analysis of magazines

1. MAGAZINE ANALYSIS
TONI LOUGH AS MEDIA

2. Masthead – Uses a serif font
which is informal and clear to
read. A white font is used to
show that the magazine is
gender neutral. The magazine is
called Q which is short and
catchy so readers will remember
the name.
Price/barcode – The price is
shown in the bottom left hand
corner in a small print as the
company don’t want this to put
customers off buying it. The
price of £3.99 also represents
what socioeconomic class buy it.
The barcode is common
convection used to help
consumers purchase the
magazine.
Splash story – Using the word
Adele it draws attention to the
magazine as it shows who the
main story in the magazine will
be revolved around. It will also
help them feel more involved
within the story.
Puff – stands out on the
front cover and draws
attention to the magazine,
showing it’s a special
edition.
Main image – This image
shows a celebrity who uses
direct address by looking
directly into the camera
which can interact with the
audience by making them
feel connected with the
magazine. The celebrity is
the main focus of the front
cover and the magazine
which attracts the reader to
read o to find out more.
Cover lines – these show
what stories the magazine
contains and what will be
included in these stories.
Layout – A mixture of colours are used
but these are predominately red, white
and black to show the representation
of men and women. It also shows that
the magazine is an expensive monthly
magazine. It’s a simple layout so its
easy for readers to navigate around
the page.
Left third – a majority of the stories are
presented on the left third as this is
how they are shown in shops, so it
grabs the attention of the reader.

3. Masthead – Uses a geometric sans
font which was customised for the
magazine. Within some of the letters
the colours red, yellow, blue and
green which can attract both genders
showing that it isn’t aimed at a
specific gender group.
Feature headline – this is used to
grab the attention of the reader
and it helps to sell the magazine
as it may make certain target
audiences be attracted to the
magazine. Social interaction is
used as the magazine labels
Beyoncé's new video, so readers
will go out and buy it.
Left third - a majority of the
stories are presented on the left
third as this is how they are shown
in shops, so it grabs the attention
of the reader.
Cover lines – These show what
the main stories are that will be
included within the magazine as
these may appeal to the readers.
Main image – The main image connotes
a celebrity Beyoncé. She is positioned
slightly to the right third of the page as
all the cover lines are on the left third.
This image is a medium close up and
shows Beyoncé looking directly into the
camera, which makes the audience feel
more connected. This also supports
male gaze as people see her as
attractive and will look up to her as a
role model.
Price/barcode – The price for
this magazine is about £5
which is very expensive so this
is put in a small print so it
doesn’t put people off buying
the magazine. The barcode is
common convection used to
help consumers purchase the
magazine.
Layout – The layout for this
magazine is quite simple
and only uses the colour
white for the text, showing
that it isn’t aimed at a
specific gender group.
There isn’t a lot going on
in the front cover so this
shows that its an expensive
monthly magazine aimed
at those of a high class.
I’ve looked at this magazine as I’m looking for ways
to bring something new into the British market.

4. Price – The price of this
magazine was £2.30 however
NME is now a free magazine.
I’ve chosen to look at it as I like
the layout so I’d like to base my
own magazine on this
magazine.
Barcode -The barcode is
common convection used to
help consumers purchase the
magazine.
Masthead – The magazine uses a sans
serif font in capital letters as its
modern, bold and stands out to the
readers. The bright colour of the
masthead also helps it stand out as
the background is white, so the red
contrasts well with it.
Sub image – This gives the
audience a sneak peak as to
what’s inside the magazine
so they continue reading in
order to find out more
information.
Main image – The white
spacing shows that Mark
Ronson is the main focus point
of the magazine. He is looking
directly to the camera which
makes the audience feel like
they’re connected to him or
the magazine. His clothes are
dark and simple which helps
him to stand out to the
audience.
Cover lines – This shows the main
stories included in the magazine.
These are shown in either black
bold writing or white writing with
red surrounding the text to help
them stand out.
Layout – The layout for the
magazine is quite busy
however it doesn’t make it
look cheap, it just shows
what the magazine
includes. The white
spacing which is used also
shows that the magazine
is expensive looking.
Selling line – uses
anchorage to draw readers
in to the magazine as they
may not be interested in the
whole magazine, but may
like who stars at the bottom

