Zak Michael AS Media

1. Logo-the logo of the magazine is positioned at the Masthead- the title of the magazine. The title
Skyline-the skyline at the very top in order for it to be easily recognised and seen is portrayed in a sans serif font which is a
top of the magazine is very by regular as well as new readers of the magazine. relatively formal style. The title Kerrang! Is a
important as it is more often The cracked title with the broken glass effect fairly unusual name to use for a magazine. The
than not, what draws the incorporates the theme of anarchy. magazine name Kerrang! is used in order to
audience in. express the noise a guitar makes when it is
Normally, competitions and dropped on the floor through an amp, which
giveaways will interest the relates to the rock genre of the magazine. The
audience. In this case, the white font matches the black background and
publisher has included many therefore is suitable for the magazine.
famous bands within this
genre in order to attract the
target audience. The skyline Main cover line- the main cover line is
must appeal to the genre of written in capitals which stands out to
the magazine and if it does the reader and therefore is eye-
not the magazine may lose catching. The use of the word of
potential sales. finest indicates the superiority of the
band on the front cover. Displayed in
Subsidiary images- these the middle to stand out and appeal to
images are used in order to the viewer.
show the reader some of the
other features included The use of the word free is a great
within the magazine. The incentive to buy this particular
images give the reader an magazine as it adds a value for money
incentive as to what the will factor. Advertising bands by including
find inside the particular free posters for the reader themselves
issue. is a great way for the bands to
distribute themselves.
Puff-the puff is used in a magazine in The barcode is positioned in the corner by the
order to boost or promote the publisher purposely to avoid its interference
content. It is important as it helps with the subsidiary stories. It shows the
entice the reader in with over audience the price of the magazine. The price
exaggerated words such as PLUS! is generally tucked away unless the magazine
is of sensational value for money.

2. Masthead-the masthead is Logo- the logo is used in order for regular as well as new
otherwise known as the title and is customers to recognise the company publishing the magazine.
used in order to show the audience A logo is important as it helps audience recognition. The red
the company it is they are familiar , white and blue colour scheme and layout could be used to
with. The publisher of the magazine explain the origin of the magazine, i.e. America, or used to Emphasis on the words
has used the opacity tool for the indicate the nationality of the main character. laugh, loud, funny attracts
masthead so that the letters of the the reader in by making
title blend over one another. the magazine seem
superior and
overwhelming.
There is emphasis used by the
publisher. The words funniest,
Could be seen as the main cover
jokes and dirty connote the theme
line. Despite its size comparison
and idea of comedy which may
to the rest of the coverlines, it
attract the target audience of
relates to the main cover story.
males.
However, as a viewer, we can
see that the comparison of the
size of the coverlines and main
The price of the magazine is story are the same, meaning
placed here for a reason. It is that if the audience were to be
positioned here so that the price unfamiliar with the protagonist
does not stick out in the face of on the cover of the magazine, it
the audience as it is expensive. may mean the loss of potential
A magazine like GQ here for sales if they cannot identify a
example is a monthly magazine name with the image.
where there is generally a large
amount of content in each issue.
Because of this, publishers have Main image- the main image is placed in
to charge a higher price to still the centre of the magazine so that the
make a worthwhile profit. main image stands out to the audience.
Coverline-the coverlines are used in order to promote The clothing worn has been chosen
some of the subsidiary stories featured within the purposely so that the foreground
magazine and therefore inform the audience of what can matches that of the background.
be read inside the magazine without the inconvenience of
them having to flick through every page of the magazine.

3. There is emphasis on the two words
oh behave, which has been written in
block capitals in order to draw the
Masthead- the magazine title of GQ audience in. The text underneath is
generally has a different colour scheme related to the same story however has
which alternates between two been placed underneath because of its
different colours in the majority of position of importance within the
issues. For this particular issue, the story. This cover line relates to the
colours grey and white have been used target audience of males as it implies
in order to match the colour scheme tips on how to act like a 21st century
applied to the rest of the front cover of gentlemen, giving us proof that the
the magazine. The GQ masthead is predominant target audience is
easy to recognize amongst the withheld in the male gender.
audience and therefore links to the
idea of audience recognition. For the
masthead, the opacity tool has been
Main image- the main image is of
used in order for the two letters to
actress and model Megan Fox who is
have an effect by which they lap over
considered by some people as a ‘sex
one another.
icon’. Therefore, by including her in
the magazine, and particularly on the
front cover, not only does it more than
likely increase the amount of
Coverline- the coverline has readers, but it also applies to the male
been placed in its most common gaze theory as men would quite likely
position for this particular front be enticed into purchasing the
cover. It is generally positioned magazine possibly just down to the
in this way because people of fact that the front cover model is
the western world read from left The price is shown at the bottom on this particular front posing in a seductive manner and also
to right. The coverlines are not cover as it is a monthly issue as appose to a weekly issue. is showing slight cleavage. Because of
regarded as the predominant Therefore, the publisher can include mass content from the amount of the front cover taken
focus of the issue, however, are within time window of a month. Because of this, it means up by Megan Fox, it would stand out
regarded as an important and that the price is fairly high as the company publishing the clearly to the consumer of the
are therefore visibly featured on magazine would still need to make a large profit margin. magazine as the main image stands
the front cover. out vastly against the background.

