Magazine Analysis of 5 Contents Pages

NME

Even though this contents page doesnt look like the front cover, just by the style of the page you can tell that this contents page belongs to an NME magazine. This magazine is  very cluttered however there is a structure to it. What is inside the magazine is all over  the page, however it is broken up by little separating lines giving the page a structure. The only title is 'inside this week', this allows the reader to acknowledge that is is the contents page and then to browse at their own will. Their page numbers arent in order and not everything has a page number either. The featuring band is in the middle of the page with a large image to support the text. It is common on a contents page to be able to suscribe to the magazine from this page. However NME havn't included that on this contents page. Something I may possibly change on my contents page. I really like the way the have broken up the page and still managed to get alot of information on the page. I will use this in my contents page.

Q

Compared to NME, Q has changed the structure of their contents page. They have put their biggest image on the right hand side, which takes up most of that side. Compared to the colour scheme of the magazine, this image is quite dull and full of pastel colours. This contrasts with the magazine. I like the banner at the top of the page which includes the page title, the magazine logo and the issue date. This look very nice on this page and could be something I could incorporate in my magazine. For the actual contents page this used only two colours: red and black. The page numbers are in red. This is to add abit of contrast the the black writing used throughout this page. All this contrasts with the very plain white background. This gives a simplistic look to the page, however as there is so much going on regarding writing, the page doesnt look too simple. It is quite a modern look that Q have gone for. This is to target the audience this magazine is aimed at. The caption on the image is in a white box, which can be easily seen from the dull green background. This is something I will use in my contents page. It makes this image look all the more professional which all adds up to how professional the page looks.

Mojo

I really like this contents page, it seems minimalistic but cluttered at the same time. I don't originally like having reviews of the magazine from the reader at the bottom of the page but it somehow works for this magazine. The contents part is well organised and evenly spaces making it look minimalistic however crossing over the middle of the page to the image side, everything seems in disarray. It again however works for this magazine. There is a structure top the pictures as they all contain similar colours. I like how this magazine hasnt gone for a 'Contents' title but has instead used the title of the magazine again. This little feature sets it apart from other contents pages as not many magazines use this technique. However I feel for my magazine I will stick to the tradition 'contents' title. It is a common feature of a contents page and as long as you make it look different, unique and stylish occurding to your style of magazine, it can really work on the page.



The Word

The Word magazine sort of change their style for their contents page. There is a recuring colour scheme from the title of the magazine; red. Most of the page is taken up by a review of a critique or editor of the magazine. This means that there isn't alot room for the actual contents page. There is a small column on the right-hand side of the page, this is for what is inside this issue.  The part that readers will want to know about are in bold making them stand out, so the reader can flick straight to that page. There isn't alot of photos on this page which isn't a common thing. However the audience of this magazine is slightly older than the others I am analysising so they could be going for a minimalist look as the reader will not want to look at pretty pictures. Even though this contents page is effect for its target audience, I myself don't really like it and no features stand out from it that I could use in my contents page.

The Rolling Stone

Again you can tell straight away that this is a magazine meant for an older (or an older taste in music) target audience. The main feature of this page is the image on the right hand side. It is very large, therefore eye catching. You can tell that this is meant for an older audience due to the contrast of the image. Being in black and white, it symbloise and age where colour photos werent as common. The posture of the models in the image are also relevent to the time the image was meant to be taken in. I like how the title of this page is the initals of the title of the magazine and then the issue number of the magazine. The issue number is about the only colour on the page, allowing the number to stand out. This maybe to brag how long the magazine has actually been going and how well they are doing. The rest of the page is quite simplistic. Black and white being the main colour scheme. However if it is an older audience they are aiming for with this magazine, they wont be expecting anything flashy on a magazine contents page. Just what's inside. I do however like the simplistic look they have pulled off. It doesnt make the page cluttered.