5. Heading – contents is placed at
the top of the page to inform
the reader what this page is
about. The font is bold and in
white which contrasts with the
black header.
Page numbers – page numbers
are used so its easier for the
reader to navigate to the
specific section that they’re
wanting to read about.
Layout – The contents
page is clear and easy to
understand as all the
features are on the right
third of the page. Its been
split up into features, an
oasis special, every month
and Q review. This is
suitable for the young
target audience so they
can find what they want
easily and aren’t wasting
time.
Colour scheme – The colour
scheme is made up of simple
colours: red, white and black.
This makes the magazine
look simple yet expensive.
For the contents page each
section is split up with a
heading outlined in red to
help it stand out. The simple
colours also shows that the
magazine is very music
based.
Main image – Shows an indie
band in a location that we can
relate too. They are also using
direct address as they are looking
straight at the camera so this
creates a relationship with the
audience. The image shows them
stood on the hill which could
show that they are quite high up
on the indie scene. The image
also takes up about 75% of the
page which shows that they are a
main part of the magazine.
Every month – This
shows that people can
subscribe to the
magazine and can find
out lots of different
information about
bands and up coming
artists.

6. Heading – Contents is
placed at the top of the
page to inform the reader
what the page is about. Its
in a black bold writing so it
stands out and is quite
informal. However the font
looks formal compared to
the genre of the magazine.
Chart section – This
takes up the right third
of the page. The chart
shows No.1 songs and
albums from that week.
Layout – The contents page is
full of lots of different things,
however these things are still
laid out in a simple way so its
easy for the readers to
navigate to the section that
they want. This is suitable for
the target audience as they
won’t want to waste time
reading things that don’t
apply to them. White spacing
helps to do this as it makes
each section clear.
Main image – This women is the
point of focus of the magazine.
We don’t know what she’s
looking at, which makes us feel
connected as we are interested.
It shows her crouched down
which could suggest that she is a
new up and coming artist who is
trying to make her way to the
top.
Features – These features help readers
access the magazine online and it also
offers them exclusive events that
people can go too.
Page numbers – These
are used so its easy for
the reader to navigate
to the specific page that
they’re wanting to read
about.

7. Heading – The heading uses a
house style as it’s the same in all
the of their contents page. The
heading includes the name of
the magazine and the word
contents in a bold writing so
readers know what the page
contains and it also uses
branding throughout the
magazine.
Sub headings – These show
what different parts the
magazine is split into. This can
make it easier for readers to
navigate to certain sections, or
to read a particular page in each
sections. Page numbers also
help with this so that readers
aren’t wasting time.
Main image –The main image
shows the lead singer of the
Arctic Monkeys, Alex Turner,
during a performance. They
way he has been pictured
shows him playing the guitar
with his arms out which will
create a male gaze for the
female readers. The picture
shows him looking away whilst
he sings, so this can make the
audience feel connected as
they’re interested in what he’s
looking at.
Plug – Before this became
a free magazine, you could
pay less to receive the
magazine each month as
you are getting a better
deal as its cheaper than
the original price. It also
benefits the company as
they are getting money
upfront for the magazine.
Layout – The layout is quite
an orderly structure with the
page numbers and
subheadings being in the
right third. The picture is the
main focus point of the
contents page so readers
know what the main story is.
Colour scheme – the colours
used are simplistic colours
which are original to NME.

8. Main image – The main image
which takes up all the left hand
side of the page, is artist Lady
Gaga. The way she is pictured
shows her covering her chest
with her hands and jewellery is
also covering it, this appeals to
the male audience as it is
provocative. Her hairstyle is
quite edgy which can link to the
type of music that she does,
which is pop. The contrast
between what she looks like
and her body could suggest
what type of music she does.
She is also showing direct
address, as she is looking
directly towards the audience
which can engage them and
encourage them to read the
text.
Colour scheme – The main colours used on this spread are white, black and red. White is used for the background of the magazine, black is used for the colour of
the text and red is used for the he capital L across the right hand page. The large L in red stands out against the white background, so this will grab the readers
attention, engaging them. These colours used are the colours which are associated with Q magazine, these are formal but also simplistic at the same time.
Graphic art – The big letter
L is a stylistic feature on
the monochrome text
which draws attention
from the reader, engaging
them. It also represents
lady gaga, so that the
reader knows the text is
about her. It is also a
common convention of the
magazine as they use it in
all the magazines when
articles are aimed at
specific people. House
style is also used as the
colours of white, black and
red are used which are Q’s
colours.
Sub heading – The
subheading says lady gaga.
The word lady is in a fancier
font which could suggest
that it’s the feminine part of
her whereas gaga is in a
bolder font in capital letters
as this its portrayed as
being stronger.
Layout – The layout for this double page spread is quite formal, with a picture of lady gaga on the left hand page and the article about
her on the right hand page. The large A4 image shows that the magazine take an interest in who the article is about, instead of having a
small image of the artist. The large letter on the text is traditional with the magazine allowing the audience to recognise what magazine
it is.