4. This front cover is a very controversial front cover for a magazine. The
masthead starts with the name of the magazine NME, using their familiar
red, white and black colour scheme. This is used on a regular basis in order to
help audience recognition. Underneath the masthead, we can also see the
words ‘new musical express’ which helps the person magazine understand
what the name of the magazine stands for. There is a pug featured in the top-
right corner of the magazine, which is used in order to attract the audience to
an exclusive story or for free give-aways, and or competitions. The colour
scheme is white, black, orange, red and yellow. This color scheme has been
used possibly due to the way in which these colours correlate, i.e. Black and
white, yellow and orange.
The title is written in a sans serif as well as serif style font.
The coverlines are all written in a red-white format. This maybe done so that
the stories stand out, but do not majorly clash.
The main image of the piece can be considered controversial as the image is
not a stereotypical representative of what would generally feature on the
front cover of a magazine. The gestures and posture of the main cover artist
indicate a sexual indication, which is proven by the nudity of the front cover
model. Without heavily criticizing the front cover artist, as someone analyzing
the magazine, we could most definitely insinuate that the cover artist Beth
Ditto, especially with a lack of clothes, is not a particularly attractive, nor
expected image to be used on the front cover of the magazine.
The image in itself powerfully contradicts the male gaze theory which was
incorporated by Laura Mulvey. The general reader of a magazine, (especially
The barcode in the right bottom corner is shown in a fairly clear
one which generally is brought by those of a male gender), would, if a female
manner. Despite publishers taking a thorough disliking to
character was to be featured almost expect a main image of a female
barcodes on the front of magazines because they feel is does
character to be somewhat appealing and possibly in a seductive pose. The
not look appealing to the audience, the particular publisher
lipstick on the leg of the main image connotes relation to the main quote
here has placed the barcode clearly on the front cover in order
associated with the piece. The quote in itself followed by the lipstick and the
to attract the reader into buying the magazine because of the
lack of attire suggests that the main cover line shows how the artist is against
cheap price. If the magazine is being sold at a fairly low
the whole concept of all magazines and posters needing to feature someone
price, publishers feel great need to advertise and endorse the
of great looks and mass appeal. Because of the possible controversy this may
fact that their magazine is cheaper than that of their
raise, the magazine may enhance its sales as the audience may want to read
competition.
what this artist, who is clearly out there to create controversy, has to say.

5. This particular double page extract is
taken from music magazine Kerrang!
The double page features the band
all together in the main image. The
title used has a mixture of font style
by the usage of the words being in
both serif and sans serif style. The
main colours used as part of the
colour scheme are black, red and
pink, with the use of the colour pink
being a non-stereotypical feature
associated within the advertisement
of an all male rock band. In addition,
there are subsidiary images which
accompany the main image showing
each band member individually.
The title of the double-page spread
has been chosen purposefully as it
relates to the largest selling song
from the band ‘Dirty Little Secret’. In
addition, not all readers would
understand the creative choices
made for the magazine as only fans
of the band and those aware of the
songs release would truly get the
idea in which the publisher is trying
to incorporate.
This particular layout is done in a
introduction, followed by questions The images used for the piece are generally black and white all by the main image. This effect has
and answers format. The writer of been used so that the main image really stands out. The clothing worn by the bands members
this piece has created a layout by represents their genre as they are wearing low cut t-shirts, converse trainers and tight jeans which
which the general text and answers are a stereotypical feature in rock bands.
are in white, the questions are in
pink, and the writer has also chosen The top of the page sees a small banner stretching across both pages which is part of the colour
to differentiate each band member scheme. This small banner familiarizes the audience with the band they are about to read about,
speaking and by doing so, has done it as well as introduce the reader to who is writing the piece and also, who has taken the photos for
in red. the piece.

