Colour scheme

The colour scheme is based around the colours pink and yellow, but there are quite a lot of other colours used, therefore portraying a fun type of magazine. It also suggests the target audience is probably young teenage girls, or those aged about 10 – 13. The many colours makes the magazine appear very busy and interesting to look at, which could persuade people to buy it.

Features

Text boxes have been used to separate different sections of the magazine, and it means it doesn’t have huge blocks of information for the reader to have to sift through to find what they are trying to read about. The top of each text box has a subheading to show what the pages in the box are about, and the subheadings are larger so they stand out to the reader. The text boxes mean that the page has some organisation.

Images

There doesn’t appear to be one main image on this contents page. There are two; one showing the front of the magazine and one of a pop band. The way that a pop band is shown could also represent what type of person would read this magazine; one that enjoys pop music. The pictures are scattered all over the page and this could symbolise the laid back style of this magazine.

Selling line

There is a ‘wins and offers’ box, which is a way that the producer of the magazine is trying to persuade the reader to buy it. It intrigues the reader to skip to that page and win amazing prizes or get offers for things they may be interested in. It is another way of selling the product, as even if some of the articles aren’t of interest to the reader , they might still buy the magazine because it means they have a chance of winning free things. It might also make them believe that it is better value, as they might believe they getting more for their money.

General layout

The layout is very busy and girlie, which may attract the reader, as it is definitely not dull! There are lots of pictures and colour, and numbers are used to clearly show where the different articles are in the magazine. It means although the layout isn’t simple, the reader should still clearly know where each different feature is in relation to the rest of the magazine, as the page number is given. I think the layout is very age and target audience appropriate, as if it was really plain and boring, a 10-13 year old girl probably wouldn’t buy it.

Banner

The banner, informs the audience what the page is showing. The contrast of the white text and pink background makes the banner stand out considerably, even though the page is very busy anyway. The fact the text is also bigger than the rest on the page emphasizes it, and makes the reader notice it instantly. The word ‘mag’ could also make the target audience identify with the magazine, as it is a word that typically a teenage girl would probably use.

Colour scheme

The main colours used in this contents page are black and grey, and these are both effective as they blend with the light grey background, to produce a very classy and subtle look to the magazine. This could therefore make the reader associate the classy look with the actual theme of the magazine, and make them want to read on.

Main image

The main image of Kanye West is central to the contents page, and suggest o the reader that he may be featured in the magazine. The red heart being held in front of Kanye’s adds some warmth to the otherwise quite cold looking page. It could suggest that the magazine’s theme could be love. The shot uses a direct mode of address, therefore making the audience connect with it, as Kanye is staring straight at the reader.

General Layout

The general layout of this magazine is quite simple and this makes it easy for the reader to see what is included in the magazine. All of the text is down the right hand side, which adds a clear and sophisticated edge to the style of this magazine contents page.

Subheadings

The subheadings used in the contents page are in a different font and are bigger than the majority of the text. This makes them stand out, and it means the audience understand exactly where they need to look to see what is in the magazine and where the fashion pages are in the magazine.

Background

The background uses two different tones of grey, to coincide with the main colour scheme. It consists of a large grey ‘V’. The contrast of the two grey’s almost create s a brand identity, as it is instantly recognisable to the normal readers of the magazine, and this therefore promotes the magazine in its own way. It is different to most magazine content’s pages, as it only has the title ‘Contents’ and it doesn’t have a specific one relevant to a certain article in the magazine.

Title

The title of the contents page is laid out in in a very different way to most magazine contents pages. The word is split into three different lines, which draws the reader’s attention to it, and makes them wonder why it is. It fits into the style of the contents page as it makes the writing all on the right hand side, and the writing is a lot bigger than the rest of the text, to emphasize to the reader that it is important, and shows what the page is about.

Banner

The banner along the top of the page, allows the reader to clearly see that this page is showing what is featured in the magazine. The black background allows both the ‘Contents’ text and the ‘Q’ to stand out to the reader. The date is also shown on the right hand-side as it is less important and therefore is in smaller text.

Colour scheme

The colour scheme used is mainly red, black and white. The main image used uses a slight variation of this, but mainly the page consists of those three colours. The colour scheme keeps the page looking simple, and means that the text stands out, as the background for writing is generally white, apart from the subheadings and banner, which makes that those stand out more.

Sidebar

The sidebar consists of clear features of the magazine in an easy way for the audience to read. It also uses clear numbers, so the reader can skip to any page that takes their interest. There is also a box used to emphasize the ‘Oasis special’ and this makes the audience aware of the special articles in the magazine focused on Oasis. The sidebar is all down the left-hand side of the page to leave room for the big picture to the right. It is set out in a very simple way, but is very effective.

Sub-article

This uses a sub-heading of ‘review’ and this shows exactly what it’s about to the reader. It also uses a smaller image to create interest from the reader, and uses the selling line, ‘The biggest and best music guide’ which creates the magazine article with a unique selling point. Most importantly though, it makes the reader think that no other magazine will have an article about this, that is better than this one, which may make them want to read this article, and judge if they think it is the best one they’ve read or not.

Subheadings

These are in a white font with a red background. This creates a contrast of colour and makes them stand out. The colour red has many connotations, such as danger and passion, but in this case I think it just points out the key features and emphasizes the importance of them to the reader in the magazine.

Main image

The main image is placed towards the right-hand side of the page, and shows one of the bands featured. It is large which suggests it could be one of the main articles in the magazine, and this could intrigue the reader to skip to this page and see what is so important about this article. The picture used is a long shot of four people, whom are all looking directly at the reader, apart from one, and this is to try and connect with the audience. The men in the image are stood on a hillside which suggests they are rural, and the way they are casually dressed means the audience may be able to identify with them.

Button

The button, ‘NME loves’, emphasizes the importance of the article to the reader, and encourages them to read on. The way it is in a different shaped text box to anything else on the page, also makes it look like it is something the reader should take interest in.

Main image

The main image is quite busy, and this is to interest the reader and make them want to read the article. The way the boys are positioned in the image is in a way that tries to connect with the audience, as it is a relatively relaxed scenario, and the way they are staring directly at the reader, could also help connect with them. It takes up a full A4 page, which could help the article stand out as when flicking through the magazine, the image would probably be more obvious than other, smaller, images.

Colour scheme

The colour scheme of this double page spread is blue, black and white. I think this works well, as the headings and key features are generally consistent in being blue, which therefore means the reader can clearly see which bits are key information to read. The way that all the colours can be layered with each other and still stand out, shows that the colour choice was a good one, for example; there is both black writing layered on blue and white writing layered on black. Both stand out considerably well.

Main Cover line

This is made to stand out via the blue background and bold black writing which contrasts this. I think the colour blue has been chosen as the main picture in the article is of three boys, and the colour blue is often associated with males. I think the way it states ‘The Teenagers’ could also be showing what the target audience is for the magazine, as well as showing which band the article is about. It will intrigue teenagers to read it, to see what is being said about them.

Subheading

The subheading doesn’t actually sound particularly appealing to the reader, as it calls the target audience – teenagers, ‘dumb’. However this could actually entice the reader to connect with the magazine as it uses language that is associated with teenagers, therefore could make it more relatable and personal for them.

Sidebar

The sidebar uses a different coloured background, to symbolise to the reader how the information on the sidebar isn’t actually related to the band in the main article. The smaller images on the sidebar create interest for the reader, as if it was all text, it may look a bit boring, and plain.