Analysis of existing magazines

Above is one of the magazine front covers I decided to analyse. The masthead 'Kerrang!' immediately gives the impression of volume and power. It sounds like onomatapia, the sound that metal would make if struck, which gives an idea about the content of the magazine as soon as you read the title. It is in a bold black font that again gives a powerful impression. The font itself is interesting as it has pieces missing and cracks running through it, further adding to the idea that it is a powerful magazine with great impact.

There are two obvious sections of the magazine that are made apparent by the use of the colour scheme. The top half containing the main flash has a black and white theme, with both all of the text and the image itself conforming to this scheme, it is a contrasting colour scheme so makes the section stand out. The bottom section of the magazine that includes the main sells are in a red/white colour scheme, I think this is designed to make them as eye-catching as possible without taking the focus away from the main flash.

All text apart from the masthead and the word 'Paramore' is written in white, this is because the logo of Kerrang! magazine is always the same, and to make the Paramore article stand out from the white background of the image.

There is not much text on the front cover, nearly all words are just band names but there are two slogans 'Unfold the puzzle of life' and 'Hayley starts a riot' both require some former knowledge to understand fully, as Puzzle was a show that Biffy Clyro did, and Riot is the name of a Paramore album. This implies that the magazine is aimed at a knowledgeble readership who are already informed about the contents of the magazine, and not so much newcomers to the scene.

The target audience that can be assumed from the images on the front cover of this magazine are young men, as they are predominantly in the images. They all seem fairly middle class, stylish and concerned with their appearance. All of the people in the images (excluding Hayley from Paramore who is American) are also British, possibly suggesting that the magazine has a more British target audience.

The image in the main flash gives the impression of an up-and-coming attraction, as the cover is layered to put the leader singer and iconic figure of Biffy Clyro, Simon Niel in the foreground of the image. This also creates a 3D effect and makes the cover look more exciting. The frontman is also dressed in white, which fits with the theme of the main flash and contrasts against the background and the other two band members who are dressed in black to further make him stand out. The photograph is posed with the two men in the background taking fairly neutral poses and Simon striking a more intricate pose, drawing eye focus to him. I think Boffy Clyro was chosen for this front cover because there are an increasingly popular and charismatic band, whom Kerrang! magazine has almost made their unofficial mascot by becoming very involved with their work and featuring many articles in different issues of the magazine around them.

The main flash it would seem is about Biffy Clyro, centered around a live show that they did. The main sells are a story about Paramore, articles about various bands, and a free poster. The bar code, date and issue number are included, as is the price which is £2.10

Above is the contents page I chose to analyse. Starting off in the top left corner, the page has a note from the editor which is written in a fairly informal and person tone, which gives the reader a more personal feel for the magazine and allows them to identify with the people behind it. I think I should use this when designing my own magazine as it appeals directly to the target audience.

To the right of that is a box with the word 'Contents' in, displaying the issue number and date. This is the crucial information 0n the page and is placed in the way that it is so that its clearly visible, but not the main focus of attention (Which is wanted for the articles) Underneath this there is a quote from an article, with a story intended to shock. 'The nicest man in punk rock on getting caught by the fuzz' This creates intrigue and makes the reader want to read that article, it is also followed by the page number so you can flick through to it first if you want to then read back instead of having to look for it yourself and missing out other articles. This is clearly one of the main articles in the magazine as it is singled out from the others, it also breaks up the standard contents layout by presenting some stories in different ways, making the page more interesting to read. I should consider this when making my own contents page.

The images are in three columns, and are all roughly the same size apart from the top left image which is much larger and breaks the alignment slightly. This is clearly because it is another more important article, the larger size gives this implication without having to read anything, and also again makes the page layout a bit messier, fitting in with the theme of the magazine which is loud, and rebellious. All of the images have brief captions that summarize what the article is about.

The lower 2/3 of the page are set out in columns, which start after the note from the editor and main quote at the top of the mage.There are four columns in total, all seperated by thin black lines like in a newspaper format so as to seperate out the information and make it clearer to read. The first three columns are filled by images from articles, with their page numbers and brief captions for those articles, the fourth is a list of the remaining articles that perhaps don't have photographs in them, or weren't considered as important to use for the 10 seperated articles (The 9 featured with photographs, and the interview previewed at the top with the quote)

The fourth column and contents list is seperated into catagories: Feedback, News, Live reviews, Features, K! icons, Album reviews, Gigs, Swag and Famous last words. They are seperated like this to break up the information and make it easier to read and follow. It also gives clear sections to the magazine to group all relevant information together, this would be a good idea to use when designing my own magazine as it makes digesting the information in the magazine easier for the readers.