6. This double page spread is taken from
Kerrang! Magazine in 2011. The spread is
a story on Pretty reckless front woman
Taylor Momsen. The predominant colour
scheme used for the piece is black, white
and red. The use of the colour red is used
creatively in the design process and within
the portrayal of the word ‘Wild’. The font
used for the title of the piece is serif for
the word ‘wild’ and sans serif for the word
‘CHILD’. The word wild is used in a
different colour to the rest of the title
used to emphasise her wild lifestyle. The
typography of the word wild is also used in
a lipstick drawn style.
There is an opening paragraph to draw the
reader in top the story written in a sans
serif font which is much larger than the
rest of the text. The paragraph is mainly in
white colour however, the words ‘Taylor
Momsen’ and ‘The Pretty Reckless’ are
written in pink font emphasising the fact
she is a diva as well as emphasising her
name and band she fronts.
The colour scheme used relates to the genre as it incorporates the
The main images of her takes up the left- colours of red and black which stereotypically, are associated with the
hand side of the page and a small minority rock and ‘gothic’ look.
of the right-hand side. The background
being black emphasises her peroxide The double page spread is laid out in a interview style with the
blonde hair and because of this, questions in pink and answers in white to show the audience who is
incorporates the Laura Mulvey theory of speaking in the article. The text starts with a drop capital which is a
the male gaze. generic convention within double page spreads.

7. This example of a double page spread from the popular
culture magazine - Rolling Stone. The article is on pop star
Katy Perry, each page of the spread focuses on something
different, the first page is the article and the second is a
photograph of Katy Perry. The main colour scheme of the
spread is black, white and blue. This gives the spread a
classy and professional design, as Rolling Stone is
considered a high quality magazine. The clothing worn by
Katy Perry is particularly sexual and is exposing a fair
amount of flesh. This is to attract a male audience, with
Katy Perry having recently been seen as attractive and a
sex icon. In addition to this, it allows a female audience
to aspire to look like the artist and be like her, gaining both
the artist and magazine an audience. The clothing despite
its minimal amount is of a denim style which was fairly
popular in the time of this piece being written. She is also
wearing a cross which represents her religion and
beliefs, which she frequently discusses in interviews and in
this one. The cross and her beliefs contrast against her
sexual image, although she teases and flashes a bit of
flesh, she is still respectable and infact does have limits.
The text and typeface is kept simple and professional, this
is to shown the magazine is quality and professional, it
may also to be contrast against Katy Perry's flamboyant
and controversial image and personality. The layout is very
effective. The double page spread is split in two, an image
of the artist on the right and the text on left. This makes it
easier for a person to read and understand it. However
There is a lack of vivid colour within this particular piece. The colour scheme
because all of the text has been squeezed onto one
is black, white with minimal blue meaning the lack of audience focus on the
page, it has to be written in a very small font. A lot of the
text is withdrawn from the writing so that they focus directly on Katy Perry.
writing is bunched up together, this may put the reader
The font style is mostly the same, maybe if there were a variety of fonts used
off. There is a kicker used to make up for this. There is a
it may make the text look more appealing.
good technique used where the main headline is placed
between the articles, it draws the reader’s attention to the
headline. It also stands out due to the font size.

8. This particular magazine double page spread is
taken from music magazine NME. The double
page spread is an article on the band The
Teenagers. From the immediate emphasis on the
band featured being named The Teenagers, it
immediately gives us a an audience an incentive
as to which particular target audience we are
going to be focusing on. The layout of the double
page is fairly straight forward with the main
image taking up the vast majority of the left-hand
side, followed by the right-hand side being taken
up by text. The colour scheme is predominantly
black and blue possibly being a reflection of a
male teenage target audience as black and blue
are stereotypically considered colours which
relate to the male gender.
The title of the piece in itself is written in block
capitals- a type of serif font. This particular style
lacks originality and is a fairly simple style for a
title. However, it is straight to the point and gives
a clear indication to the audience who they are
going to be reading about.
The main image of the piece in itself seems to
express 3 relatively ‘scruffy’ teens whom are
placed in what seems to be a bedroom location- The piece is sub-divided by a quote in the middle of the text which has been placed
thus once again being a relation to the target there in order to attract the reader in with what they may find intriguing, interesting or
audience. They seem to be in a relaxed posture comical. The quote is also highlighted in a light blue colour to help it stand out. The
exemplifying the possible laid back nature of piece starts with a drop capital- a feature which is present in almost all double page
their ‘teenage’ audience. spreads.
The text in itself seems to be written as more of a There are subsidiary boxes which accompany this particular story. On the right hand
conversational style as appose to the ever typical side of the page, there is a related column which is talking about others bands who
questions and answers layout featured in the vast have garnished recent media attention. In addition, the ‘NEED TO KNOW’ box at the
amount of double page spreads. The piece is bottom left of the page seems to be included as almost a factual element, almost
clearly divided into columns of text along with an increasing the knowledge of the reader who may be unfamiliar with the artist by
additional column which is not so evident to the introducing them to basic facts.
reader.

