Q Magazine
L - To start off with, on the front cover you definitely see the masthead. There is nothing much to the masthead which is what makes it so effective. Due to it's very small title and simple logo it is easily recognizable and when you notice it you know what the magazine is based around.
The headline next to the masthead catches the eye of the reader due to it's large and bright properties, this headline related to the main image on the front cover and also helps advertise the main article of this issue.
To give the reader more detail as to what is 'in-store' for them inside, there are a number of decks under the main headline to give the reader a little more information.
The main image grabs the attention of the audience, because it is so bold but also, the man in the pictures looks as though he is staring right at you and this catches your eye. This is a great convention for music magazines as the audience can quickly determine who the person is and then go on to read about them.
On the side of the page are thumbnails, this gives the reader more information about what is in the issue and advertise other articles. The head of the thumbnail is written in black to enforce the main information, this catches the readers eye, then you go onto reading the sub-title in grey. This colour scheme defines main points of the thumbnail but also prevents the magazine from looking plain.
The house-style of the magazine are the colours red, white, black and grey. All these colours work well together, similar to a newspaper article however the bold red colour highlights key points throughout the magazine, for instance, on the double page spread the questions are in black and the answers are in red. This guides the reader through the interview to give a better idea as to who said what. The house colours work well together because they are simple and yet appealing to the audience, similar to how the magazine wants to portray itself. However, on the contents page and double page spread, several uses of gold appear, and this gives the magazine a more modern feel as well as highlighting key features in the magazine.
The barcode at the bottom shows this is a professional magazine however, the colour red is used to outline the price of the magazine, this attracts the audience to the main point of the barcode.
On the contents page, names of people are written in bold so people will notice who the article is about, then go on to learn more, this is effective because it saves time have to scan each article for something they are mostly interested in.
Furthermore the graphology of the contents page is very simple, it is cut into sections such as 'OASIS SPECIAL!' and 'REVIEWS' to simply the readers experience. Everything on the contents page is made easy, but also gives enough information to know where to look for a story that interests.
The main image on the contents page has a caption with a page number, this shows the picture does have meaning and can be located in the magazine, techniques such as this are effective for promoting more than just the main article on the front cover.
On the double page spread, the house-style is used effectively to outline the speaker in the interview. (Questions in black, answers in red.) Not only does this simplify the article but it also makes it look fresh and appealing. If the entire article were to be in black, then it wouldn't seem as interested, it would look as though it was long and dragged on for two pages.
Another technique used was in the opening paragraph and the use of underscores. Spacing the words out slowed doing the reading speed and adds an effect to it, despite the fact it isn't majorly important however, it does give the introduction a modern look which could be appealing to a wider audience.
I - Despite the logo and magazine name, Q magazine is not a company that makes this magazine, in fact the institution behind Q magazine is known as Bauer Media, they operate in 15 other countries. In the UK this magazine can be found in many local supermarkets and it is distributed across the country.
I- This magazine is produced to inform readers of recent stories in the music industry, mostly in the Pop Music Genre. As you can see from the contents page, there is a wide variety of stories, and this shows that there is a lot to be found within the magazine. Also, the magazine is there to show there it more to music than just songs. Hence why it features interviews with artists, and on the front cover it makes it plain obvious that there will be some involvement with Oasis. What they want is for music to have a wider audience, and to also help advertise artists.
A- Q magazine targets an older audience, such as people aged 25 + plus, therefore the S.E.G group would be A - C1. The reason being is because they didn't want to aim it at a younger audience because now they can talk about more 'classic' artists and also make more money due to the fact their target audience are of a working class. The psychographics of the magazine would be people who are inner-directed (i-am-me) they like their own music, back from when they were younger, and wish to still keep in touch with that, instead of following the latest crazes and listening to what everyone else is listening to.
R- On this particular front cover, the close-up on the man shows that he may be 'annoyed' in someway also, the caption of the picture 'Oasis Are Back' could also represent the man as being angry and coming back for revenge! This is to grab the attention of the audience, to let them know that something is happening and Q magazine have the 'scoop.' However, generally, musicians in this magazine are represented as interesting yet everyday people, for instance the U2 interview on the double page spread. The introduction at the beginning of the article doesn't necessarily show Adam Clayton in a bad way, if anything it is an un-important paragraph, however, this helps represent him as an everyday person.