Magazine Analysis of 5 Double Page Spreads

NME

This double page spread by NME, really shows us how modern and up to date with their artists they are. The double page spread really expresses which audience they are targeting and like the name of this band, they are targeting teenagers mainly. The structure of this page is set out like any other double page spread. The picture crosses over slightly onto the other side of the page. This is because in printing you wouldn't be able to see text right in the crease of the page. So putting the image over the centre line you can avoid text being hidden. They have a column for the article itself, however they have gone for 2 columns of writing, unlike the commonly used 3. In my magazine I will use 3 columns as it is nicer to look at and is more attractive to your reader. What NME have used which isn't common is the last column on the right-hand side. This column is for the readers view of the magazine or the featuring article. I like this idea as it sells the band more. It gives an insight (to people who may of not heard of the band before) into exactly what this band is like, and what other peoples views of them are.

The colour scheme on this page is slightly different to the rest of the magazine. This could of been done however on purpose, to catch the readers eye as they are flicking through the magazine. The blue on this page is really quite striking and is a definite eye catcher. All the important features on this page have a blue background. For instance, the band name 'The Teenagers', important info on the band and quotes taken from the text. The quote taken from the text is a nice trick to split up the text on the right-hand side. It draws your eye to the quote and the if it is an interesting quote, it gets the reader involved with the story there making them read it. As far as the image goes, it is very typical of an indie magazine. In the background there a load of posters of other bands and concerts and the models or band are relaxed like the don't care. This attitude is very stereotypical of this genre of music.

Q

The double page spread shares the same features as NME but the editors of Q have changed some connotations of a double page spread. For example, they have used 4 columns for their feature writing. This gives it the appearance that there is more writing and therefore more to this band. However like I said before I am going to try to stick to 3 columns worth of writing. I do however like the image that has been put in the middle of the article. Like the quotation, this image breaks up the writing, giving the reader a break. The title 'Born to run' is an eye catching title and is probably a pun from a song made by the featuring band. This is commonly all over the media, newspapers use it as well as magazines. It is simply to add humour to the page. Being in capitals as well it stands out and it more eye catching.

I like it how they have carried on their colour scheme showing consitinty throughout the magazine. The small attention to detail this magazine has is important. The 'T' being in blue, showing the colour scheme off. I really like this technique, it adds a differency to the page. It isnt something every magazine uses hwoever.  

Mojo

The theme that Mojo seem to have created for themselves is continued onto their double page spreads. The theme of black and white photo reoccurs here again. This really works for this page as there isn't alot of colour and the dark tones of the photo allows us to image the colour that could possibly be behind the photo. There is a rather large quote on the right-hand side of the page. This contents what looks like two different fonts but in fact some words are simply put into bold. They have used a drop letter at the beginning of the actual article. This is a common feature of a double page spread article and I do plan on using it in my magazine. There is only two columns for text which like I have said previously is uncommon for a double page spread as it just doesnt look appealing to the reader. I plan on using 3 columns for my article.

In the middle of the page there is a readers view of this artist. I however do not like the positiong of this feature. It invades the page and text too much. Even though I dont actually like the feature itself, if I had to position it anywhere it would be on the photo side of the page and the bottom. So readers can make a connection between the artist and what the fan of the artist has said.

The Word

The colour scheme of red titles continues again on The Words double page spread. This magazine has yet again for a minimalist look. The black and white photos relates to the front cover of the magazine. I really like the small photo they have used as it makes look older than it probably is. The torn edged of the main photo ties into the location of the photo. The location of the photo appears to be an amausement on a pier, a place where people normally go on holiday. Therefore the torn edge of the photo could represent how it was torn to be put in a scrap book. The thing that lets this double page spread down is the lack of text. I know they're going for a minimalist look but only on column of text doesn't really appeal to the reader.

The thing I like the most about this page is their small attention to detail. The issue number and date of the magazine is put in the top left hand corner. I quite like the positioning of this as it is common to fins these features at the bottom of the page. Therefore this is something I will try in my magazine.

The Rolling Stone

This magazine is also aimed at a slightly older audience than just teenagers. You can tell this from the presentional devices the editor had used. For example a slightly discoloured photo that almost looks black and white but still contains a bit of colour. However you can tell that the audience isn't actually that oold due to the use of sans serif font used for 'scarface'.
This is another magazine that yet again only uses two columns for text. I have now begun to think whether the audience is dependant on the amount of columns a magazine uses.

