SKYLINEThe skyline is on a black background with white capital writing which are contrasting colours and suits the colours of the magazine without being overpowering. Lady Gaga’s hair is messy and therefore covers some of the skyline so there is a gap between the sentence. I think this is really effective as it brings the image to the front and appear more 3D as well as reflecting Lady Gaga’s different style.

MASTHEADThe masthead is one consonant ‘Q’ which is an impacting name for a magazine because it is so short. The sound ‘Q’ could also be a shortening for the word ‘queue’ as it sounds the same and could connote people queuing for the magazine.

The red background and white writing is very powerful because it is almost like a warning sign catching the audience’s attention. The colour red is often thought as a sexy colour to wear and therefore could reflect the image Lady Gaga and the magazine are trying to create.

MAIN COVER LINEThis is in the centre of the magazine almost screaming out to the audience for attention. The main image is wrapped between the ‘GAGA’ making her seem more 3D and highlighting her body.

The ‘GAGA’ is in a bigger font size to ‘Lady’ probably because most people can recognise her name by this part of it therefore you almost don’t need the ‘lady’.

MAIN COVER IMAGEThis is quite a revealing image compared to the NME magazine this is probably because the target audience is for slightly older more sophisticated people therefore they would appreciate this for its artiness rather than young boys who would just be interested because Lady Gaga isn't wearing much.

The red tones in her cheeks enhance her face and make her look more attractive and feminine with cheek bones. The red colour is very strong in her cheeks and therefore ties in well with the red in the other features of the magazine. She is almost dressed as a crow with the long fingered gloves acting like claws and the spikes on her trousers acting like feathers. This reflects her outrageous style and therefore helps people recognise who she is. Her messy hair is quite seductive and could reflect a crow that’s just got out of its nest or a female that has just got out of bed which has an appeal to the male target audience.

The background colour is fairly simple and it shows that it has been taken in the proper rooms with lighting rather than in a special setting, this is similar with most other Q magazine front covers.

FLASHThis is at the bottom right hand side of the magazine which is a rare place to find it but it could be placed here because the ‘Q’ is a similar circle shape and therefore may look too much all at the top half of the page. I think the flash placed here helps to even out the magazine of what is one each side and reflects the curves in the letter ‘Q’ and in Lady Gaga’s body shape.

MASTHEADThis masthead is placed in the top left hand corner on top of the main image which is a feature I feel doesn’t look as affective. The masthead is a pink/purple colour tying in with Rihanna’s eye and lip makeup. This creates a theme throughout the magazine as well as drawing the audience’s attention to Rihanna’s face.

The pink/purple colour connotes females and therefore reveals Rihanna’s girly temperaments and implies to the audience that the target audience for this special edition is females.

TAGLINEThe tagline beneath the masthead reminds the reader what the acronym ‘NME’ stands for (New Musical Express) and informs those who are new to NME magazine that the music discussed in this magazine is new.

ANCHORAGEThe main image has text that ties in with it and acts as an anchor to give the right message across to the audience. This text is the most dominating to the front cover because it is the biggest and right in the middle which I have noticed is a common feature in magazines where the main text is found in the middle of the front cover of the middle of the main image. This helps the audience link the text with the main image. The message given from this anchorage text ‘you need people who aren’t afraid to tell you when you’re f*****g up this gives the message that Rihanna has been through tough times and is giving advice to her fans.

COVER IMAGEThe audience will more than likely know who Rihanna is and what she looks like even if they don't like her music which is good for attracting a wider audiences attention as more people will be able to relate to her, this is a key feature of the magazine it attracts all different stereotypes of people because it has lots of different stereotypes of music within it.

The shot type is a mid shot revealing Rihanna’s style which is quite unique in society today helping to portray her personality. The positioning of Rihanna is a typical pose showing her attitude. The bird on her right shoulder is almost like a demon on her shoulder protecting her.

MASTHEADThe masthead is large and in capital letters this stands out to the audience and helps grab their attention. The bubble like font reflects the title itself ‘blender’ as blenders chop things up and therefore the title looks like the edges have been chopped off and rounded. The black colour also helps dominate the audiences attention because black on white are contrasting colours which is eye catching.

COVER IMAGEThis is placed in front of the title which is an effect that i think makes it clear to the audience this is a well known and therefore good magazine because its as though you don't even need to know what the masthead says because you already know the name of the magazine.

