Analysis of similar magazines 1

The masthead is the biggest piece of text on the page it stands out and has bright colours and capital letters.It is the original logo that has been used on the magazine and has not changed for years, this is so people will remember it and it creates the brand. NME stands for ‘New musical express’ which is written underneath the masthead.

The magazine is aimed at a teenage audience so it needs to appeal to them. It is cluttered but everything seems to have its place. It appears quite ordered but things are placed quite randomly on the page at angles. This is appealing to the audience because they are in both ages that would want it logical but also appealing showing the busy-ness of the page.

The magazine uses a mid-shot of Lily Allen on the cover. It shows a connection to Lily Allen as her eyes fall on the where the reader’s eye will look. Lily Allen is a figure that will appeal to the target audience of the magazine. She has been shown as quite unruly and rebellious so it shows as stereotypical teenager who is supposedly rebellious.

It shows her wearing dark eye shadow, with black hair and a pale white face- this is a ‘emo’ feel, so will also appeal to music fans of certain genres, not necesssarily her music.

The font used looks like newspaper cuttings. This gives the impression of it being cut out –like a ransom note, which would appeal to the target audience as it is bold and stands out.

NME used to be a newspaper, before it turned into magazine format, so this could also link to the newsprint font.

‘Lily Allen takes on the world’ something that would appeal to teenagers at a first glance. Also the quote from her interview that is used on the cover ‘I can’t keep on living like this, it’s doing my head in’ pulls people in and make people intrigued about what the article is going to reveal

NME is targeted at a teenage audience, male and female, you can tell this because they feature both male and female musicians on the cover. It focuses on today’s music.

NME uses a simple colour scheme. It has masculine colours like red, black and white. They have a white background so the text and pictures stand out and are bold. They do not blend in with each other and everything is noticeable and stands out on the page.   

Text falls on the beginning of the route of the eye. The picture lies through it and also the main cover line. The route of the eye starts on a strap line of one of articles goes through a picture showing another article and the main cover line and picture used as the background.
In the first third are the mast head and all the important issue information. In the second third are the picture and the main cover line. In the final third are the rest of the cover lines and the other cover lines and stories in the issue. The cover is visibly split in to the first and second thirds by the red background next to the white background where the Masthead ends.

The contents page is simple and easy to follow. It is not very cluttered and everything has its own section. It is designed this way because the contents page is not a page people spend a lot of time looking at, this way it is simple for people to look at to just reference a page number to find an article.

The purpose of the contents page is to give the reader basic information about the articles inside the magazine. It gives page numbers and how to find each article.
The colour scheme used on this page is the same as the front page. The white background keeps the attention on the text and it is all clear and readable.

The picture shows one of the music venues which are the focus of one of the magazines articles. It is anchored underneath with text and a page number for the article.

The section that advertises subscription information stands out with a black banner with bright white and yellow text. It attracts eyes as it is very bright and noticeable, this would make people read it as a ploy to get more people to subscribe to the magazine.
This magazine contents page features a band index which is convenient for the one off readers who were attracted by pictures of artist names on the front cover.

The route of the eye falls though the main image on the right hand page. The bold headline on the left hand page is the first thing you would notice. The picture credits are written in the same font as the article and are placed at the end of the article. The by-line is close to the headline and is in the same style as it.

At the top of the right hand page in the right hand corner is Lily Allens name written in bold black. This shows who the article is about and makes it easier for one off readers or for people who are flicking through the magazine in a shop.

The headline is in the same style font as the front cover. This distinguishes it as the same article that the front cover is advertising. It is a quote from the article so it makes people want to read it to find out what it is about.
The picture of Lily Allen brings attention to the artist as it is a bright and noticeable picture. The clothes she is wearing match the colour scheme of the magazine. The tartan shirt and messy hair make her look quite masculine. The pose she is positioned in makes her look very strong and dominating. It demands attention. You can also see the tattoo on her wrist which reinforces the rebellious look seen on the front cover, as a tattoo is automatically seen as daring and rebelious.
The page is very uncluttered and seems quite ordered. The picture of Lily Allen covers almost all of one page. Half of the other page is the headline of the article. The main article is split into four columns. It has a plain background, but the style of font used for the headline makes it noticeable and busy.