Research into similar productsFront covers, contents & double page spreads

Rolling Stone

Looking at the Rolling Stone magazine covers, it can be suggested that the typical shot type used is a mid shot. This shot is usually taken from the waist up and you can see what the artist is wearing. They use this because the audience can see what the artist is wearing and from that be able to recognize them and the feature story that goes with the image can be shown through costume. Particularly in the top right corner, the Zac Efron cover. A mid shot is used along with the cover line “American Teen Heart throb” through the use of his shirt almost coming off it leaves the expectation of more and supports the “teen heart throb” line. It is typical of Rolling Stone to use a serif but very clear font on the front cover for their cover lines, however on this cover a san serif and italic font is used for the cover story, and a simple san serif font is used for the rest of the cover lines. The house style for Rolling Stone is displayed in the masthead that is used on every issue – usually in red but sometimes in white (depending on the image). The colour of the cover lines is used to contrast against the background so that it stands out and is easily readable. For example, on this cover, the white colour of the cover lines are used to contrast against the black. Typically, the artist is in front of the masthead – showing only the beginning and end of it. The Rolling Stone front covers are very conventional because of this and are also conventional because they use the same house style on every cover, making it recognizable. This is perhaps because Rolling Stone is so recognizable. Typically for a Rolling Stones cover they use high key lighting along with a fairly bright background – however this can change depending on the artist and the feel of the cover story that they are trying to convey. Rolling Stone use a clear and ordered layout – this is perhaps because their target audience is much older compared to say that of Top of the Pops. Rolling Stone also features stories about liberal politics and this is reflected in the language, for example the story about global warming, the cover line uses shock tactics and striking words to grab attention. They use semi-formal language and concise cover lines in order to get the message across quickly and get the audience to read on. The select words “Hot, Ready, Legal” for the Cover story grab attention and explain what the story will be about – Justin Bieber becoming eighteen – but also gets the reader wondering. It uses well-known band names and artists as cover lines so appeals to the people that know these artists.

Rolling Stone seems to follow the house style of serif fonts in the contents page. It also uses stand firsts after its headlines. This is most likely so that the reader can gather a small taster of what the story is about from the headline and stand first before reading the whole story. It is a fairly clear layout for the contents page, using bolder and bigger typography to break up the groups of text, they also use lines to separate the parts of their magazine; politics and music. It uses a block of colour at the top to catch the attention of the reader. It follows the house style colours of red, white and black, this helps the magazine to be consistent and easily recognizable. It uses capital letters for it’s group titles – this makes them clearer.It uses images that correspond to the opposite text. This helps the reader to stay interested and keep the magazine appealing. It also helps to show what the stories are about. Unconventionally, the images are aligned to the dominant side of the page – but this could be so as to establish the attention of the reader.

This Rolling Stone contents page uses fairly dramatic language, such as “Eminem’s road back from hell”, this is perhaps because it’s a magazine this would be conventional. However it also speaks to it’s audience in a semi-formal tone. This is perhaps because it’s target audience starts off much older at 18 and this means they are much more mature and intellectual so in order to make the magazine appealing they need to use the language that their target audience use. They also appeal to their target audience by featuring both politics and music. It is conventional to use page references in magazines, so Rolling Stone is conventional in this way. The images are fairly simple but give the desired effect of attracting the reader’s attention, so then they read the headlines and want to read the articles. The first image is a long shot showing an artist with a microphone on stage – it would appeal to people interested in music. The next one has a black and white effect making it different, it is also of a artist but there is a piano too. These images link to the idea that this is a music magazine. The final image, a close up of Barack Obama so links to the idea that this magazine also includes politics. The pages that have the stories that go with these images are also on the images – making it easy to find the story.

This is a double page spread featured in Rolling Stone magazine, it is conventional to use a large image on double page spreads in Rolling Stone, but this is unconventional because the whole background is the image. This makes the image appear more important than the text. The image is a mid shot of the artist and people – presumably fans – behind him. It is taken with high key lighting and a long shot is also used within this mid shot to show what the artist is wearing – it links to the headline of the feature “the curious case of Benjamin Lee”, because he looks fairly quirky. The image is of him playing the guitar – showing that he is a musician.

The headline “the curious case of Benjamin Lee” is in a serif font, it’s also much larger than the rest of the body text, this is so that it stands out and catches the attention of the reader. It is on top of the image in a white with black outline – this is so that you can see the image behind it. Also a stand first is used after the headline – this is so that the reader can understand what the feature is basically about before reading the entire body text. It is much smaller than the headline, this is so that the headline pops out to the reader. Under the stand first is the byline, this is where the writer’s name is, then the reader knows who wrote it and often can be persuaded to read it if it’s a well known journalist.

A kicker is used at the beginning of the body text, this bold letter starts off the feature and draws the reader in. As it’s much bigger and bolder it attracts a lot of attention. The body text is much smaller than any of the other features on the double page spread – this is most likely because they want a large image of the artist and to explain a lot through the image. Also, it is conventional to use more than a double page for these features so it is quite possible that this article continues on the next page with more body text.

