Front Cover:
 |
| Kerrang Cover |
On the front cover the dominant colour is
purple which usually has connotations with royalty, luxury and ambition. The main image for the issue is of Green Day
which relates to the main article of their top 25 songs and they have themed
the issue around them as they were due to perform at Reading Festival the same
week as this magazine was released. To
fit in with the Reading Festival theme there is even a banner saying all about
the festival. All the members of the
band are looking directly at the camera which creates eye contact with the
reader which wi
ll entice the reader and makes it a more personal connection to
the cover. Also rather than having long
winded headlines about particular ar
ticles there are instead replaced with names
of bands and then a small description of the article to do with them underneath
so then if you only see the magazine for as brief amount of time then you can
instantly see what band are being featured in the magazine.
 |
| Kerrang Contents Page |
Contents Page:
The contents page has very little amount of images when
compared to the other magazines I have analysed as there are only three images
on this page while the other magazines tended to have at least 5. For some of the contents page headings there
will be a really small description though this only is done for a few of them
rather than all and the small description is quite pointess as they are far too
small too read unless you have a microscope with you. Though this is layed out quite well and isn’t
as random as NME it is still far too crowded and overall this magazine ends up
coming off a bit amortize when compared to the other magazines.
Double Page Spread:
 |
| Kerrang Double Page Spread |
The double spread I have chosen is of an interview of Blink
182 celebrating their 21
st anniversary. The
main image takes up two of the pages yet allows a little bit of text at the
bottom. This is clever as it makes you
think there is more text than there is and that you are getting your value for
money but realistically there isn’t much writing and it shows that they don’t
have enough content to warrant a double spread as the main headline is far too
big as well as the main image and the two pointless smaller images. This is by far the worst double page spread I
have covered and overall this magazine not as well published as the other two
and this probably explains why it is the cheapest of the bunch.
NME
Front Cover:
 |
| NME Cover |
The primary colours for the front cover is
red, white and blue from the union jack which is very British and has a retro
feel to it. It also has a very basic
design with very little text on the cover unlike the front cover to Kerrang
which is rather cluttered and has too much going on. The main image for this issue if that of The
Who which is the main feature for the magazine.
The main image is of The Who and though this picture wasn’t taken
specifically for the magazine as this is an older picture probably from the 60s
but the band are in the exact same position as Green Day were on the front
cover of Kerrang and they also are looking directly at the camera.
 |
| NME Contents Page |
Contents Page:
The contents page for this is rather unorganized, the big
articles are all accommodated with an image yet they are randomly placed and
there is no reason for this layout for example an article for page 50 is on the
top right corner where as for page 30 article it is on the bottom left.
Double Page Spread:
One of the double page spreads for the magazine focuses on
the release of Kanye West’s new album Yeezus and goes in detail about his
career up to that point will all the highs and all the lows. The main image is a medium close up shot of
Kanye West himself looking directly at the camera. At the bottom of the page is a timeline which
basically sums up his progression and gets straight to the point of all the
main achievements he has accomplished.
 |
| NME Double Page Spread (Page 1) |
 |
| NME Double Page Spread (Page 2) |
Q
Front Cover:
 |
| Q Cover |
The front cover for this magazine is a
fold out front cover of Beady Eye being posed as astronauts on the moon with
the front cover unfolded clearly showing its front man Liam Gallagher posed
holding a Union Jack flag. The whole
band are looking at the camera just like the other pictures I’ve analysed. The reason that they are posed on the moon is
because the main headline says ‘Liam’s on a mission’ and this can also imply
that they are out of this world. The
main colours for the cover are blacks, whites and golds which makes the r
ed
logo for the magazine instantly jump out as well as the yellow puff which is
about Depeche Mode. The price for the
magazine is probably best of the three magazines as it is easiest to find at a
quick glance unlike Kerrang who’s price is bold and is far too small and just
ends up blending in with the the issue number.
Contents Page:
The contents page is a double page spread and it
contrasts the front cover as it has a
whole page showing Noel Gallagher which contrasts to the front cover as both
Liam and Noel hate each other and that they used to be the frontmen of
Oasis. The contents page is a double
page spread and is definitely ordered and layed out a lot better than NME.
 |
| Q Contents Page (Page 1) |
 |
| Q Contents Page (Page 2) |
Double Page Spread:
 |
| Q Double Page Spread |
One of the double page spreads for the
issue is of a review for Daft Punk’s new album Random Access Memories. The layout is rather similar to the Kanye
West double page spread from NME as it has a medium close up shot of Daft Punk,
and they are also posed looking at the camera but you can’t tell if their eyes
are as they are both wearing helmets.
There is also on the right a list of albums which inspired them for
their new album which is accompanied with a brief description which is very
reminiscent of the timeline of Kanye West in NME.
Most of them praised the front cover and noted how the colour scheme is very bold and eye-catching and that it fits the generic conventions associated with a music magazine front cover. They also praised the different photos I took. The double page spread was met with praise and they liked the layout especially where I placed the two photos and formatted the text around it. Most said that they could easily tell that I had planned thoroughly for both the front cover and also the double page spread. 
Though they praised the photos I took some of them did say that they were lacking direct gaze which helps to pull readers to the magazine, and I agree completely and in hindsight I should have taken this into account. The contents page was universally panned by them saying how it looked rushed and lacked any interesting design features and was a big step down from the front cover. Their main problem with the double page spread was that it looked that their wasn't enough text and that I had tried to cover this problem by enlarging it and they said a good way for me to have tackled this would have maybe have enough picture featured.