Front Cover Analysis

This is my analysis of the Kerrang! Paramore Special Issue front cover. I looked at representations, audience perceptions, and conventions,

Music Magazine Comparison

This is my comparison of Eminem on the cover of Q magazine in September 2001, and Rolling Stones in October 2011.

Contents Page

Tadaaaaa!!!!

Front Cover

I've already spotted a mistake but I did something silly so I couldn't change. I shall add it in to my evaluation which we will no doubt do soon :D

Front Cover/Contents Page Draft Sketches

This is the 2nd draft of my front cover sketch and the basic sketch of my contents page before I design. The main focus of these was to establish the positioning of text and pictures.

Contents Page Analysis

Contents Page Analysis:

It has the clear title of "Contents", making it very obvious to the reader what the purpose of that page is. It isn't overly crowded or too busy, it's aesthetically appealing to the reader, with a mixture of both pictures and text. All of the text is neatly ordered, it doesn't look messy or like it's just been thrown together, it appears to have been thought out so it's pleasant to look at. 

The different types of articles are under different subheadings, each of which is brought to the attention of the reader by the first letter of the subheading being bold. This still avoids the clustered look some contents pages have, but makes it stand out enough that the readers know where their main focus should be.

A down point to this contents page is that there aren't any page numbers linking to mentioned articles, so although it informs us of the articles within the magazine it doesn't specify where in the magazine they are. 

Unedited Contents Page Pictures

Unedited Front Cover Picture

School Magazine Front Cover Analysis

FRONT COVER ANALYSIS:

This is a magazine for written by, and for, the pupils of St Angela's Ursuline School.

The masthead of this magazine is "Angels", and this is clever because it is in reference to the name of the school- "St. Angela's". Also, it shows that the magazine is primarily about the pupils of the school, because pupils of the school are often referred to as "Angela's Angels". The fact that it is in a cloud not only brings more attention to it because it contrasts the background, but it also further extends the angelic imagery. 

The main image is of a student in the canteen eating lunch. The foreground of the picture- where the student is- is much brighter than the background, and this puts all of our focus on her instead of anything that may be going on the background of the picture. The main image also makes it very clear that the main feature article will be about the food in school, the lunch system or something similar. The headline is in white, bold capital letters. This again is done in order to make it stand out, as the capitals make the the most prominent writing on the page whilst the letters contrast the dark colours in the background.

The sell lines are placed around the main image so as to not detract from it, however they are just the right size to make them noticeable at the same time. Use of rhetorical question ("Are you really safe?") hook the reader's attention in an attempt to engage their curiosity. Practically all of the font used is either yellow or white. Not only does this stand out against the background colours, but it it relates to the colour blouses that the students wear throughout the school as well. Admittedly, the lower school blouses are beige, not white, but the relation is still noteworthy.

In general, this is a well thought out front cover for the school magazine. There are feature articles relevant to the school, the design is methodically thought out, and it isn't too much for the reader to take in.

Front Cover Design

Front Cover

This is the design for the front cover of my magazine. The person featured on the magazine will be holding a guitar in one hand to represent "fun" activities and hobbies, and a folder in the other hand to represent work. The idea of the clock being in the background is that it brings attention to time management and balancing your work and your free time- hence the heading "Work hard, play hard". I put the guitar and the folder at around the same height to show that they have equal importance. The background itself will be quite bright to show that if you can manage your time well then you shouldn't have any major problems or a lot of stress during 6th form. 

Front Cover Analysis

Magazine Analysis

         We immediately notice the main image on the front cover of the magazine- Daniel Radcliffe in what appears to be him in an offensive posture.The Deathly Hallows film is one of the darkest of the Harry Potter series, and is largely based on Harry's fight against Lord Voldemort, which makes this picture highly appropriate. The fact that this image is covering the masthead shows the importance of him as as character in the film. The use of a midshot that takes up the whole cover shows that Harry is again the focus of the film and that Daniel Radcliffe is heavily featured in the article.
         The background of the front cover is quite dark, which again links to the rather sinister feel we get from this film. The wizarding world is in dark times due to the return of Lord Voldemort in this film, so making the background slightly brighter around the outline of Harry implies that he is the hope of a brighter future.
         "THE END IS NEAR" is in bold capitals, and the white font contrasts against the darker background to bring even more attention to it and the double meaning behind it. "The end is near" is a phrase commonly associated with an end-of-the-world theme, which is significant due to Lord Voldemort's potential ending of the wizarding world as they know it, but at the same time it is also relevant to the end of the franchise drawing nearer.
        There is practically no use of sell lines, which indicates that the main focus of the magazine is thee Harry Potter article and any related articles.
         I think that the target audience can range anywhere between young people and more grown up adults, purely because the Harry Potter franchise has gathered such a wide fanbase and interests so many different people.