ANNOTATION OF PROFESSIONAL

MAGAZINE Front cover

MASTHEAD The magazine I used was Q magazine, which is an indie rock

magazine. The masthead is in the top left hand corner of the front cover

and is clearly the biggest piece of text on the page. The magazine also has a positioning statement which is

located above the masthead of the magazine, which reads ‘the worlds greatest music magazine’.

Q magazine is a well known magazine which could have its masthead covered by the main image slightly. However in this issue of the magazine the masthead is in no way covered by the image. The music magazine I produce will not be a well known magazine and therefore I will also make sure the masthead is fully on display and not covered in any way.

The text used for the Q is simple, yet affective as it is bold and unique to the front cover, suggesting the Q magazine are trying to make a brand and this text won’t be used anywhere else on the front cover or inside the magazine.

IMAGE The main image used for this magazine is an image of a

musical artist associate with the genre of music that Q stand for.

The image uses direct address which allows interaction with the audience.

The image used is a mid-shot as it shows from the waist up of the artist.

Some magazines use other subsidiary images to illustrate other articles in the magazine, however this issue of Q does not. This could be said to be a drawback of this front cover as if the audience aren’t at all interested in Florence they may decided not the buy the magazine. When making my magazine front cover including subsidiary images may be something to consider.

It is clear that no text is covering up the artists face on the front cover. This is so the reader knows that the main article of this magazine will be about Florence.

COVERLINES The main coverline of the magazine anchors

the image of Florence as it is the second largest piece of text on the front cover and is in a bold colour to make it stand out, like the masthead yet is in a different font to the masthead.

The main subline of the magazine again anchors the image stating that Florence ‘wants to reach out and touch you’ which relates back to the main Image of the artist reaching out as a pose.

Other coverlines and sublines include other feature articles of the magazine and sometimes regular articles.

PUFFS On the chosen magazine I decided to

analyse there was a puff located on the front cover to illustrate an important selling point of the magazine.

This helps the audience immediately see that piece of text located in the puff

A puff is essentially just a shape that acts as a textbox on the magazine front of the magazine which instantly make the piece of text stand out from the rest due to the different background and isolation.

COLOUR SCHEME Every magazine has a colour scheme which is followed

for the front cover, contents page and sometimes the double page spread.

The issue of Q I have decided to analyse is no different and also follows a colour scheme of red, white and different shades of pinks.

A colour scheme allows the presentation of a magazine look professional and also make sure that colours aren't used that would clash with one another.

Sticking to a certain number of colours (usually 3 or 4) makes the magazine look more simple and therefore clearer to the audience.

To make key features stand out (such as main coverline and masthead) the colour scheme will usually consist of at least one bright colour.

BUZZWORDS Buzzwords are designed to hook the reader and

advertise a certain feature of what the magazine has to offer in the issue.

In this issue of Q buzzwords such as ‘new’ ‘plus’ and ‘special’ are used to illustrate certain articles

Another way in which buzzwords can be used is to trick the reader in to thinking that they are getting more for their money when buying their magazine. For example in Q the buzzword ‘plus’ may be used in a way to make the reader believe this part of the magazine shouldn’t be included, however it is anyway almost acting as a freebie.

BARCODE The barcode of this issue of Q is located in

the bottom right hand corner of the front cover, however sometimes the barcode is located on the left side.

The barcode usually contains the price, issue number and a website.

The website allows the audience of the magazine to express their interests online and build a platform on social media for the magazine.

The issue number is how many issues of the magazine have been published.

Masthead

The main image

Main coverline

Other coverlines

Puff

Buzzwords

Barcode

Positioning statement

Direct address