MEDIA ASMUSIC MAGAZINE ANAYLSING

By Yasmin Douglas

COVER. ‘Q’ I have chosen to analyze Q magazine, due to the fact this specific cover is rather intriguing and not your stereo typical cover because it has an

extreme close up Lana Del Rey’s face.

The magazine works well due to the simplicity and colour scheme, such as the red with the ‘Q’ masthead and the red blood on her face.

The main story ‘Everybody’s mad for Lana Del Ray, What’s so bloody good?’ works well due to the fact the ‘bloody’ relates to the blood on her face and it makes the magazine stand out. Lana Del Rey’s name is

in bold to suggest the main story is about her.

The photography and the text engage the reader due to the simplicity and freshness.

The text in the far right next to the barcode in my opinion doesn’t work because it’s rather small and you can’t really notice it because of the

other bold context.

The masthead is vibrant on the left hand side because when the magazine is place on a shelf in a shop, you can see the mast head

clearly. The red symbolizes energy, passion and violence, and is contrasted with the elegant face of Lana Del Rey.

‘Q’ magazine normally has photography of bands and lots of writing, so this edition is rather unique and I like it due to the uniqueness and

colours.

CONTENTS. ‘Q’

The contents page is rather simple and clean, which is effective because it is easy to read and easy to work out what’s what.

Again, they have used the theme of red followed from the Masthead onto the contents page, we can see this by the red colour band with ‘features’ on, the red ‘Blob’, to symbolize which magazine it is, the large red boxes with page numbers in and the quote is also in red.

This theme follows through the magazine each time to represent the Q magazine itself.

The main story images have been placed on the contents page to enhance the importance of them, and to show what is actually in the

issue. They have been placed in a clean simple way so it’s easy to make out what’s where.

I like the fact that the feature stories are all on the left hand column because again, it’s easy to read and looks professional, not messy. The

layout has been well organized and well thought about.The Lana Del Rey story image is larger than the cover line images

because it’s the more important story. (Lead Story)

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD. ‘Q’

As you can see, the red ‘blob’ is on each and every page of the ‘Q’ magazine, the show that it is ‘Q’ magazine, and it remains red

throughout each article.

I like this double page spread because of the page of photography, I like the image because of the colours and the pose; it’s striking and

draws your attention.

I also admire the very large ‘S’, on the story page, they have used this to add impact and too add more detail, because if not it would have been rather boring. They have used ‘S’, because the story starts with

the letter ‘S’.

The article is in neat columns and looks professional and clean. Even though it is rather simple, it still looks effective and easy to read.

The black and white look like a newspaper article and this also helps the article look professional.

In my opinion, I think more colour should have been added to add more drama and less boring.

The shot of Lana Del Rey is a close up of her face.

COVER. ‘WIRE’This magazine cover is very simplistic, but at the same time effective,

this is due to the photography, masthead and use of font.

The masthead is bold, large and over the main image which draws more attention to the masthead. The colour grey is subtle and blends

in well with the colour scheme and photography. The masthead has a heavy weight to it, which also makes it masculine.

The cover line, ‘Flying Lotus’, is over lapping the masthead which is effective because you can’t miss any information; it’s all in the same

area and easy to read.

The lead line text is rather masculine and doesn’t use sans serif. The font is easy to read and clean. The chosen colour for the text: white, is

effective because it stands out, it’s much brighter than any other colour on the front cover.

The photography is my favorite feature, this is because it’s unique and wacky, it draws you into the magazine because it’s so different.

The magazine itself looks professional, clean and inviting.The camera shot/angle, is a medium close up, which most magazines

use.

In my opinion, I think more text should have been added so the free space would be used up, because it looks unfinished!

CONTENTS. ‘WIRE’

I like the contents purely because again, it’s simple. The theme, simplicity, runs throughout this magazine.

I like the ordered columns, everything is easy to read and easy to find.

In my opinion, I feel that this page needs much more detail, they could have added more colours to brighten it up and it could have made it

more cheerful, they also could have added more images, as there is a lot waste space.

The text could have been bigger, bolder, and different sized fonts would have made it more intriguing and lively.

The cream background is simple, and bland, they could have added some coloured boxes or strap lines etc.

Again, this magazine is rather masculine due to the plainness.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD. ‘WIRE’The double page spread has the simple theme

running though.

I like the columns, they are well structured and look professional and easy to read, and they

are lined up properly and are not messy.

I like the quote, due to the fact of its structure, it has been made to look as if it’s squashed, it’s

going on like a list and this adds much more drama to the page.

However, this could have been in some sort of colour to add more depth and more liveliness.

The photography makes up for the lack of detail, the colours are very bold and add

drama.

A design feature used on the double page spread, and every other page is the ‘blob’

which says the name of the magazine on each page to identify the magazine.

COVER. ‘NOTION’This is my favorite cover due to the fact it’s unique and has a classy

feel to it.

Again, this front cover is very simple, but works well because of the photography and colours. The camera angle/shot, is a medium close

up, which most magazines use.

The white text works well with the pink; it’s elegant and reflects the photography.

The colours used are feminine, and the pose, model is also very feminine and sexy, this photography looks like a high fashion shot, but

it’s a musician.

The masthead is the same colour as the beam of light which is effective because is flows.

The masthead itself is feminine, and uses sans serif.I like the fact that the cover lines are at the bottom of the front cover,

and are in italics and bold.

The lead line is in a much larger font, and is placed bottle middle of the cover, this is to make the reader aware that this is the lead line.

CONTENTS. ‘NOTION’I don’t like this contents page as it looks rather messy and plain. Although the titles are in columns, the text still looks messy and

childlike.

The images could have been bigger; there is a lot of white space which could have been used up to make the page look more intriguing.

The images used on the right are the main stories, and the images on the left are the lead stories.

They have used a line across the corner of the page, (design feature) to add more detail, but in my opinion they could have made this a

vibrant colour from the front cover to make the page more interesting.

The page and ‘contents’ is placed right in the top center of the page, to catch attention.

The text used has been use din italics and capitals to add drama and detail.

Underlining words adds a statement and gets to the point.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD. ‘NOTION’

I like the double page spread because it’s simplistic but has detail at the same time, such as the enlarged quote in the middle of the text

and it surrounded with brackets.

I like how the text is organized in clear, neat columns. The title is at the top, and is rather small; you would expect the title to be rather large

as it’s a main story.

I like how the text is at the bottom half of the page, it’s different and looks good.

In my opinion, they should have added more colour and more design features because it is very bland and not very feminine.

However the photography is nice, I like how it has a whole page to itself, the colours are bold and actually add some interest to the page.The shot is a medium shot, (head to waist), which looks like a fashion

shot.