Double Page Spread 2

1) How does the choice of band featured in the article suggest who the target audience will be?

This double page spread focuses on Suzanne Shaw, from the pop band Hear'Say. The facial expression that she is pulling is quite humorous, and the clothes that she is wearing are very young. This suggests that this band aims at quite younger people, therefore meaning that the target audience for this magazine are young and fresh teenage girls, aged between 12-14 years.

2) What type of language is used in the article? Give examples of words or phrases which are specific to the style of the magazine.

The language on this page is extremely informal and colloquial, quoting phrases from Suzanne that read "That was wicked" and "No, I love 'em!". This type of language represents the kind of band that Hear'Say are. They're a very young band, and this type of language would appeal to their listeners.

3) How is colour used?
There is a lot of blue used in this article. This blue is extremely pale, therefore targeting their younger audience. It is also a very bright colour, which has connotations of the band being bright and vibrant themselves. It is in the background, the borders for images and the speech marks that are positoned at the top. Throughout the magazine, there are also other interviews, and the same blue colour has been used in each one. This makes the magazine have a consistent colour scheme for these type of interviews. Therefore, when the user is flicking through, they can instantly recognise what this double page spread will be about.

4) What style of text is used? Is it similar to any other pages? What does it say about the image of the magazine and the audience?
The style of text is a basic sans serif font, with the answers to the questions being in Arial. This is quite an easy font to read and understand, which appeals to younger people who may not be able to read as well. It is also extremely informal, which has connotations of the magazine wanting to have a friendly relationship with its readers.


5) How is the double page spread laid out? How much of the pages are taken up by images and how much by text? How does this reflect the audience? What do they value?
One A4 page on the left is taken up by an entire image of Suzanne Shaw. This is because during these times (the years 2000-2003), people would often rip this page out and stick it on their walls as posters. By having this whole image on this A4 sheet, it is allowing the readers to do this.
On the right, there is mainly text, with a picture of her when she was younger. The pull quote spread across the page, in a much larger font, which attracts attention to it. There is not much text, which suggests that this audience do not like to read much, and prefer to look at images. This is because they are younger, and are more used to just flicking through a magazine.


6) What tone is the magazine using when addressing the reader (as a close friend, a member of an 'in' crowd or an informed intelligent fan?) - provide evidence
The magazine does not address the reader much throughout this interview. The only part which addresses the audience is the text that reads "Suzanna on starting early and finishing up a pop star". This is quite direct and tells the reader exactly what the interview is going to be about. This shows that they want to have an honest relationship with their readers, and want to be very clear about what they want to say.

7) How is the artist/band presented to the audience through the images? You may wish to carry out a contextual analysis.

The image is positioned on the left side of the magazine. It is very fun and silly, which shows the viewer that she is quite young and doesn't mind people seeing this more laid-back and casual side of her. The fact that it is also medium shot, showing her from the waist up, also proves that she doesn't mind her audience knowing about her. Her clothes are also of a very young style, as well as her hair style and cap. This appeals greatly to her target audience.

8) How does the style of the article match the style of the front cover?
This magazine is similar to the front cover in some ways, mainly due to the image of Suzanne Shaw. She is pulling, as mentioned above, quite a funny and excited expression. On the front cover, the image of the whole band are also pulling the same expression, showing that they are having a lot of fun and don't take things too seriously.

9) Does the article demand any prior knowledge? Give examples.
This magazine does not require you to have any prior knowledge, as the interview asks her most things about her life up until now. However, the reader may find it helpful to know that she is quite famous, as the pull quotes both describe her opinions on fame. For example "I wanted to go to Hollywood when I was three!" and "A few platinum disks hanging in the bathroom would be nice".

Smash Hits Powerpoint

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Double Page Spread

Double Page Spread

1) How does the choice of band featured in the article suggest who the target audience will be?
This double page spread is dedicated to letters htat people have sent in, and so there are many bands that are featured within these pages, for example, Oasis, Blur and MGMT. These bands are quite indie, which suggests that this magazine is dedicated to indie music. The target audience is probably 16-35 years. This is due to that fact that MGMT is quite a recent band for the younger generations, yet Oasis have been around for a while, therefor aiming more at the older generations.

