Research and planning new as 28 march 2013

I will be researching 4 different magazine covers and analysing them in terms of genre, design and layout. The magazine covers include: Q, Vibe, Billboard and Clash; I will start off with the Q magazine cover.

The picture on the front I feel is a very good one in terms of the shot as it is a medium close up and shows the facial expression of the artist. The genre of the magazine is Pop as the artist Cheryl Cole is a Pop artist and this magazine mostly incorporates of this genre. The design of the cover is very detailed and consists of a lot of information on different topics. This may not go down well with some readers as they may feel they have been bombarded with information, and may not read all of the information on the page. This is one thing I will try and avoid as too much information can bore the target audience and readers. The combination of colours used on the page are very good, they are suitable, professional and are very impressionable. Red, black and white all complement each other and make the magazine cover look nice. Red symbolises love, black represents power and white represents purity, these three colours overall send out a good message and readers may even get drawn in by these colours. This is a good technique used and I will take these colours into consideration when creating my own.

Q Magazine Cover continued -

The layout of the magazine cover looks professional in some places and also looks unprofessional to some extent in others. The information on the right hand side of the cover looks very messy and untidy as it is very close together, and also overflows onto the hair of the artist, which adds the unprofessional look to it, the colour of the text camouflages slightly with the colour of the artist’s hair and is hard to read. Also the writing on the left hand side of the page which is in the margin; it is quite hard to see and is in an unsuitable position, it should be in a place where the readers can see; some information may be for promotional purposes so all this type of information should be in a position where readers may be interested and read into it. These are the things I will try and avoid when creating my magazine. I do however like the neat and organised layout of the information on the left hand side. It is spaced out and in a good position on the page, a place where it can be spotted and read without any difficulties. This is a feature which I will try and replicate when creating my magazine.

Very detailed, messy and untidy.

Hard to notice, unsuitable as mentioned

I like the organised and tidy information here and the positioning of the sub-article’s

I will now analyse the second magazine cover which is Vibe. In terms of genre this is definitely an R&B magazine. This can be told as the artist on the front is R Kelly who is an R&B artist. In terms of design, the magazine has a very plain and not very appealing front cover. Nothing seems to stand out, the font and font colour I feel plays a role in the magazine being unattractive; the font is very thick and the colour combinations used are satisfactory, but the yellow does not match with the other colours and can be off putting to the viewers. Due to the picture being the main focus, the cover has used space effectively. The information on both sides are not cramped up and tight like the Q magazine. It is legible to the reader and gives the magazine a more presentable look; this is a feature I will be looking to implement in my own magazine, as a neat and effective magazine will attract a wider audience. The letter V is slightly covered up by the special report on the far left, even though this is a slight blip, it still affects the overall look and quality of the magazine, minor errors like these I will try and avoid when making my own magazine cover.

Vibe Magazine Cover continued -

In terms of layout, the magazine has placed some things in appropriate positions and other things in places where they do not look good or appealing to viewers. The text on the right hand side at the top of the page next to the artists name, is an example of bad layout. It firstly looks tied up and cramped, secondly it uses up space which could be used for something more nice looking and effective. This is a bad attribute to have as any sort of information on the page should be in suitable positions so the reader can easily identify it and read into it. If the information is placed somewhere where it is hard to see, the reader will automatically think that it is something unimportant and look away, even though it could be useful information. I will try and avoid doing this when creating my own magazine. Another bad example is the orientation of the barcode, it is portrait instead of landscape and also it is not fully in the corner. It may be a minor mistake, but even little things like these can affect the overall look and quality of the magazine. This is another misdemeanour I will try and avoid when creating my magazine.

The space here is used effectively and the information is set out nicely and not cramped up.

The barcode should be more towards the corner , and should be landscape.

Here the yellow used, worsens the look of the magazine and does not even match with the colours on the rest of the page.

I will now analyse the Clash magazine. From looking at the artist on the front I can tell the genre of the magazine is R&B as he is mostly associated with this genre. Design wise, the magazine has kept it simple and to a minimum in terms of colours, information and images on the page. The information on the page is minimal compared to the other magazines analysed. This technique can have both good and bad effects upon the reader; too much information on a front cover can sometimes bore the reader and deter them from buying it or even having a look at the magazine, however minimal information can also have this effect upon the reader as they may think that the magazine looks boring and unappealing due to the lack of information on the front cover. The colours used on the page I feel combine well together and appeal to the reader. The colours used are black, white, grey and a very light shade of gold. The only negative about the colours used is the colour of the magazines name, the white camouflages slightly with the flash on the artists face and affects the overall look of the front cover. The magazine has a border which I think is a good feature to use as it separates itself from the rest of the page and is a good place to put information as it will stand out on the page.

Clash Magazine continued -

The colours again combine well here and stand out on the black background, this is very eye-catching to the reader and could attract the reader to buying the magazine. The only downside of the border is that it does not carry on around the rest of the page. The border I will try and replicate when making my front cover, but I will use it all around the page rather than having it in just one place as this will show consistency. In terms of layout, I think the magazine has got everything in the right positions except a few things. Firstly I think the name of the magazine has been placed in the wrong position, it should really be placed more centrally at the top or at the bottom of the page like the other magazines I have analysed. The other misplaced thing is the barcode, it should be more towards the bottom end of the page and should also be landscape rather than portrait. When creating my magazine cover I will try and avoid misplacing my barcode and avoid making it portrait.

The barcode should be more towards the corner , and should be landscape.

The title should be more central. The colour camouflages with the flash in the background.

I will now analyse the Billboard magazine, which in terms of genre is Pop. I know this as the artist on the cover is mostly associated with Pop and a few of the sub articles mention the genre as well. In terms of design, the magazine is very vibrant and colourful, it has used different colour combinations to create a very attractive and appealing magazine cover. The colours used are: black, white, gold, purple, blue and green. The information on the page in terms of quantity is good, there is not too much or too less which is good to have. The yellow strip in the top left hand corner, firstly covers up the B from the title name and secondly does not look good where it is. It should either be positioned somewhere else on the page where it will be more suitable and appropriate, or not even be on the page at all. It affects the cover on the whole and the quality of it. The other negative of the front cover is the M which goes around the body of the artist. It takes up a lot of space on the page and is not that effective, it looks unprofessional. This is a feature which I would not consider using when creating my magazine.

Billiard Magazine Cover continued -

In terms of layout, the magazine has most things in good positions, positions which readers will spot and not miss out. The sub articles on both sides are similar to that of the Vibe magazine and are not cramped up. The information is readable, noticeable and looks professional in its position, this is something I will implement in my own magazine cover. The name of the artist is also well placed and stands out with the black background. The title of the magazine is also positioned well, but the artists head covers up some of the letters. This can be misleading to some readers as they may not fully understand the name of the magazine and may prevent them from buying the magazine, which would be bad from a business point of view. This is another thing I will try and avoid when creating my front cover.

Yellow strip, not suitable, does not look professional. The M does not look good

going around the artists body, takes up space. Looks unprofessional

Information is nicely placed, looks professional and up to business standard.