Form Research

Form Research

Article construction

Columns

“They will help you in getting order and structure of your magazine, but do resist to imprison your thinking into standard format because rigidity dulls the creativity. To avoid that trap you can play with column width and shapes. You should treat each story as a separate unit and mix the number of columns in each story. One story can be laid out on a two column grid while the other can be laid out in three, four or more column grid.”

I think from this quote I need to consider the use of columns in order to keep my article neat however not use to many so it becomes boring and ‘dull’, I will use a range of colums lengths in order to make it look like less reading therefore encouraging the audience to read the article.

Steps

1. Content – always use interesting ideas, if they are not going to draw the reader in the do not include them

2. Know your audience – make sure you aim your writing at your audience

3. Typography

4. Spacing - find out what line-height and letter-spacing people are using to make their content more readable.

5. Maintain a hierarchy - We should all know the difference between serif and sans-serif fonts. Sans-serif fonts should be used for titles, and serif fonts should only be used for body text

6. Maintain structure - Make sure that your typefaces are legible and your content is readable

Double Page Spread

The caption on the side on the picture is a quote from the main story, this gives the reader an insight into what the article is about as well as making them feel like they have a more personal relationship with the artist.

The title is of the band as opposed to just the artist that that is in the picture, this shows that they are talking about the band as well as interviewing the specific person in the picture. The colour also makes it bold however it still follows the house colour meaning it stands out.

Having tattoo’s visible show us that the magazine is following its target audiences in the it goes against the ‘mainstream’ ideas, its got a niche audience therefore they can include certain features that would not usually be acceptable.

The writing is set out into columns, this gives the appearance of less writing making people more likely to read it, as well as this is makes it look neat and tidy meaning that it makes it easier for people to read.

The picture also follow the house style in that it consists mainly of red, white and black. The blood mark represents possibly the main theme of the article but it could also represent the quote of the person he used to be that he doesn’t want to look back on.

Masthead

Kerrang! Have place their masthead behind the main feature, this shows that they are well known enough to not have to make it very bold and clear to the reader. The reader is able to distinguish the magazine from others on the shelf easily, this has been made possible from years of publishing, they have a specific style that the audience has known to recognise so well that they instantly know which magazine it is simply by the lay out of the front cover.

In comparison to KERRANG! NME have placed their masthead in the top left corner of the front cover, they have used a simple font in comparison to KARRNAG however they have made it bright therefore it still stands out and is recognisable to the target audience.

Anchorage Text

The anchorage text is the largest text on the front cover after the masthead, it is used in order to attract the audience to the magazine. KERRANG! as with many magazines often have their main feature in large writing across the centre of the page, this makes it stand out and instantly draws your eyes to it. However underneath the main title is a small quote in a different font. This is done in order to make it look more personal to the band, it makes it look as if they have had some input into the design and therefore making it more relatable to the audience.

NME is different in that again it is more subtle, the anchorage text is still bold and large however it is understated as it is again on the left side instead of in the centre, this means that the main picture will be working to attract the audience.

Features

The other features on the front cover are a much smaller size in comparison to the anchorage text, this is because they are not as likely to catch people eye when they are walking past a stand however they are important t the target audience therefore when they pick the magazine up it will interest them and persuade them to buy it.

NME is again different in that the features text is not that much smaller than the anchorage, this shows that they are trying to draw in a wider range of people therefore they need a number of article titles to be clear and easily recognisable.

Contents Page

This smaller version of the front cover on the contents page is used along side a editors comment, the comment could almost imitate a diary, it gives the reader insight into what the editor was thinking when producing the magazine

All of the contents of the magazine have been split up into numerical order however also into columns, this is done in order to make it easier for people to find certain pages or just read certain types of article.

More important features have pictures with them, this is because they are going to be very popular within the its target audience therefore they may it stand out more to interest more people

The heading is bold however still follows the colour scheme, this makes it clearly visible without making it stand out as much a main feature (red writing on the front cover)

More pictures are used in various sizes to appeal to a more visually orientated audience, younger readers may prefer this over lots of writing

Pictures of new bands are used in order to inform people of new music that could be coming out soon or to make new bands more popular

Contents Page

The magazine logo is printed boldly over the main feature to remind you of what magazine you are reading in the hope that you will like the features and remember to buy it again.

This comment from the editor is used as a way of contacting them personally instead of just through what they publish in the magazine, this therefore make the reader feel they know more about the magazine and tis creates therefore making them more likely to

buy it again

The features in this magazine are all the similar sizes, the main features are slightly larger in order to draw more focus to them however not much in order to try and prevent people just looking for the main feature instead of reading other parts of the magazine

The other articles are numbered by page and put into columns, this makes it easier for the reader to look for certain articles or to read about certain kinds of article

Quotes by popular artists are highlighted next to a picture in order to make the reader see exactly who it is and hopefully gain their interest, therefore causing them to buy/read the page

‘Exposure’ indicates they are trying to promote a new band, this shows that the magazine are keeping up to date with current trends within its genre therefore increasing it popularity within its target audience