Double page spread analysis

This is a double page spread which was created to give me a guideline for a layout. This double page spread was influenced by the 'Q' magazine.

The band 'Metallica' are backed by a grey wall, and so i had to change the left hand side of the double page spread to match it, to make it look more like a double page spread and not just two seperate pages. The text is backed onto a large auto rectangle, which has then had its colours saturated to give it the marble, wall effect. This complements the image by making it stand out.

I tried to keep this double page spread quite minimalist. As the only colours in the picture are different shades of black and white, they are the scheme of colour i have chosen to merge both image and text to form a double page spread. The text is done by a preset font, and in the shade black, based on the grey marble effect wall. By using only these colours it makes the page stand out, and easier to read. Compared to a coloured filled page with a greyscale image.

The font for the name of this page was created on *www.urbanfonts.com
I have chosen a font which is quite similar to the main text, the colour is also the same. The only difference really is the size. Beneath the title, in a slightly smaller font is a quote from one of their albums (a song called 'Nothing ever dies') this helps to tie the reader in. The quote 'Nothing ever dies' can be interpretted in many ways; it can refer to the band coming back from a long break or it can be interpretted as being, another great CD release, which in this case it is.

This image shows what genre of music the band plays by playing on the sub-cultural aspect. All four bandmembers are wearing leather jackets, shaded glasses and one with long hair. This instantly makes us think of rock or metal.

Kerrang analysis

The Masthead uses a bold font, and also uses contrasting colors to grab attention. The font is distorted, which gives across the idea of it being 'un - natural'. The distortion used is a cracked effect which gives the impression of breaking rules.

Colors used are blacks, whites, reds and yellows (for the main color scheme) This works well, and gives the idea of danger (police warning tape), working together with the 'cracked' font.

The image is a large medium shot of the band 'Avenged sevenfold'. They have used a large picture which takes up 80%of the page to grab attention, as people are naturally attracted to images over text.

The magazine name "Kerrang!" was originally intended to be onomatopoeic for the sound made when playing a power chord on the electric guitar. This also reflects the genre of this magazine, as power chords are (usually) used in the Metal and Rock genres.

The band name "Avenged sevenfold" is written in a large white font, backed onto the picture of the band, who are wearing dark clothes, and so this makes the band name stand out by the use of contrasting colors.

The price of the Kerrang! magazine is £2.20, Mojo is £4.50 and Q costs £3.80. Kerrang! has lowered its price over the years, to compete with other music magazines. However, this is not a problem for what they lose on the cover price, to what they gain in volume of circulation. Kerrang! is the largest selling rock/metal music magazine in the world.

The two yellow banners, one at the top of the magazine, and one on the bottom, are used for "latest news" and information that you will find within the magazine. The shade of yellow used is that of police tape - used at crimescenes. In the centre there is a brighter shade of yellow "The world's most dangerous band". This alone shows that the magazine is rock/metal based, as this band is featured in the magazine.

Down the right hand side of the magazine, there are the names of 3 other bands, to be featured within the magazine. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lost Prophets and Headbangers. The color of the font is a dark red, which on a black backround, doesnt really make it stand out. This ensures that these bandnames to not take over an importance from the featured band but still lets the reader know that they will have their slots in the magazine.

Mojo Analysis

Mojo is a popular magazine and is published by Bauer. The genre of this magazine is 'classic rock'. Mojo was first published in 1993, and has since grown and increased its circulation to over 100k. To attract a larger audience Mojo regularly includes a cover mount CD.

The title font of this magazine is plain, and in a shade of white, causing it to stand out over anything else placed on the front cover. 'The Beatles' is also printed in this font, which allows it to also stand out. Under the main white font, there is a smaller text coloured in a light grey/blue. This clashes with the background image and is therefore harder to read.

The image used is that of 'The Beatles', however this is not a whole picture. Infact there have been four images merged together to make it look like a 'true' picture. These images that were joined together are all medium shots, they would all have had to have been the same size shots in order to pull off this image of them all together. To find out why they have done this we must look at 'The Beatles' history. They started out in 1962 and stopped producing music in the 1970s. During this time they went through many changes, this picture reflects that by using images of 'The Beatles' at different times and then merging them together as one (each band member represents a different time).

This magazine was a 'special issue' and so came with a free CD of a tribute band to 'The Beatles' which is advertised in the top left corner of the magazine in a small silver circle (to help to increase the sales of this special issue magazine).

All the artists names on the cover are in white, with any other information in grey. This is so that the artist name stands out and grabs the attention of the audience as to who is featured in the magazine. The reason for why they are in the magazine is less important and so can appear in grey! However, this is not the case with Paul McCartney! The fact the magazine has managed to get an interview with him is what will help to sell the magazine as this is a rare oportunity, therefore, in his case 'Macca Speaks' is completely in white (not so for Lemmy)!

The cover gives a clear indication of what is in the magazine and makes it obvious by text, font and image who are the main feature of the particular issue.