Colours research

These 3 colours are the regular colour scheme for Kerrang magazine. They don’t very often change as Kerrang is a well-known magazine and most people spot the magazine easily when it is on a shelf. The reason they have used these colours is because the black and white gives you the impression that it is a rock/metal magazine as most rock and metal artists wear dark clothes. The yellow is to make it stand out, they often use the yellow for the masthead and the cover lines as they often have a dark central image. This is so that text stands out from the background which makes it easier for the reader. They have also used the yellow because the black and yellow gives you the impression that is like a hazard sign which people may think is related to the rock/metal genre.

These 3 colours are the regular colours for NME magazine. They are used for the same purpose as the Kerrang magazine colour scheme, the black and white to signify that it is of a rock genre and the strong red to make it stand out. They have used a very strong red to give you the impression that it is kind of like blood
which people may think is related to the metal genre. NME usually mix the colours around for example, one week they will use the red for the masthead and the next week the will use black. But they keep the same colour scheme as it is a well-known magazine so it easily identified when it is in the shop.

These are the regular colours for the magazine “Q”. They are very similar to one of its rival magazines NME. They have used this colour scheme for the very same reason as NME, the black white and grey to make you think it’s a rock genre magazine, and the red to give it some colour and attract the reader but also fits in with genre of the magazine as it is a strong blood red which people may relate to rock.

 

In my magazine, i will attempt to use similar types of colours as these magazines as they seem to be very successful and relate to the genre of their magazine. I am planning to use my house style colours for my front cover and contents page but change the colour scheme for my double page spread as it gives it a bit more variation which appeals to my target audience.

Contents page analysis

Typography

The types of font used in this are both serif and sans serif font. The headings “Regular” and “Kingsize” are written in sans serif font whereas the rest of the text is written in serif font. Most of the text is in capitals to make it stand out on the page.

Layout

This is an unusual contents page as a lot of music magazine contents pages just cover one page but this is a double page spread. On the verso they have just one image but they have a large banner down the side of the page, which tells you what you can find in the magazine. It also tells you what usually comes in the magazine. On the recto, they have lot of images and they have page numbers of what is new and big in this issue.

Colours

The colours of this contents page are very typical of this genre of magazine. They use black and white and use a very strong red to bring out the colour. These colours appeal to their target audience.

Images

The image on the verso is a picture from a live gig. This indicates that there might be review of this gig inside the magazine. This can attract some readers as they may buy magazines for this particular reason. The rest are on the recto which are just pictures of bands, artists and various other things. This suggests that there is just recent band/artist news inside the magazine.

Mode of address

This contents page is informal with its usage of words such as, “kingsize”. You could probably tell from looking at the title that this is a very informal magazine as it is informal in itself with the backwards “E” and the type of font.

Typography

The font style in this contents page is sans serif as it gives the magazine a modern feel. They also use various different font sizes. This is to emphasis on the bigger stories, the bigger the story, the bigger the font. Most of the font is in capitals, which suggests that there is a lot going on the magazine and that it is must-buy issue.

Layout

The layout of this contents page is very cluttered as it has a lot of images in the centre of the page and a lot of text down the sides of the page. This is to show that there is lot read and a lot going on in this magazine. They have separated the articles into different categories such as, news; studio news; reviews etc. This makes it easier for the reader to find something if they looking for something in particular. They have banner at the bottom of the page, which signifies a competition within the magazine.

Colours

The colours on this magazine colour are neutral in terms of the green, yellow and red. This is so it attracts both genders and a range of age groups. These colours also contrast really well so it makes the page easier to read.

Images

All the images are in the centre of the page and are all part of the main story. They all have the same colour scheme and also blend in with the articles colours.

Mode of address

The mode of address is quite informal as it doesn’t necessarily use slang but it uses punctuation like exclamation marks to make it sound exciting and make you want to buy it.

 

Typography

In this contents page they use both serif and sans serif font. This is because this type of magazine includes old and news bands and serif fonts tend to look old fashioned and sans serif fonts are quite modern looking. They also use a range of different font sizes to exaggerate different articles in the magazine. The biggest article is in the biggest font and stands out more so it appeals to the reader.

Layout

Most of this page is taken up by the images related to the main article in the magazine. The rest of the page is text which is on the right hand side of the page. They have included more images than text to show that they main story is very interesting and makes this magazine a must buy.

