RESEARCHING MAGAZINES

The masthead of Q does not take up the whole of the top of the magazine; i t is only placed in the corner. This is how Q are known to have their masthead and it is the same on every issue. However, on this part icular issue, the logo is sl ightly diff erent as i t has the eff ect that is is being smashed out of the magazine. This is done special ly to go along with the main image on the magazine.

MASTHEADThe t i t le or logo normal ly across the top of the magazine

The masthead of ROCK SOUND is in contrast to Q as i t goes across the whole width of the top of the magazine. The ROCK SOUND logo/masthead is a lways the same but changes colour depending on the colours within the main image. On this part icular issue, her head is not behind the masthead which may show that the magazine is not popular enough to have the t i t le covered. However, on other issues of th is magazine, part of the t i t le is covered by the main image. This may just be done depending on the image, and the certa in issues.

Q has an obvious sel l l ike of “THE UK’S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE”. This wi l l help to sel l the magazine to the audience which is the job of a sel l l ine.

This wi l l most l ikely be on every recent issue of the magazine (as i t has been changed a few t imes through out the years).

However, i t is not in the same place on every issue. For example…

SELL LINES (SLOGAN)Text on the cover that he lps to se l l the magaz ine to the audience.

This magazine does not have an obvious sel l l ine l ike Q. I t is a very busy magazine but this brand does not have a “slogan” that i t uses on every magazine or on other platforms. I t has diff erent information on each magazine.

HOUSE STYLE - QA magazines dist inctive design that dist inguishes i t from its competitors

The house style of Q is quite s imi lar on every issue of the magazine. The colour scheme includes b lack, white, red and grey. The main colour is red which is a very versat i le colour and can be used to represent a lot of d iff erent th ings. Danger is a popular representat ion of red which goes wel l with rock music . This magazine has a dark background which makes the contrast ing colours of the main text (red and white) stand out and makes them easy to read.

The magazine is not very busy in terms of lots of text everywhere and use of a lot of d iff erent colours.

Using a s imi lar house sty le on every issue of the magazine makes the magazine instant ly recognizable on the shel f.

HOUSE STYLE – ROCK SOUNDA magazines dist inctive design that dist inguishes i t from its competitors

The o lder vers ions o f rock sound d id not fo l low a part icu lar house sty le and i t var ied a lo t f rom issue to issue. Even the text used in the masthead d iff ered.

On the newer issues, the mast head is cons is tent and so is the main layout o f the cover. In format ion is a lways most ly d isp layed down the le ft s ide o f the page and posters d isp layed across the top.

The co lour o f the masthead var ies depending on the main p ic ture on the magazine and the co lours used on the rest o f the cover a lso re late to the p ic ture.

On th is part icu lar i ssue, the main co lours used are s imi lar to ‘Q’ ; Red and white . However , in contrast to ‘Q’ , th is cover is very busy us ing lo ts o f d iff erent co lours to make d iff erent in format ion and aspects s tand out aga inst the others . There is a lso a lo t o f in format ion on th is cover mak ing i t qu i te busy. Th is may help to se l l the magazine as i t very eye catch ing.

Even though the house sty le d iff ers on most issues , the magazine is s t i l l recognizab le as i t i s ind iv idua l f rom any other magazine and has a certa in look to i t that i t mainta ins on the cover o f each issue.

The main headline of both of these magazines relates directly to the main picture. “Muse” and “Paramore” are the biggest words on these covers and those are

the bands in the pictures. Both of these headlines are also written in white as this makes them stand out

from most dark or busy backgrounds. Kerrang’s headline used a faded red banner behind the name “Paramore” as this helps it to stand out even more

against the chaotic background.

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