2) What type of language is used in the article? Give examples of words or phrases which are specific to the style of the magazine
The language on this page is quite informal and colloquial, espeically the letters that have been sent in. The magazine asks questions such as "Anyone else delighted to see Blur back?". This is very informal, and creates quite a 'chatty' and conversational atmosphere.

3) How is colour used?
The colours on this page are white, black and red. Red is clearly used because it is this magazine's house colour, meaning that the magazine can achieve a consistent style if they use it throughout their magazine. The black text on the white background makes the text stand out well, as they are both greatly contrasting colours.

4) What style of text is used? Is it similar to any other pages? What does it say about the image of the magazine and the audience?
The style of the text is quite informal throughout the magazine, such as on page 23, the opening sentence is "Professional northerner wanted", which is clearly quite humourous and not meant to be taken seriously. This suggests that this magazine is quite laid back, which may represent the people who read the magazine and are into this sort of music. It also suggests that the magazine want to create a friendly and more personal relationship with its readers, to make them want to continue reading.

5) How is the double page spread laid out? How much of the pages are taken up by images and how much by text? How does this reflect the audience? What do they value?
This double page spread is laid out in a quite structured way. The text and images are positioned in columns, making it easy for the user to follow. There appears to be an even balance of text and images, probably due to the fact that the main image on the left page is quite big. This represents the style of the magazine, which is quite casual and laid-back. The readers do not want to read huge paragraphs of formal text; they want to to be able to read some text, but be able to flick through images as well.

6) What tone is the magazine using when addressing the reader (as a close friend, a member of an 'in' crowd or an informed intelligent fan?) - provide evidence
The tone is very casual and appears to be addressing all readers, instead of just you. "Anyone else delighted to see Blur back?" is a very casual question, open to anyone. It makes you feel as if you are part of a community of NME readers, and assumes that you are well informed about what uis happening in the music world (as it suggests you know that Blue have made a comeback).

7) How is the artist/band presented to the audience through the images? You may wish to carry out a textual analysis.
The main image is on the left page of Blur. They have made a comeback recently, and the caption that describes this image reads "Blur: middle age ain't rubbish". This suggests that this band, although they are slightly older, still feel that their music is not bad. The image shows the four band members, looking extremely casual and laid-back, which matches the style and theme of this magazine. The fact that it is in black and white represent that fact that they are probably a bit older than the other younger bands that are on this page in colour. The clothes that these band members are wearing are extremely dark, most of them in all black. This shows that they are quite plain, suggesting that they do not need to attract attention through their fashion, but with their music.

8) How does the style of the article match the style of the front cover?
The colours red and yellow are used quite a lot through this magazine, as these appear to be their house colours. The front cover and this article are both quite eye catching, drawing attention from the readers.

9) Does the article demand any prior knowledge? Give examples.
This magazine requires you to know something about this type of music, as the artists within are all from the indie genre. If you are not interested in this style, then the chances are that this magazine will not appeal to you. As mentioned previously, the question on page 14, "Anyone else delighted to see Blur back?" requires the user to already know that this band has made a comeback. If you did not, then you probably wouldn't be able to have an opinion on the article.

Front Cover Analysis 2

Front Cover Analysis

What type of magazine is it?

This magazine mainly focuses on music, politics and popular culture.

From the front cover what kinds of issues/articles are going to be inside?

From the front cover, you can tell that there the main feature is going to be an interview with Zac Efron. This is clear because the main cover line reads “THE NEW AMERICAN HEART THROB ZAC EFRON”. He is also featured on the main image of the front cover. There are also going to be articles about “Clapton’s guitar goes festival” and “Punk rock fight club”.

Who is the target audience for the magazine? What particular age group? What are their interests? How do you know all of this?

The target audience for this magazine is probably younger people, between 16-27 years of age. They enjoy reading about the latest music gossip, yet they are still interested in what is happening in the world. The target audience for this magazine in particular is female and probably between 16-20 years. This is due to the person that is on the front.

What mode of address is the magazine using? What does this tell you about the type of relationship it wants with its reader?
The mode of address used for this magazine is quite informal and very direct. It is also quite ‘slang’, which tells you that they want quite a friendly relationship with their audience. It also shows that they want to maybe be more personal with them, as you normally speak in slang to your friends.

Who is on the front cover and why?