The black hair tones in with the title and therefore doesn't overpower the masthead. Katy Perry’s outfit helps to structure a colour scheme on the front cover with pinks and black tones for the writing which are colour picked out from her outfit so everything ties in.

CALLOUTA callout is used which helps draw the reader in and make them read more because they are intrigued by what is further in the magazine. PUN

‘Keeping it wheel’ when it is supposed to say ‘Keeping it real’ this draws the reader in because it is humorous and the audience want to read more to then find out how to keep ‘real’ and up to date as this pun suggests this magazine can tell the audience how to keep ‘real’.

SKYLINEThis skyline isn't placed in a box which is a different way of representing skylines as they can also be put in a box to make them stand out more, but as this magazines background is simple it stands out on its own.

TEASERS‘Free’, ‘hot’, ‘new’ are words that entice the reader in as they want to get as much as they can for their money and be in the know.

SKYLINEThis helps to sell the magazine as it is telling the reader what is inside the magazine. It is at the top of the page which after the masthead and main image the audience may look there next as it is more chronological to look at the top of the page first.

The words used in the skyline such as ‘FREE’, ‘NEW’, ‘HOTTEST’ and ‘BEST’ are puffs working with the skyline to try and encourage the audience to buy the magazine because it is suggesting this magazine has the ‘best’ of everything.

DATELINE AND BARCODEThis is placed at the bottom left hand side of the magazine which is not overpowering of the other features of the magazine as this is not particularly important to the reader.

MAIN COVER LINEThe main cover line on the front cover gives information to the reader about the main article in the magazine. This main cover line is placed in the middle of Eminem’s body which is quite a powerful place to put it because it helps the audience relate the text to his face and also is a more informal place to put a main cover line because generally you only see cover lines at the sides of pages, although this layout is more popular in a lot of magazines.

Eminem’s name is in a red text box highlighting his dominance and making the cover line even more obviously that it is a key article in the magazine.

COVER IMAGEThe cover image is a mid shot of Eminem most likely because the main article in the magazine is about Eminem and most people would know who he is. His outfit reflects his personality and perhaps the dress code of some of the target audience’s dress sense, helping the audience to relate to him. His facial expressions represents him singing and could also connote the audience’s face when he ‘stunned the world’. Often magazines choose their cover image to have the person looking into the camera so the audience feel more involved with the person however Eminem is not looking at the camera, this could be because they are trying to make the audience feel as though they were at his concert, especially as it is a low angle shot implying him to be on a stage and the audience watching him.

The background is black to help the artist stand out however the black is not a block colour which suggests it could be his background on the stage. I think this is more effective than a block colour as this can look boring. I think this affect looks more arty reflecting the singers and their different styles.

PLUGSThe plugs are only at the far left hand side of the magazine probably because the cover image is the right more and the producer didn’t want to over power the cover image. The plugs have hanging indents making it easier for the audience to read because it is almost split into sections to read with the different colours.

TEASERS‘I feel so alone’ This is a quote from an article inside the magazine used to encourage the reader to read more it is a quote that involves emotions ‘feel, ‘alone’ suggesting that this magazine is targeted at women because they feel more open about their emotions and find it interesting hearing other peoples problems.

ANCHORAGEThis text relates to the main image so the audience can relate the image to the text and the real life article. The text is obvious that it is anchorage text because it includes the artists name and is bold and in capitals.

FLASHThis is placed towards the bottom section of the magazine which seems to be a common layout for ‘Q’ magazine helping to keep the magazine individual reflecting and making the magazine more attractive and noticeable to its target audience. The blue colour used to surround the flash makes it stand out more as blue isn't a common colour used throughout the magazine. However the colour isn't completely out of the blue (excuse the pun) because it ties in with her eye colour and some of the much smaller features in the magazine. The use of this colour draws the attention to Florence's eyes and therefore making the audience feel more of a connection with her and therefore encourage them to buy it through the persuasive technique of emotion.

COVER IMAGEI like this image as it is a close up so the audience feels more involved with the magazine and the artist, it shows they are not hiding anything and therefore connoting that the magazine reveals all truth. Although this is a close up the image has been carefully used so that the text doesn’t get in the way of her face or hair. The use of her hands makes the image seem more personal and with more emotion because hand gestures can symbolise emotion.

