Loud and Quiet is a free monthly magazine with a circulation of thirty-two thousand. It’s an indie magazine that you can either get in stores, read online or have sent right to your door. They write about alternative music, often promoting unknown artists. The magazine is aimed at young people, college and university students, which is why they decided to make the magazine free as their readers won’t prioritize buying a magazine every month on their income. Because the magazine is free it’s spread widely amongst people and because it’s audience is the age group which many argue run the music industry as they’re more likely to promote their favourite artists, this magazine can earn very well on advertisements for concerts and/or albums. I’ll be analysing the front cover, contents page and a double spread article from issue 73 of this magazine.

LOUD AND QUIET

Masthead: At first glance you can already tell this magazine cover is unique. It does not follow the standard rules of what a music magazine front cover is supposed to be. The title is the first step to create a different effect. The masthead uses a simple bold font across the centre of the magazine to really bring attention to its name. It’s also above a white background rather than the image itself, which is unusual. It’s almost creating an individual box for its masthead, letting you focus more on it. Not only is the masthead placed on a white background, the text is black, really making it pop out and grab any attention it can. The title of the magazine is ‘Loud And Quiet’ which in itself is a very interesting concept but I think it really speaks to their audience as it is an unusual thought – something being both loud and quiet, and their readers tend to like things that force them think. It also aims at a younger audience, who often have more ups and downs than a stable adult.

Price / issue: They’ve placed the price right under the title in a font matching the cover – this is very rare. Usually you’d have a barcode and date at the bottom, sort of hidden, but here it’s on display. This I believe is done due to the fact their audience is mostly students and the fact it says ‘Zero Pounds’ can quickly make them interested in the magazine as these days young people realize they can go online and read almost anything they want for free, so paying for a real life magazine seems silly to most teenagers these days – but, in this case the magazine is free and students all over might grab a copy for that reason alone.

Feature article image / main image: The placement of the main image is incredibly different. Usually, a music magazine will have the main image fit the magazine size, but this image is placed in the middle with a frame around it, almost like an art piece at a gallery. The image focuses on Tobias Jesso Jr. who is the topic of their main article this month, making us curios who he is and why they decided he deserved to be placed on the front cover.

Headline and Cover Line: So far, we have already realized that this magazine is testing all the usual rules for a music magazine, and it doesn’t just stop at the masthead and main image, even the headlines seem like an odd choice for a magazine cover, but I don’t think it is. They’ve gone for a minimalistic look with their cover, and focuses on being aesthetically pleasing and their headline just emphasises that. It’s placed in the middle having the text central and the headline ends with three dots adding a bit of mystery to the main story, making us want to open the magazine and find out just a little more. This is a similar tactic as writing a short description of the article under the headline in hopes that’ll catch their interest more, but in this case you don’t need a description because you have the dots instead. It’s also the only big text on the cover except for the masthead, really making you curious why this is so important.

Sub Heading: Right above the sub headlines there’s a plus sign showing us that there’s tons more in the magazine to look at, this helps create a stronger curiosity for the contents in the magazine. It’s in a bright yellow colour, really making it stand out. Then there’s the cover lines where the different articles stand, this helps to show that even if you’re not interested in Tobias Jesso Jr, there might still be something for you in this magazine. It really helps putting tons of small sub headlines on the cover to show the reader how much they’ll gain out of grabbing a copy.

Character: The front cover image shows one man in a medium shot standing towards the camera with eye contact – the eye contact gives a sense of equality with the reader. He’s expression is also kind of an emotional one, which makes the reader curious to why that is. It also appeals to their usual readers as they want normality in their music magazines. The person looking a bit sad makes them even more equal to the reader than if you have them on stage with a guitar rocking out in front of thousands of people, as the reader can’t relate to this part of the artists life.

Lighting and Editing: The lighting for the front cover image is very interesting as it’s very direct on the model. This has been done to really bring the attention to him, rather than the background. The way they’ve made the contrast greater really emphasises what they’ve done with the lighting. Combined it’s a very strong photograph and it’s almost looks a bit unreal with all the contrast, which shows us that he’s something new, someone who dares to take risks when it comes to music which is something the audience likes – something new, something you wouldn’t find on the cover of a mainstream magazine.

Colour Scheme: The colours used in the photograph is a very interesting choice for a front cover image. Usually it would be filled with bright colours all over it to really make it stand out but in this case it’s all natural colours, almost blending in to the rest of the world. This is due to the specific readers they have, the audience they are reaching for prefer a more grounded magazine and this magazine talks about unknown artists and the colour schemes really makes you feel like this artist is equal to you. And they continue this on to their text, it’s all black and white which are quite average colours that don’t really scream anything, they’ve mixed it up with some yellow in there, but even the yellow is kind of a dark shade to neutralize it. All the colours are well thought of and just makes this magazine issue appeal even more to their readers.

Language: The cover uses proper language for their readers and their intelligence. It’s feature article simply says ‘’I’ve been Tobias Jesso Jr’’ which is a bit of a poetic statement, this would imply their readers are reflective people. They also have an article named ‘’Fat White Family’’, this indicated their readers are politically aware and of all races. Had they only written ‘’Fat Family’’ the entire thing would seem like maybe a funny article, but adding the white adds the political vibe that shows this magazine is not afraid to talk about political issues like for example race. This all adds to the fact that it’s not just a music magazine, it’s a music magazine that puts attention on issues and talks about the real issues with media, and even focus in big parts on politically influenced music.