Zac Efron is a mature teenager, known for being an actor, dancer and singer. Although he is well known to younger children for being in films such as High School Musical, it is clear that this interview is aimed more at older teenagers, due to the photograph where he is standing in quite a suggestive pose. As this magazine appeals to these older people, it is appropriate to have him on the front, as long as he was being presented in this way. Zac Efron is extremely famous at the moment, and a lot of people want to know about him. By having him on the front, it will attract attention from people and make the want to buy the magazine.

What does the main cover line say? What does this imply about the artist/band?? What overall message is the artist/band giving?

The main cover line reads “THE NEW AMERICAN HEART THROB ZAC EFRON”. This implies that this artist is new to the music scene. It also implies that he is going to be liked by a lot of people, probably due to his good looks.

Are any (social/ethnic/political) groups being represented? How does the magazine represent them?

There are not any groups in particular being represented on this front cover.

Are there any ‘buzz’ words? What effect does it have on the reader?

The words ‘HEART THROB’ stand out extremely well on the page, probably due to the large font and bright red font colour. This draws the user’s attention to them, causing them to want to make their own opinion as to whether they believe he is the latest ‘heart throb’, as this magazine makes out.

What does the design of the mast head tell you about the magazine? What does the title of the magazine tell you about: 1. the readership 2. its image 3. its style
The masthead for this magazine is normally always covered slightly by the main image. This is because their masthead is an extremely well known design, they do not need to make it stand out. However, the masthead can still be seen slightly. It is in quite a professional looking font, especially because of the 3-dimensional effects that have been added to it.


What do the ‘kickers’ in the coverlines suggest will be inside the magazine? What does this tell you about the type of audience the magazine expects to get?
The kickers in the coverlines are highlighted in a different font colour, which is grey. The rest of the text is written in yellow, for example “Clapton’s” and “M.I.A”. Clapton is an artist aimed at older people, yet MIA is an artist at people who are younger. This shows that this magazine is extremely diverse, and can appeal to people of most ages.

Is there a strapline/selling line/slogan? What does it tell you about the magazine? How does it help to attract readers?

There is not a strapline on this magazine. This is probably due to the fact that this magazine is extremely well-known and popular already, that it does not need to stand out and try to sell itself, as those who want the magazine will go specifically to buy it on their on accord.


What colours are used? Do you find them attractive?

The colours used on this front cover are quite simple. The masthead is written in grey, the background for the image is plain white and the coverlines and kickers are written in grey and yellow. These colours do not stand out very well, yet the Rolling Stone probably feel like they don’t need to make the colours stand out, due to the reasons I explained in the question above.

What fonts are used and why?

The font remains the same on the front cover, making it extremely consistent. It is a sans serif font, to appeal to the younger members of the target audience. The font is also extremely plain and basic, meaning that the user is forced to focus directly one what they are actually reading, and not the distracted by different font styles.

What strategies does the magazine use to attract the audience?
This magazine does not need to attract attention from the audience that much, as it is an extremely well known magazine that has been successful for many years. However, the close-up image and bright red colours of the text accompanying the main image makes the front cover stand out slightly.

Front Cover Analysis

Front Cover Analysis

What type of magazine is it?
This is a pop magazine from the 1990s.

From the front cover what kinds of issues/articles are going to be inside?
You can tell from this front cover that this magazine covers a large amount of content, as there is an extremely large number of coverlines and straplines featured on the front. Some of the articles that are featured within include information on “Hanson…the movie”, Peter Andre’s shocking secret and the main story, an interview with the Spice Girls.

Who is the target audience for the magazine? What particular age group? What are their interests? How do you know all of this?
It is clear that the target audience of this magazine are probably young teenage females, between 10-17. Their interests include knowing the latest gossip that is happening in the pop world, adding to their collection of posters in their room and wanting to be up-to-date with all the latest happenings. You can tell that they collect posters of their favourite bands, as there are two coverlines on the front page advertising free posters that they are giving away. There is one cover line located in the left third reading “15 ACE POSTERS!” and there is also a section in the right third that reads “FREE BOYZONE POSTER…IT’S THIS BIG!” As the target are interested in this, they have decided to emphasise it greatly, even showing them an image of what the Boyzone poster will look like, before they even open the magazine.

What mode of address is the magazine using? What does this tell you about the type of relationship it wants with its reader?

The language used on the front cover is very informal and colloquial, making it appeal to the user more. This appeals to them as it makes it appear to be more conversational, as if this magazine is speaking to them in particular. This then leads them onto purchasing it. This informal mode of address also appeals to their target audience of younger teenagers, as this is normally how people of this age group speak.