HANGING INDENTQuite uniquely this front cover has hanging indents but they are the same colour as the rest of the text. Usually they are different colour so they stand out more. However the hanging indents are in a larger font size which draws their attention well. I think that with this magazine front cover there is no need for different coloured hanging indents because it would look to much and over power the cover image, sometimes less is more and this is the case with this.

I will bare in mind when coming to make my magazine cover that all the text on the page is capital letters which makes the writing more have more attention and seem important and clear to read.

MASTHEADThe mast of this page has a very unique layout. The word is separated over three different lines which is a good technique to guide the readers eyes down the page and to go on to read the txt and look at the image next. The use of bold, capital and clear writing makes it easy for the reader to read. It also shows what contents page they are on ‘1/3’ which helps guide them to know what's coming next in the magazine.

MAIN IMAGEThe background of the image is a faded black colour which could suggest there is a light shining on the model which draws the attention to her. There is a very subtle ‘V’ shape behind the model which symbolises the name of the magazine ‘Vibe’. This is not too over powering but doesn’t let the reader forget what magazine they are reading as they can identify where the ‘V’ is from. The models legs are then incorporated in with the V shape and making her legs look longer as the V follows the line of her legs.

The pose the model is doing is very revealing and is probably chosen as a model for other female readers to follow her ways. She is looking into the camera again making the audience feel a connection and making them read further to find out more about her. The colours used are sepia tones and this helps create the modern style of the magazine. However the shoes do add a purple colour to the magazine and catch the audiences eye, the shoes are close to the writing which is probably a direction for the audience to read it. Also the slightly brighter colour shoes would also imply that this is more a magazine targeted at women as they are well known for loving shoes and therefore they have chosen for the shoes to stand out.

HANGING INDENTSThese help the audience identify what they are going to be reading further on, they are made bold and a different font to catch the audiences attention first before they read on and get confused with what they are reading.

I have noticed that the writing in this contents page is mainly all lowercase compared to the front cover. This is probably because the magazine feels more like they have the audiences attention now and no longer need to be as dominating with capital letters. But it also informs the reader that this m=part of the magazine may not be as important and you could just read on to find out what is going on rather than reading the contents page.

The name, page number and date is placed at the bottom of the page so the audience can keep track of what issue they have last read or if they are collectors they can put the magazines in chronological order. It also means readers can stop reading and go back to the page number they were on if they remember the number. The title is a constant reminder to the audience of what they are reading and helps the audience gain popularity as the audience can remember what it is called and tell there friends about it.

This is a typical layout of a contents page however it reminds me of the layout for gossip/celebrity magazines I feel it is slightly less classy than the contents pages with less on them however sometimes they can look bare.

MAIN IMAGEThis is of girls aloud which were probably more popular at the time this magazine was published. They are probably chosen to use as a role model fort he readers. They are all wearing the same coloured clothing but different styles which helps remind the audience they are singers as this is a common way of representing singers on stage to show they are part of one group and follow one style.

This takes over the page and makes the writing seem not so over powering as if there was lots to read. The page number is included in every image so that the reader can easily access the things they are interested in reading about.

All the images are different in size and shot type making it more interesting for the audience to look at.

MASTHEADThe masthead is very simple and to the point with the clear black on white writing and bold capital letters making it easy for the audience to know what they are looking at. It covers the page from left to right which is less common recently as now they are more commonly placed in more strange places to stand out from the crowd.

COLOURSThe colours are used are complimenting to the pictures which also tie in with the blue tones. To brighten the page they have used a contrasting colour (orange) in some of the texts and boxes that text is in.

The text is all contrasting colours depending on the background colour of the text. The page numbers are different colours to the text making it seem easier to read for the reader. The use of hanging indents helps the audience to identify the most important parts of the articles and then if they are interested they will read onto the smaller writing.

MASTHEADThe masthead is in a bold bubble like font which reflects the blown up bubble like mushroom. The black contrasting on a very light pink background makes the mast easy to read. The mas is again at the top of the page across the hole page which I think works for this magazine because an editing skill has been used to make it different with the mushroom in front of the mast.

DATELINEThe dateline is just placed below the masthead and reminds the reader what issue they are reading. The fact that it just has the month and not the day number suggests to the audience that this is a monthly magazine and therefore they may look out for the next issue in a months time. Next to the dateline is the features. Everything is grouped into one and helps keep the main focus on the main image. ‘Features’ is written in a contrasting colour to the red in the main image which helps the text stand out a little bit so the audience don’t ignore it totally but the main focus is still on the main image.