One feature I really feature I really like about this double page spread is how the title and the sub text has a fitted box around them, highlighting them on the page. This is something I'd really like incoparate in my double page spread even if I just use it around a quote as a quote should be something that stands out.

Audience Research

Research into a Target audience can be done in several ways :

• Video interviews
• Questionnaires
• Graphs and Charts
• Quotes
• Focus Groups

Questionnaires are the common technique to find out exactly what your audience would like to see in your magazine. However if your questions are to open, it makes life harder for yourself. Therefore closed questions with options you have chosen to give them would be easier for you in the long run. Some of the things you need to consider when making a questionnaire is who your audience want to read about? who they want to look at? and who are their role models? All these help you target the audience you are aiming for, meaning your magazine will sell.

Audience Research Questionnaire

I asked several people to fill out a questionnaire and these are the results I got.
     1.   What would you like to see more on the front cover?

·       A Band = 58%

·       An Individual Singer = 42%

2.   What features do you look for on a front cover of a magazine?

·       Strong Design =  28%

·       Familiar Faces = 71%

·       Interesting Articles = 28%

3.   What colour scheme do you associate with an Indie magazine?

·       Strong, Bold colours = 85%

·       Bright colours = 0%

·       Unsaturated colours  = 14%
·       Pastel colours = 0%

4.   What would you like to read on a double page spread article?

·       An Interview with a band/singer = 100%

·       A review of a live concert = 14%

·       An big event about to occur = 0%

·       A feature on a band/singer = 0%

5.   What type of article would you like to read on a double page spread?

·       Up and Coming = 28%

·       Current = 71%

·       Retrospective = 0%

6.   On a contents page do you look for articles you would like to read or all the articles in the magazine?

Articles you would like to read = 100%
All articles in the magazine = 0%

Questionnaire Results

Question 1
We can see from this pie chart that most of my target audience would like to see a band on my magazine front cover. Therefore I am going to make up a band and get models to pose as a band for my front cover.



Question 2
From these results I can see that most of my target audience would like to see familiar faces on the front cover of my magazine. However some have said that they would like interesting articles and a strong design. Therefore I will try incorparate these into my magazine.



Question 3
Alot of the people who I asked to fill out my questionnaire said that they would like a stron bold colour scheme throughout my magazine. None of my target audience wanted to see bright or pastel colours in my magazine however 2 people did want to see unsaturated colours.

Question 4
For my double page spread alot of my target audience wanted to read a interview with a band and only 1 said they wanted to read a review of a live concert. By the majority I am going to do an interview as my article.

Question 5
Most of my target audeince would like to read about an interview with a current band that already exsists. However as I am planning on making up my own band, I will look at interview with current bands and use the language they use in those interviews.

Question 6
On my contents page, going by my audience research I am going to put on only articles I feel people wil want to read about for example feature or exclusive artists instead of just putting on all the articles in the magazine.

Initial Ideas

Here are my intial ideas that I plan to work with. The things I will try to keep the same are the layouts and the magazine title as I quite like the ideas I have come up with for them. As this is only my initals ideas it means that things will probably change depending on how hard it is to do what I've drawn or the sitution of certain things for example models for my photos.

Diary Entry, Week 2

18th February

This week we started analysing front covers, contents pages and double page spreads of music magazines under our chosen genre. This is to find out what the common connotations of these type of magazine, meaning we can modify some of the connotations to fit our magazines. We are also analysing them to see what attracks a target audience to read the magazine. This week I also came up with my inital ideas for my music magazine after looking at professional magazines.

Regarding my target audience, I really need to know what is my target audience would like to see and read about. Therefore I started my audience research this week. I sent out a questionnaire to people in the age range of my target audience. I also interviewed a couple of people, which I filmed for future reference. This has really helped me as I can refer back to what people would like to see and put those into my ideas. It makes my magazine look more professional and hopefully more inviting to the reader.