Double Page Spread

Overview

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All of these double page spreads (DPSs) are from the magazine ‘We Love Pop’, which means they will have been carefully designed in order to attract a wide audience of pop fans. I will explore the repeated patterns across all of the DPSs by analysing and identifying any shared features.

The layout of the six DPSs seems to differ in each one. By looking at the DPSs, I can see a clear shared layout between four of the six. This layout entails having the featured artist dominating one of the two pages and having the text of the article on the opposite page. DPSs one and three follow the convention of having the header at the top of the page on the left hand side and the main image on the right. The fourth and fifth DPSs are similar but the image of the artist dominates the page on the left instead of the right. DPS number six is very different to the other as there doesn’t seem to be following a certain conventional double page spread layout. Instead it has the main image centred in the middle of the two pages with some surrounding smaller images and the text scattered quite randomly under the header which stretched across the two pages. The second DPS also has a very unconventional layout as the text is scattered randomly across the two pages with no clear structure. The layouts of DPSs six and two both show quite unconventional layouts which seems to be a pattern emerging in pop magazines. This is because often in pop magazines, the article is not a straight forward block of text but it could be something like in DPS two where they compared two boy band members. There is often a lot less text on the DPSs in pop magazines than in rock magazines, for example, which reflects how the young target audience of pop may be less intellectual than the older audience of rock.

The main image on the double page spread will always be of the artist who features on the front cover of that particular issue of We Love Pop magazine. Another shared feature is that most of the main images on the double page spreads are images that have been taken professionally in a studio in front of a screen. This emphasises the artists themselves as there is nothing in the background that can divert attention away from the artists. All of these double page spreads are similar in that they share similar mise-en-scene features in the main image. All of the artists’ costume is bound by conventional fashion styles of pop. The female artists are typically wearing quite feminine and figure-hugging clothing which emphasises their curves and elegance. They also wear quite girly and flattering make-up that would be admired by the young target audience of the magazine. Typically, the costume of the male artists in the double page spreads is quite casual, but they still conform to mainstream fashion, which is typical of the pop genre.

The smaller images on the double page spreads will always differ as they will relate directly to what is being said in the article. However, it is a common feature in these double page spreads that only rarely is the smaller images taken in front of a white screen. The smaller images are normally taken in quite random places. For example, on the second double page spread there is an image of Niall Horan on the TV show ‘A League of their own’ but in the third double page spread there is an image of Cher Lloyd at a meet and greet. The amount of smaller images on each double page spread seems to differ on each one so it seems to depend on the amount of text in the article and how many smaller images can be fit around the page.

With regard to the colour scheme of the double page spreads, there seems to be a few colours that appear to be quite conventional on these double page spreads. For example, in almost every double page spread, the colour yellow is used. Yellow is not used a substantial amount on the page but it is often used to highlight particular sentences or words. This is because it is a bright colour that would be appreciated by the young female audience and it is a colour that can be used to draw attention as it is quite an alarming colour. For example, in the second double page spread, the titles for each section are highlighted with yellow which would grab attention. It is common for white to be the background as it is quite easy on the eyes so it is easy to read the article. Other common colours that seem to feature is different shades of pink and blue. These are quite feminine colours which will appeal to the girly target audience.

Regarding the actual content of the articles on the double page spreads, they tend to be one of two different types. Quite a few of the six double page spreads are interviews with the featured artists. Interviews with artists are very popular with the target audience of pop magazines as it is well known that fans of pop love to here the latest gossip about their favourite artists. For example, on the Olly Murs double page spread, his fans may want to read about what he has to say about his relationship with Caroline Flack. Another type of article that could feature on a double page spread is a sort of fact profile of an artist. Examples of this would be the second and fourth double page spread. Similarly, the young target audience love to find out things they never knew about their favourite artists. They could find out what One Direction’s favourite Christmas presents were or what Nathan Skyes’ cooking skills are like, for example.

White is a colour that commonly features on the background of double page spreads. This is because white makes the article itself much easier to read and it also gives quite a soft tone to the double page spread. This highlights the innocence and purity of the young target audience. White also allows the other, brighter colours to contrast against the white background, without being to much of an eye sore. A red background, for example, would not be aesthetically pleasing so the young target audience would not want to seek out this media, as Blumler and Katz suggests.

The symbiotic link between the double page spreads and the front covers of the magazine is made clear by certain features. The fonts and the colours are shared on the double page spreads and the front covers of the six magazines which shows a clear symbiotic link. Also the link is made clearer by the We Love Pop logo being placed on most of the double page spreads. It is important to achieve this symbiotic link between the double page spread and the front cover as it creates a sense of familiarity. The young target audience enjoy having a sense of familiarity throughout their media as it makes them feel apart of something which will increase the readership.