Colours

The colour scheme of this contents page is what you would expect from a Kerrang magazine. Their main colours usually consist of yellow black and white and this is what this contents page’s is. This is a very good colour scheme as rock artists usually wear black and white clothes so this magazine wants to use them colours but they want another colour which contrasts with these colours and also looks bright to attract the reader, in Kerrangs case, they have used yellow.

Images

Most of the images on this contents page are related to the main story in this magazine. This is to show that it is the main article and what the article is about. Most of the images are of bands and artist and a long shot or a mid-shot is used for most of them. They all have some sort of colour which attracts the reader to the magazine.

Mode of address

The mode of address in this magazine is very informal as it uses swear words and the punctuation makes it informal as it gives the impr

Front cover analysis

Typography

The font styles on this are quite large and all in capitals and this gives the effect that they are shouting and in your face. That’s the impression that this magazine wants to give you because of the genre of the magazine. They have written “AVENGED SEVENFOLD” bigger than the rest as it is big, well known rock/metal band. The fonts are all like big bold block capitals which means that it is a serif font.

Layout

The layout of this cover follows the route of the eye with masthead placed along the top of the cover and the cover lines placed down the side and along the bottom with a large central image in the centre of the page. It is quite an organised and is not cluttered with images and text, nothing is overlapping but the fonts are quite big which makes it look as though there is a lot of information on the cover. It uses the principle of thirds with the cover lines on the left of the page, central image going down the centre and more cover lines on the right of the cover. There is quite a lot more text compared to images which shows there is quite a lot of content in the magazine.

Colours

The colours used on this magazine cover are neutral in terms of the blue background, the yellow and white. Usually Kerrang use dark colours for their magazine covers and bright yellow/ white fonts to make it stand out from the dark background but for this cover I think they are aiming at both male and female and more of an age range.

Images

The central image a lot of the cover and the top of it covers part of the title as it is a well-known magazine so you don’t need to see the whole title. There is an image which is on one of the cover lines which signifies that is an important/interesting article inside. There are also content images at the foot of the cover, this persuades you to buy the magazine as it says that they are posters.

Mode of address

The mode of address on this magazine cover is informal as it uses language like “killer” and “hangover” to describes things such as posters.

 

Typography

Apart from the title of the band, the size of the font in this very small but it contrasts from the background. The font type used in this is serif which gives the cover a kind of old fashioned theme. The size of the font for the cover lines is bigger and bolder than the description underneath to attract the reader so they pay more attention to the cover. This magazine isn’t as in your face as a Kerrang magazine as they don’t use exclamation marks and the text isn’t all in capitals.

Layout

The layout of this follows the route of the eye which makes it easier for the reader. The masthead is placed in the top left hand corner of the cover and part of the central image is covering it. This can be done with this magazine as it is a well-known magazine. This cover also uses the principle of thirds with cover lines on the left and right and central image down the centre of the page.

Colours

The colours on this cover are quite dark. The colour scheme is black, red and white. The red background makes the central image stand out from it with the black coat and the white shadow around the whole image. The red is quite a strong and blood red which makes it stand out as if it was a bright colour.

Images

The central image takes up a lot of the cover. The colours and image are related as it looks as though he is wearing vampire coat and the main colour of the magazine is blood red.

Mode of address

The mode of address in this cover is quite formal. They don’t really use aggressive or slang language.

 

Typography

The type of font used in this cover is sans serif font and the fonts are big and bold which gives the impression that magazine is kind of in your face. This is what kind of image this magazine wants to create because of the genre of the magazine. This impression is also given through the use of the capital letter and exclamation marks.

Layout

Most of this magazine cover is cluttered with big bold text so only the main part of the central image is showing. It follows the route of the eye although the fonts are big and there isn’t really a lot of text. This cover does not use the principle of thirds as the main cover line is spread right across the cover and the rest are just cluttered at the bottom of the cover.

Colours

There are quite a lot of strong colours used in this cover such as the red and yellow. This gives the cover some colour as the central image has very dull and dark colours and the text is just black and white. Most rock artist tend to wear dark colours such as black so this cover wants to use dark colours but at the same time they don’t want to make it too dull so it won’t attract readers.

Images

The central image is a long shot of the band “Slipknot” and it has been edited to make it slightly darker to give the impression that it is a rock/metal magazine. There are also content images for the cover lines to show you what inside.

Mode of address

The mode of address is informal as they use swear words and capital letters and exclamation marks.