When writing this textual analysis I started with “Uncut” magazine. The magazine was first published in 1997 and has been going for fourteen years. It is edited by Allen Jones and the particular magazine I studied was published in January 2012. The circulation of the magazine is around 72,000. The main features of the magazine tend to focus on genres such as rock, alternative country and Britpop. The magazine is aimed at a male audience. However in this issue there is a female model on the front cover, which suggests the magazine might also appeal to women as well. The designers chose to use a mid-close up so that you focus on the emotion on the model’s face.
You notice that the colours and font of the magazine is aimed for an older audience, such as 25-45 year olds. We can tell the magazine is for an older audience as it uses simple colours such as white, blue and red. Furthermore the model on the front cover is in her early 30’s. This also tells us that the magazine is for older people.
The font of the masthead is serif, whereas the rest of the writing is sans serif. The title is serif so that you can distinguish the title from the cover lines. The strap line over the title tells us what is going on in the features of the magazine. The magazine also includes the web address at the bottom of the page where you can get more information about the magazine and where you can pre-order the next issue.
The cover lines are all about different artists and their reviews; they also have “the top 50 albums”. As the model is looking at the audience it reinforces the personal relationship between you, the reader, and the magazine. The cover lines are either side of the model framing her. The main cover lines are in bold “30-page special”, ”PJ Harvey” and “The Top 50 Albums” as these are the main stories that make up the magazine. They are in the biggest font as the editor wants to attract customers with these cover lines. The magazine also has a lure “… on Morrissey, Weller – and David Cameron!” which will attract people to read the magazine. The mode of address for the magazine is serious, with formal language, as it is for an older audience.
The image of the model is conventional for this type of magazine. The model is serious and intense just like most stereotypical rock stars. Some people might be intrigued by PJ Harvey (who is the model on the front cover) and her facial expression, as she does the same type of pose all through the magazine.
The magazine contains a free CD. The free CD that comes with the magazine is there it entice the customer to buy the magazine. However, some people think that free gifts are a waste and never use them.
In the content of “Uncut” there are three main sections, which are spilt into different paragraphs. These are “take 176”, “regulars” and “reviews”. The issue of the magazine being studied was published in January 2012.The contents include stories on artists and reviews of music. Most of the articles are about both the music on the CDs and background on the artists. However there are also articles about films. The cover story of “PJ Harvey” has been highlighted to show it is the main story. The magazine is not aimed for a particular gender, but there is a male model on the contents page, which could suggest that the magazine is mainly for men. With the use of a mid-long shot we can see that the model is dressed in the alternative country fashion, which is one of the genres the magazine publishes.
The designers use the same colour scheme throughout the magazine as on the front cover, which is red and white. All the artists are in the genre of Britpop and rock. Unlike the other student magazines I looked at, there aren’t any light-hearted stories in “Uncut”. However there is a crossword.
The “Uncut” contents page is unusual among music magazines because normally they have more than one picture. Although the magazine is traditional in its layout with the cover lines at the side of the contents, I noticed that this music magazine is different to other student music magazines as there is more of a serious, gothic, punk-rocker theme.
As “Uncut” magazine is aimed at an older audience and I am creating a magazine aimed for 13-19 year olds, “Uncut” won’t be the most influential magazine for me. However I looked at this magazine because I liked the style of the magazine.
I decided to write about ”Q” as it has articles about artists that I find interesting, like “Florence and the Machine”. “Q” magazine was first published in 1986. Instead of having a specific genre it reviews new albums and is devoted to interviews with popular musical artists.
Unlike “Uncut” magazine “Q” has a random structure to the layout. The cover lines are in different font to show which is the main stories e.g. “50 albums of the year”. The strap line is on the bottom of the page, which is unusual because they are normally at the top. A banner, “the secrets of Coldplay”, is across the side of the magazine. There are no lures on the page, and the strap line tells you about most of the articles.
The masthead is the biggest and boldest thing on the page so that you remember the magazine’s name. The front cover also has a catchy logo or tagline, “Discover great music”, which captures the essence of the brand identity and makes you remember the magazine. There aren’t many cover lines, which is unusual for a music magazine as they tend to only promote the main stories in the magazines, as in “12 hot new artists we love …”
The background of the magazine is graffiti, which emphasises that the magazine is for people aged 19-20’s. The magazine uses bright colours, which are associated with young audience. The designer uses white font instead of colours, and there is a multicoloured background. They also use an unusual typeface; which also implies that the magazine is for young people.
The model on the front cover is a member of Coldplay. This should attract customers to buy the magazine. The magazine has used a long shot so that you know who the model is. The position in which the model is standing emphasizes that he is in the music business.
On the front cover we can see that “Q” is a hybrid magazine, as there is an unusual group of artists: “Coldplay”, “Tinie Tempeh” and “Florence + the machine”. These artists have different genres and styles.
When I come to design my own magazine, I will take some of the ideas from “Q” magazine, such as only having a few cover lines and maybe having an interesting background.
The contents stretch over two pages, and is split into three sections, just like “Uncut” magazine. The sections are “features”, “regulars” and “the Q review”. Whereas the front cover has one image the contents page has more images. What I found interesting about this contents page is that the images and photographs used are also images that are in the magazine and they have a page number attached to them so you know where to find them in the issue. The contents also includes a “subscribe” note which gives you details on what is coming next.
The contents page also repeats the tagline and the logo so you remember the magazine. On the second page of the contents the magazine includes a photograph of the front cover, which constantly reminds you of the magazine brand. Underneath the logo the magazine prints the issue number, “Issue 306”, to show that the magazine has been successful for this long.