FRONT COVER

MISE-EN-SCENE

Masthead: The mast head on the contents page is very interesting as it doesn’t grab your attention like titles usually do, instead, it sort of leads the way. It’s not as bold and strong as some magazines would make it, and it’s even less eye grabbing as there’s a similar title very close to it saying ‘welcome’. This follows the style of being a minimalistic magazine, the simplicity of it shows they’re confident the magazine can sell purely based on content. They don’t need fancy decorations and colours, they just need quality articles about great indie bands. However, their use of font is rather unusual. It’s a serif font that looks to be very similar to the font that would come from typewriters. I believe this is due to their readers. Their readers like to feel classic, like they’re making a stand against the modern age – and this font does just that.

Headlines / Page Numbers: The headlines for all the article are all placed down the page like a list. This continues the style of being a simple straight forward magazine. And each title does not have a description of the article, which I find quite interesting – you have to flip to the page to really know what it’s all about. This also shows they have talented writers, writers who can catch your attention with just the title of their article. The page numbers are placed right next to the titles in the same font and colour. This plays into the whole simplicity style. This choice of presentation for the content is very unique. It looks very clean and simple, but the minimalism of it all is a really bold choice for a music magazine.

Welcome Note: On the right hand side there’s a welcome ‘note’ from the magazine editor, this is also very popular to do with teen gossip magazines – but not as popular in music magazines. This I believe is to make the magazine more personal, to make the reader feel equal to the writers. However, what I think really makes this an incredible idea to include in the magazine is that the readers of this magazine are often politically aware, and like the idea of being part of something bigger and I feel this welcome note does exactly that, it creates a sense of being part of a community.

Footer: This is a very interesting part of the magazines that really shows how down to earth this magazine is supposed to be. The first part of the footer is the front cover again and has written the photographer of the feature image. This gives a sense of being a local small-time magazine where you can call up their photographer easily and access the same resources this magazine has. Then you have the contact info for the magazine workers themselves. Usually contact info for magazines can be found on their website a bit hidden so that only people interested in serious business proposals bother finding it, but in this case – it’s open for all. Then we have a list of contributors showing this really is a magazine for the people by the people. It’s a short list compared to most of the other best-selling magazines out there, which just helps to prove their not part of the companies that their readers dislike. Then at the right hand side we have the e-mail for advertisement deals, which again, shows us it’s a magazine about the people. This footer is very minimalistic and flows perfectly with the magazine style. Only new thing is that now the titles are even more similar to the content itself, it’s the same size and same font just with a little black line under the words telling us this is something to pay extra attention too.

Page Number / Website: At the very bottom they have the page number, usually in a music magazine because they’re usually quite messy and colourful the page number can sort of get lost in all of it, but here it’s at the bottom in the middle of the page just like a proper book. This makes it easy to navigate for anyone while also giving a sense of professionalism when it comes to their writing. We get the impression that the creators of this magazine treat it like their very own best-selling book. We also get a website which shows they’re a modern magazine that is up to date and knows current issues and current bands which is great as their readers like to go to concerts and support their artists which is hard to do if the artist is either passed away or no longer active in the music industry.

Fonts: The interesting thing here is that all the text is in uppercase letters, and in a typewriter looking font. I believe all of this plays to the audience. Their readers like to feel like they’re a part of something and rebelling against something and the uppercase font does that, it plays in to that wish of speaking up when something isn’t right. It also suits the name of the magazine. They vary between large text and small text, while still using the same font – showing how something can be both loud and quiet. And with the small text, it’s still in uppercase showing that very same thing again.

Colour Scheme: The colour scheme on this page is black and white with a hint of blue to it. The blue is a very natural colour just like on the front cover, but it’s also an interesting choice as blue can mean so many things. I believe it’s about both showing they can be depressive and talk about issues rather than ignore them, but also about aiming higher, as to the blue sky. I think they want their readers to feel like this magazine will show you music that is above all else.

Language: Their use of language in the letter from the editor to the reader is once again suited for their typical reader. They use some more advanced words mixed in with well written sentences about deeper meaning behind things. The fact that the readers are intelligent allows the writers to use academic English for their articles.

CONTENTS PAGE MISE-EN-SCENE

Main Image: The main image used is a medium shot photograph of Rosie Lowe, the topic at hand. They spread across almost the entire left page without any text on top of it to really emphasise that it’s not just about her music but about herself, the person behind the music. The image gives a sense of getting some inside tell about her. The image also has a white frame around it made by the edges of the magazine. I think framing her is big part due to their style of minimalism, having the white frame surround it makes it less chaotic and better organized, more planned.

Image Information: On the top of the right hand side page there’s some red text with a line above it. It’s letting us know where the photograph is taken and what company they’ve worked with on it. I believe this is to give a sense of realness to the staged image. It’s letting the readers know that this is a real person who had to go someplace to be photographed for the article. And it’s also a way to make sure the magazine can stay free. Instead of paying money they don’t earn, they pay in recognition.

