Magazine Analysis AS Media Studies

1. Analysis of Magazines
3xCovers
3xContents
3xDouble Page Spreads
Jess Pardoe

2. The colours used on this
I have chosen 3 different camera magazine cover are autumnal as
shots for my front cover well as old-fashioned. The sepia
analysis; this one being a close tone given to her skin is effective
up camera angle. I like this front as it tones with the editing of her
cover as the colours are simple hair and eyes, as well as the
and the idea of having an insect colours of the insect. I will take
on Lana Del Ray’s face is inspiration from this and create
abstract and weird. It is an eye my own simplistic colour palette,
catching magazine due to it’s this type of colour palette is
simplicity but also the unusual common among
design. Lana Del Ray’s style of indie/alternative/rock styles as it
music is described as indie-pop is dull but striking at the same
which is similar to the genre I will time.
feature in my magazine. I have created a colour palette
from this cover page to show
The font used on this magazine
how few colours are used.
cover is the original Interview
Colour Lovers is a helpful
magazine font, the colour varies
website for creating colour
on each magazine they create
palettes and I will use this in
depending on the colour palette
further research.
and background images. The
font at the bottom of the cover is
only brief however music
magazines typically have more
writing on than this so I would
change this feature slightly.

3. ‘Marina and the Diamonds’ is
The camera angle used for the
written in a style of font that
image of this front cover is
appears hand written. I like the
called a mid-shot, it shows the
idea of this style of font as it is
featured person from the waist
‘cool’ enough to appeal to
upwards. Marina Dimandis is
teenagers, but discrete enough
the featured artist on this
not to appear to ‘popular
cover, she is also a solo artist
culture’ to adults.
similar Lana Del Ray, both their
The Factory magazine font is
musical genres are indie-pop
the classic font that they use
however Marina and the
on every magazine cover;
Diamonds’ music is slightly
similarly to Interview the colour
more upbeat. The upbeat tone
changes according to the style
is carried on through to this
and layout of the particular
magazine cover, the colours
magazine cover.
and subtle yet bright in places.
I like the colour scheme of this
The smaller details such as the
for an indie-pop genre however
bar code, price, and date, are
indie/rock would take a more
also important as they have to
classic ‘look’ and reflect a
be big enough to read but
grunge theme of darker
small enough to not distract
colours. I have created a
from the main image. My
colour palette for this magazine
favourite feature of this front
cover also.
cover is the slogan by her right
hand, it reads, ‘dressed to
impress’. Factory magazine is
a fashion and inspirational
magazine so it uses this slogan
on this cover; however I could
create a slogan for a music
magazine also.

4. For my third magazine cover
analysis I have chosen to look
at an Eqsuire cover; Esquire is
a men’s magazine however by
the cover it includes music and
TV etc. Blake Lively is featured
on the cover of this magazine,
although she is only wearing The colour palette for this page
black and white and typically only consists of one bright
casual upperbody clothing, she colour, red. The other two,
still looks striking due to the black and white, are
layout of the page. This layout contrasting colours which
itself is eye catching because means the red stands out even
of the simplistic colour scheme more against them. A similar
(similar to the other two hand written font is used on
magazines chosen). The this cover (previously seen on
magazine title Esquire stands Factory magazine’s cover); this
out in a red colour which is effective for the same
matches her lipstick. reasons. On this cover there is
more detail about what is
As Esquire is a men’s inside – this is more typical of a
magazine, the cover image has music magazine so I can use
to be appealing to a male this convention. The writing is
audience. This does not all in two fonts, this makes the
necessarily mean women on page less busy and messy to
every cover though, there have read. There is no barcode on
also been inspirational men this front cover however; it
featured on Esquire’s cover could be a subscriber’s edition
images. however I will need to find a
discrete way to include a
barcode on my magazine.

5. The image used on this
contents page is of Alexa
Chung, a model and TV The largest text on this page is
presenter. The way this image the date, the actual title saying
has been placed, it takes up ‘table of contents’ is typed in a
just over half of the page very small font to the left of the
which still leaves a good oversized date. I would like to
amount to include the actual use a similar feature to this,
contents of the magazine. The having the date bigger than the
first contents page I have title of the page; especially as
chosen is from Nylon Nylon have put the date in a
magazine, September 2009. I much brighter font colour to
like the layout of this contents add to it’s attention.
page because of it’s spacious
areas and the basic colours
used. The contents of what is inside the
The colours in the image are magazine itself is printed in a very
very basic however the theme small font and includes only the
of grey and black continues relevant information. The page
into the text on the rest of the numbers are bigger than the text
page. The stylists could have which is common in magazines,
dressed Alexa Chung in a particularly music magazines, as
bright and colorful outfit to the page then includes the
tone with the larger font information required but it also
displaying the date but they looks neat and organised.
instead chose the subtle There is also small text at the
option of darker colours. bottom of the page, most likely
Using darker colours with a stating the model in the
white background gives a photograph, the photographer
good contrast in magazines and the editor of the magazine
and makes writing more etc.
legible and images stand out

