Ryan Denner

Main Cover Line

Model Credit

Kicker

Text

Main Image

Gutters

Dropcap

Whitespace

Pull Quote

Serif

House Style – NME uses mainly a pink and, black colour scheme for this double page. The colour pink is used to suggest the article may be aimed at a mainly female audience, and also relates to the title of the artist’s album called Pink Friday. Black is used to appeal to NME’s normal target audience which is mainly indie/pop fans while also helping make it stand out and, the text easy to read. It follows the traditional NME layout with a large central image with text around it so; NME readers will easily recognise it from the layout as it has a professional style that is used every issue.

Guttenberg Design Principle - The design of the article has been considered according to Guttenberg’s principle with the masthead within the primary optical area and, the majority of the main image within the terminal area, meaning the main parts of the article are noticed first by the audience. The text body of the article is placed within the weak fallow areas as these aren’t the main part that NME want the audience to notice first.

Text – The text is in an informal sans serif font which will appeal to the audience as a younger audience will prefer a less serious formal article and, are more likely to prefer the magazine if it is in a more conversational tone. This makes the article easy to read for the audience and, allows them to clearly see at a glance the different questions asked within the article. The main body of text is in a black bold font following the house style of the magazine, while the main coverline is in pink to match the style of the page and, this issue if the magazine.

Imagery – The image used is large and located centrally on the page which will attract the reader’s attention as they turn onto the page. The image is in contrasting colours to the background so, it stands out however, does match the colour of the text. Nicki minaj is seen to look quite eccentric and, wild matching with her style of music and also what the article is about. It uses direct address to make it look like she is looking directly at the audience so catching there attention so they are more likely to read it. She is wearing a ring with the word ‘icon’ on it suggesting what readers may regard her as, while also relating to the article which talks about people views of her.

Masthead – The masthead is in a large bold font within the primary optical area drawing attention to it so; it is instantly noticed by the audience. It features the model credit within it suggesting the artist featured is a big star and that the audience will recognise what the article is about by her name. The masthead follows the colour scheme of the magazine and, uses pink for the artists name to match the artist’s image and musical genre. The black used could also symbolise that the artist is part of the rap genre which black is often associated with because, of the dark clothing the often wear.

Design Balance – NME use a large image on the double page spread to help create an even balance between text and images making it look appealing to the reader as a younger audience won’t want to read lots of text, but want a decent amount so it looks like they are getting value for money. The text is packed together in sections with the image spate which helps to divide the page into sections while creating an even balance.

Design Symmetry – The text within the design is divided into 5 columns which make it easier to read and follow for the reader, while also separating it into different sections of the article. It is also divided further by heading which separate the article into section making it easier for the reader to follow. The page doesn’t have any clear lines of symmetry with the image located on the right hand side of the page with mainly text on the left created an uneven balance across the page.

Rule Of thirds – The main image is along one line of the rule of thirds with the artist head being on one of the intersecting points. The masthead is also placed on one of the intersecting points. This shows the design of the page has been thought about as some of the main features on the page are placed on the intersecting points so, draws attention to the main details. The image by itself doesn’t follow any clear pattern with the rule of thirds and, the magazine instead have choose to use the rule of thirds for the location of the image on the page, and not the image individually.

Ryan Denner

Ryan Denner Gutter

Main Image

Text: Sans Serif

Dropcap

Model Credit Whitespace

Columns

Kicker

House Style – The page uses a bold, informal, sans serif font across the page which matches the house style of the rest of the magazine, while appealing to a younger target audience who will buy the magazine. It uses a mainly black, white and red colour scheme which matches with the image created by the genre of music featured within the magazine which is mainly rock, as black is often associated with rock because of the darkness of the music and, the clothing rock stars wear. The layout used follows the traditional Kerrang layout with a large image on one side and, text on the other so is easily recognisable by the audience.

Guttenberg Design Principle - The main masthead is placed in the primary optical area in the top left of the page so, it is the first feature the audience see meaning they instantly know what the article is about. The main image is located in the terminal area so, shows it is the next most important element on the page. The image spreads into a weak fallow area so, draws attention to these areas. The main body of text is placed within the weak fallow area as this isn’t seen as one of the main features that is needed for the audience to want to read the page.

