Case Study Part 4: Double Page Spread

The double page spread of this magazine about Miguel which is a very famous American singer. It takes up 6 pages in the magazine and each page has photos dotted around equally. This articles target audience is Miguel's fans which are mostly females because of his style of music. Miguel is a very successful singer so the audience want to read about his music success.

On the first double page spread, there is a medium long shot of Miguel. The fact that the target audience is mostly females, the article is almost trying to seduce them so they can read on. In this Mid shot, Miguel is topless underneath his jacket and is holding a bunch of roses. Roses and the colour red both show love and passion which is going to attract a lot of females in this case. Also, it seems as if he is throwing a rose at the reader. This stands out and will bring them in even more into carrying on reading the article. The colour red is also very eye-catchy and it contrasts the background, which is white and makes the whole page quite powerful. The colour white, which he is wearing, shows light, goodness and perfection which makes the article more bright and not boring to read and look at for the readers. Another thing that really stands out on the page is the title 'MIGUEL IS TRYING TO SEDUCE YOU'. Even through all of the colours, photo and symbols used to show this, the title is there to make it even clearer that 'Miguel Is Trying To Seduce You' and that this is the whole point of the article. The title is in black. It is very bold and the fact that it is in all capitals makes it stand out even more. It also contrasts the white background.

Under the main title there is a small paragraph of a summary of what the articles is going to be about. The font is quite small compared to the main title but it is big enough for the readers to read it. It is also not very long. They kept it very simple but effective because it says what it is going to be about in only a few words at the end, 'Sex, Drugs and Self-Empowerment. The font is pink which is a feminine colour. This goes to show that the articles is definitely aimed more towards females as pink is thought to be a very girly colour. In this small paragraph the names 'Miguel' And 'Ted Kessler' are in different colours to the rest of the paragraph. Miguel's name is in black which is bold and Ted - which is the interviewer- is in white which also stands out in front the shadow of the rose in the background which is dark. This different colour font in names is done to just make it easier clearer to see who is involved in this article, in this case it is just the two.

The next double page spread is where the article actually starts. The layout is quite simple and the writing to photo ratio is quite equal. This is done so the readers do not get bored of too much reading and if there was just writing on the page they would automatically think that it is boring. The photos give the article a more fun and live experience. There is writing all the way down the left side and all across the bottom of the page, but the photos are all bundled up mostly on the middle and the right side of the double page spread. The writing is laid out in columns so it is easier for the reader to follow. In the bottom left corner of the page there is a black box which stands out and straight away catches the reader’s attention. The editor has picked a quote and put it in the box with white font so that the reader views it before reading the article. The quote could suggest that it is an important part of the interview so it will make the reader curious and look for it in the article and maybe read on from there. The article uses simple black font which stands out on the white background. The bold black title 'TOPLESS' stands out and also links to one the main topics of the article which is 'sex'.

On the right there’s 4 different photos of Miguel, all different sizes and are set up overlapping each other. The first one is of him crowd surfing which shows the interaction between him and his fans. In the photo, everyone is trying to reach for him. This shows how much his fans love him and that he loves his fans back as he is interacting with all of them. In one part of the article it shows another way of his interaction with his fans. "I FUCKING LOVE YOU, MIGUEL!". The word 'fucking and 'love' show how passionate his fans are. He replies "Love you too, baby" to that fan which, again, shows how much he loves his fans back. The fact that he uses the word 'baby' makes it seem as if he knows that person but it just shows the connection he has with his fans and how we makes the feel good and welcome. This also interacts with the reader as it shows what type of person he is and presents his personality in a positive way. The other 2 photos of him on stage express his passion for music and singing. In the photos he looks very passionate by the way he is jumping and dancing while holding the microphone. This just shows that he is not just there to get his performance over and done with but to also leave a fun and unforgettable experience for him and his fans. The last photo is of his album cover, 'Wildheart', which is also quoted in a pink box on top of the photos which gives information about them.

