour gold is heavenly and precious therefore appropriate to mirror the image being portrayed by the group on the cover

•All cover stars smiling- welcoming and friendly tone of the magazine representative of the tone most likely to attract a classical audience

•all four women dressed in white to further connote their angelic and pristine image often connected with classical music

•Majority of fonts used are serif- traditional and formal

•Image of a smaller group (The choirboys) superimposed onto the bottom right corner but take less focus as the image and anchoring text is smaller

•Reference to JS Bach shows the audience to be familiar which such historical figures- would be able to identify the person even from abbreviation

•Contrast of young cover stars and accompanying images of Magdalena Kozena and JS Bach

combination of colours such as red and gold connote the holiday season as this is when the issue was released (‘New voices of Christmas’)

•CD’s shown in the bottom right corner come free with the magazine- encouragement to purchase and relevant to the genre

•Puff under the masthead in the right is highlighted using a red background. The puff and cover line underneath it are the only use of sans serif font- minimal use shows minimal informality

•Overall tone is formal yet inviting and welcoming

•Rule of thirds is generally applied- the cover line ‘All Angels’ largely dominates the middle third (horizontal)

•Top two thirds only contain the main cover star, small cover lines and conventions such as masthead, date, puff, and sell line

•Vertical thirds splits the three lots of cover stars

•Sell line uses red to highlight the word ‘favourite’ to encourage potential reader’s to buy as the magazine must be good in order to be the nation’s favourite

•Direct address shown by cover stars creates reader intimacy

•Font is continuous of those used of the cover- provides consistency, house style. Use of minimal type of fonts creates a tidy overall look

•The word ‘contents’ included at the top of the page- highlights using a red background and capital letters

•The font is relatively small and complies with the un-cluttered style of the magazine

•Page title (contents) is followed by a smaller version of the masthead; however it is larger than the page title which foregrounds it. Masthead perhaps being used a logo as it is established within other industries such as radio

•Date included underneath the logo/masthead for reference purposes

•Encouragement to subscribe can be found in a small puff on the right near the bottom of the page. This encouragement is less obvious than what can be found in other magazines- perhaps showing the nature of the audience not needing to be convinced by free gifts to subscribe as they generally have more surplus money to spend on things such as magazine subscriptions

•CD’s advertised on the cover also pictured on the contents page to show that a track list is included overleaf

•Use of yellow and sans serif font to highlight ‘FREE CDS’ to make it stand out and remind the reader of their free gifts

•Clear and concise numbers are accompanied by page references. A general description of the feature is red and followed by a smaller black font to add detail and further information regarding the feature

•Colour scheme is consistent with the house style and appropriate for the Christmas issue

•Images are presented in a tidy fashion so that you can clearly see each image

•Images act the same as the descriptive text acts to the page references- anchorage text provides a short reference and relative page number

•The overall layout is tidy and uncluttered- uses simplicity and linear angles to portray a formal image

•Fonts are consistent and vary in size accordingly

•Fonts used for subheadings blends with the background at the edge of the strip of colour behind it. Adds a recognisable factor to the editing of the content

•Colour scheme complies with the house style. Use of red isn’t overpowering but adds brightness to what would otherwise be a monotone scheme

•Main image surrounded by text to split up the sections and separate text boxes

•Image anchored by a short passage of text that contrasts with the colours in the image

•Previous covers feature in the section encouraging readers to subscribe to the magazine- this may be done to remind consistent readers of the magazines they have bought in the past and make them realise a subscription would be beneficial since they regularly read the magazine

•Date found under the title ‘THIS WEEK’ for reference purposes

•The title and NME masthead/logo appear on the contents page each week and are recognisable

The NME masthead acts as a logo for the magazine it is so established and recognisable from years of promotion and distribution

Sub heading text is larger than the accompanying page references in order to easily and quickly locate certain sections of interest

Composition of the image purposely mirrors a famous painting (shown above the image)

•Page references are clear and concise- page numbers made to stand out using red

•Background of ‘glasto 2008 review starts p33’ links with what the feature is about- a festival

•abbreviation of Glastonbury to ‘Glasto’ shows readers are expected to know the meaning and be familiar with the festival

•Band index lists all of the bands featured in the magazine

•Fonts used are recognisable to regular readers- the style of the font used for the word ‘contents’ and ‘this week’ would appear each week.

