Evaluation of double page spreads

My final piece of format research was the double page spread which became a lot easier to analyse, this is because at this point I had come to terms with the genre of each magazine and really began to understand the brand. This meant the consistency of the magazine was visible resulting in the pages having a bigger impact. All three of the double page spreads I studied were successful as they really shaped their brand and created an identity through a number of factors. 

One aspect that all three double page spreads shared was the fact that the layout of the pages were structured, this meant that the page flowed well because your eyes are lead from the picture to the masthead then on to the article. The masthead's was one factor of each magazine that grasped my attention because all the different styles contrasted from eachother but were unique to their own particular brand.

I enlarged the mastheads above to show how the different institutes of the magazine has used the masthead as a way of reinforcing the brand. For example the classical music magazine, in the middle, has a simple but sophisticated font. This reflects the classical music because it is quite calming and soothing for some people, especially for the elder generation which is the target audience. This is something that would really make the target audience feel exclusive because this basic but effective style really links in with the genre and alienates other people who aren't as interested in classical music.

Furthermore through extended research it has become clear that all the artists in the double page spreads featured in the front covers, this creates a link that is substansial to the magazines as it makes it flow and reinforces the consistency of each magazine. However Vibe's R&B double page spread, on the left hand side, has multiple pictures instead of one which defies convention. I think that this is a successful aspect of the magazine as it makes the doule page spread unique, the smaller pictures lead your though the page to the big picture engaging the viewer and making them want to read further in the article.  The pages also includes bold lines under the picture to set apart the pictures from the text, this adds structure to the page but avoids over-crowding it. Quincy jones has been producing Vibe in partnership with Time inc  since 1993 making it a magazine that has grown with time, they use this experience to produce creative direction of their covers resulting in them winning numerous awards. On the other hand Kerrang, a rock magazine, has become the worlds biggest selling rock magazine produced by Bauer Media group, this magazine has been going since 1981 so again giving them a lot of experience. This is something that has benefited both magazines and is demonstrated in the proffessional outcome of the double page spreads.

The double page spread has begun to influence my decision of what genre of music I want to pick, which is out of Rock and r&b, they are both contrasting so over the next week I will consider this and take pictures to see what turns out best. The double page spreads have confirmed to me how to appeal to the target audience and make the audience feel exclusive to draw them in. All the individual attributes of a a double page spread, a front cover and a contents page have an impact on the brand created by a magazine. If I were to pick r&b then the target audience would be from teens to mid thirties as it is quite a universal genre, I would want to specialise this social group and alienate the rest.

Evaluation of Contents Page

When first researching for the contents pages I wanted to make sure I had contents pages from the same three genres of music and more importantly at least a couple from the same brand of magazine. This would allow me to see if the magazine had kept their style consistent in order to create their own unique brand. I could explore these pages more in depth as I was able to analyse the language used in order to see if it suited the genre.

The contents pages I analysed all shared the fact that they used language as a way of indicating and reinforces their brand. For example the BBC contents page used linguistic language like ‘distinctively colourful’ to suit the genre of music, that being classical. Through doing this the magazine are able to create a brand for them and ensure that it appeals to their target audience. Language is a really key technique used throughout the magazine as it is one of the main attributes that contribute towards a magazines identity; it connects the target audience to the magazine therefore having a crucial impact. This is something I want to ensure I use to my benefit when creating a front cover, contents page and double page spread as it is something that will be beneficial to the outcome of my music magazine. The research has given me the ideas of the language I can use when I pick a genre, if I pick Rock then the language will be edgy and bold to add to the genre, where-as if I were to pick R&B then the language I would use sophisticated language that is used more frequently by the younger generation in order to appeal to the audience.

All three contents pages I analysed all defied convention in the way they all had contrasting layouts. This is because each magazine has their own institute that create the magazines own brand in relation to the genre.