Headline: The headline is written in big slim letters and it simply says Rosie Lowe. It’s reminding us that we’re reading this to really get into Rosie’s head, to know what inspired her music. It grabs the reader’s attention as they become curious just who this woman is. The font is slim and kind of round in the edges, giving us a sense that this girl is soft but also stands tall. The title and article itself is placed pretty far down on the page. This is very minimalistic and follows the style of the magazine just like on the front cover and contents page but it’s a very daring move. Tons of empty space can make a reader feel like they’re not getting enough content, but with this magazine the writing is inspired and the content is original so the reader won’t even think about the empty spaces as a bad thing but rather as an aesthetic choice.

Cover Line: The cover line is short and introduces Rosie Lowe in a positive light. 'The future RnB star who will tell you everything' it says. This immediately makes you long for more inside information about this girl, and you suddenly want to know everything this girl will tell you. The cover line is written with a cursive font I believe this is done to make it seem like a personal quote from the journalist to the reader.

Photography / Writer: Under the cover line you can see a short line telling you who photographed the girl and who wrote the article. This is pretty usual, but having it be so prioritised is a bit unusual. I believe this is done to save money, as with the photographer they pay with recognition rather than cash. And also to emphasise that this is a magazine made by humans just like you rather than a bigger company.

Article / Columns: The article layout has an unusual layout. Four columns is 2 or 1 more than the usual magazine articles likes to use. This is done to make the page more balanced, rather than having one big block of text they have four thinner boxes of text that make the page breathe more. It doesn’t feel as heavy on the reader. The text is also set to justify rather than to align left, this I believe is done to continue the organized vibe of the magazine, while also creating more noticeable lines between the columns, so people know exactly where to read.

Character: In the photograph Rosie is seen sitting while leaning her arms on the object for the camera. This shows a sense of being comfortable, to lean on something isn’t as formal as standing up. This shows us that this girl is down to earth and comfortable with the writers, and confident in herself. She has a piece of fabric placed on her arm in a bright pink colour. This I believe represents her soft side.

Lighting and Editing: The lighting in this image is very warm, you can see her skin almost looks a bit orange some places due to a specific light and editing. Orange looking images are often connected to the feeling of something vintage, and I think that’s their goal. Their readers love old forgotten things. The image even has a bit of a grain edited on to it to really give the sense that this photo could have been taken 15 years ago.

Fonts: They vary between different fonts on this page. The title is a slim and soft font that captures your attention with its elegant appearance. The cover line is the same typewriter looking font as on the contents page, this is done to make the design look familiar – to make their readers associate this font with their magazine because as we said the readers are fond of vintage looking things, like that font. The photography/writer line is written in the same font as the article itself but with uppercase letters, this is done to make it stand out more to the reader. The font for the article itself is a classic looking font, similar to Times New Roman. It’s easy to read, looks good and isn’t too modern for the style of the magazine. They’ve made sure the three fonts match well as to prevent the reader from thinking it just looks random and chaotic.

Colour Scheme: The colours used in the image are very warm. The background is the colour apricot, a warm orange looking colour that gives us a good feeling about this woman. It’s the colour of happiness, making us see her as peaceful. And the pink represents her feminine side, the soft side. Her shirt and the object she’s leaning on are both grey, a simple colour that lets us know this girl is just herself.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD MISE-EN-SCENE

Q is a monthly magazine with a circulation of 44 thousand. It’s an magazine that doesn’t really follow a genre, but follows more mainstream music. It’s available to get in stores, read online or have sent right to your door. They write about all types of music, but often focuses on pop and rock. It’s a magazine published by Bauer Media Group, and It’s one of britains most popular magazine. Their readers are usually in their late twenties and are financially stable, and willing to pay for concerts/cd etc. which means Q is in a great position to advertise for music related events. I’ll be analysing the front cover, contents page and a double spread article from issue 73 of this magazine. I’ll be analysing the front cover, contents page and a double spread article from their January 2015 issue.

Q MAGAZINE

Masthead: Q’s masthead is interesting. It’s not centred at the top of the magazine like it is in most magazines, instead, it’s placed completely to the left-hand side. I believe this is done due to make it stand out in the stores. Magazines in stores are often laid out to overlap and just show the left-hand side of the magazines, and this way – you immediately notice this magazine because It’s the only title you can really read. It’s also quite big as there’s only one letter, it allows it to be even bolder and greater in size than most titles. I believe the red box it’s placed in is there to really bring attention to the magazine as red is a very attention grabbing colour. The font is easily readable and it has a soft feel to it, almost elegant, it’s easy on the eyes – and makes the reader feel like this magazine is classy.

Feature article image / main Image: The main image is a medium shot placed to fit the frame. This distance is perfect for what they’re aiming for. They’re trying to show him up close rather than from afar. They’re making it a bit more personal without invading his personal space, or asking about things the readers don’t want to know. It’s also edited to make Ed Sheeran’s head be placed above the masthead. This is a normal thing for magazines to do. It’s done to bring the magazine to life, to make the entire thing seem that much more real.