•colour scheme complies with the house style- provides consistency and ensures the style remains tasteful and un-cluttered

•two images are performance shots- shows the genre of the magazine

•page mostly taken up by images- good balance for the contents page as it needs to be concise and informative of relevant content

•Issue number and date at the top by ‘Contents’ for quick reference

•Sub headings used within the list of page references to make it easier to refer to the list when looking for something specific. Larger font and difference in colour used to differentiate between the subheadings and the references

•Letter from the editor in the top left corner- conventionally accompanied by a small picture and signature- covers only a small section of the page- same size as some of the images to the right of it.

•Previous covers shown at the bottom to encourage the reader to subscribe to the magazine. Accompanying text set upon a strip of black colour to separate it from the larger image above

•images are anchored by a short caption and page reference- image acts as a description of the content on the relevant page

•Font used for the headline is unconventional and mirrors the imagery created by the headline

•The font connotes chaos

•The contrast of the white font against the black background emphasises the contrast between ‘life and death’

•Minimal colours used- monotone with natural colours of the photograph and minimal use of blue

•Styling in the portrait is rugged and imperfect: collar not down properly; buttons undone; unshaven and messy hair.

•Byline is differentiated from the standfirst with the use of a grey background colour behind the text rather than blue

•The standfirst and byline both have a background of strips of colour which are slanted and made to look ‘worn’. This links with the blasé and rugged image being portrayed by the font and image

•The image purposely contrasts what at first seems to be a serious topic portrayed to by the headline to show how the celebrity is not taking the situation (drug addiction and crazy lifestyle) seriously enough

•Photo credit in the bottom right corner- white to contrast against the blue top in order to be visible but not distracting

•subverting the conventional pose in the portrait style photo; ‘breaking the rules’- connoting his attitude and personality through the picture

•pout suggests he isn’t taking himself too seriously as this juxtaposes the headline therefore showing the headline is also slightly sarcastic.

•two dropcaps in the main body of text- both the same font as the headline. The first is larger than the second as it the first with fore mostly introduces the article. The second drop cap splits up the text a bit so that it doesn’t just look like a big block of text which may discourage the audience from reading

•Regular feature- shown by the use of the headline ‘ALBUMS’ being larger than the band’s name ‘Panic at the disco’ and the text accompanying the headline at the top being in a letter style from the journalist

•Colour scheme revolves around the use of yellow contrasting with black and partial red to make certain words and sections stand out. Red is also used to create a connection with the magazine’s house style

•Yellow and black being used together connotes danger- therefore symbolic of the tone of the article/band. Gives the impression that the band are straying from convention and their persona is ‘dangerous’

•Text is presented in three columns- conforming with the rule of thirds

•Small photo’s in the style of a Polaroid picture seemingly paper clipped onto the page show the nature of the magazine and that these would be faces that would become recognisable with regular reading of the magazine/ feature

•The image of the band is composed so that each member of the band can be seen but within different positions so that they are not stood in a line as this may come across too plain

•Pull quote is incorporated into the main body of the text and is made to stand out by using a partial black background contrasting against white text

•Surrounding text had been adapted to shape to the quote

•There are two bylines: one of the reviewer and the other of the editor. The editor appears to be of more importance as the position on the page and amount of space taken up by his section are made more noticeable to the reader

•Varied fonts add diversity to the aesthetics of the page- limited amount of fonts ensure that it remains professional and not over-powering to look at

•Bullet points are more likely to stick in the reader’s mind as they are short and snappy

•A conventional dropcap is used at the beginning of the main body of text to introduce the article

•The first part of the article is in bold to highlight the introduction and make it stand out so that the reader could read it first to find out what the whole piece is about

•The section highlighted with a yellow background on the right of the image is part of the regular format and allows the reviewer to include short bullet points and thoughts about the album

•Font used for the headline is serif as the article reflects a classic and formal tone and therefore is suited best to a formal font

•Monotone colour scheme connotes a classy and traditional style to accompany the topic of the orchestral band

•Conventional drop cap used to open the article

•Images anchored with short captions attached to each picture

•The byline can be found underneath the standfirst and is in small text however the names are in bold to highlight them slightly

•Unconventional form used to split the double page in half horizontally with the images on the top half and text on the bottom

•Pull quote is the only part of the article which is in colour- dark claret- possibly done to make the quote stand out but not too much as the difference in colour is subtle

•Box in the bottom right corner which contrasts with the white background highlights the information and makes it stick in the reader’s mind- necessary as a reminder of the upcoming documentary

•Layout is tidy and linear- all text and images are horizontal or vertical and not rotated as this could change the style and tone of the piece.

•The standfirst uses black to pick out the name of the composer and fore mostly establish to the reader what the article is about

•Images are diverse as the focus on various people and objects to add depth and interest