Colour Scheme:

The majority of music magazines, and magazines overall, incorporate a colour theme usually based on or around the colour(s) of the masthead…

…even though this is true for most magazines, sometimes the colour theme is not relative to the colours of the masthead (left), in this case the lack of colour makes the masthead stand out, therefore buyers look straight at the magazine name when on the shelf and in competition with others

…the colour theme helps make the magazine to look professional…

Audience:

Based on the colour theme alone, the audience could either be male or female orientated.

It also depends on the genre of the magazine, the person(s) used for the main image and the leading story.

The colour theme isn’t based on the masthead which makes it stand out.

The magazine is aimed more at females as it uses the dominant, stereotypical, ‘girly’ colour pink as well as using two females for the main feature

In this magazine a colour theme is apparent and in my opinion, by opting to use a colour theme ‘Shortlist’ is successful in making their magazine look professional

Looking at the colours present, the contents and the main feature it is easy

to see that this magazine is targeting the male audience

Mast head:

Contents:

Left third shows the most interesting articles/features which act as a lure to potential buyers

Language:

The use of informal language makes the readers feel comfortable. This makes them want to carry on reading the magazine due to the fact that they are able to understand and relate to the language used

Images used to accompany the magazine content, makes the magazine even more appealing to the buyers

Strapline:

It normally summarises what the magazine is about and it’s usually in the form of a slogan e.g. NME: New Musical Express

Pug:In the majority of magazines the Barcode contains the pug e.g. (shown right)

The pug informs readers of the magazines price, issue no, release date and, in specific pugs, the magazines website

Mast head :

It’s in a bold font making the name of the magazine clear to buyers, the prominent colours (red and white) contributes to the clarity of

the name

In some well known magazines, the main image covers a part the masthead, which shows that the magazine is popular enough that it dosen’t have to continually show the full magazine name on every issue

Contents:

Contents of the magazine shown in the left third uses a standard font in the colour white, on a black part of the background so that it’s clear to read as it’s the first thing (excluding the main attraction, in this case, Madonna) that’s seen when on the store shelves

Strap line:

E.g. Q: Britain’s Biggest Music

Main Image:

The image is relative to the headline enabling the readers to make the connection between the headline and main image. It’s the first thing that’s seen, therefore it has to be the most interesting

Headline:

It uses the biggest and boldest font as it is promoting the leading story.

Top & bottom strips:

They commonly consist of extras such as:

- Music reviews

- ‘Specials…’

As well as, competitions, popular acts (celebrities) and other offers that might appeal to the magazines target audience, such as a Tip On (freebie) related to the magazine. For instance, as NME is a music magazine a CD would be appropriate

part of the entire cover. The central image is usually of a well known/popular person such as a celebrity or act. For example, Kings of Leon (above)

This page is not instantly recognisable as a contents page as it doesn’t have a ‘Contents’ title to introduce it as a contents like most other magazines. However, we are able to identify it as a contents mainly, because of the list of page numbers as well as the images that give the readers a ‘taste’ of what’s in the magazine

The ‘loud’ colour pink captures the readers attention

The bottom strip, similar to the bottom strip of front covers, makes known the offer(s)

The outsized article used for page one indicates that the article is of importance, probably of an act that are deemed popular and are of interest to a large number of people, therefore attracting more readers

that would most appeal to the readers. The font is the largest on the page making the offer stand out most

The consistent colour palette makes this page flow and as a whole look more effective

The blue strip highlights a certain page indicating that the content of that page is of significance within the issue

Some contents pages incorporate a continuation of colour theme from the front cover (shown by )

The majority of contents pages include a ‘contents’ title, making it clear to the reader what the page the are looking at contains

The main image is big enough to show the importance of the feature yet it is balanced out by the rest of the magazine content and also covered by other images, indicating that it isn’t the most important article but important nonetheless

The different sections of the magazine are separated e.g. ‘every month’ helping to break the magazine up.

The colours used to do this usually make the section stand out more, appealing to readers

The simplicity of the colour scheme makes it easy to follow and as a result of the layout, straightforward

The lack of images allows the reader to focus on the few available

Judging by the amount of space taken up by images, compared to the amount of text, the magazine is probably aimed at a younger audience as younger people tend to lose interest quickly

The size and amount of images create anticipation within the reader, making them want to read on

The themed colours link in with the genre of the magazine e.g. red, white and black would link in with a rock/ gothic magazine. Also, by using a colour theme the magazine has made their contents clear to read and easy on the eye of the reader

Double page spread isn’t dedicated to one main article due to the fact that:

+ The magazines audience is not interested in reading a lot as they lose interest easily

+ Appearance wise, a lot of text can look intimidating

or

+ The band is relatively new and no one knows who they are or what to expect from them

Column of short articles with different topics help keep the attention of the readers

The use of white text on black backing makes the wording clear to read and makes the page look interesting as it contrasts with the opposing article in the sense that, ‘The Teenagers’ article has black text on white backing whereas the column of short articles has white text on black backing.

Same use of colours makes everything look like it’s connected and also draws the attention of the reader straight to the key areas on the page

Information about the band allows the readers to relate to them on a personal level (even if they’re not well known)

The quote is strategically placed around the centre of the page and is the first thing the reader sees therefore, it catches the audiences attention, forcing them to read the quote, in a way, before they lose interest in the article or turn the page

Exclusive:

A particular story that no other magazine has which makes the reader feel like they’re reading something no one else knows

Caption:

The caption uses a funny comment,(shown right), aimed to make the reader smile What it says:

Gerard:“Oh no! I’ve forgotten to lock the bloody front door…”

(Sorry for the blurriness of the picture quality)

The colour palette chosen for these pages has been used cleverly as they link in with the bands type of music and image. The colours seen are black, red and white, colours usually associated with genres such as emo, goth etc- and automatically the reader is able to identify that the article is about an artist(s) in relation to those genres

Both double page spreads have more pictures compared to the amount of text, by doing this, it allows the reader to become engrossed in the article making

them want to read on, resulting in them visiting the magazines website

A quote replaces the heading and the words ‘THE BEST MCR’ is in a bigger font and a different colour to the rest of the heading, which creates a focus on these words, intriguing readers to read further and inviting fans of the band to find out the information behind the quote

These covers don’t look like the music magazines analysed previously, this is because, both covers do not follow the codes and conventions of a magazine and therefore they’re not instantly identifiable as one, otherwise they would look similar to the school magazine shown at the bottom left corner

Both covers contain promotional pictures to appeal to their audience, mainly consisting of the students themselves, the parents and the governing board

The colours in the school logo run throughout the magazines cover and cleverly separates the different pictures.

Also, the logo is placed at the top of the left third therefore, it is one of the first thing the reader sees

Both individuals used for the central image maintain eye contact with the buyer whilst smiling, inviting them to buy the magazine and be ‘happy’ like them and also trigger questions such as:

+ What has made them that happy?

+ By reading this magazine can I (the consumer) be that happy?

Example of a school magazine that follows the typical codes and conventions of a magazine