Plug: On the right-hand side, almost at the top of the magazine there’s a plug telling us this magazine has a list of the 50 best albums this year. The plug is large and bright red, making it one of the first things you notice about the magazine. It’s also very eye grabbing as there’s nothing similar to it on the cover, making it really stand out. And once it’s got your attention it has 50 written in huge letters, almost as big as the masthead, this is because fifty is considered a large number and if this magazine tells you it includes fifty albums you should listen to, it’s making you believe that this magazine has a lot of content.

Headline and Anchorage: The biggest headline is Ed Sheeran. It’s not only placed a bit strange being in the centre of the magazine, it’s using an unusual font. It’s a bit of a broken font in bright red. The red is used to capture your eye, and the font I believe is to further prove to you that this article will show you the real Ed Sheeran, not the flawless and smooth image most people tell of a perfect man, but an average man who can be a bit broken sometimes. And the font almost looks handwritten, making it feel even more personal for the reader. I believe the unusual placement of the headline is due to having to grab your attention. They already have a enormous masthead and a plug that grabs your eyes the second you look at the cover, so they’ve placed this title deliberately to control where your eyes move on the cover.

Sub Heading: The sub headlines are all placed on the sides of the magazine. First thing that catches my eye is the Neil Young heading as it’s bigger than the other sub headings. I believe this is also done so that once you finish reading the masthead, plug and headline – you move to the first left-side title, making your eyes move naturally after seeing it. The font is bold and slim, and elegant, matching the style of this being a high end magazine. The sub headings are all white, making them stand out from the dark background. They’ve even added drop shadow to the texts to really make them all stand out.

Cover Lines: The cover lines are all placed under the sub heading to make sure you see the headlines first. It’s also smaller in size, as it is further information. The sub headings grab your attention, and the cover lines are used to further your excitement about reading the articles. They’re also grey, making them blend in a bit more with the background. This style, is making it obvious that it’s just a short description of what you already know – what the article will include.

Price / Issue: The price is placed almost at the bottom. This is quite interesting as it shows the magazine doesn’t want you to see the price, or they know their readers are well off financially and won’t worry about the price. It also has the issue placed there, a barcode and website. This all shows it’s a modern magazine. It’s telling you it’s a recent issue so it’ll be relevant to your life. It has a website showing it keeps up with the time, and that it’s not just a magazine but an online archive of music history.

Footer: It’s unusual to have things placed on a line at the bottom like a footer on the front cover of a magazine but Q has done it. It’s not very eye grabbing but you do see it as soon as you’re done reading the entire cover. And once you’ve read the entire cover the footer starts off with ‘’Plus!’’ letting you know there’s even more. It’s not normal for a magazine to have this kind of thing on the front cover, but it’s a smart choice to include it. It’s making you believe that with the 50 album reviews, the Ed Sheeran article, and all the other articles, having even more is unusual for a magazine, as readers are used to the bottom being left empty, making them think this magazine has more than all other magazines.

Colour Scheme: The colour scheme for this magazine is pretty warm. We’ve got reds all over the place, mixed with some orange and light brown colours on the image. It’s a very welcoming cover, it makes you feel like reading this magazine will make you feel peaceful, even happy. The red is also good as it catches your attention. They’ve only used 4 colours on the cover: red, white, grey and light browns. It’s a colourful magazine without having it pop in your face.

Language: The language used for the cover is appropriate for their readers. They use words like saved, miracle and beating, powerful words. It might really reach their readers, as it’s not just articles about what has happened but rather stories being told. The language isn’t too casual, but not formal either – it’s personal but professional in every way.

Character: The main image is a medium shot of the singer Ed Sheeran. He’s holding a guitar as he looks away from the camera. This is quiet intriguing. Usually, the model will look straight in the camera to create a sense of equality between the reader and the magazine. However, this works in it’s own way to create a bond. It gives this sense that this guy is someone people don’t really know, they see him and they look but can’t see into his eyes long enough to get to know him. And the cover line saying ‘an everyday tale of one man’ emphasises the fact that if you read this magazine you’ll get to know more than just the surface. The acoustic guitar is placed in the image to immediately let you know what music he does. An acoustic guitar is a key item to songwriter/acoustic music. And it creates a more down to earth vibe compared to an image of him holding an electric rock guitar.

Lighting and Editing: The lighting is pretty beautiful in this image, but a rare choice. They’ve made the light shine on his face and let the rest of him be a bit dark compared to his head. It’s a bit of light around him but becomes darker the further away from him it is, making him really stand out and be the focus. They’ve also edited the image to have a significant amount of contrast. This makes the image feel a bit rougher and in some ways it helps bringing him more to life. This is done to really capture the attention of the reader.

FRONT COVER

MISE-EN-SCENE

Dateline: At the very top of the page it says what month and year this is from. This is placed on the top so people can easily see it as it’s important for the reader to know this is a current magazine, it’s telling you that their content is relevant. It’s in a bit of a dark colour on top of a black box. This is unusual but done to make sure it’s not stealing attention from anything else.

Masthead: The masthead is interesting. They’re using their famous logo, but not in it’s usual color scheme. This is done to match the contents page. They’ve included the logo right next to the contents masthead to remind the reader that it’s Q that’s giving them all these great articles, kind of selling themselves to their reader. The masthead is placed in a black box which is very unusual but it’s done to really catch your attention. The dark black on top of the white background makes the black really stand out, plus the font size is larger than anything else on the page. It’s obvious that this is what this page is focusing on – the content.