If I could chance anything about the page I would probably change the alignment of the larger image, as although it looks good being larger than the others and attracts focus to the more important story, it doesn't fit into the alignment of the others and is positioned too far over to the left, which I don't think looks right. I am going to aim to make my own contents page fit a better alignment to be more eye pleasing.

Above is the NME magazine cover that I chose to analyse. The masthead of 'NME' is the brand logo, which is widely known and used on all NME publications and other products to establish their global image. The text fits with the colour scheme of the brand logo, in red black and white to further the association with the NME brand, and in fact many issues use this coliur scheme on the front cover. Above the brand logo there is a banner with 'Studio news' about two bands, studio news is written in yellow to make it stand out from the rest of the articles as a different topic, I will consider doing the same thing with my magazine, using different colours to indicate different topics as I think it makes the information clearer and also looks good.

The page is set against what looks to be a magnified filing cabinet, and though I'm not sure the actual meaning for this I think it adds a somewhat serious and nostalgic look to the cover. Making it stound out from other music magazine covers which would most likely be a device used in the selling of the magazine. It makes me think I should make my front cover stand out and try to avoid it being mainstream, to give it more of a selling point.

The main flash is an article about The Last Shadow Puppets, the recent project of Alex Turner and Miles Kane. It has them posed back to back, wearing fairly plain coats with serious expressions to indicate that it's a serious article. The caption 'First major interview' draws the reader in because its saying the story is exclusive, so people will want to be the ones to read it first. It's also quite a nice catchy contraction 'first major interview...last of the shadow puppets'. It also uses a quote from the article from Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys 'I thought the monkies would think I'd had an affair' this quote is used from the main article because it is dramatic and scandalous, so perks the readers interest. I'm thinking it would be a good idea to include interesting quotes on my front cover, as it makes the reader want to buy the magazine to read the full article.

There are four main sells are down the left hand side of the main flash. The top being 'SXSW Special' with the caption '12 brilliant new bands we've found for you' this gives the reader the impression that the magazine is directly aimed at them. The personal language indicates that the people behind the magazine have done the work in order to make the reader happy, which is reassuring and would make them more inclined to buy the magazine. The next 'Tom Clarke Vs Faris Trotter' with caption 'Ding! ding! Round 2' This is an effective main sell as lots of people enjoy the prospect of celebrity conflict and drama, especially with the added connotations of violence which probably make it particularly appealing to the young male audience who are stereotypically violent by nature. I'll bear things like this relating to my target audience in mind when designing my own magazine. The next 'Rolling Stones exclusive' shows that, obviously, it is an exclusive and never read before article, giving the impression that NME magazine is a scourge of exclusivity and cutting edge articles. The caption reads 'Collaborating with Amy Winehouse?' which is scandalous in itself, and is emphasised by the world collaborating implying a more sinister motive or outcome, which is a good hook to interest the reader with. The final main sell 'Panic at the Disco album' with caption 'Pretty.odd Pretty.Ace' which is a humorous joke for Panic at the Disco fans, implying required knowledge.
The barcode is vertically posted in the bottom right corner, along with the date, issue number, NME website address and the price, which is £2.30.

This is the double page spread I decided to analyse (In two different pictures because it wouldn't fit in my scanner). The left hand(top) page is dominated by an image, while the right(bottom) page is dominated by text and is the bulk of the article. Starting with the left page, the big bold text introduces the article, the white text stands out from the image to make it the first noticible thing on the page. There is a brief explanation of the article underneath, which contains the phrase 'we need to find out' appealing directly to the reader and unifying them in a sense with the writer of the magazine, I should use personal hooks like this to appeal to my readership.

The image on this page is posed to emphasise the band featured (Kassabian) and their well-known 'who cares' attitude. There is a small caption on the top left of the page that reads 'Where did all the sofa go?' which is amusing and makes the reader feel more at ease, setting up the tone of the article and indeed the band.

The second page is a photograph of Tom from Kasabian with a picture frame around his face, which seems pretty coincidendal and ironic since he is framing his face with the picture frame, and in turn that photograph is being framed by the text of the article. The photo is underlined by an amusing quote that captures the general tone of the article nicely. I'll have to use quotes in my article to appeal to my target audience and stress that the article is worth reading by summing it up with a quote or two.

The text is started with a drop capital, signalling the beginning of the article. And the text is set out in four columns, with a very newspaper-esque feel to it, making it seem like a proper article and also making the information more readable

The language used in the article is very informal, as it shows all of the actual responses from the musicians. There is a lot of swearing and some adult language, but a lot of it, particularly the humour is immature. Further suggesting that the readership most likely to read this article would be young men. The tone of the piece is loud and fast paced, implied by the many exclamation marks and little pauses. Which further adds to the image of the band members being interviewed. I should think about using language and structure in my article in order to reflect the band I focus on, in order to appeal to my target audience.