On the last double page spread, the editor used a similar layout as the one before where most of the page is columns of writing but also a few photos aswell around the page. This time there is a long shot of Miguel walking down a street on the top left corner of the page, which covers about half of the page. The clothes he is wearing follows the colour scheme which shows that the colour scheme is constant throughout each double page spread. The colour scheme is clearly white, black and red. In the long shot, he is wearing black shades, a white shirt, black and red striped trousers and classic black shoes. These colours are very classy and show he is a classy guy but also shows the consistency of the colour scheme used and that the magazine is very organized and sophisticated. The bold black box with the quote is used again to catch the reader's attention, so they can view it first and then try to find it in the article so they can read on. This makes the reader really interact with the article and makes them feel like they are a part of it. The quote used is about 'sexuality'. This will have an effect on the audience as they are females and sexuality is a big thing for them. The last photo is a close up of Miguel and he is looking towards the camera. It seems as if he is looking into the readers eyes. This is used as a way to make the reader feel like they have interacted with Miguel as it is the last picture of him from the article.

Case Study Part 3: Contents Page

The contents page is spread across two pages instead of being very organized and shown in a list. This emphasizes the fact that it is a fun magazine and it isn’t trying to be like every other magazine, it is unique and different.

The contents page mostly contains articles about more popular music bands and artists. For example '50 Cent', 'Miguel' and 'The Maccabees' are shown because they are popular and this is done to draw in the readers to carry on and explore the magazine. On the other hand, if it was a more unknown music band, people would not be as interested to read on.

Also, there are little sentences under the articles which draw readers in a lot. For example on '50 cent' it says "the MC and businessman has had quite a time of it recently. Ask him all about it". This makes the reader want to read on because they want to find out what 'quite a time' 50 cent has been having. Also, "ask him all about it" welcomes the reader and makes them feel part of it as if they are actually going to ask him questions.

The page is covered in photos of music artists and different bands. This makes the magazine more lively and exciting for the readers and also attracts their target audience, especially if someone sees one of their favourite artists or bands.

The use of colour is very important for the contents page and helps a lot to attract readers.

• The colour black is used mostly for the contents sub titles. This is because it stands out and is very bold compared to the background colour which is white. This is the use of contrast to make things stand out more.
• The page numbers of the contents shown in the page are in big, colourful circles. The colours used are clearly very bright and fun. For example, blue, red, orange and yellow. These colours help the contents stand out and are very clear in the page.

Case Study Part 2: Front Cover

The title ‘Q’ is attractive and will stand out to the audience, as it is only one letter.  It is short and sharp. The use of the capital letter gives it more energy and attracts the audience further. It also has a bright red square behind the letter ‘Q’ which makes it stand even more to attract readers.

The cover lines are mainly band names and musicians such as ‘The Maccabees’ and ’50 cent’.  This shows that it is very straight to the point and simple. It shows the readers what they want in an easy and quick way to read. Also, it attracts people that see artists or bands that they like and listen to and straight away they become interested in the magazine.

The language used in the cover is formal and straight to the point but effective enough to draw the reader in. For example, ‘PLUS!’ draws readers in as it is in capitals and the exclamation mark is almost as if it is shouting to get the reader’s attention. Also, the word ‘PLUS!’ is bigger than the other writing which makes it stand out to the audience.

The average price of a magazine is about £3.00 but ‘Q’ magazine is higher than average at £4.20. The price mirrors the target audience as they are young adults who are interested in music and can afford to buy it.

Case Study Part 1: Colour In Magazines

The colours used are:

Black: death, evil, mystery, elegance and power

White: purity, innocence, light, goodness

Yellow: happiness, joy, energy, light

Red: war, energy, violence, strength, passion, love

Silver: rich, soothing, wealth,

Blue: stability, wisdom, loyalty, truth

• The colours black, red and silver are all symbols of power. This makes the magazine appear as strong and attracts readers who are attracted to power themselves.The colour black is a very mysterious colour. The use of it on the cover stimulates the curiosity of readers and makes them read further.

• Red is a very powerful colour. It’s strong and suggests a lot of different emotions. In this case, it represents danger, energy, power, strength and passion.

• Yellow also suggests joy and happiness giving the magazine a light side instead of making all of it dark.

• The colour white adds to the lightness. It gives the magazine a clean side to it. The contrast used with the colours makes it stand out a lot.

Analyse the colour used in the magazine

The same colours are used throughout the magazine. This shows that the magazine is very organized and constant, allowing the reader to get used to it.

Each article in the magazine has its own unique way with the use of the colours. The articles follow the same colour scheme but used in different ways so that it is not too repetitive and boring.

The colour of the text throughout the magazine is mostly black. This is because it is very basic and simple to take in and it doesn’t distract the reader from what the article is about. The titles and sub titles throughout the magazines are all either black or white. This is because it is bold and stands out to the reader. This is used to draw the reader in.