Magazine cover analysis

In this blog post I will analyse this cover of Q magazine as this is the style/genre of magazine I will base my own magazine around.
The typical codes and conventions used on this cover are:

• The masthead
• Main image
• Puffs
• Buzz words
• Barcode
• Coverline.      

See this LINK for definitions

2) Q magazines house style consists of 1 main picture taking up the majority of the page of an artist or group, who the main story/ article in that issue is based around. Q also have the famous placement of their masthead, the logo of the red square and white 'Q' along with the sell line are always placed in the top left of the page. All text is to the sides of the page enough to notice, but not too distracting from the main image.

3) The text on the image although it stays to the side can still be seen. The white writing stands out against her eye-catching red/ginger hair. The make up that she is wearing makes her look very pale, like the white writing on the outside. The bright blue highlights, and small text boxes also co-ordinate with the blue eye make up Florence is wearing.

4) The cover appeals to its target audience through its use of the main image. Listeners of the artist would be very tempted into buying the magazine as it shows that some parts of the magazine will be all about her. The audience may also be dragged in by the visual appearance of Florence, the direct address shown through Florence looking into the camera makes it feel as though the artist is looking at the buyer of the magazine. The magazine also has many inside looks at what is happening later on in the magazine. This draws readers in as they want to read more about these stories.

5) Like the rest of 'Q' magazines, the famous mast head of the red background and white Q are placed in the top left corner of the page. This is because, although still noticeable, Q do not have to push promotion of their logo/masthead as the brand itself is already well recognised. The masthead doesn't take too much of the page but is seen in the foreground rather than be overlapped by the artists head.

6) There is quite a bit of text on the cover of the magazine, however as the text is too the side and not obstructing much of the main image it is not too distracting. The text used is to notify the reader about what is inside the issue and also explains the main image. The font used is white, which contrasts with the reddish hair of the artist. The font is quite bold, and rather generic text, there isn't any strange or different typography used. However most of the text is small apart from the buzz words used to entice the reader into buying the issue.

7) From what I can see there is no obvious photoshopping used to edit the image. Apart from possibly adding text and the masthead. Some photoshop may have been used to make the artists skin a lighter/brighter shade, however this could have been manipulated by light rather than the computer editing.

Looking at double page spreads

In my task I have also been asked to look at some double page spreads to gain inspiration for my own magazine. The magazines which I have looked at often use a main image taking up a large proportion of the pages and then use the rest of the page for text about the artist featured in the picture. Some examples can be seen below. 

Indie magazines 1

The genre that I have chosen to make my magazine is indie. This is because it is the type of music that I like to listen to, although I do not read music magazines I thought that it would be easier to research if I were to enjoy what I was reading about. Below are 2 "The Fly" magazines which I will analyse.

The magazines below are both in the genre that I will be basing my magazine around. The key object that we can see on both are the main images. This is because of the plain background behind both of them, this technique can be used to draw the audiences eyes to the foreground of the image, the band members, as this is why they will read the magazine. Another key feature is the bold masthead used on both covers. Although the colour changes, the font stays the same and in a fairly similar place, minus the banner at the top of image 1. Both front covers are fairly simplistic in their looks, with not much typography on either page. Both images show direct address, meaning that members of the band are looking directly at the camera giving a connection with the audience, I must remember to include this into my magazine.

Top 8 Christmas Songs

In this Prezi I have listed the top 8 Christmas songs of all time,and linked the videos to these songs.
Information from http://metro.co.uk/2012/12/04/the-top-10-christmas-songs-ever-fact-3816224/
Merry Christmas everyone!

Magazine Terminology

In this blog post I will be making a list of the main features of a magazine front cover and giving you their definition.

• Masthead: The name of the magazine, usually an iconic logo/typography of the name. This gives the magazine its identity and can always be see on the front cover of a magazine.

• Banner: A banner is a strip of text (usually a different colour) to promote things inside the magazine, ie. interviews, exclusives, giveaways.

• Main image: The biggest image on the cover, usually seen as the background with the typography obstructing some parts of the image. this usually shows an artist who has an article based on them inside.

• Buzz word: words like NEW or EXCLUSIVE. usually placed on the cover to draw in buyers, sometimes in a different colour and are usually bigger to draw the readers eye to them.

• Headline: the main story in the magazine, usually to do with the main image (see above)

• Barcode: The barcode is not always on the front cover, this is almost always in the coners of the page and sometimes displays the price of the magazine.

• Anchorage text: Usually found underneath the headline, explains the main image and headline. Mostly used like a caption. Sometimes even in the form of a piece/ section of the article that the main image goes along with.

• Puff : The puff is usually an extra incentive to buy the magazine, for example a poster or a sticker, usually surrounded by a colourful text box or shape.

• Secondary images: images used on the front cover that aren't as important as the main image. These will contain images related to what can be found inside the magazine.

• Pug: When the corner of the page is covered with a text box or shape, mostly containing Buzz words or sometimes the price.

Positives of Photoshop

Here is a prezi I made talking about the positive affects of photoshop on a magazine cover.

Mock Up Magazine

This is the mock up of the magazine cover I made. I have decided to use mainly red and yellow as these are the schools main colours on the badge. The badge is also placed in the top left corner as a 'puff' to show the relation to the school, giving it a personal feel. The name "Heenan News" comes from the name of the school (Cardinal Heenan High School) and the 'news' signifies that the magazine is a factual. The image portrays a hard working student in a relaxed area for working, this would advertise the school well to parents.