Analysis of Q Magazine - June 2010

FRONT COVER:
The front cover of this issue of Q is more plain than normal. It just has about Paul McCartney on the front, no other stories about other bands or artists. I think this is because Paul McCartney is such a mega start that people will buy the magazine sorely to read about him and regular Q readers will buy the magazine regardless of who is on the front.

The colour scheme consists of 4 colours; red, white, black and gold. I like the four colour colour scheme and how the colours used all match in together. The red used is the brightest and boldest colour and stands out a lot against the black and red. The gold used in only used as a background to Paul McCartney’s name – this symbolises his importance. Also, I like the use of 4 colours on the front cover as I think it very professional and mature and I think using more than 4 on the front would look to unorganised and jumbled.

The Q logo is positioned in the top left corner. The logo is simply a white Q on a red block square background. The logo is very simple but effective and stands out on the plain white background of the front cover.

The barcode, price and date of the issue are positioned in the top right hand corner. It is not the most dominant thing on the front but is there to inform the readers and buyers and the price and when the issue was published. This issue is from June 2010 and is priced at £3.99.

The main image on the front is of Paul McCartney and it is a medium close up. Usually either medium close ups or long shots are used on the front covers of music magazines. This image on the front is in black and white. I think this looks good as the red and white writing stands out on the black photograph. The photo takes up the majority of the front cover which draws your eyes to it as that is the main focus on the page.

There is a quote by Paul McCartney that takes up the majority of the bottom third, which says; “It’s impossible to live up to the Beatles”. It is written capitals and red serif font. It is very eye catching as the red standing out against the black of his coat. The quote used on the front will draw people to buy the magazine too. Just above the quote in smaller writing is “Paul McCartney”. It is in black serif font and has a gold rectangular background.  With his name being outlined in gold, it shows how important he is and his royalty in the music industry. Underneath the quote in considerably smaller writing it says “The fab Q interview, shot by David Bailey”. Having this just underneath the quote shows the audience that there is an interview with Paul McCartney inside and not just an article about him. Also, by having David Bailey’s name on the front cover people who are a fan of his work are likely to buy the magazine too. This is because he is a very famous photographer who has done a lot of work for other well established music artists.

All font on the front cover is in serif. I think this is because it is quite a mature looking font and as Q targets more mature people the font works very well. I prefer this type of font to sans-serif, but think they are both used to create different looks.

CONTENTS PAGE:

The colour scheme on this contents page is red, white and black. This is the same as the font cover of this magazine apart from there is no gold. I like how the colour scheme is the same from the front cover to the contents page as I think it links the magazine together and makes it look organised. I will probably use this idea in my magazine.

There are 3 sections of the contents page – features, regulars and Q review. I like how there are two  main sections (features and regulars) and how you can easily find things you like to read week after week in the regulars column but also find the stuff that’s just in this month’s issue in the features column. The features column is almost like a ‘On the cover’ section that you can sometimes find in other magazines.  The features are found down the left hand side, regulars down the right hand side and then the Q review can be found at the bottom of the right hand page.

There is a red banner that runs right across the top of the page. At the far left hand side there is a white Q (the same as the one from the Q magazine logo). This is to remind you of the magazine you are reader. ‘Contents’ is then written in black writing a bit smaller in size straight after it. The at the far right hand side in smaller writing again but this time in white font is the issue number, in this case Issue 287. The red banner across the top acts as an information banner with the magazine title, page title and issue number on. I like the banner idea and I am going to think about using it in my magazines contents page.

In the top right hand corner there is a small photo of the front cover. I like this idea and I think it looks very professional. I think I will use this idea on my front cover as it will make look like a real magazine and also I think it links the two pages (front cover and contents page) together.

There are lots of photographs on the contents page. They are predominately in the middle of the two pages and they have page numbers in the corners either written in black or white. Using black or white for this fits in with the colour scheme of red, black and white. As well as photos of the bands and artists on the contents page there are also pictures of pages within the magazine. I like the mixture of both of them as it looks varied and not all the same.

The issue date, page number and Q logo is in the bottom corner of each page. This is there to inform of the reader of the date of the issue and what page they are on.

Underneath each title of different pages of the magazine on the contents page there is a brief description of what it is about. This is helpful to the reader as they can read what it is about on the contents page and see if they want to read more about it or not without flicking back and forth from each page inside the magazine and the contents page. I will be using this idea on my contents page.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD:

This double page spread’s colour scheme consists of three colours; red, white and black. This is the same colour as found on the contents page and front cover. I like the way the colour scheme is organised and is kept the same throughout the magazine. I think it shows each page to be linked and you can see that they all come from the same magazine. The colours used are also easy to see and read, so you do not have to focus on bright harsh colours or lots of very dark colours together. I think I will use a reoccurring colour scheme throughout my magazine as I think it looks sophisticated which will appeal to the target audience.

The photo is used as the background of this double page spread. The band is trying to recreate the iconic Beatles album cover when they recorded at Abbey Road. They have made it their own by wearing animal head masks – this also adds a comedic element. I like how they have done this as they are recreating a very famous image but are adding their own twist. It also shows that the band don’t take themselves too seriously by wearing animal masks.

There are two columns of writing at the bottom of the left hand page. It is in white writing and serif font.  I don’t think two columns of writing looks as good as three would. I think it looks a bit too bare and unprofessional. I will be using three columns of writing on my double page spread.

The issue date, page number and Q logo is in the bottom corner of each page. This informs the reader of the issue they are reader, what page they are on and the magazine logo. As it is in the same place and is the same size on every page it is easy for the reader to find each page and it also looks organised this way too.

There is a drop capital at the beginning of the article. I like the use of drop capitals at the beginning of an article and will think about using one on my article.

Just above the band’s name “Chapel Club” there is a red square with ‘New to Q’ written in white in it. It is just like the Q logo but with ‘New to’ put in the top left hand corner. I like the way they have done reoccurring things throughout their magazine as it shows it all links together and creates familiarity for the reader.