Research into existing texts

What we want our product to look like

We are going to base our magazine on NME because we feel as it would suit our audience more as we are aiming at younger adults or teenagers. NME have quite busy, chaotic front covers which is what we are aiming to do with our front cover. Looking into different NME covers the main image is always the artist and makes it obvious of who they are which is what we want our magazine to do. Like the front cover below it looks busy and the colour scheme stands out which is what we think our audience would like due to the audience research we have done.

We will analyse this NME front cover with the Q front cover below.

Colour

Both front covers use the colour scheme of black, white and red. This makes both magazines look more chaotic and dramatic. This would appeal to an audience as it would stand out and intrigue them to read it. It could also suggest that the magazines are aimed at the younger generation because of the colours it uses. However NME adds yellow into its front cover to make it stand out even more. This also fits into the house style of NME as most of their magazines include red and yellow. The use of yellow also makes the magazine look more vibrant and interesting whereas Q uses the colour scheme to make it look more sophisticated and simple.

Fonts

NME uses 2 different fonts on the front cover. However both fonts look similar and stand out. NME mainly uses bold and blocky fonts to make the magazine stand out and look more dramatic. Whereas Q uses a variety of different fonts as some of the fonts are swirly and flouncy but it also includes blocky and bold fonts to make a statement at the same time. We are going to use similar fonts to NME as we think they will fit better with our target audience and we want our magazine to make a statement.

Images

The images are different in both covers. NME uses a mid-shot to show the bands image and has images as anchorage around to fit with the chaotic theme and makes it look more vibrant and colourful. Whereas Q uses one main image in black and white to stick with the simple and sophisticated theme. This helps to give the impression that Q is a high class music magazine for older adults. On the other hand NME is busy and hectic suggesting it is aimed at the younger more energetic generation.

Layout

The layout on both magazines are pretty similar. Both magazines have the title of the magazine in the left hand corner. This could be a connotation of music magazines and that they keep their title in the same place. NME has a very hectic layout and includes lots of different anchorage with different coloured backgrounds to fit with the layout and make the magazine look busy to fit with its target audience. Whereas Q uses a simple and neat layout with most of the anchorage down one side with the same colours for all the different headlines. This suits the target audience for the magazine as it is aimed at a higher class generation so the magazine have gone for a simple layout.

Price

NME costs between £2-£3. This price is in the middle class of most magazines. This is a reasonable price which shows it is aimed at middle class people. Also it is better for the younger target audience as they will be able to afford it. Whereas Q is £3 which is more expensive suggesting that is supposed to be aimed at the higher class and the older generation as they will be able to afford it.

Name

NME (New Musical Express) is a very simple and effective name. This will make it stand out compared to other magazines as it is well recognised. The name NME makes a statement and is very bold which could suggest it wants to find new readers by standing out to other magazines to make people notice it and want to read it. In comparison to Q which is very simplistic and does not stand out on a front cover suggesting that it is aimed at an audience that already know about Q as it doesn’t need to make a statement. It also fits with the high class generation it is aimed at and fits with the layout and looks simplistic.

Analysing contents page

Words/layout

Both magazines use different colours and fonts throughout the contents page. The different colours and fonts help to split the contents into sections to make the page easier to read. The right hand side of NME and the left hand side of Q break the magazines down into sections so the reader can find the bits they are most likely to be interested in. NME also includes an index on the contents page to help the reader find the words or articles they are interested in. This makes it more likely to buy and read the magazine as they know it includes articles they want to see. Both magazines also include a features section which tells the reader what else the magazine features. NME also has a section at the bottom advertising their subscriptions, this is a good idea as it entices the reader to subscribe as it works out cheaper. Q still keeps it style simple but effective on the contents page. It only uses 3 fonts and only large text on the main headlines. This fits in with the magazine as a whole as the words fit with the sophisticated style and appeal to the audience as they want a higher class magazine. Both magazines include page numbers to help the reader skip to the articles they are interested in.

Images

Both magazines use one main image. This could be because they want the audience to read their main article as the image used on the contents page relates to their main story within the magazine. Q use one more image to try and attract the audience to also read that article as well. I think NME contents pages would look better with more images to attract a wider audience to the magazine and make the magazine look more hectic to fit in with their front covers. Whereas one simple image on Q’s magazine looks better and fits in with what their aim is and looks simplistic like their front covers.

Colours

The colours used in NME contents page are black, white and red like the front cover. This helps to make the magazine look connected and keeps a house style throughout the magazine. This helps add to the hectic and busy layout. The headlines are black which makes them stands out and draws the readers in to read them. Q also uses the same colours as its front cover to add to its simple and sophisticated which would be good for its audience as it is sustaining what they would like within a magazine.