9. Heading – The headline says
‘the gospel according to’ in
a bold black italic font which
gives the magazine a
modern look. Her name,
‘Nicki Minaj’ is written in a
bigger, bolder writing which
takes up a large amount of
the page. This makes the
reader automatically think
that the article is going to
be about her. The pink
coloured writing connotes
femininity and beauty
towards women.
Main image – The main
image shows a celebrity,
Nicki Minaj. She’s is facing
towards the camera, with her
body and her face directly
facing the camera. A mid
shot has been used to show
her from the hips up. She is
wearing a funky, stripy dress
with unusual jewellery which
links to her weird style of
songs and her personality.
The zebra print dress can
also bring across the
appreciation of animals
which can appeal to younger
readers.
Lighting – The lighting used is bright and there is no shadow which
indicates that Nicki Minaj likes bright colours and they represent her and
her music well. The colours are also light
Drop cap – shows where
the article starts so
readers are aware of it.
Pull quote – A piece of
text pulled from the
article to draw the
readers attention. The
text also wraps around
her to show that she is
the main part of the
article. It will also help
the reader find out
what the article will be
about and helps them
be interested.
Gospel – The word
gospel is playing
with words, as her
music is the
opposite to gospel
music as she is in
the pop genre.

10. Heading – A simple sans
serif font has been used
for the title of the band,
so that readers know
who the article is about.
This appeals to the
audience as its simple.
The heading is in a large
font as it stands out, due
to it being the only large
writing on the page. Also
with the large font it
suggests that attention
should all be based on
the vaccines.
Main image – The lead
singer is at the front of the
picture as readers are
more likely to recognise
him compared to the other
people from the band and
it makes the article more
obvious as to who its
about. They’re all looking
directly into the camera,
but aren’t posing, which
can make the reader feel
more involved and can
lead to them noticing that
the band are more about
the actual music, so they
will want to read on. The
use of them having guitars
is important as its part of
their identity and
represents the indie genre
that they are in.
Pull quote – The pull
quote grabs the
attention of the reader
and gives them a
snippet of what the
article will be like to
read. It may also make
the reader want to read
on as it states that they
are a pop band, so
readers will be
intrigued, encouraging
them to read on.
Text – Only 2 colours
for the text are used,
black and blue,
which identifies a
house style.
Drop cap – This shows where the article starts so that
the reader can easily start to read the article.
Colour scheme – The colours are very basic, but the sepia tone gives the
article more of a vintage feel, similar to the genre they are involved in. The
vintage feel also suggests that the vaccines have something new to offer,
compared to older band within the same genre.

11. ANALYSIS – FRONT COVER
 Whilst conducting my magazine analysis I found that each magazine had many things in common on the
front cover, contents page and double page spread.
 The front covers all have brightly coloured titles which will catch the attention of potential readers who
will then be drawn in to then look at the magazine. The images also show direct address as the
celebrities on the front cover are looking directly at the camera which then makes the reader feel like
they are looking straight at them. The stories are also positioned on the left hand side of the page as this
is the part which will be showing when they are stacked in shops so it shows the reader what content is
inside the magazine.

12. ANALYSIS – CONTENTS PAGE AND DPS
 The contents pages all have one main image which relates to one of the stories listed. The contents is
also split into different parts with subheadings which help break up the large amount of text so it isn’t
boring for the reader, the image helps to do this as well. The bright colour schemes all the magazines
use helps to draw the reader into certain parts of the magazine such as a subscription or review section.
 All of the double page spreads have large images which show who the magazine is about, in this case it
is Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and The Vaccines. They contain pull quotes form the large amounts of text
which give the reader an insight into what the text is about. If it was an interview an answer from a
question would be pulled from the text and used.