Text – The text used looks informal using a sans serif font which fits with the house style of the magazine which aims to create a personal feel to the reader. The text used is red and, black which are colours often associated with the rock genre; who the magazine is aimed at, as they are associated with death and darkness which are often themes of heavy rock songs. The language used within the text is quite informal and uses slang word which means the language is suitable for the target audience of teenagers and young adults. A Dropcap is used within the text to show where the main body of text and, to follow the conventions of magazines.

Imagery – The image is large and fills one side of the page meaning it stands out to the reader and will encourage the reader to look at the rest of the article. It is used to illustrate what the article is about as it shows the main artist featured in the article, and shows him holding letters to illustrate that he is answering Kerrang readers’ questions. The artist is shown wearing dark colours to fit with the rock theme within the magazine. The letters he is holding are in red and black envelopes to fit with the magazines house style. It uses high key lighting on the artist so he stands to the reader and, fits with the bright colour scheme of the rest of the page.

Masthead – The masthead is large and located in the primary optical area of the page, so it is the first thing the audience see so they know straight away what he article is about. It follows the house style and colour scheme of the rest of the article making it look like a professional design. It starts with a quote from the article to make the reader want to find out what other information the artist has discussed within the article. A model credit is used within the masthead showing that the artist features is a major star and that fans will recognise them by their name.

Design Balance – Kerrang use a large image on one side of the page to try to create an even balance between images and text, appealing to the younger target audience who won’t want to read large amounts of text. The text is all located within a weak fallow area and grouped together in one section so that it is easy to follow when reading, while also helping to divide the page up into sections. The text is all on one side of the page while the image is in the other creating an informal balance; however this helps balance the double page as a whole as the text fills one side while the image fills the other

Design Symmetry – The image does overlaps onto the left hand side of the page so the double page spread doesn’t have a clear line of symmetry. The main body of text is divided into two columns in the bottom section so; it is easy to follow for the reader while also following the house style and conventions of other magazines. It is then divided further by the use of subheadings helping to divide it into clear sections.

Rule Of thirds - The page uses rule of thirds well with the masthead and, the head of the artist within the main image on the points where the lines intersect. The main body of text and, the rest of the image are on the other points helping to divide the page into section with different features on each point. The image by itself doesn’t follow the rule of thirds instead being used within the page to follow the rule.

Ryan Denner

Ryan Denner

Both NME and Kerrang display the mastheads for the double page spread in the top right hand corner of the page. They may do this as using Guttenberg’s design principle; it will be the first thing the audience notice on the page as it’s located in the primary optical area. Both use large bold sans serif fonts which make it stand out on the page and attract the reader’s attention. Both mastheads feature the artist’s name to show they are big stars and so the reader can see instantly whether they like the artist and want to read the article. Both mastheads feature a sub heading underneath to sum up the article in more detail allowing the reader to decide whether they won’t to carry on reading it by summing up the key points from the main body of text. Both mastheads fit in with the house style and colour scheme of the rest of the page adding to the professional look of the magazine.

In both Kerrang and NME the images used are large filling roughly half the page to help create an even balance between text and images. This appeals to the target audiences of both magazines as it may not appeal to them if there is a large amount of text to read or, alternatively if there isn’t much text as they won’t view it as value for money which maybe what student look for. The images are also large and, bright to attract the audience to the page so they carry on reading. They are both high quality and shot in high key lighting adding to the professionalism of the magazine while allowing the reader to clearly see who the artist is. Both magazines feature the top half of the artist’s body showing them wearing clothing related to the genre of music the magazine is targeted at therefore appealing to the audience. In both magazines the artist is looking directly at the audience and their facial expression is quite serious making it look like they are directly addressing the reader drawing their attention to the page.

The main body of text for NME is spread across the entire page to try to create an even balance of text on both sides of the page. In comparison all of the text on Kerrangs double page is located in one section grouped together meaning is easier for the reader to follow as they only have to look at one section. Both magazines use columns and subheading within the text to help divide the page into sections making it easier to follow for the reader. The subheading also help inform the reader what each section of the article is about so they know what they are about to read about and can choose whether they do read that section.

Neither double page spread has any clear symmetrical design symmetry, with the image on one side and the text on the other. Both designs create an informal symmetry though with one side filled with an image while the other is filled with text creating an even spread of features across the page.

Both magazines have a consistent house style throughout the page matching with the house style of the rest of the magazine. NME uses pink as the colour scheme for their double page which relates to the artist while also appealing to female readers. In comparison Kerrang uses a red, black and white colour scheme again relating to the artist but appealing more to a more male audience, and uses colours associated with rock music which is the main genre featured in the magazine.