Main Image: The main image is placed in the top right-hand side corner. We know it’s the main image as it’s the biggest in size, and it’s the first image we think to look at. The woman is holding a Q-prize, making us wonder what she did to deserve this prize. She’s standing in front of a bright grey background that matches her grey hair. Her makeup is dark and experimental. It all makes us curious who this unusual woman is – and why does Q want us to focus on her.

Headlines: The headlines are all simple and short, straight to the point. Ed Sheeran, 50 Albums Of The Year etc. It’s making sure you can either recognize names you love or be curious about what the article will tell you. Ed Sheeran is well known and most will want to read the articles based on that, and 50 Albums Of The Year means there might be new albums for you to explore. It’s all very tempting to the reader. The headlines are all written in a grey blackish colour with a bold font making it really stand out from the white background. You see the images, they lead you to the title and suddenly you find yourself wanting more.

Cover Lines: Once you’ve seen the images, headlines etc. and you’re trying to figure out what you want to read first, you look at the cover lines and figure out exactly what you can expect from each article, and go from there. The cover lines are smaller, because like said – the headlines and images will lead you to it when needed.

Sub Images: For every article featured as a big article in this magazine on this contents page, there’s an image. They’re showing there’s even more to the article than what the front cover told you. It’s showing you tons of different images, from live shows to photo shoots – making sure there’s lots to grab your attention and it all appeals to you. They’ve got an image of someone playing on stage, an image where it says ’50 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR’, another one where a guy’s holding his guitar in a box – the magazine is telling us via the images that this magazine is all about the music.

Page Numbers: Once you’ve figured out that you’re ready to read about Ed Sheeran’s road to fame you can easily see the page number above the image. It’s in a speech bubble which I find interesting. It’s like the writer of the article is telling you to read it, it’s saying ‘’go to page 50’’. It’s navigating you. It’s using bright colours, different for each article. This is to emphasise that even thou the contents page makes all articles look the same – once you reach the page in the speech bubbles it’ll be completely different from any other page in the magazine, it’s telling you that every page is a gift.

Review column: On the right-hand side under the main image there’s a box showing us that on page 120 there’s something special. There’s reviews of up and coming artists. It’s a column to preview the article – but also to sell the artists. It’s telling you that these are names to remember, names you might not know that you should know.

Characters: The characters are all placed differently but a lot of them are placed towards the camera, connecting with the readers.

Costumes: The costumes vary. We have Ed Sheeran wearing jeans and a button up shirt whilst the others are wearing mostly dark, almost edgy clothing. It’s letting us know this magazine is a bit edgy but still mainstream and popular with artists like Ed Sheeran. The costumes can grab the readers attention – seeing all these different costumes makes them feel like anything can happen in this magazine. There’s something in here for everyone.

Props: There are used several props on this cover. Mostly instruments. It’s letting us know once again that this is a music magazine. And one even has a Q award as a prop. It’s letting you know this is a powerful magazine when it comes to the music industry. And the fact that we see Ed Sheeran on stage, and that lady holding an awards – it let’s us know it’s not just about the celebrity behind the music but about the music itself. It’ll focus on reviews and inspiration rather than celebrities love life.

Lighting and Editing: The lighting vary between the different images but the overall feel is that they’re a bit dark. They’re not over exposed, they’re not full of colour. They’re simple, and some of them are edited to look kind of vintage. It’s once again telling us that this magazine can do what it wants – they’ll write about colourful pop but also about dark rock. It’s showing us through lighting and colours that there’s no telling what they might write about. It makes the reader really interested in what they might be able to find as they flip through the pages.

Colour Scheme: They’ve used the main colours black and white but added more colours through details. It’s showing us that’s it’s classy and elegant with it’s black and white colour scheme, but adding a bit of fun with the colours. The colours are all different telling us once again that this is a magazine that isn’t limited to one genre. The colours are also useful in making the layout seem more fun than it is. It makes us see it as a fun design.

CONTENTS PAGE MISE-EN-SCENE

Fonts: The fonts used for the headlines are bold and sans serif while the cover lines are the opposite. Through fonts, we can easily tell what is prioritized for us to read and what we don’t really have to read. The font’s are selected because they’re both easy to read and fonts people recognize. It’s not experimenting with five different fonts, they’ve found two fonts they think work together and stuck to them.

Main image: The main image is placed across both pages. This is very unusual but because the image has a background that’s blank in some ways it allows them to use it as a background for the article. This is done to really emphasise that this entire double page spread article is all about him. No exceptions. The image is a medium close up which shows us it’s going to be a personal piece of writing.

Headline: The headline is just purely amazing. It’s a slim white font with a drop shadow to it. It almost looks like it’s from the past. It’s made like this to emphasise the age of the person they’re interviewing but also his journey. He’s talking about cancer – which made him weak and skinny just like this font might seem. It’s a very well thought of headline design. And it’s placed on almost half the right-hand side page, grabbing as much of your attention as it can. It really wants you to focus and it’s almost like it’s so big they’re telling you to lean back a bit and see the entire image and text as a whole.

