Daniella JohnstonDouble Page Spread Analysis

The house style has been continued on this page as the same colours – red, white and black have been used. We can associate all of these with the genre rock, as red connotes danger, excitement and anger, black connotes death and violence and white connotes loneliness. All of these are typically focuses in the lyrics of rock songs.

The masthead of the page is in a serif font to show that the article is informative. It also gives the page a masculine approach making it appeal more to its targeted audience. The use of the colour white reflects the name of the band. The text is effective and has a similar style to that of the masthead of Kerrang! as it has rugged edges and some of the fill has faded/gone.

The article aims to make the reader engage with the band as it begins with the line ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ The use of conversational language makes the article more personal and makes the reader feel they are being involved, making it more appealing. Use of a colloquial such as ‘Dickbag’ shows the band are just like normal people, relating to the quote “I’m not trying to take your money. I believe in music as a religion” and many of the readers will probably have the same opinion as this. Moreover, the word creates feelings of aggression representing the genre of the band – rock.

Like the other pages of Kerrang!, the Guttenberg design principle is followed and rule of thirds have been used as the name of the band is in the primary optical area for recognition of the band, followed by the main large image dominating the terminal area and centre of the page. Page numbers have been placed in the dead corners as they are not as important as these features, although they are for allowing easy navigation through the magazine.

The pull quote gives the reader a taste of the article and reveals the content of it making them tempted to read on.

The page has design balance and symmetry as there is an even distribution of text with the large image as well as gutters to space it out equally to make the page look professional.

In comparison to the size of the text, the image is much larger and covers the whole of both pages to attract the reader and make them engage with the page. There is only one image used across both pages and it is a wide shot of the band ‘Motionless in White’. It is effective because it represents the unity of the band as they are all in close proximity to each other and it also allows us to see the setting they are in – a quiet rural area. This suggests the band is not a mainstream band and is not as bothered about the fame, more their music. It also creates a sense of imprisonment as they are very close to the camera and make the audience feel trapped on the page. In terms of their facial expressions, they are using direct mode of address by looking directly at the reader to establish a relationship with them. They look serious, suggesting they are serious about their music which relates them to the readers of Kerrang! as they are also serious about music or they wouldn’t have bought the magazine. From a wider perspective, we could say they are manipulating the audience to stay on the page and read the article. Use of black and white clothing and make up fits in with not only the band name and house style of the magazine, but also representing rock music as they connote rebellion, death and anger which we would associate with the genre.

The page follows the Guttenberg design principle and uses the rule of thirds as the masthead of the page and logo of the magazine are in the primary optical area so the first thing the reader will tend to see if what the article is about. Moreover, the Q logo in the corner allows brand recognition with the reader. The article is in the terminal area followed by page numbers in the dead corners which aren’t as important but are for easy navigation through the magazine for the reader.

In contrast to Kerrang! this page doesn’t have a bold masthead that dominates the page to entice the readers to read the article. There is only two images of the band along with their name in the top corner therefore it doesn’t give any information about the articles main focus. This is effective as it intrigues the reader to read on to find out what the article contains. In terms of the style of text a serif font has been used to show that it is informative and aimed at an older, more mature audience. The large vibrant T overlapping the majority of the text has been used to empathise the importance of the band, Take That whose initials are T’s. The colour and font of it also anchors Q magazine and the house style. The same text has been used on every page to create brand identity as readers will begin to associate that particular text with this particular magazine.

Daniella Johnston