Kent Life Analysis

1. Regional
Magazines
Codes and Conventions – Kent Life
October 2011 Edition

2. The magazine Kent Life,
October 2011 edition
produced by Archant has
a white title. This is used in
every Kent Life magazine,
and allows it to stand out
on the page. The reader
would recognise the
magazine clearly, and by
using the word Kent in the
name, they are making it
clear the topic of the
magazine. By using a
white colour, they are
allowing the text to stand
out on the page by
contrasting against the
background.

3. They have put the Archant
logo in the top left corner.
They brand the magazine in
this way as it is a
recognisable logo. This
increases the chance of
someone buying it if they
have read a similar Archant
magazine before. They
make use of white text
across the cover to allow
the sell lines stand out from
the background. By using
the colour white they are
creating a connotation of
purity and innocence,
suggesting that the
magazine is something
appropriate for all, giving an
impression of a ‘nice’
magazine.

4. They have used a mixture of
white and orange text. The
orange blends in with the
mainly orange background
of the magazine. The use of
this background gives the
reader a key idea of the
topic of the magazine. In
this case the main cover line
is regarding ‘The birds and
the bees’, creating a clear
correlation between the
background and this. The
background is designed to
be eye catching, to attract
the readers attention. If
someone is interested in
plants, or bees then they
would see the front cover
and identify the magazine
as something of interest to
them.

5. The main cover line is
coloured white with an
orange “&”. By using
these colours and a more
traditional font they are
allowing it to stand out
from the background. By
using the orange they are
tying it in to create a
colour scheme on the
magazine. They have
followed this house style
throughout the other sell
lines on the page,
however they have used
a standard serif font to
distinguish these from the
main cover line.

6. The use of a second image
at the bottom of the page,
gives the reader a glimpse
into the magazine and it’s
topics without having to
open it and start reading.
Key Codes and
Conventions:
• Title gives clear idea of
topic
• Background of
landscape from region
• White text, makes
background contrast
• Mixture of serif and
traditional fonts
• Additional picture to
show glimpse of topics
• Clear correlation to
region

7. This page is a double
page spread advert from
the Kent Life Magazine.
This shows an advert for
Padani jewellery store in
Royal Tunbridge Wells. An
image takes up the entire
page, with a vacant
looking female. Females
are usually used to
advertise jewellery as it is
considered something the
customer could relate to.
The woman in the image
is wearing lots of jewellery
which connotes to the
reader what the product
is.

8. Although the woman is
wearing the jewellery, it is
not clear without reading
the text on the
advertisement what the
product is. By using the
white text on the image,
they are allowing the text
to stand out from the
background. They have
used logos from different
jewellery makers, which
makes it more
recognisable by those
interested. The use of this
double page spread,
gives more coverage for
the advert.

9. The contents page in this
magazine also takes up a
double page spread. They
have opted for an orange
colour scheme. This could
be because the month this
issue covers is October, an
Autumnal month and
orange is usually
associated/connotes in the
readers mind autumnal
feelings/haloween. The
contents page has the
content divided between
the different topic areas,
e.g. News, Home and
Garden and Food and
Drink.

10. By doing this they have
made it easier for the
reader to identify those
topics of interest to them
–which also makes the
magazine more personal
to them. Most topics are
regional areas related,
again giving the
magazine a regional feel.
They have used a mixture
of traditional and modern
typeface, to fit in with the
house style of the Kent
Life magazine. At the top
of the page, they
encourage the reader to
subscribe to this
magazine.

11. Around the page there
are images from certain
topics, this promotes the
topic and encourages
the reader to read that
specific one. This also
adds more colour into the
page and makes it more
interesting to look at for
the reader. At the side of
the double page spread,
they have made use of a
personal statement
saying why they have
subscribed to the
magazine, again
encouraging readers to
do so themselves.