Drop cap: In the beginning of the article, they’ve used a drop cap for different reasons. First of all, for design purposes. It’s there to make the readers feel like the article is fun and to make the design more creative. It’s also there to point out where the actual article begins as the layout is a bit unusual and some readers could be confused. The drop cap is not colourful or inside a box, it’s black and bold and just like the rest of the article. I think this is because of the theme of the article – they’re using the drop cap to show that it’s not a fun article, it’s about a man’s hard fight to survive.

Article: The article design in itself is unusual. Usually the font will be aligned to justify so that it creates an illusion of lines between each column but in this article they’ve simply but uneven lines between them instead. I think this is done as e very subtle way of telling you this article is honest, it’s not using fancy tricks to make you believe something untrue – it’s simply telling you it straight up And the font changes. When it’s bold, it’s a sans serif font but when it’s not in bold they go back to a serif font. It’s all to show you that there’s a difference between them. Bold means interviewer asking and thin font means an answer. And after the first introduction paragraph they’ve but small diagonal boxes to create a line. There’s a very interesting use of lines for this article.

Pull out quote: On the left-hand side, there’s a quote from the artist they’re interviewing. This is done to let the reader get a bit of a taste for the article before beginning it. And it’s also a way to highlight what the article is really about. It’s white text placed on a bright red box. It might look silly, and even like something a student would make – but it’s a very smart move as it grabs all the attention it possible can, which it has to do when the image is so attention grabbing.

Layout: The layout for this article is overall very unusual, but it works. You start focusing on the image, wondering who he is and what he’s thinking, then you move on to the quote and hear a piece of his story. You then grow interested and learn his name by looking to the title. You then move on to the article. The creators have designed the page almost perfectly, it leads your eyes exactly where you’re supposed to look, while telling stories through the use of editing and fonts.

Character / camerawork: The image used is a medium close up of the man, revealing to us that he’ll be the focus of the story – and that it’ll be a personal one. He’s looking straight into the camera showing equality to us and even confidence. He looks focused, almost angry – making us curious what he’s been through. We can see every detail in his skin, this foreshadows that the article will be rough and real.

Costumes / props: The man is wearing a black suit. I find this very interesting considering the theme of the article. It’s almost like he’s telling us with his clothing that he’s been closed to death, close to having all his loved ones dress in black for his funeral. It’s also a suit showing us that he’s a professional and that he’s still in the game now. The same with the prop, the prop of the award is telling us that he’s recovered and back in the game. He’s earned this award, and he’s not ashamed to be proud of it.

Lighting and Editing: The image is strongly edited to show every detail of this man, and to make him almost pop out of the page. The contrast makes him really come alive. And like mentioned earlier, the image shows all details of his skin – all the bad parts. It’s real. I believe this is inspired by the story. He’s been sick, he’s been fighting which is the experiences the details in his skin represent but the contrast in the image and how he pops out is what represents being alive, it’s showing him as an imperfect survivor.

Colour Scheme: The colour scheme is interesting. They’ve got the hints of bright red, but mostly black and white with pale colours here and there. The background is a pale brown colour, almost grey. The character is dressed in black following the white and black, and his skin is skin colour but it’s a pale colour. The colour scheme is re-telling the story. Being sick and weak is the pales, but the red is his battle and survival.

Fonts: The fonts used are interesting. For the quote they’ve used a simple font that is easy to read, this is done because of the bright colours the box has, if it was a messy font people might not have been able to read it, but because it’s simple – people can read it. The masthead is my favourite font here. The general aesthetic of it added with the drop shadow gives a strong vibe of it being old, like the design of a 80’s movie title. It’s skinny and pale just like the man when he was sick. It’s planned in extreme detail I think. And for the article they’ve gone with two different standard fonts, that are easy to read.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD MISE-EN-SCENE

NME is a monthly music magazine published by Time Inc. NME stands for New Musical Express. The magazine’s circulation is around three hundred and eight thousand. It’s a magazine that doesn’t follow just one genre, but switch between all genres, but people tend to associate it with rock. Their readers are mostly males and rely strongly on advertisements to keep them up to date with music and events, this makes NME perfect for earing money off adverts. The readers are also usually 23 years old, meaning they have a much younger audience than most of the magazines out there. This makes them better for advertising as young people tend to be more active in the music industry but also gives the issue that some are students and can’t afford whatever is advertised.

NME

Date / Price: The date and price is placed above the masthead. This is a bit unusual for NME as it’s usually placed in the bottom left-hand side corner to be sort of hidden from their readers, but on this cover it’s on display as it’s free and they want the audience to know this won’t cost them a thing. The date is also placed next to it to bring it to your eyes equal to the price. When it’s made is important to know because you want a recent magazine that’s relevant to you. The font is white and slim, and the size is rather close to being too small to read, but it’s just the perfect size for some extra information text not everyone will bother to read no matter the size.

Masthead: The masthead is in a large block font with a dropped outline to create a 3D effect. This is done to really make it pop out and grab your attention, but it’s covered up by the feature image model letting us know the magazine is confident you already know of them. The 3D part of the masthead is transparent, making it softer on the eye and more geometric. I believe this is done for aesthetic of the cover.