As the magazine features articles from many different genres, they doesn't necessarily talk down to a type of genre, for instance, people who are religious towards metal music may despise R&B, however since Q Magazine is an all-round magazine, musicians of any genre are represented positively.
UNCUT Magazine
L - As always on the front cover of a magazine, there is the masthead. Uncut magazine use a bold, bright and powerful masthead.The colour red used stands out and attracts the audience, but also red is the colour of danger which adds to the word 'Uncut' because there is more to this magazine than just the basic information.
Below the masthead is a splash to help sell the magazine even more. 'FREE CD' is another reason as to why the audience should buy their magazine. This is effective before it gives the reader more to look forward to.
Above the masthead are teasing contents used to advertise more articles in the magazine, this shows there is more to it than just the main story on the front cover. This is effective in promoting itself and keeping the audience hooked.
As well as teasing contents there are also cover lines to advertise other articles in the magazine, these are printed in various colours to make key points and features stand out. This makes the magazine more appealing and eye-catching for the audience, but also codes different points using colours, for example, 'Uncuts top 50 albums of the year.' Has been written in blue, this represents a calm colours, so this will be a review and list however the article 'Terry Reid' has been written in red, yet again, the colour of danger, this makes certain articles give off different feelings and emotions.
The house style of the magazine mainly consists of the colours red, white and black, however on the front cover other colours such as blue and gold are introduced and this makes a more modern edge to the cover by mixing more colours in there. They highlight key areas of the magazine by using different colours, however the house style used in the magazine is more calm and professional but still makes the important information stand out. The use of colours works well in this magazine for promoting different areas and also making it simple to read.
The medium shot used on the front cover makes the image seem powerful, as though he is making a stand in the magazine, it dominates the page and attracts the reader into learning what it is about. Along with the caption 'Man of the Year' this image works very well in letting you know who and what this main article is. A medium shot / medium close-up is always very effective in magazines as it promote main articles and a good article and promotion attracts a bigger audience.
As you would expect there is a barcode and a price to go with the magazine, however it does not stand out from everything else which is a blessing and a curse in one, because you focus more on the articles and adverts rather than the price, but the price is not bold enough for the audience to see that the magazine is worth it. It seems as though they are trying to hide their price because it is expensive compared to other magazines.
The contents page uses a more simple style of colours, only red, black and white, but this works well for highlighting the titles and sub-titles of what is in the magazine. Sections of the contents, for instance the reviews part, is made bolder by the colours, this segregates to section so it's easier to find what you are looking for. It also gives the contents page a professional layout and keeps the magazine from looking boring.
As for the main image and caption, this gives you more of an insight into what is in the magazine, this is a good convention to help sell the magazine more, people usually see images before they see words, so making a bold image such as this one is effective.
The double page spread uses a lot of bold text to highlight key points and quotes in the interview. This technique will grab the readers attention at looking at the most interesting points of the article, making them want to read more.
The medium close-up of Paul Weller makes the article more clear for those who don't know who he is. By putting a big picture of him next to the interview, it's almost as if you are at the interview with him, asking the questions and hearing his response. The eye contact with the image is effective in portraying that you are actually there.
I- The institution is 'Uncut' magazine, and they have created several spin off magazines from the original Uncut title and they are still an on going magazine.
I- The idea behind the magazine is that is has the 'scoop' on the music world, and their headlines are their to prove it. They want the audience to think they know more than any other magazine and that nothing is hidden. The title 'Uncut' is to represent that nothing is missing and in a way, they call the shots.
A - The target audience for the magazine seems to be people of an older generation. Most of the articles in the magazine are of classic musicians such as Paul Weller. The demographics would be of male, aged 25+, which therefore means the S.E.G group would be A - C1 because people of this age group will be earning a pretty decent income. The psychographics of the magazine would be people who are inner-directed and want to know what is happening in the world but also stay in touch with their classic side.
R - The representation in this magazine is that there is more to music than just the songs. Giving Paul Weller the Uncut Award means that there is more to his songs. The magazine wants to represent musicians into more interesting people. The colours used also represent danger, that the information that Uncut behold is just unbelievable, so the cover title 'Terry Reid - How he escaped from Led Zeppelin' represents this as a dangerous and dark story. Generally though, the magazine promote the musicians and represent them in a good way.
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