As shown in the examples about the three layotus of the contrasting magazines are different, one has one main image as the background with text overwriting it, where-as the other is set over a double page spread with multiple pictures. This contrast reflects the genre allowing the magazine to create their own brand. This is something each institute considers to appeal to the particular target audience. The Rock contents page would completely alienate someone who is nowt interested in Rock as the language, pictures and layout all contribute towards creating an edgy brand. This is something purposely done on each contents page to ensure that the target audience are almost superior to other readers.

Furthermore some of the main features of a contents page are the mastheads, which say 'Contents' in a similar style to the masthead on the front cover. This keeps the brand for each magazine consistent, and is something I will take on board when creating my own magazine. Other aspects included in the cotents page include either one main image or a few, this is dependent on the layout the magazine creates, the Rock magazine has multiple pictures that are bold and conjests the page which reflect the genre, where-as the Classical music has multiple pictures spread over two pages to ensure the page flow. These different asepcts all are decided by the institute to create the brand.

In addition to this it is clear that all the three magazines focus on attracting or addressing the audience. The magazines do this because they know the age groups the music genre would attract so therefore style the contents page in a way to suit them. The classical music genre is more for the older generation, this means that they are not interested in slang words because they prefer the linguistic language. The insitute would take this into account and produce a contents page that fulfils their needs. The BBC music magazine has done this, shown in the picture above.

Finally, I think that all three contents pages developed and challenged conventions successfully through connecting all attributes of the contents page to the genre. I will have to take this on board and consider all of these aspects when making my own magazine to ensure I appeal to the right target audience.

Before starting to design my contents page, my format research has a crucial role to play, this is because it allowed me to analyse the aspects used and decide what to apply to my magazines, this will then to later to create mock ups applying aspects that may defy convention or suit the typical aspects. This will include for me experimenting with the masthead and seeing if the 'contents' should be vertical or horizontal, this is something I will have to experiment with because I do not know now which will suit my genre of R&B music the best. In addition to this I aim to include multiple pictures in my contents pages because this is something frequently done on the contents page to attract the reader to go to certain pages. The r&b magazine I analysed, known as vibe, has quite striking poses with their name at the top, this is something I aim to include within my contents page as it will mean the page will become more striking. When I later design the mock up these aspects will be something I will include, however before doing this I will consider how this will specifically appeal to the target audience, this will mean also doing a questionnaire to decide on aspects like the colour. Some of the colours I am considering using to create the brand include grey, pick, black and white. These four colours may compliment eachother because they contrast and this is something I would aim to keep consistent create a brand and an identity for my magaizne. To conclude, I think that the format research has helped me determine certain aspects typically used in magazines where-as some that defied convention which I can use within my own magazine.

Evaluation of Front cover

When doing format research for the three music magazines I felt that my analytical skills had improved from the previous experience of the school magazines. This meant I was prepared to look at the norms of the magazines as well as aspects that defied convention. In this research I learnt how the music magazines front cover all varied on the genre of the music, this is because they were designed for a specific audience and therefore used all the attributes of their magazine to contribute towards linking to the genre. This is why I picked R&B, Rock, and classical music as they all differentiate from each other, resulting in all the three front covers being unique therefore allowing me to find the norms.

One of the norms that all three magazines had was how they all had one main image to use as the background; this made all the front covers more powerful as this image determined the colouring and content of the front cover, which all related to the genre of the music. Each one of the magazines contained a different artist as the main image; the artist was dependent on the genre. These specific artists are used to help represent the brand of each contrasting magazine and all shape the overall mood you receive as a reader. For example the classical music front cover had Nicola Benedetti a young musician; this suited the brand created by the magazine because her main music surrounded the classical genre. This meant that the magazine can engage the target audience straight away and inform them of their genre, creating their own identity. I would like to use one main image for my front cover as it is a way of introducing the audience to one of the main stories therefore portraying the genre of music I will chose.

