Evaluation of completed magazine

Front Cover

My magazine’s main colours are red, yellow and blue. These colours go very well together, I like the way that they are very complimentary of each other. However, the shade of yellow I have chosen I feel is a little too bright. I think it would be beneficial for me to make the colour a bit duller to make it easier of the eyes for the readers and make them more likely to pick up the magazine and buy it.

The main image on the front cover is very good. I think the positioning of the ‘band members’ is very good, but I think that the lighting makes its professionalism decrease. The light is much brighter from the right hand side, it is not even. In magazines the light is much better, and much clearer. If I were to do this magazine again, I would perhaps use an SLR camera which would leave me with more professional images. I chose an image with a white background as it wouldn’t make the front colourful and overwhelming for the readers. I think that this decision has worked very well as it has given me much more freedom in the range of accent colours I can use for covers lines and the mast head.

On the front cover, I decided to only use two fonts, one for the main cover line and another for the other cover lines. I decided to do this because it makes it easier to distinguish the difference between the importance of the articles. Both of the fonts are clear and easy to read. But a downfall could be that the fonts are both quite normal, generic fonts and don’t lend themselves to telling the readers what genre of magazine it is. I should have used fonts with jagged edges or cracks in it to show the more edgy nature of the genre of music.

Contents page

My contents page has various different colours for the fonts. I think this is good because it separates each section of the contents for the reader at a glance. In the letter from the editor, I like the difference in font and colour. I think the three colours I have chosen – blue, purple and red – go very well together and aren’t too bright as to take focus away from the band members at the bottom of the page.

The image in the background of the contents I think is very good and looks very professional. I think the way that I have used the empty space at the top of the picture as a place to put the text enhances this. The quote that is placed in the bottom half of the page, I think was a good addition to the page because it lets people get an insight into the article and the people that it’s about.

However, I think that if I were to take the background image again, I would have made sure I’d taken the photo at a slightly different angle. Where I took the picture from, you can see plants in the bottom left hand corner. Because there aren’t any plants on the other side, it doesn’t balance out and I think that it doesn’t look as professional.

Also, most magazines don’t feature the same band on the front cover and also on the contents, so if I were to redo this part of the magazine, I would retake the picture with a different group of people so it would fit the conventions of this genre.

Features Article

I believe that my features article is very good. I have used two different texts for the headline of my article. They contrast a lot; a soft font for the words ‘Secret’ and ‘Party’, and the word ‘Moustache’ has a cleaner cut font. I think this highlights the name of the band, making it stand out. By having the image of the moustache in the same colour as the word moustache in the headline, shows a sense of cohesion.  Also, the red used in the headline is the same red used on the tagline on the front cover; it makes the magazine seem like a complete unit.

The Polaroid on the right hand side of the first page overlaps onto the second page, I think that this shows

On the second page, there is a splash which shows how you can get in touch with the band. I think that this is a particularly good feature because the colour of the splash is red like the words in the headline on the other page. This balances the use of the red over the whole article.

On the right hand side of the page there is a strip of pictures of the band, it evens out the amount of words on the rest of the page. It makes the article look more like a professional article. 

Existing Magazine Contents Page Analysis: SPIN

SPIN Magazine, August 2008

This contents page is much more simple than the others that I have analysed. Instead of having many pictures, there is one picture and this serves as the complete focus for this page.

The way the model (Duffy) is holding the ukelele and looks as though she is poised to smash it. This reflects the type of music that this magazine portrays. It is a rock/alternative magazine, so if shows an action that people think rock stars should be doing. 

This writing on the side is much simpler than the other contents pages that I have looked at. by doing this is means that the reader is overwhelmed by lots of colours and images.

The logo for the magazine is in the top left-hand corner is just in the same place that it is on the front cover. This gives a sense of cohesion for the magazine, that everything is together. And the red of the logo contrast with the quite muted colours of the image. This makes it stand out and the name of the magazine gets reinforced in their head, they are more likely to remember it. 

In the top right-hand corner, there is a quote from Duffy. This gives readers a little insight into her and the article. But because its so short they don't get to know very much, this will make people want to read the article to know what she's saying and what context it is in. 

In the actual contents, which are placed next to the singer, are very simple. There is no background, but the names of the band are in bold, this means that it is easy to see which bands are in the magazine.

Existing Magazine Contents Page Analysis: NME

NME contents, November 2008

The main focus of this page, is the two pictures that are in the middle of the page. Underneath these images is a little article; this is very unconventional of a contents page, but the fact that it is different may lead people to want to read the article more. 

The contents page as a whole, is very simple, with a round, clear font. The main colours are black and red, with yellow as an accent colour. The use of yellow as an accent colour is similar to the Kerrang!,  the brightness of the colour is used again here to make things stand out more and catch the reader's eyes. Also, like Kerrang! there is a box which details how people can subscribe to the magazine. By having this information on the contents page which is very near the front, people are more likely to see it and read it, and perhaps, in turn, subscribe to this publication.

At the top, the bold, red, iconic NME logo is placed. By doing this, it reinforces what magazine it is. NME is a very well-known prestigious British music magazine, the fact that it has been around for years, and many people know of it, could make someone want to buy/read it more as it has been tried and tested. Also, it is placed on a thick, black banner, smaller versions of this to separate News from Features and so on. This gives another sense of continuity throughout the page.

On the left-hand side of the page, there is a list of bands and which page in the magazine these bands will be featured. This information is printed in red, whereas the rest of the contents (which is placed in order of what type of features it is) are printed in black ink. By doing this, the red and black contrast, and make each one look completely different from the other, showing their difference in information. By putting down only the bands, people can look through, spot their favourite band and go to that page straight away, regardless of what the article is about. 

Existing magazine Contents page analysis: Kerrang!

Kerrang! contents page, November 2008

In the top right-hand corner, there is a letter from the editor, this makes readers feel as if they are being spoken to. They feel as if the editor has made this issue just for them, it also tells the reader an informal account of what happened to make the issue, and what is in it.

There is a use of many images of different bands. This is another way to show people what is inside the magazine at a glance, meaning they don't act6ually have to read anything before they can see the man things inside the issue.

The colours of yellow and black are carried througout the page, being used primarily for page numbers and sections of the magazine (e.g. Live Reviews, and Features). By making the page numbers such a bright colour against the contrasting black, they stand out. It means that if people look at the pictures and are interested, they can see the number very easily and turn to that page to read about who they are intersted in. There is one picture that is larger than the rest, this is because this is the band that most people would be interested in, so its easier for them to realise that this band is featured in the magazine.

A quote is used under the header 'Contents' this is by from a guitarist from a very famous band. What he says is quite odd and make intriuge people and make them want to read the article featuring his band.

At the bottom, in the right-hand corner, there is a red box. Immediately, this catches people's eye as it is the only place that red has really been used on the cover. But this box contain information of subscription to the magazine. This means that the colour wil catch people's eye and then they read the box and are more likely to consider subscribing to the magazine.