Feature article image / main image: The main image is the feature image of Nicholas Hoult in a suit. It’s a medium close up shot, making him very recognisable to the readers as we can immediately see what he looks like. The image is warm from the shadows being brown-ish to the highlights being a warm beige colour. It’s all part of their colour scheme.

Plug: They’ve added a plug to the cover to emphasise the text inside it. It simply says ‘Music, Film, Style’ confirming it’s an entertainment magazine. It’s an orange colour making it really pop, especially as it has a drop shadow making it appear to jump out of the page. It then has the text inside written in uppercase letters with an underline making it stand out even more. It also looks a bit worn out giving it a bit of an edge. I believe this is done to make readers know it’s a magazine that isn’t scared to talk about new, maybe even unpopular music.

Headline and Anchorage: The headline is really interesting as it differs in fonts within the title. It starts off with a simple font in white saying ‘From boy to…’ and then goes over to a tilted text saying ‘Murderer’ in uppercase letters with a rather interesting font. The font is torn apart in places and nothing is aligned. It’s in orange, matching the colour scheme – but also making it stand out from the white texts around the magazine. I believe all of this is done to make it seem more dangerous, it’s about creating the illusion that this article will be about something extraordinary like out of a horror movie. It then ends of with an anchorage saying ‘Nicholas Hoult and the dark side of the music biz’ and ‘exclusive interview by author John Niven’, they’re in smaller fonts but Nicholas Hoult is capitalized, this is done to give you more information about their model for the front cover and also in hopes that if you don’t recognise his face – you will recognise his name.

Sub Heading and Cover Line: There’s only one other headline except the main headline. This is very unusual, it shows us the magazine is confident their usual readers are already expecting tons of content and doesn’t need to be convinced and it makes new readers curious about what more there might be inside that they haven’t even gotten a preview of. It gives a sense of exclusivity.

Character: The model is pretty interesting. He’s standing up with a suit on. He’s looking very sharp and almost ready for a business meeting or for the Oscars. He has his hand over his lips as to show his hand more. He’s looking straight into the camera, giving us a feeling of understanding for the guy or a sense of equality. The way his one eyebrow is further down than the other makes us almost feel like he knows something we don’t. Making us even more curious to open to magazine.

Lighting and Editing: The image is fairly bright, even the shadows aren’t as dark as they could be. It’s a sharp image edited to make the colours warmer. The lighting is focused on his head/face, making him really stand out. The lighting is telling us that this guy is the focus, where the spotlight for this magazine is set. All attention is on him much due to the lighting and editing done.

Fonts: The fonts chosen for this front cover are very interesting, especially the masthead and headline, everything else is sort of standard magazine fonts and colour. The masthead, however, is a popular block font but with special effects making the font appear to be in 3D.

Colour Scheme: The colour scheme combined with the date makes me know it’s supposed to be Halloween themed. It’s not that the colours are dark and scary, they’re actually the opposite, however – it’s the pattern of using orange and the choice of font for the headline. The cover only uses four colours really. Brown as the main colour then orange and white as secondary colours. It’s a warm and intriguing.

Language: The use of language tells me their readers are fairly young. They use slang like ‘biz’ instead of business, knowing their audience will understand it. They also use the word murderer to try and grab attention making me think the readers like to be surprised by the magazine.

FRONT COVER

MISE-EN-SCENE

Masthead: The masthead is similar to the one on the front cover but in opposite colours which is very interesting. It’s showing us that the logo isn’t set on a colour, it can adapt for the colour scheme if needed. And it’s also adding a fun effect by changing colour along the edges of the main image. This is done to make the page look more original and creative.

Main Image / Images: The main image is of an artist named Halsey and it’s in black white. I believe it’s edited this way to minimalize the use of colours, to make the page a bit easier on the eye as having it in colours could be very distracting, same thing for the other image on the left-hand side.

Note by Editor: The note by editor is added to personalize the magazine, which makes you feel like it’s something you’re a part of rather than something you read every now and then.

Sections: The different articles and page numbers are placed inside sections. I believe this is done to show new readers what’s usual for the magazine and what to expect in the future. And also for old readers to immediately see what page their favourite regular column is on.

Buzz Word: Right above the page numbers and headlines, there’s a buzz word. It’s inside a black speech bubble, making it really grab attention. It’s there to bring your eyes there first, and once your eye is there you see it’s telling you what the feature story is, and your eyes move down. It’s there to create a sense of order on a pretty unusual layout.

Page Numbers: The page numbers vary. In the first section with the features they’re large as to give them more attention and even to signalize this is what you should read now because it’s not something they usually write about, as opposed to the regulars. The page number on sections are smaller making us feel like they might not be our greatest priority. And then the regulars – the numbers are placed to sort of end sentences and tell us what page articles are on in a simple way. All page numbers are in red which really grabs our attention, and also makes them stand out – If they were black they’d blend in with the headlines.

Headlines: The headlines vary as well. The features one are big and bold, usual titles that grab our attention perfectly well. And in the sections part, we have different logos as headlines that all give an idea what the article is about to new readers, but to old readers – just let them know this is where to find the page number for your favourite section. They’re quite colourful which contrasts to the black and white theme of the page, making them stand out and really grab anyone’s attention. The last section, regulars, have smaller titles that are easy on the eye. They’re not as important or great or just as long as the feature articles.