BillboardThe front covers of Billboard magazine usually use a mid shot of the cover story artist, this is so that you can see the artist and recognize them. Also, this is so that you can see the costume which helps you identify their genre of music that they come from. They use a fairly cluttered but ordered layout. This is because they have a lot of cover lines placed around the main image however, they also make sure that each cover line is clear so therefore it is fairly ordered. They keep a consistent house style on each of their front covers with the mast head “Billboard. They typically have the artist in front of the masthead so that you only see the beginning and end of the masthead – this is done because Billboard is a recognizable logo, therefore if the magazine was on a shelf you might only see the the left side, so they generally align most of the cover lines to the left third, this way it grabs the attention of the audience even if it’s covered by another magazine. A san serif font is used for the masthead, this makes it clear and easily recognizable. For the cover lines, Billboard generally uses a serif font, this is conventional of this genre of music magazines. Billboard uses the route of the eye on the front cover so that the reader sees the masthead, the image and then the cover lines. Typically they use high-key lighting images, this is most likely as it’s aimed at a target audience who are interested in pop music rather than rock or punk so lighter images are more appropriate. The images on the front covers are of pop artists, so this links in with the magazines target audience and appeals to them. The images used reflect the artist, for example Taylor Swift is “woman of the year” so with this title for their cover story they have decided to have her dressed up looking as if she’s set for this award. This helps to convey the cover story and helps the audience to know almost immediately (through mise-en-scene features such as costume and setting) what the cover story is about and how it relates to the audience and then if they want to read it, this way the topic of the cover article is established and it appeals to the audience because of this. Looking at a lot of the Billboard front covers it appears conventional to use white for the cover line typography – it also seems conventional to make the text stand out and contrast against the background. Obviously, it is conventional to have the artists behind the cover lines so that they can be read however, for the Justin Bieber issue they have had it behind the artist. This is perhaps because the image is taken from a low angle so it appears he’s popping out of the cover, and in order to complete this effect they pushed the text to the back. Although you may not be able to read all of the letters perfectly because you see most of the letter (e.g. “N” of “Justin”) you can read what it says, also it’s laid out so that the text is to the side of the artist so it can still be clearly read.

This contents page for Billboard magazine follows their house style, this is because they have the Billboard Hot 100 in every issue. This consistent style helps them to be easily identified and creates a brand image. It lists the top tracks for that week and helps appeal to the target audience – people interested in music. For this left aligned chart list they use a san serif font, this makes it clear and also separates each track or album from the next whereas a serif font would help them flow together but as they are individual, this works best. Billboard uses light colours on its contents page, this is conventional because as a pop music magazine it wouldn’t use dark colours.They use light blue and black for their typography, this follows the house style set out by the masthead, Billboard, on the front cover. It uses serif fonts for the titles of the sections of the contents. It uses a fairly “blocky” style to separate parts of the page.

The layout is fairly ordered; a line is used to separate the top 100 from the actual contents page. This makes it much clearer and easier to read. Columns are used to order the contents page, this means that the audience can clearly locate the different features. Also, by using images of artists relating to their features it appeals to the target audience and helps it to be clearer overall. The images pop out of the page so this catches the readers’ attention and continues to hold their attention so that they read on. The language used is fairly concise and simple, but not patronising. It tells you what the story is about and what page, so the readers can find it directly.

This double page spread featured in Billboard magazine shows Beyonce and her new title of “woman of the year” it uses a fairly masculine font for the headline. This links in with the language and the idea that she is fierce, such as her stage name Sasha Fierce suggests. Her costume is also linked to this, along with her make up, creating the idea that this is why she is women of the year. The dark purple colour connotes royalty – linking to the prestigious title – but it also connotes desire and strength.

In this feature a kicker is used at the beginning of the body text, this is so that the readers attention is drawn to the beginning. The headline is in a much bigger font than the body text, this is so that it stands out massively. The typography is in a san serif typography and is white so that it stands out against the dark background.

A very short stand first is used to explain Beyonce’s feelings about being Woman of the year. This quickly sums up what the story is about without revealing all of it. A by-line is used in this feature so that the readers know who the journalist writing is. This can often help to attract attention because if it’s a well-known writer, readers often want to read their newest articles.It’s a fairly ordered layout with the text conventionally aligned to the dominant side of the page. The image is a close up of the featured artist, it links to the headline “fiercely creative” as she poses as a fierce woman. The close up shows her face so that readers recognize her, and reveals enough of her costume to understand the headline. Beyonce, being a well-known artist – does not need to have a longer shot so you can see her costume because most people reading the magazine are interested in music so will know who she is and her genre of music.

