Magazine MastheadsZoe Ramsdale-Clark

Spin is a word that can instantly be linked to the term ‘Music’. When thinking of the word Spin and what it could mean I immediately think of things such as records and DJ’s. The typography that is used for this masthead is something quite simple but stands out well with the white font which contrasts against the red background.

White signifies purity and peacefulness whilst the colour red has contrasting connotations of danger and passion which could be connoting ones love and passion for music.

NME is an acronym for New Musical Express. The use of an acronym for the masthead is extremely catchy because it is extremely memorable. The double outline which is around the edge of the red, bold font makes the masthead stand out extremely well against the background of the front cover. Like the previous masthead, red is also a colour used in the font which signifies passion and love for possibly music. This is a colour that is commonly used in the mastheads for music magazines. I like that the font ‘Impact’ has been used because ironically, it is extremely punchy and impactful.

Drowned in Sound is an extremely good name for a music magazine and is possibly my favourite as I love that it is quite punchy and extremely effective. The image in the ‘O’ shows someone drowning, which links back to the name of this magazine of someone being drowned in music.

The use of the colour pink in the word ‘Sound’ suggests that the target audience of this magazine is females, possibly younger females as it tends to be a colour liked by teenage girls stereotypically.

Q magazine is an alternative rock magazine. I believe that the choice of having a masthead doubled as a logo is extremely effective as it can be used as a label and can be instantly recognised by readers. Again, the colour red has been used which signifies love and passion, this contrasts the white coloured typography in the foreground which stands out well against the blood red colour. I like the simplistic and minimalistic design that has been chosen because I think that it fits in well with the mature audience that they’re targeting.

Billboard is a charts magazine which is sold across the United States. The bold, black typography stands out well against the primary colours used to fill in the centres of some of the letters. I believe that the use of a little colour is very effective as it makes the rounded letters look like records which is symbolic as this is a music magazine.

I believe that choosing a sans serif font makes the masthead seem more impactful and bold which is something that editors will want as they want to attain large circulation figures.