Headlines

NME uses bold headlines like ‘NME THIS WEEK’ this makes it stand out to an audience and like this week’s edition is exciting and not the same as all the rest. This would make the audience want to read it. Headlines are used throughout the contents page to make it easier for a reader to find the bits they are interested in. Similarly Q does the same thing by breaking the contents down into headlines to make it easier for an audience to find what they want. However Q’s headlines do not stand out as much as they are trying to fit in with their style of simplistic and sophisticated look. So the use of not bold headlines fits in with their overall look.

Layout

The layout on NME is similar to the front cover. It uses a lot of text with different types of bold font and it uses one main image. This helps to fit in with the theme of the magazine and makes it look more chaotic and busy. The text is around the image suggesting that the image is the main feature and the text is the anchorage to support the image. Q’s layout is similar to NME and uses one main image with text supporting it. However, the text used looks more sophisticated and does not stand out as much. This fits in with the theme of Q magazines to attract a higher class audience to the magazine.

House Style

The house style on all NME pages stays the same. Its aim is to look hectic and chaotic to attract a younger target audience. NME uses this house style in all issues of their magazine to sustain the audience they have as they know the audience like the layout used. Similarly, Q uses the same house style in all their issues of the magazine. This is also for the same reason as NME to sustain the readers they have and please their audience. Their house style is a sophisticated and simple look to attract to their higher class target audience.

Analysing the Article

Images

The image used in NME’s article is a mid-shot of the two main people used within the article. It uses a lot of colours and is set outside, this suggests that they wanted the image to look more natural with the use of the greenery in the background instead of a posy photoshoot of the band. This could show that the band ‘we are scientists’ are down to earth and are not trying to be on show. Whereas Q, uses an image of Cheryl Cole posing for the camera, this suggests that a photoshoot has been set up to take these images. This shows that Cheryl Cole is artificial and wants to stand out from the crowd.

Language

NME uses a Q&A as their main article and it uses quite informal language. For example, ‘bring alcohol and you can hang with us.’ This suggest that NME is more of a chatty magazine and is fitting in with NME’s target audience. As a younger audience would be more used to reading informal language. Whereas Q uses formal language and is one big story about article which suggests that their target audience would appreciate more writing and want a proper story to read. So Q uses more writing in their articles to fit with their audiences preferences.

Layout

The layout of NME’s article pages look very bold and make a statement. The use of the red boxes and bold writing makes it look more appealing to the target audience. The layout also looks chatty as it sets it out in question and answers making it easier for an audience to read it. It also uses a large image of the band to make them stand out. This could suggest that NME wanted the image to be the main feature in this article. Similarly, Q uses a big image to fill one page which also suggest that it is the main feature of the magazine and show that the whole article is about Cheryl Cole. Q also uses another image on the article suggesting that their audience appreciates more photos to make the big block of text more appealing to read as the images draw you into the article. Q also uses a big red ‘C’ in the background. This gives the article more excitement and makes it look quite bold and interesting. This helps add to the overall look of the magazine as even though it uses a bold statement in the background the article still manages to look neat and simple which would appeal to the target audience.

Font

NME uses bold fonts to ensure that it stands out to the readers and draws their attention to the article. ‘We want answers’ is in the boldest and biggest text on the whole article, which makes a clear to an audience that the article is a Q&A session with a band. The questions are wrote in a bold font whereas the answer is in a simple font. This would be to show easily where to question ends and the answer begins, this would be helpful for NME’s target audience as they can easily tell the difference making the article easier to read as they don’t have to spend time finding the question and answers. Whereas Q uses a smaller font for the title and looks very simple suggesting that the article doesn’t need to make a statement and is just fitting in with the whole theme of the magazine. Q uses its whole article in one small serif font which makes it look more sophisticated and simple. This would appeal to their target audience as they don’t want fancy font and are more interested in the article itself and what it has to say. So the article does not need to stand out and make a statement as the higher class audience are more interested in the actual text rather than the layout of the article and the excitement of the different sizes and styles of fonts.

Representation of the artists in the article

NME uses the band ‘we are scientists’ which are not a commonly known band suggesting that the younger generation want to learn more about artists who aren’t famous celebrities. The image shows them having a good time and just messing about and enjoying life. This would appeal to the target audience as a

younger generation would want to enjoy life and would look up to how celebrities can even enjoy life and have fun. However it could influence the younger generation in the wrong way as it shows the band talking about alcohol. This would give the wrong impression to young adults and they would look up to the band for the wrong reasons. Whereas Q uses a well-known artist ‘Cheryl Cole’. This suggest that the audience would rather learn about recognised artists and that Q is a more classy magazine and stick to the pop artists to appeal their readers.

Style

The overall style of NME’s article is quite bold and makes a statement. The use of the images, fonts, language and overall layout stick to the theme of whole theme of NME magazines. This is to appeal a younger audience, it does this by making it look hectic and busy to give the readers a lot to look at which doesn’t make them get bored of the magazine straight away. Whereas Q’s overall style of the magazine is quite neat and simple. This would appeal to their target audience as a higher class generation would appreciate the text within the magazine more than the big bold fonts and images.