Magazine Analysis

Front Cover NME uses a distinctive house style, with a bold and bright masthead. The font grabs

your attention and at the same time maintains the rock feel that the magazine is all

about. The lead article is spread across the front of the magazine. The way the lead

article is written, it draws attention to it, with capitals and bold prints. Articles that

would normally be in the left third are instead placed down the middle of Liam and

Noel to show the division between them. This also links to the main article and is also

shown in the way the two men are dressed in the main image. Liam is dressed in red,

which is one of the main colours used by NME, whereas Noel is dressed in black,

again one of the main colours used by NME. These colours are important, because

they are so bold and stand out, the division between the two men is clearer.

Masthead Skyline

Main

Image

Main

Image

Lead

Article

Contents Page The contents page of NME is set out in a way that breaks with the usual conventions

of most music magazines. A typical magazine contents page would have a list of what

is on each page down one side of the contents page. It would also usually have a few

pictures going down the opposite side of the page. This NME magazine contents page

however, breaks from this by spreading pictures across the page and using pull quotes

underneath the picture to give the reader a quick peak at what the article is about to

help them navigate the magazine to the articles that most appeal to them. NME also

breaks from more magazine conventions by using different fonts on the contents page

to the ones used on the front cover. Most magazines use one house style font

throughout the magazine this is not the case with NME. Also the contents page has a

different feel to the front cover because there are less bold colours used, this has given

the magazine a newspaper feel. This is done because the magazine is produced

weekly rather than monthly. The main picture on the contents page also changes the

feel of the magazines because it is more yellow and gentle compared to the bold,

aggressive nature of the main picture on the front cover.

Double Page Spread The headline of this NME double page spread uses the house style of the magazine

once again to give a sense of a theme throughout the magazine. The standfirst is used

to introduce the article. It is put in a bigger font and in italics so that it stands out from

the main article. There are pull quotes throughout the article to draw your attention to

important or interesting points in the article. These are also put in larger fonts and

made bolder. The magazine in this case, uses black and white pictures except for the

main image which is in colour. The style of the main image represents the attitude of

the people in it, in this case it has a very rock feel with a bit of a rebellious attitude to

it as well. The darker colours that are used in this article reflect the feel of the article

itself.

Front Cover

XBOX 360 official magazine keeps a distinctive house style throughout the magazine.

It is shown clearly on the front cover in the masthead and the skyline. The magazine

uses the same font throughout and also uses the classic colours of green, white and

silver that are found on the XBOX console itself, making it instantly recognisable as

an XBOX magazine. The main image on the front cover, relates to the main article of

the magazine. In this case Call of Duty World at War. The front cover also makes use

of a stand out colour, yellow, to emphasise the fact that the article if an official

exclusive. The magazine also uses a cover line at the bottom of the page to give the

reader a glimpse at the other articles in the magazine.

Contents Page

The XBOX magazine breaks from regular industry conventions by using two pages

for the contents page. Regular magazines tend to only use one page for the contents,

with limited information about articles printed down one side and a few pictures down

the other. This magazine however, uses two pages. The first page of the contents is

completely pictures, with a few pull quotes that relate to the article represented by the

picture. The second page of the contents is more devoted to the list of the articles and

features of the magazine. Again the magazine keeps to the same house style with the

same fonts. It does however use more colours on the contents page than are present

throughout the rest of the magazine.

Double Page Spread

The double page spread is set out with a main image and article headline on the left

page. The author of the article uses a standfirst with bold, larger font to evoke a

reaction from the reader and draw their interest to the main article. The author uses

chatty and informal language to relate to the reader and make the article easier to read.

Screen shots are also used to give examples of the information that the article is trying

to get across. The magazine also has the article appear as if it is written on rough war

torn paper to relate to the review that the article is about, it also uses photoshop to add

images of bullets scattered across the page.

Front Cover Kerrang is a music magazine that uses a

popular house style of red, black and white.

The magazine name is written across the top

of the front page, in black, bold font. A

photoshop effect is used on the name, to give

the impression of broken glass. This effect

keeps the feel of the magazine and its genre

which is very rock ‘n’ roll. Along the skyline

of the front page is a pull quote from another

articles featured in the magazine. This is a

way to give the reader an idea of what is in

the magazine. Another way of doing this is

with cover lines as shown on this issue of

Kerrang. This is the line of text that runs

along the bottom of the page. In the left third

of the page are images of the posters that are

free with the purchase of the magazine. This

draws attention to the magazine and may

catch the interest of non regular readers, if

they see an image of their favourite band or artist. The main image is bright and

cheerful but maintains a rock feel. The body language of the main image is quite

playful whilst folded arms maintain a defiant, strong image. The main article is

printed across the page in bold red font. This draws the eye to the centre of the page

and the main article. It is accompanied by smaller images from the main article.

Contents Page

Kerrang uses a clear layout for its contents page. It has one large image across the top

of the page, that links to one of the main articles, in this case about Marilyn Manson.

It also has smaller images fro other articles just off to the side of the main image on

the contents page. The bottom half of the page is full of text about what pages you can

find different articles. This makes navigating the magazine a lot easier. The same

house style font and colours are also used on the contents page. The same photoshop

effect is used on this page again for the name of the magazine.

Double Page Spread

This double page spread has a very strong feel about it. There are mainly black and

other dark shades used and the whole spread feels very gothic and rock. A few words

on the spread stand out, these being ‘Screaming’ and ‘Vengeance’ these along with

the pull quote ‘Hollywood is a declaration of war’, are very powerful aggressive

words. This displays the tone and mood of the article and the subject person of the

article. With the exception of the word ‘vengeance’, the font keeps to the house style

of Kerrang magazine. The standfirst of this double page spread gives some

background on the subject, here being Marilyn Manson, and also leads into what this

particular article is about. The name Marilyn Manson is also picked out in the

standfirst in a different colour to make it clear who the article is about.