Footer: NME has decided to have a footer at the bottom of their contents page. There you can learn all of their workers and sponsors. It’s put here to give the magazine some trust, to make those who are sceptical to magazines know this is a safe bet. Especially because all writers are on display, so if one was to write something false the readers would have a name to attack plus it could ruin that writers career, so having them like this makes the reader feel safe that these writers will be honest.

Character: The model is placed in a city, and it’s taken while she’s taking of her sunglasses almost making it look like some photo they just took. Her makeup is heavy around the eyes, really bringing attention to them. It all makes us wonder what we don’t know about this person. She’s dressed very stylish with a leather jacket. This will make people think of her as a fashion icon and as someone cool, someone they look up to – making them want to know more about her again.

Editing: The editing of the images are rare as magazines don’t usually go for black and white images. This is done to not grab the attention from the contents of the articles, they want the focus to be on their good writing rather than the visual. The main image is also edited to look a bit faded – making it look vintage. I believe this is done to foreshadow the article as once you read it you’ll know her genre of music is a bit vintage.

Colour Scheme: The colour scheme is black and white overall, but with colours in the details like page numbers, certain names and lines. I believe this is done to control the chaos of the layout. It’s a good layout but it’s not minimalistic or even organised, and because of that keeping the colours to a minimal help make the page more pleasing to the eye and easer to navigate as it’s not all over the place as if everything were to be in different colours. It’s part of what makes the page more minimalistic.

Fonts: The fonts vary. We have the bold 3D masthead, and then titles and text, and then lastly, the sections titles. They all bring something to the table. Some are just easy to read and some are just fun but they look good together. I believe the reason the sections titles are incredibly different is because they’re not just titles – they’re logos. And they’ve used logos so people will recognise it from earlier issues or so that new readers will remember it because of the unusual design of the headline.

CONTENTS PAGE MISE-EN-SCENE

Layout: The layout is very interesting and a bit messy but works for the magazine style. It’s a bit chaotic but you can still manage and read it fine and from the NME covers I’ve seen, I’ve noticed it’s a pattern that they get a chaotic layout to look more organised than it is. I believe this is reflecting on their content. Their content isn’t limited to one genre, it’s all genres in one big messy magazine – but it’s quality content and it makes sense together.

Main Images: There are two main images for the article and both are placed in the corners, and this is one of two reasons we know they are the main images. The placement and the size. It’s deliberately put in the corners to make them individual and different from the smaller images from the text, so people know these images are the important ones.

Highlighted Texts: In the text, certain words and sentences are highlighted and then there’s a highlighted line from that text to an image. These are key words that people might not know, stuff like mentions of TV-shows or other actors and the line is made to connect it the words to the correct image and caption for it. This is a smart way to make sure readers understand the article while also creating an interesting layout for the magazine.

Sub Images: There are tons of images placed around the article that your eyes go to from the words in the article. It shows you what he’s talking about – making the article more visual and fun to read. All images remain a small size to make sure it doesn’t grab your attention before needed.

Sub Images Captions: The images come with captions in white text that have a grey background behind it, this is to further your knowledge about the things you might not have heard of and to make the article seem like it has even more information for you. It’s put in these different colours to make sure you don’t read it as part of the article itself.

Author Bubble Image: In the beginning there’s a photo of the author making us curious who he is, this is an innovative way to give the journalist it’s recognition. It’s also more personal, it’s not just some random name you’ll never remember – it’s John and John has a face. This is something I’ll remember for my magazine as it’s a fun way to make that ignored line of ‘Written By’ more noticed.

Pull Out Quotes: There are two pull out quotes in opposites corners from each other. They’ve deliberately placed them there to create a sense of it being more organised than it is but still asymmetrical to keep the creative sketchbook look of the page. The quotes are used to make the reader curious what he’s talking about even before reading the article, and also to really highlight some things the journalist found interesting from the interview.

Drop Cap: In the beginning there’s a drop cap that matches the colours for the background of the sub images captions. It’s placed there to keep the creative way of designing an article layout on track, and to make sure the readers know where to start as it is quite a heavily filled page.

Colour Scheme: The colour scheme is amazing in my personal opinion. It uses soft colours like grey and brown for their main colours, but highlight yellow for some details. It’s very aesthetically pleasing. It’s a warm article with a bit of a professional vibe to it, which I think the colours emphasise.

Fonts: There’s only one font used on this page, which is quite unusual. I believe this is one of the ways NME has managed to make this chaotic layout look more organised than it is because our eyes see it all as similar. They’re in different sizes as the quotes want to grab more of your attention than the article but other than that the fonts are pretty standard.

Layout: The layout is by far the most messy one I’ve analysed but It’s also the one I personally prefer as it’s unique. You don’t find this in any magazine. It looks almost like a page out of a sketchbook, but well organised. It all looks to make no sense, but as you get closer and start reading it’s like there’s an arrow always telling you where your eyes should go and the layout feel natural to the eyes.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD MISE-EN-SCENE