 However the rock magazine I analysed has small individual pictures in a strip up the left hand side as well as the background, this defied the norms but I think by doing this the front cover had more impact and was more in your face. This suits the genre of Rock as it is loud and upfront and fits in with the audience because as soon as you see it you can instantly tell the edgy look of the front cover, leading you to believe its rock music. This magazine front cover also has a wider range of aspects going on, even though you could argue it is cluttered I think that it has a positive effect due to the genre, this front cover defied the norms but was effective. One factor I would like to take from the Rock magazine was the consistency it had throughout; all the little attributes contributed towards the genre and really attracted the target audience because of this. I aim to appeal to the target audience strongly too because the target audience are a crucial element to think about when creating a magazine, therefore I will have to ensure that I know what appeals to the target audience depending on what genre I choose. If I were to choose R&B music then I would know that the target audience is anyone who is interested in this genre, to appeal to them I would aim to use an R&B styled model as an artist for the main image to draw attention to the genre.

 Furthermore all three magazines all shared the fact that they had a masthead placed at the top of their magazine, this is something that that was the norms of all three magazines. They all did this because the masthead should be the first thing you see when you look on the page, this contributes towards a magazines brand. All of my three magazines I studied kept the masthead constant on each edition of their magazine as they aim to use this attribute to become recognisable, it is almost like a stamp that resembles their brand. I would like to ensure that when making my own magazine I use this form of convention because creating a brand is a real key aspect, so by having a constant masthead along with a main image it would mean that my front cover could generate my own brand in relation to the genre of music I will choose. This is also something that will allow me to attract my audience because it is the first thing you see when you glance at the magazine because it is the biggest text on the page; it is a way of addressing the audience and communicating to them the genre of music in a sophisticated manner.

Through further research, I found that all magazines try to keep a consistent brand through the similar layouts of their front cover. This makes their own brand regcnisable and ensures that the target audience can easily find the magazine they are looking for. They do this because the same institute, the Immediate Media Company Limited, makes their magazine each month which means they can ensure the consistency of their magazine. Every magazine has their own institute which makes the magazine unique to their own genre, through doing this the magazine has their own brand. An example of the consitency of the BBC music magazine is shown below:

Double page spread format research

Music magazine double page spread from Sashawallen

Moodboards

Through making moodboards through different genres of music I was able to explore more into each genre and therefore learn from it.This will contribute to the decision I make as to what genre of music my magazine will be. The moodboards therefore was  beneficial to me.

I first of all did an R&B music moodboard where I researched the different artists that relate to the genre. However to help me further I found some poses they do to benefit me when taking my own pictures, these particular poses are also presented on the front cover. What I realised from the multiple front covers I witnesses was how the R&B layout of a front cover is purposely bland, this is something that is effective as the page is not cluttered therefore allowing you to proccess the contents of the front cover in more. The text also tends to be around the artists face which creates a border therefore drawing you into the picture.

Furthermore I also created a moodboard on Rock music, I chose this genre as it contrasts R&B and was one of the genres I have been doing format research on. In this case I not only found artists I found typical rock make-up which gave me an idea on what they want their appeareance to be like, I also found a cartoon image which I put on because it shows the vibrancy of the genre and how they are 'in your face'. I got a range of printscreens of different front covers and double page spreads to see the different styles of each magazine, they all share the fact that they are over the top and cluttered. This is something that is purposely done to exaggerate the magazine because rock music is bold, edgy and over the top. This form of overcrowding is successful for this specific genre as it reflects. By doing a moodboard on rock music I was able to explore rock music in depth and understand why the magazines are so bold and out there. Therefore through this research I was able to gain a better understanding.

Magazine contents page format research

Music magazine contents analysis from Sashawallen

When moving on to contents pages one key thing I wanted to see was if the brand was kept consistently throughout, after looking at the front pages I came to terms with the style of the magazine for the different genres, which for me it was classical, R&B and rock. These contents pages have allowed me to analyse the brand through studying aspects like language, lexis, main image and many more. This format research has been beneficial for me to understand the layout and how a magazine creates their own brand.

Music magazine format analysis

Music magazine analysis from Sashawallen