Q magazine

The front cover of Q magazine always has the masthead “Q”, this helps them to be recognizable and identifiable because it is part of their brand identity as it is their logo. The masthead is aligned to the left third of the page, this is so that the logo is recognized easily on a magazine shelf. The bright red used for the logo helps attract attention as it’s both eye-catching and bold. The use of the red on the front covers connotes passion in some cases – such as on the Cheryl Cole cover, the idea that she “rocks” is written in red so as to connote that passion she has for music.The logo take sup a significant amount of the page – this helps create the brand “Q magazine” and helps it to be recognizable. Q magazine uses white, black and red for the house style on the front cover, these colours attract attention and can be easily put together – making it easier to create a consistent house style. Q magazine aligns its cover lines to the left third – the dominant side of the page – most of the cover lines are aligned this way so that (as with the masthead) they can attract attention in a shop. Typically the image is a close up of a solo artist on the front cover but sometimes this convention is broken and several artists are on the front cover. Q magazine appears to have a fairly cluttered layout – this is perhaps unconventional for it’s target audience. This is because the use of the “busy” layout often attracts younger audiences because they are likely to want to read shorter features rather than longer and in depth features such as you might read in Rolling Stone for example. However, the target audience of Q is 18 – 35 year olds so this cluttered layout is very unconventional. However, it still attracts the target audience because of the content advertised on the front cover. Also, the use of the black band across the top of the front cover “The UK’s biggest music magazine” makes the magazine appeal to the older target audience because even with the cluttered layout the black attracts more mature and serious people, as black connotes formality. It also connotes neutrality which links in with the brand image of Q magazine. It is a fairly neutral magazine which follows popular music as well as other types of music. This neutrality helps it to be a successful magazine as it appeals to a mass audience. The language used attracts the audience because it talks to them, for example “the 10 best…” which draws the audience in so they want to read the magazine. It has the names of artists featured in the magazine on the front cover, this way potential readers will be more likely to buy the magazine if the name of an artist they like is on the front.

The house style is consistent on the contents page as well; the logo is in the top left corner so it it the first thing the reader sees reminding them it’s Q magazine. The red, black and white colour scheme is again used. This helps the magazine to be both identifiable and recognizable helping to create a brand identity. The black bar at the top is similar to that on the front cover – making it consistent. This gives the page a title and it’s clear that it’s the contents page. This black spread is followed by two red stripes to separate and order the contents page. This helps to make the page clear and the reader finds it easier to find the page they want. Q magazine puts the page reference before the title of the feature – this is conventional as then the contents is ordered. They use small stand firsts after the titles so that the reader knows a brief summary of what the story is about. However it doesn’t reveal a lot about the story but enough to engage the audience.

In the top right hand corner Q magazine put the issue number and the date – as the magazine is issued monthly they only put the month. They use a long shot of a band featured in this issue. This takes up a significant amount of the page – this large image is used so that the contents page is not just text, the use of an image makes it much more interesting. The use of images helps the readers to recognize perhaps less well-known artists, and this in turn helps to sell the magazine because people are more likely to read the magazine if they know the artists featured. Q magazine also puts the page references on the bottom of the images, this is conventional and helps readers to know where those stories are. Q magazine include a lot of reviews – this is displayed with a small section of contents page. This clearly shows all their reviews and uses the same header used for the whole contents page, keeping with the style and showing that reviews are an important part of Q magazine.

Another long shot image is used in the review section, so it seems conventional in Q magazine to use long shots on the contents page. Overall, the contents page is fairly ordered, and is consistent with the house style of Q magazine.

This is a double page spread featured in Q magazine uses many conventional features of double page spreads in music magazines. It uses a close up which takes up one of the pages, this massive focus on the image is very typical of music magazines – particularly pop genre magazines that focus on solo artists. It uses a black and white image – this is perhaps to make the focus on the artists face and the prop of the chains around her neck more prominent rather than the colour of her flesh. The black and white image also helps in making the “L” across the body text much bolder and more eye catching. This is a convention of Q magazine, for their features they use the first letter of the artists name across the body text in red. This helps them have a particular style that other magazines of the same genre won’t have so it makes them individual. It also helps appeal to a wider audience – older people are more likely to like the simplicity of black and white photography and people interested in editing or photography are also going to find this appealing. This feature is fairly different to other styles seen in Billboard and Rolling Stone, this makes Q magazine have a very particular style which readers recognize. This feature uses a simple whit background and black serif text, this appeals to a more mature audience. The body text is written in three columns – this helps the article to be cleaner as this way it’s much cleaner to read. The layout of this double page spread is very ordered, the use of the columns helps to keep it ordered. It is ordered so that the readers can simply read the body text without their attention being drawn away to other things. This magazine is aimed at people who are interested in music – they want the information and that is all, so the magazine tries to appeal to them by using clear and ordered page layouts. However, in order to make sure the article isn’t boring a large letter in a bold red is used. Red connotes passion, this shows the passion the artist has for their music but also helps to keep the reader interested. Also, the colour scheme white, black and red continues to keep the consistent house style of Q magazine.

The name of the artist is in the top left corner, it is also in a simple black and is serif, this type of font helps the body text to flow together much better.Two kickers are used to start off new parts of the feature, this helps to keep the reader interested and it helps to guide them through the article. This is often needed because with such a massive amount of body text it needs more than just columns to separate it because otherwise the reader looks at the whole article tediously. The reader needs to be kept interested and through the layout, use of kickers and very little colour this is achieved. Also, the huge whole-page image also helps to balance the ratio of text to image, so the reader can read the feature without feeling overwhelmed with text.