Textual Analysis of Q

Q magazine is named after Cuing up records to play, the masthead is always in the same position and stands out as it is very large it is only partially covered by the photograph and so is instantly recognisable. Q covers mostly look quite similar with one main image and text at the sides. This happens here and the main focus of the cover is the background image. The background photo doesn't have a busy background and so the text can be read easily. The photo is of artists who would probably be recognisable, also they are looking directly at the camera, this draws in people who are looking at the magazine on a stand. The picture is a long shot so that their whole outfit can be seen and it makes them look tall & important. There is also an image at the top but it is small and so doesn't take away focus or clutter up the page. Q has an obvious colour palette of red, black white and gold. The red, black and white is always used on Q covers as it is the logo colours, Gold is also often used. The gold is dark and so doesn't look tacky. There is not too much red used and so the masthead stands out as does the secondary title, even though it is smaller. Q is a very expensive looking, high quality magazine and is well known for this. It has a clean, simple design that looks very professional. The pictures are very good quality and the clothes are toned down. The magazine doesn't use too much red and none of the colours are too bright or saturated. There is no clutter on the page and it doesn't use many boxes or banners. The font is quite simple and sans serif, again to make it look professional but still modern. The cover uses numbers in the ten most perfect songs and 164 albums titles, this makes the magazine seem like it has lots of content. This is also done by listing the artists interviewed. Pete Doherty's name is used at the top of the page as people will recognise it quickly. The song writers feature is advertised as "Exclusive new" so the audience know the magazine has something special that they can only get it they uy this magazine.

The contents page uses the same styling as the cover. The same capitals font is used for the title as for some of the cover text. It also uses the same colour palette of red, black and white. One of the section titles is also blue, this is not one of the colours Q normally uses and so makes that section stand out as a special, a one off. The contents are split into sections so that it is easier to find pages. Most of the page is pictures to make it more interesting, it also means people can see which artist is on which page quickly. The features all have a small description to tease people who have picked up the magazine in a shop and to so readers can tell which articles they are interested in quickly. The artists who are mentioned in the descriptions are written in bold, so when reading through the page the magazine seems full of famous names. The contents columns could look overly wordy but by using big main titles and smaller descriptions it makes the magazine look full of content without crowding the page. Q logo is used in "Q Review" rather than just using the letter, this strengthens brand identity. The photos on this page are as good quality as the cover image. All the pictures focus on artists who would be recognisable. The pictures use expensive looking muted colours, rather then cheap primary colours following Q's expensive look. There are only 3 fonts used on this page, the bold titles font which is also used on the cover, the description font and a font for the songwriters title. A different font is used here, again showing it is a special feature.



  This is a double page spread from the same issue of Q. The image is very large on the page so that it's clear and to stop it looking like too much text. The image is very dramatic and professional looking. It is a long shot so that the landscape can be seen , it also makes it more dramatic. There is a quote taken from the interview and put larger on the image, something often done in magazines. It is often an interesting or funny quote to make the feature seem interesting. The issues colour pallete is carried on in these pages, with the gold letters and gold tones in the photograph. The large coloured letters at the start of each section break up the feature, again to stop it looking like a wall of text. The feaure follows a classic layout, with an introduction about the artist and then the questions and answers. The questions are written in bold to differentiate them from the answers. The page design is quite simple, with no background behind the text or border on the image. The image goes across both pages to fit on, positioned so that no important detail is lost in the crease.