Who is on the front cover and why?
Many bands and artists appear on the front cover. However, the main image is of The Spice Girls. This image is a long shot, as most of their bodies are featured in the image. They are seen holding a globe, which coincides with what the main coverline is about (The Spice Girls ‘ruling the world’). The Spice Girls are featured on this magazine as, during the 1990s, they were an extremely popular band, and everyone wanted to know more about them. By having one of the most popular bands of the decade featured on the front cover of you magazine, it attracts a lot of attention and would make people want to purchase it to read about their favourite band.

What does the main cover line say? What does this imply about the artist/band?? What overall message is the artist/band giving?
The main cover line reads ““WORLD POWER! Spices getting away with murder!” This implies that the Spice Girls are an extremely popular band, and have the power to get away with anything.

Are any (social/ethnic/political) groups being represented? How does the magazine represent them?
There are not any groups in particular being represented on this front cover. However, apart from the main storyline, the magazine only really advertises the young teenage boy bands and artists on the front, which is there to appeal to their target audience.

Are there any ‘buzz’ words? What effect does it have on the reader?
The words ‘WORLD POWER’ are buzzwords, as they relate to the Spice Girls’ own personal catchphrase, which is “girl power!” Changing ‘girl’ to ‘world’ might have connotations that this band feels that all girls have the power to dominate the world, as proved by them.

What does the design of the mast head tell you about the magazine? What does the title of the magazine tell you about:
1. the readership
2. its image
3. its style

The masthead for this magazine is located at the top, and reads “Top of the Pops”. It is in a unique font face, which makes this magazine stand out and different from the rest. It is also meant to be a representation of their actual logo, with the ‘of the’ being positioned in that way. The font is quite young, and looks quite like handwriting, which therefore appeals to the target audience.

What do the ‘kickers’ in the coverlines suggest will be inside the magazine? What does this tell you about the type of audience the magazine expects to get?
There are not many kickers use don this front cover, mainly because they have made the coverlines short and to the point, excluding the need for explanatory text. This appeals to the target audience, as younger people tend to get distracted easily, the magazine needs to keep their attention, any if there was any explanatory text, their attention may be lost.

Is there a strapline/selling line/slogan? What does it tell you about the magazine? How does it help to attract readers?
The strap line is located underneath the masthead, and reads “The UK No1 Music Magazine!” This is extremely persuasive, as it makes it sound as if this magazine is the best magazine in Great Britain. This selling line has been positioned in a yellow rectangular shape, which attracts attention to it.

What colours are used? Do you find them attractive?
The house colours of this magazine are blue, white and yellow. I feel like these are good colours to use, as they are quite bright and attract a lot of attention. The choice of clothing that the band members are wearing, such as the red trousers and tops, also add to the brightness of this front cover.

What fonts are used and why?
There are many fonts used on the cover of this magazine, which makes it stand out very well. These fonts are always sans serif, as this makes it appear to be less formal, hence appealing to the correct target audience. All text is written in capitals and normally with an exclamation mark at the end. This makes the magazine appear to be extremely exciting, making the user want to purchase it.

What strategies does the magazine use to attract the audience?

This magazine uses many strategies to attract the audience’s attention. Firstly, there are all the bright colours and different fonts, which make it stand out very well. Secondly, the amount of coverlines and images that feature on the front. In total, there are five different photographs of ‘popstars’ and bands, and ten different features advertised. This complicated page draws the user’s attention to it, making them notice it and want to then purchase it. Also, not only does this magazine feature what the coverlines are saying, there are also more features at the bottom. The user’s attention is drawn to the ‘PLUS!’ sign, which advertises that there is even more within, including ‘Coolio!’ ‘Oasis!’ ‘Robbie!’ etc.

Results from Survey

Results from Survey
These are my results from the survey that I asked. I conducted my survey on 20 people, as this is a good survey size to receive accurate and reliable results. I will use these results to help me in the creation of my own magazine.

Analysis Of Questions

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Mood Board

MOOD BOARDThis is my mood board. As you can see, I have focused on female popstars, and used many feminine colours such as pinks and purples for the background. The phrase 'Here come the girls!' also fits into my theme of female artists, which would appeal to my target audience.