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, for example the image on the left, in this case the lack of colour makes the masthead stand out and therefore, consumers look straight at the magazine’s masthead when on the shelf and in competition with others -this happens rarely e.g. the NME cover on the left is an anniversary special

…the colour theme plays a big part in making the magazine look professional…

Audience: Based on the colour theme alone, the audience can 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 magazine’s lead story

Looking at the colours present on this cover, the features shown in the top strip, (sport, cars), and the lead story it’s easy to see that this magazine is targeting a male audience

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

Using Sylvester Stallone as the central image, along with the use of language relevant to his ‘hard man’ persona, attracts a male audience as he is seen as an icon –due to playing specific roles in films such as Rocky Balboa in the Rocky film series- males aspire to be like him and this image could also attract a female audience as women want him

By opting to use a colour theme in their cover ‘Shortlist’ is, in my opinion, successful in making their magazine look professional

The magazine is aimed more at the female market as it uses the dominant, stereotypical, ‘girly’ colour pink as well as using two females in the main image

Masthead

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

Images used to accompany the magazine’s features in the left third, make the magazine even more appealing to buyers as they are able to gain a clearer insight into what the magazine has to offer at first glance

Left Third -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 reader feel comfortable, this makes them want to continue reading the magazine due to the fact that they are able to understand and relate to the language being used

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

The pug usually informs readers of the magazine’s price, issue no, release date and, in specific pugs, the magazine’s website

Masthead :The bold font makes the masthead 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 of the masthead, this shows that the magazine is popular enough that it doesn’t have to continually show the full masthead on every issue in order for the reader to recognise it

Left Third:Contents of the magazine shown in the left third uses a standard font in the colour white on a black part of the background, this is so that it is clear to read, as apart from the main attraction which, in this case, is Madonna, the left third is the first thing that is seen when on the shelves and the clearer it is the more likely the reader is to continue reading

Strap line:Q: Britain’s Biggest Music Magazine

Headline:It uses the biggest and boldest font as it is promoting the lead story

Main Image:This image is relative to the headline enabling readers to make the connection between the two (Headline: Kings of Leon Breakthrough –Main Image: Kings of Leon breaking through glass). It is the first thing that is seen, therefore it has to be the most interesting part of the entire cover. The central image is usually of a well known/popular person such as a celebrity or act and this is done to attract more readers

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 magazine’s 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

This page is not instantly recognisable as a contents page as it does not have the usual ‘Contents’ title introducing it as a contents page like most other magazines. However, we are able to identify it as a contents page mainly due to the list of page numbers, in bold so they can be seen, as well as the images that give the reader a ‘taste’ of what is within the magazine

The ‘loud’ colour pink captures the readers attention

The bottom strip, similar to the bottom strip of the front cover, make known the offer(s) that are aimed to appeal to readers.

The outsized section used for page one is out of proportion to the remaining pages, signifying 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

The font is the largest on the page making the offer stand out and difficult to miss, or even ignore

The consistent colour palette makes the 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 they are looking at contains

The image is big enough to show the importance of the article yet it is balanced out by the rest of the magazine’s 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 by clear headings e.g. ‘every month’, breaking the magazine up and helping it be organised and easy for the reader to follow.

The colours used to do this usually make the section stand out from the rest of the text, these colours usually stay within the colour theme making it easy to locate articles and also look appealing to readers

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

The few images on this page, allows the reader to focus and pay closer attention to the small amount 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 when there is too much text

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 usually 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 magazine’s 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 reader

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 are not well known)

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

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 shorter articles has white text on black backing

Exclusive:A particular story that no other magazine has which makes the reader feel like they’re reading something no one else knows; it’s as if they are being let in on a secret and as in this case the article is a world exclusive the reader would know the secret before the world

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 the reader is able to become engrossed in the article, making

them want to read on, which results in them visiting the magazine’s website to find out more A quote replaces the heading

and the words ‘THE BEST MCR’ is in a bigger font and also 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 in 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 how can I (the consumer) become that happy?

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