Narrowed Down Pictures

Magazine Name Talley

I asked 30 people in my target audience consisting of ages from 13 - 17, what name they preferred as a title for my magazine on the 'pop' genre. 47% of the participants voted for the name 'Impulse' however 'Simply Pop' was second best with an overall of 20%. None of the participants opted for the names 'PoPtastic!', the reason for this could be that the name is perhaps for a younger pop target audience. In conclusion, from my survey, I have decided to call my magazine 'Impulse' as this is what was chosen by the majority of my target audience. It is also short and catchy and contains ambiguous meanings to all aspects of the music genre. 

Possible Magazine Pictures Batch Take 1,2,3

These are the initial set of pictures I have taken for my Magazine front cover, contents or double page spread. 

 

Possible Magazine Names

Kerrang Magazine Analysis

Magazine analysis 2 from Anikayasmiin

Q Magazine Analysis

Why is the title called ‘Q’ and what does this connote?

This monthly magazine was founded by Mark Ellen and David Hepworth who wanted to create a magazine for a generation of older music fans. They originally wanted the masthead of the magazine ‘Cue’ meaning cueing a record however there was also a snooker magazine called ‘Cue’ therefore the name was changed to ‘Q’. This is a form of brand identity as it adds a short ambiguous fun vibe with a modern twist that creates mystery and intrigue to the reader.

The mast head/title analysis
The title is a bold white 'Q' which has been placed on the top left inside a red box which makes both the 'Q' stand out amidst the red background but also the red box stand out amongst the grey background. All this makes it easy for the target audience to recognise the magazine and may intrigue new fans. The title is short, that way it is memorable and sticks to the audiences head, as it builds up an interest in the meaning of the masthead. 'Q' does not have a specified genre in fact, it ranges from rock/pop music that are recent as well as features from older artists, they offer a range of styles which would particularly interest their target audience of both genders above 25.

The strapline analysis

The strapline of the magazine consists of a cover line of an exclusive '17 page special!' feature on the 'Manic Street Preachers'. This has been situated at the top of the magazine in a black, white and grey colour scheme over a medium background this allows the text to stand out which would grab the readers attention. The '17 page special!' has been written in black inside a silver shimmering circle with a black outline. This sort of sticker effect adds an exclusive element to the magazine as they are saying you cannot get a 17 page special on the Manic Street Preachers in any other magazine. 

What is the main image?

The main image consists of a four shot of the indie rock band 'Arctic Monkeys'. They are most likely to be band members that the target audience is fond of, therefore this will allow the magazine to gain more purchases due to fans of the band. There are four members that have been made to look attractive and three of which are not looking directly at the camera however the one that has been placed in the centre is making direct eye contact with the audience. His facial expression is stern yet intriguing, his eye contact towards the audience would make individual members of the target audience  feel 'chosen' out from the rest of the target audience. The house style of the magazine is varied, although they have a signature title 'Q' which is also their brand identity, it is always located in the top left hand corner. A psychological fact is that people tend to read from left to right therefore, the attention is immediately grabbed by the title of the magazine. This links in with the layout of the magazine as the main image usually covers up the title to allow the audience to focus more on them. The band members are wearing dark clothing, allowing the contours of their faces to be highlighted and glisten amongst the magazine. This relates to the colour scheme of the magazine as it is mainly black, white, grey and very little blue and red. This portrays a unisex theme as the target audience is for both male and females. 

What other images appear on the front cover? Why? Apart from the strapline that states the feature of the 'Magic Street Preachers' followed by a picture of them inside another article, there is no other image on the front cover of the magazine. This allows most of the audiences attention to be focused around the main images.

What content is promoted by the cover lines?

The main cover line 'Arctic Monkeys' is about the main images as it has been written in the most largest font compared to the rest of the typefaces. Underneath this there is a short bit of information on what is going to be mentioned about the 'Arctic Monkeys' inside the magazine. 'How broken hands, competing haircuts and a strange voyeurism helped make their best album yet.'. Notice how they have mentioned a juxtaposition in their sentence as so many bad things have resulted for their 'best record yet', this contradicting sentence gives hope to the reader yet also makes them want to know exactly what had happened. This is also a form of advertising the album whilst making readers interested in the story behind it.