6. The image used on this page is
NME magazine features a band almost central to the page and
index which includes all of the only takes up approximately a
bands mentioned throughout the quiarter of the entire page, this
magazine. The list goes down the works well as the page is used for
left hand side of the page and is it’s purpose (a contents page).
typed in bright red so it stands However there is a small article in
out. the middle of the page which is
The rest of the text on the page is unusual for magazines to include
in black and white; the headers of on a contents page; the picture
the contents and the title are relates the the article. I would not
written as black on white use the idea of a small article, but
compared to the rest of the text. a slogan or short sentence about
Black on white is supposedly the image would work well.
more legible, although black on The contents of the magazine
yellow is the most legible entirely come under specific sections, as
– which is why warning signs are shown ‘news’ ‘radar’ etc. This is
printed in these colours. suitable for a music magazine like
NME as it keeps the magazine
Some magazine contents pages organised and the readers looking
include advertisements for a for specific content can navigate
subscription to their magazine. the magazine easier. NME always
NME has this in this particular use the black, white, and red
copy, I think advertisements colour scheme so it is typical that
can ruin a page easily if they are the contents page of this
not subtle enough. The advert magazine features the 3 colours. I
stands out far too much on this think that simple colour palettes
page with the yellow writing and sticking to 3 or 4 colours are the
image included, I will not be most suitable for music
including anything similar. magazines as they look more
classic.

7. The header of this page includes
the name of the magazine,
‘Esquire’. This is common in all
magazines as it reinforces the Contents pages are designed to
promotion of the sale of the include information about what the
magazine, it is in a small font but reader can find on each page, in this
a dark colour so it still stands out, case the contents of the magazine
it also uses the Esquire cover title is discretely typed down each side
font. Beneath the magazine name of the page. I like the idea of having
is the obvious page title a large image taking up
‘contents’, not all contents pages approximately one third of the a4
state the title of the page however page; this attracts the reader rather
the colour chosen for the title than fills the page with lots of
blends into the page neatly and writing. The text used is simple
doesn’t look unprofessional. black on white, this makes the
The contents page then has a title contents page look official and
itself, ‘all about women’ stated professional.
beneath the required information; The page itself is taken from a
this makes each contents page in men’s magazine rather than a music
Esquire’s magazines different. magazine so it is difficult to judge
how I could recreate it for a music
magazine. Certain conventions
The image used on this page is a
would have to be different; the
collage of lots of different images,
contents page would include pages
these could be images included in
about existing bands, and would
the magazine or just a
have to steer away from looking like
combination of photographed
a fashion magazine by using a
imagery to create a collage. The
constructive picture of my fictional
image is effective as it is
artist.
interesting to look at and draws
the reader in to look at it closely.

8. This is one of my favourite double page spreads, the two rectangular images work really well around the neatly shaped article. This
double page spread is from Factory magazine (previously seen with the same artist featured). The shape and style of a double page
spread is one of the most important conventions; this particular example looks really professional and neat as all of the shapes used are
rectangular. The only problem with this style of layout is that it looks a lot like a fashion magazine which is what I am trying to avoid.
The colour palette of this double page is basic with the light backgrounds, black text, and occasional flash of colour in Marina Diamandis’
clothing. The genre of the featured artist is indie-pop, this is why the stylist has dressed her in particularly ‘popular culture’ themed
clothing, with the flashes of bright colours and the skin tight leggings, this is popular among this genre.
The overall spread suggests a fresh, unique image, which is what I am trying to create however to make it obvious that my magazine is
a music magazine I will need to change certain features, which I am yet to discover. Although this article is based around an artist, it is
difficult to know that unless you recognise the model in the photographs; obviously my artist will be unknown as they are fictional, so I
will need to make it obvious that I am creating a music magazine double page spread from the initial appearance alone.

9. Ellie Goulding is featured in this Nylon magazine article. The image on this page takes up two thirds of the entire double page spread, in
my opinion this looks more like a music magazine compared to the previous double page spread. The text is black on white which is
traditional for magazine articles, I will also most likely use this colour scheme; the photograph itself however includes a colour palette of
pastel shades of pink, blue, and Ellie Goulding’s blonde hair. All of the colours across the double page are neutral and blend together
well which is typical of an indie/alternative genre magazine, also the clothes she has been styled in are casual but high quality which is
also popular of alternative bands/artists as they give off a more casual ‘look’.
The title of the article ‘gold standard’ could be a play on words of the artists name ‘Ellie Goulding’, as it is sometimes pronounced
phonetically like the word ‘gold’. Short play-on-words, or phrases are common in music magazines as they add an edge to the article
rather than simply the artists name which can appear boring in some cases.
There is text printed on the photograph itself stating the stylist, photographer, makeup artists etc. this information is not that important to
include in a music magazine as it is in a fashion magazine, but it finishes the page professionally.

10. This double page spread is from NME magazine, there is a simple 3-colour colour palette on this page, similarly to previous pages I
have looked at. Orange, black, and white all contrast either other well and the photographs tone in with this colour scheme well; the
majority of the main photograph is black and dark grey which is typical of the indie genre. The article is written about Oasis, which is
briefly explained in the quote overlapping the photograph. The quote is in a larger font to draw attention to it, it also acts as a form of title
for the page. The rest of the writing on the page is black on white; white on orange; and black on orange – these are all easily legible
prints and the orange backgrounds highlight specific points of the double page spread.
The band that this article is based on, Oasis, are of the alternative/rock genre, so this is a good double page spread for me to take
inspiration from as my artist will be of a similar style. The difference is that my artist will be a solo female so the page will represent an
indie and grunge theme but will also have a twist on that to make it girly.
The fonts used on this page are simple and bold which makes the article easy to read, this is common in music magazines as the pages
are all about the article, however in fashion magazines this is not always the case as a lot of pages are advertisements or photo shoots.