More Page Analysis

This is Big Cheese magazine, the name hints that it is an important magazine but I don't think it works very well as a music magazine name as it isn't music related. Also as it is not a very well known magazine I think the masthead is too covered by the images, most of the word big is covered and as one of the E's in the name is reversed, all this makes it very confusing. The page has an obvious colour palette of pink, white and black, also the green background. I think the pink and green are quite cheap and tacky looking, and they are quite clashing. Also I don't think the colour scheme really goes with the style of music the magazine focuses on. The colours are bright to attract a young audience. The page manages to fit on quite a lot of content without looking cluttered though. It does this by using medium size font for most of the titles and by using two colours. The titles in white stand out more and are the more famous names, whereas the pink titles are more subtle and so once the magazine has got your attention you can read them. Most of the titles are in bold all caps, this means they are easy to read. All the fonts are simple and modern relating to the young readership. All of the cover lines are band names except for the Paramore description, this works well because people glancing at the magazine recognise band names quickly. The Paramore title is not capitalised and so is more informal, as this is not a formal magazine. The main background image is on a plain bright background so that the people, in dark clothes, stand out. All the people on the cover are looking directly at the camera so that they catch the eye of the viewer. This page has a classic magazine layout, with the background image as the focus and text around the edges framing the main part of the image.

This is the contents page from the same issue of Big Cheese magazine. The first thing I noticed is that is is a very different colour scheme to its cover, this pages uses the traditional black and red palette. The graphics on this page are very grunge style as well, the eroded font and text box borders. I think this is a good style for this kind of magazine but it doesn't link with the cover at all, you would think they were two different magazines. This page does have the masthead on it to make brand identity, though in a different colour as the cover. The main focus of the page is the image with a small description and the page number, this shows people flicking through where the big stories are quickly. This page has a letter from the editor about what is coming up in the issue and talking about particular features. Taking up the left side of the page is a list of magazine credits, not many readers will really be interested in this and it is a lot of small text. I don't think it really works here and is just taking up room on one of the first pages people see.

This cover is very cluttered and busy, it reflects the readers personality by looking loud and exciting. It also resembles a pin board with cutting stuck on at angles, again referencing the audience. The audience of the magazine is instantly clear, it is a female audience of around 13-15, who would like the bright pink colour and mainly female pop artists. The masthead is quite covered as top of the pops is a very well known brand. The BBC logo is on the cover as advertising and to show the magazine is authentic. The colour scheme is obviously pink, white and yellow, it is very cheap and cheerful and suits the audience. There are lots of boxes and banners, this is used to make the magazine seem full of exciting topics and to section the text so it can still all be read. There is no space left plain, again making the magazine seem full. There are lots of different fonts used, though they are all quite simple and young. Lots of the titles are exclamations, these make the titles seem important and exciting. Questions are also used, these engage the reader and make them want to look inside for answers. This cover uses numbers in the same way as the Q cover does, to make it seem full of content. The page is covered in recognisable celebrities looking directly at the viewer.