Analysis of contents page Maddy Ryder

Analysis of contents page:

                                           

I have chosen to analyse this magazine because of the unique layout – the quirky, personalised style is one I also hope to achieve with our own music magazine contents page. The clear spaces between the text & boxes leave the page looking simple and uncomplicated, creating a laid back, casual effect which I hope to replicate as I feel it appeals to a younger audience, namely teenagers, which we are targeting.  The unique style also breaks the neat, ordered convention of the average magazine, causing it to stand out among competition.

The large headings and bold text also appeal to a younger audience, rather than the small print found in magazines aimed at adults, and the house style of red, black & white, commonly found in magazines focused around a rock genre, appeals to both genders. This is important for our magazine as we aim to target teenagers as a whole rather than a specific male/female audience, although the artists featured in the magazine appear to be all male – in our music magazine we would like to represent artists of both genders.

The artists featured appear to be largely average, without the emphasis on a toned body and large, muscled physique seen in a lot of other magazines, especially rap. This is important to us as it defies stereotypical representations of masculinity in the media; as we aim to appeal to and represent teenagers rather than adults, the focus on body and ‘sex appeal’ may not be appropriate.

The images range between portrait and landscape, and different shots – mid and body – are used, creating variety. A landscape photograph can be used in a contents page when the image doesn’t dominate the page, although portrait pictures are usually favoured in magazines. The landscape picture is ideal for a group of people as it fits them all in without too much going on above/below, allowing them to remain the main focus of the picture.

The use of dark text/pictures against a plain white background creates a bold contrast and doesn’t dominate the page as some picture backgrounds/larger photographs miht do, preventing the page from looking over crowded. A plain or light background for my contents page is ideal, as I aim to keep a simple, uncomplicated style.