PULL QUOTEThe pull quote is used to attract the audiences attention and intrigue them to make them want to read more.

REFLECTION AND PERSONAL LEARNING ON RESEARCH INTO SIMILAR PRODUCTS AND AUDIENCE RESEARCH – Front Covers

From researching different magazine front covers I have learnt that there are lots of different techniques and strategies to draw an audiences attention to a magazine, there tends to be a few common things that do this whilst other magazines choose to use less common techniques because it suits the style of their magazine and target audience better. The main feature of a magazine is its background image which is often a mid shot with the famous person looking into the camera to create a connection with the audience. The person on the front cover should be famous because then more people are familiar with the singer/artist/band for example Rihanna because she has had many number ones therefore more people can talk about her. The picture has to reflect the persons personality and music genre well. Most magazines use a buzzword like ‘new’ because it attracts the audiences attention and makes them think this magazine is better than another and therefore they go on to rad the rest of the magazine. The masthead is often covered up by the main persons head I think this effect shows a more artistic skill and represents the different unique genres of music it also gives the impression to first time buyers that this must be a good magazine because people can recognise the magazine without the full title, these mastheads can be recognised on music channels, websites, blogs, banners etc. A rare feature that I discovered that weren't generally found on music magazines were skylines this could be because they don’t want to hassle the reader of advertisements inside the magazine or it could be because they want to leave their audience in suspense of what is inside the magazine. I noticed that strong contrasts of colours were used on front pages to make an extreme impact on the front cover so that it is noticed by an audience. All these features work together to make a magazine more popular and stand out on the shelf.

REFLECTION AND PERSONAL LEARNING ON RESEARCH INTO SIMILAR PRODUCTS AND AUDIENCE RESEARCH – Contents Pages

After researching different music magazine contents pages I have realised they play a key role in keeping the audiences attention on the magazine because it is the second page after the front cover. It needs to give the audience a feel for what is inside the magazine and encourage them to read further otherwise the magazine will struggle with bored customers who will go to another magazine. I feel that contents pages look better when they are simple but the features and images can connote lots of different messages to the reader because this way it leaves them in suspense and doesn’t give too much away. When coming to do my magazine I need to make sure that the images I use are of a brilliant quality otherwise this sets a very bad standard and impression for the rest of the magazine. The font used on a contents page has to be clear and easy to read as well as bold so that the audience want to read it. I feel that often the contents pages that have the best positive impacts are those who have little writing and one main image that takes over the whole of the A4 page because this way the audience can look at the main image and make their own opinions on the image yet the text isn't too over powering and doesn’t give too much away. A style must be maintained through the magazine for example the front cover should follow a simple colour scheme and font style as the contents page otherwise the magazine looks messy and inconsistent. I feel that the contents page plays a strong role in holding the magazine together and providing the audience with enough information too keep them interested but not too much that they’ve found everything out that they want to.

REFLECTION AND PERSONAL LEARNING ON RESEARCH INTO SIMILAR PRODUCTS AND AUDIENCE RESEARCH – DPS

When researching into DPS’s I realised that they are vital in that they have to be targeted at your predominant target audience otherwise they are not going to be interested. You can keep them interested by keeping up to date with the latest news on current artists and by following a style throughout your magazine that generally speaking suits their stereotype for example you would be less inclined to put a baby pink colour in a rock magazine because this just doesn’t suit the audiences personality. A double page spread can look quite daunting if there is lots of writing or no title to inform he reading what this article is about therefore I think techniques like drop caps is important to not scare the audience away and to help the page look good. There need to be something to catch the audiences eye for example a main image which I think looks effective when it takes over the whole A4 page because the size is more lifelike therefore the audience can feel more of a connection with the person in the main image. I think it is important that this image is edited well and the colour scheme suits the text or the text suits the colour scheme of the picture otherwise it can look like too much is on the DPS and the reader wont know where to look at first. It is important to have a leading text whether it is a pull quote or highlighted name but this attracts the audience in further so that they get dragged in by the storyline of the text even more until finally they read the big block text. By keeping this style, targeting your main target audience and using special advertising techniques this helps keep the flow of the magazine strong.