Explain the connotations of typefaces (fonts), graphics, colours etc
The font they have used is sans serif and everything has been written in white or grey and has been underlined in red, this gives the magazine more of an edgy look and allows the words to clearly stand out. Most of the magazine has been written in capital letters as though it is shouting right at the audience. There is usually a sub heading that is written in bold compared to the rest of the text, the reason for this could be so that the main information can be captured by the reader first so that they can read the rest afterwards.

What sort of language/language features/ language devices can you identify?
How does the cover talk to the audience?
Unlike other music magazines, the language is not personal therefore it is not speaking directly to the reader.There actually is not a lot on the front cover of the magazine. There is a bold grey sub heading of 'Richard Branson' and underneath this is a quote from him that would interest the reader. A few bands are mentioned at the bottom of the magazine next to a blue +. Although they have been written in a much smaller font size than the rest of the magazine. It has been written in third person which is a traditional method of speaking thus linking to the sophisticated look of the magazine.

Does the cover look similar to other magazines? If so why? What is its unique selling point?

The cover does look different to other magazines as they are usually packed with cover lines whereas 'Q' is rather spacious and most of the cover lines have been written at the bottom of the magazine. The colour scheme of the magazine is different to other magazine such as 'Kerrang' and 'NME' however this is because magazines such as 'Kerrang' and 'NME' have a certified target audience whereas 'Q' is a hybrid magazine which means they contain aspects of all genres

Is there anything else distinctive about this cover/format?
There is a clear colour scheme which allows the audience easily identify the magazine and the cover lines of what the magazine features. 

How many pages are there?
140 pages, this shows that it is a monthly magazine.

How many pages of adverts?
28 pages, this is about 20% of the magazine.

Categorise the products advertised into types

Perfume advert on hugo boss this connotes the wealth of the target audience. 
Albums - 'M1ke + The MeChaN1C5', 'Pearl Jam' 'Birdy by Fire Within'
'Nirvana' 20th Anniversary editions box set
New singles - 'Two Door Cinema Club'
'Metallica Through The Never' film advert
Jack Daniels alcohol advert
Skull Candy headphones
Phillips laser advert
'Q' deals
Many tour dates including 'Chase and Status' 'Franz Ferdinand' and 'Basement Jaxx'
Clothing, watches and phone cases
All these adverts are revolved around music or the hybrid genre of the magazine.

Make a list of the features/article topics in the magazine - Arctic Monkeys
- Manic Street Preachers
- Lady Gaga
- Metallica
- Sir Richard Brandson
- Nirvana
- Bill Bailey
- White Lies
- Elliott Smith
- Haim
- Rizzle Kicks
- Johnny Marr
- The Q Review
- Live - Green day
- New Albums
- Reissues
- Film

How many double page spreads are they? What are they about?

There are 11 double page spreads, however most of these exceeded the double page limit.
- Lady Gaga's new album
- Metallica's new feature film
- Brian Sewell's critical view on art works by rock stars
- Jake Bugg a new found artist
- John Newman
- 'Cash for Questions' Richard Branson
- Nirvana's progress
- Arctic Monkeys
- Elliott Smith's Death
- Rizzle Kicks go karting ordeal
- How Manic Street Preachers became the ultimate rock band

Are there any advertorials where it is not clear if something is an article or an advert or a mixture of both?
Although this is hard to tell, the 'Q' review contains reviews on latest albums and gadgets which is a form of promotion as the target audience get to see which gadget, item or album is worth their money. 

How does the magazine achieve a unified ‘house style’? Think about language and mode of address, colour scheme and graphical elements  & why is this house style appropriate to the target audience? what assumptions does it imply about the target audience?

The magazine does have a unified house style consisting of colours such as black, grey, white, blue and red. This conveys a classy yet edgy look to it and ensures there is no specific genre or a specific gender that the hybrid magazine is targeted towards. The darker colours allow the lighter colours to stand out which makes it easier for the reader to identify the key topics. Some would say the magazine looks rather dull however considering the target audience is for over 25's, the magazine has a sophisticated yet modern look to it. The textual language has been written in sans serif in colours including white, black and grey it is also in  third person so it has not been directed straight towards the audience.

Preliminary Task

Formal Brief

Formal Brief 

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP.

Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine (if done as group task, each member of the group to produce an individual edition of the magazine, following the same house style).