A red box surrounds the masthead “Q” and this theme is repeated in the page numbers and the sections of the contents. When looking through the magazine red boxes, or simply the colour red, is constantly repeated.
Most of the models that are on the contents page are looking towards the camera and the reader, which attracts the audience towards the magazine. I noticed that the bigger the photographs the bigger the article on the artist would be.
We can tell that the magazine doesn’t have a particular gender for the focus of the magazine, as there are more or less equal numbers of female artists and male artists.
Double page of “Q”
I decided to look at pages 142 -143, I chose these particular pages because I think they have an interesting layout. The columns are split into four sections and they use call outs to break up the text, which makes it more interesting and easier to read.
The byline, which is the name of the journalist who has written the article, is at the end of the article, which is where it is usually placed. There also is a caption which is placed to break up the images, “Attack of the killer bees….” There is also a feature, which is placed between the columns to make the text more interesting. The feature is called “Set list”. On this page the genre is rock and roll, which we can tell from the pictures of guitars and the concert hall. From these pages we can tell that the magazine’s audience is mainly for young adults. You could also say the band appeals to men as this page only has one image of a woman.
What I think makes this page work is that the layout is simple but effective, as the magazine breaks up the text with images or other features to make the layout look more attractive.
A headline is placed in the corner of the left hand side page. We know it is a headline because it has the biggest font on the page. The mode of address of this particular article is informal and colloquial and that is how I am planning to write my articles.
NME Christmas special front cover
This particular issue of NME is a Christmas special, which includes a “free Stone Roses 2012 calendar”. It was published on 17 December. This issue costs £2.80. Krissi Murison edits the magazine, however it doesn’t tell us this on the front cover. This magazine was first issued on the 7 March 1952 and it is issued weekly. It has become the best selling British music magazine. The magazine genre is punk rock and it has a mature audience.
Just like most magazines the masthead has the biggest font on the page and it is on the top left hand corner of the page. The strap line covers are placed over the masthead instead of going across the page. The strap line is the same width as the masthead. This draws your eye towards the title and helps you remember the magazine.
The front cover has a Christmas theme and this theme is repeated where the cover lines “Jeremy Paxman reviews the singles!” are printed on the Christmas baubles.
The banner is across the middle of the page, which is an unusual layout for a magazine as normally they are placed at the bottom of the page. However the designers put it across the page to help link the pictures together.
The front cover uses both sans-serif and serif fonts. The main story is in sans-serif and the list of artists is in serif. This helps you associate the main story and the other stories.
The images on the front cover are unusual as most of the time there is only one person on the front cover and the shots they use are normally a mid-close up. However, this time they have used mid-long shot for the biggest image and a long shot for the other images. The reason why they have used unusual shots might be because it is a Christmas special and an unusual shot will help you remember the magazine.
The front cover has a lot of information and colours; but I think there is too much going on on the front cover. I will keep this in mind when making my own magazine. I think it’s a good idea to have an uncommon style and layout to the front cover, as it will help you remember the magazine, although sometimes, as in this case, they can be too much and this distracts the reader from the stories.
This contents page is different to the other magazines I have looked at. Firstly, the page is not labelled as contents but instead the page is called “inside this week”. Secondly, the contents isn’t split into sections, apart for one column which is called “plus”. Finally there is a part which tells you how you can get more information on NME and how to subscribe to NME.
The magazine keeps the Christmas theme by showing the artists through a calendar and having Christmas decorations printed on the background. There are cover lines under the photographs, which tell you what the articles are about. We can tell that “start on the larger, move on the whisky” is the main story as it has the biggest photographs.
From the people who are being interviewed we can see that the magazine is aimed at an older audience than 13-19 year olds. I am aiming my magazine at teenagers so this magazine won’t be model I should follow.
In contrast to the front cover there is very little colour in the contents page, although it has the same amount of information as on the front cover. From looking at this magazine’s contents page, I have decided to have a lot of photographs in my magazine as it makes the page look more interesting. Also I have decided not to have just one page for the contents as I think there would be too much information on one page so it would look over crowded.
Double page NME
I decided to look at pages 16 and 17 of NME because these had a more formal layout than in other magazines. These pages use traditional grids that work in two or three columns, in this case they use three. Although the format is traditional the headline of the article is edgy and light hearted. The title is “We’re guessing it isn’t socks?” so we can tell that the interview is light hearted. I think this article would appeal more to men than women, as the interviewee is a man and he answers questions a man would ask.
The font and style the magazine uses is formal like a newspaper. Therefore I believe that this magazine is for an older audience. Furthermore, men’s magazines like “Zoo” use red, capitalised font, and use a black edge around the font to make it appear solid and bold. This is what “NME” magazine uses as well. The mode of address is serious but has some humour to make the article more interesting. The byline, which is the name of the person who wrote the article, is written in bold red writing so you remember the writer and the magazine.
At the bottom of the page we can see that the photographs that the photographer took are placed into the background. The photographer’s name is printed underneath the caption.
There is a drop out at the beginning of the paragraph; drop outs are used to show new information. I also noticed that there is a call out “My church would have a bouncy castle” which breaks up the text and makes the layout look better. They also have smaller call out “NME: so Noel, how would you conduct your own carol service?” to break up the text.
To make the information page more interesting the designers have added a photograph so that the layout wouldn’t become boring. There is a caption, which is written text under a photograph, to anchor the image. It reads “Tom remembers where he left the sellotape”.
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