9. This particular contents is taken from magazine Rolling
Stone. The contents seems to be portrayed in a very
formal manner and complies to the general expectation
of what would be featured within a magazine of this
type. (i.e. a magazine of a social categorization).
The layout features a main image which is more than
likely correlating to the main cover line. In this case, the
image is in a black and white possible sepia tone, which
has been done, at least in my opinion, to link and match
up with the basic black and white colour scheme
enforced into this particular contents page. We as a
reader can clearly identify the page number of each
story being highlighted in rather a bold black typeface, or
in the case of the subsidiary stories, in small orange font.
The main stories are featured in a black font colour in
order to stand out without mass appeal. In comparison
to this, the smaller stories have been highlighted in a
bright orange colour to make them stand out still under
the eye of the audience.
There is clear division between the stories on the page-
they are arranged via evident paragraphing. The stories
are also highlighted in a much bolder colour with a
description of what the story includes to follow.
In addition to this, we become aware of a small amount
of details which have been crafted onto the page to
garnish media attention. For example, if you look at the
left-bottom of the page, we can see that there is
placement of the magazine website in a blue font which
does not match up to the colour scheme of the contents.
Therefore, one can only presume that it has been placed
in a blue colour to endorse and market the companies
website.
Further to this, at the very right-bottom of the page, we
can see that the issue date and issue number have been
placed onto the contents page.

10. This particular contents is taken from rock and metal music magazine
Kerrang! The colour scheme of the contents seems to follow an
ordinary example with the main colours being black, white and yellow.
The layout of the contents in itself seems to be fairly jumbled, with
many images. However, despite the clutter of images, we as a reader
can still easily differentiate between the image for the main cover line
and the images which make up part of the subsidiary stories.
At the top-left of the page we can see the editor’s note. An editor’s
note is generally found slightly tucked away on the contents page and
there is nothing particularly exciting about this section. However, the
editor’s note can create a small sense of a personal connection
between reader and writer, which can be considered a nice touch.
At the top right of the page, we see there is a quote from a featured
artist. This can cause a personal connection between the artist and the
band member as they may be able to relate to what he/she may be
saying. In addition to this, many readers may be attracted to read the
magazine as they may want to know the thoughts and views of their
‘idols’.
On this particular contents page, it is interesting to note that the name
of the magazine is not actually featured, which is slightly odd; but there
is the issue number and cover date featured underneath the contents
title in itself.
The actual contents in itself seems to be divided into sub-categories
which may have been used to make it easier for the reader to highlight
the individual story it is they may want to read. The colour scheme of
yellow, black and white seems to be applied throughout and the page
numbers are indicated on the left, in a much larger font.
In terms of layout, the layout of the contents is very grid like with no
square boxes or overlapping showing a clear, neat and structured
contents page. The images bordering the main image are all the same,
possibly suggesting equality between these bands. One of the images is
in a black and white style, possibly connoting a retro feel.
In terms of the main image, it has its own border around it, making it
stand out from the rest of the images. It’s larger size almost seems to be
a reflection of the images superiority also.

11. This particular contents page is taken from music magazine MOJO. The title of
the magazine has been used as a masthead for the contents in order to enhance
the name of the magazine as well as make it more memorable for the reader.
Underneath the masthead, we see a divided section which has a faint border
surrounding it. This has been done to highlight the issue number and date of this
particular issue of the magazine.
The red on the purple/grey background does not seem to stand out or be
anywhere near as effective as the previous colour scheme used for the Kerrang!
contents.
Within the contents, band names and individual artist names have been
highlighted in a much bolder font in order to attract the audience. In addition to
this, there is a description of each story. Because of this, it gives the reader an
insight as to what they should expect to find in each story.
The personal quote from Alice Cooper above his image is particularly effective as
indicates forthcoming happenings in the magazine. In addition, the concept of
stating ‘as long as we had beer we were OK’ almost seems to be a suggestive of a
moral panic by incorporating stereotypical ideas about the traditional rockstar.
The colour scheme used (i.e. red, black and purple) seems to be a fairly
modernized colour scheme by which it may stand out to the reader.
Furthermore, the lack of text and imagery may also be a concept which is trying
to express modernism.
The layout of the contents seems a lot more professional that Kerrang as it is less
cluttered. We see consistency through this contents use to the fact that the font
stays the same throughout.
The fact that Alice Cooper seems to be staring at the reader also gives a personal
connection between him and the reader and almost creates a sense of intimacy
between them visually speaking. It is interesting to note that this particular
contents goes totally against the Laura Mulvey male gaze theory by the
placement of what a majority of people would consider to be an unattractive
male. His more or less naked positioning and posture seems to reverse the ‘eye
candy’ concept which women portray on magazine covers, making the male
almost objectified in this particular case.