Analysis of Existing Magazines

This is a front cover of Mojo Magazine. It has a large photo of Led Zeppelin in the middle of the page with the bands name across the middle of the page. Led Zepplin are a band that most readers of Mojo would recognise. Above and below the bands name is writing providing details about information that will be in the magazine about Led Zeppelin. In the top left corner of the page is writing saying 'Free CD' the background to this writing is black, unlike the rest of the page to stand out. By offering a free CD it may make more people in the magazines target audience buy the magazine because the CD is the type of music they listen to. The page uses three main colours: white, black and orange/pink to make the page easy to read. The captions on the page are written above and to the right of the image and are written in a simple, San serif font like the main heading. It also uses a particular sociolect such as the words 'Wig-out' they may only be understood by a certain group of people. In the top right corner is another small photo of a man, presumably in Radio head as that is what the caption next to it says.

This is a front cover of Q Magazine. The most noticeable thing on the page is the photo of three guitar players that takes up most of the page. The men are mostly likely very easy to recognise by the people who read Q Magazine. Across the page in large gold writing is the heading guitar hero's which clearly links to the photo on the page. Below the heading are the words 'Special Issue' suggesting that the main theme is this particular edition will be about guitar players, appealing to anyone who plays or is interested in guitars. The writing is in a bold, San serif font making it look clear and easy to read. All the writing on the page is written in this font making the page look neat and easy to read. The page only uses four colours: red, gold, white and black to make the page easy to read for the audience. Around the photo are four small captions providing the reader with information within the magazine. The captions are mainly peoples names who readers will probably recognise and be interested in reading about.

The use of just a few colours would appeal to both magazines target audience as the age rang is 30 plus.

Both of these front covers have a large photo of famous musicians that the readers of the magazines will recognise and what to read about. Neither of the magazines use lots of bright colours because bright colours are used more in teenagers and younger peoples magazines, these magazines use a few simple colours for an older audience.

This is a contents page from Q Magazine. On the right is a photo of Oasis that takes up approximately 1/4 of the page. Within the photo is a quote from the magazine with the page number so readers know where to find it. On the left side of the page are some of the featured articles and their page number. They are written in black with red page numbers and boarders. Along with the articles heading, there is a few sentences under each one explaining what it will be about. Blow the features is 'Oasis Special', written in black but the page numbers and boarder are in gold to separate it from the main features. It then returns to the black and red theme for 'Every Month'. Below the photo is a section to show the pages for reviews , so people who want to find out about particular Cd's are artists know where to look in the magazine. All the writing is in the same font like the two front covers to make it seem neat and easy to read. The main colours are red, black, gold and white like the front cover to create a theme throughout the magazine.

This is a double page from Mojo. The heading of the page is 'American Gothic' which is written on a black background. The word 'American' is written in white and the word 'Gothic' is in gold to stand out. The font looks quite gothic, linking it to the articles theme, it is also in a different font from the articles font to stand out and grab the readers attention. The sub-heading is written in a San serif font using white on black with the exception of three peoples names which are written in gold so they stand out, suggesting that the reader of the magazine knows who they are. The photo takes up one and 1/2 pages and is in black and white - linking to the gothic theme. An older audience may appreciate black and white photos more as they seem more sophisticated and classic. The start of the article uses a drop cap. The language used in this article is quite formal, again suggesting the magazines target audience is older people who have a wider vocabulary.

Target Audience

I decided to look at Mojo and Q Magazine because both of these magazine are similar to the magazine i want to design. They both provide information on new artists and Cd's as well as interviewing already successful musicians. These magazine also have featured stories about older artists and their music. For example, one of Mojo's recent featured stories was on old Motown singers and their songs.
Using the NRS Readership Estimates I found out that approximately 286,000 people read Mojo, with 217,000 of the readers being aged 15 - 44 and 69,000 of the readers aged 45 and over. It also shows that most of the magazines readers are men, 227,000 readers are men while only 59,000 readers are women. Using the socioeconomic table around 207,000 Mojo readers are in either A,B or C1 compared to only 87,000 readers who are either in C2,D or E.
Using the same website i found out that around 666,000 people read Q Magazine, 572,000 of those readers are between the ages of 15 - 44 and 94,000 of the readers are aged 45 and over. Like Mojo, more men read Q magazine than women - 513,000 readers are men and 153,000 readers are women. Again the two magazines are similar on the socioeconomic table, 444,000 readers of Q Magazine are either A,B or C1 whereas only 222,000 readers are either C2,D or E.
A typical reader of both these magazines, and therefore my magazine, would be a man in his 20's or 30's who has either a managerial, administrative or profession job such as a teacher or bank manager who lives in a city with his own house. According to psycho graphics he is likely to be a main streamer who buys big brands and well known products.

Introduction

For this piece of coursework I have to design a front cover, contents page and a double page spread for a music magazine. I will be using Adobe In Design and Photo shop to create the magazine. This task is a development from my previous preliminary coursework task in which I was required to make a front cover and contents page for a college magazine.
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My music magazine will focus on new popular music that is being released as well as older music from decades such as the 80's. It will also include interviews with musicians and reviews on newly released Cd's and singles.