Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Double Page spread - Big Cheese.

To broaden my understanding of double page spread articles I am going to also analyse one from the other magazine I am using for my research, Big Cheese.
This is a typical layout that Big Cheese use in their magazines; this one features 30 Seconds To Mars. They have one large image that takes up three quarters of the page on the left. The bottom is slightly obscured by white and red text which introduces the article to the reader and lets them know what they will be reading about. Below this is large writing which is placed to look like the title of the article but is actually a quote from the lead singer Jared Leto.

The article itself has been placed in a black box on the right hand side of the double page and has been slightly blended into the image so that the line that divides the image from the text isn't as prominent as a solid black line. This helps the page flow together and look as one part instead of two pieces. They have chosen the colour of the box to be black because the image is dark so the black  also helps the page to flow. The image also looks unnatural as they have enhanced the saturation of the colours.At the top of the column there is a white rectangular shaped patch coming in from the right that looks as though it has been torn from the black box. This indicates the name of the band that the article is about. Below in the rest of the black box is the interview itself written in white writing to contrast the black background. The article is split into several paragraphs to make it easier for the audience to read.

Big Cheese typically use this set up for a lot of their double page spread articles that they include in their magazines. However sometimes they flip the order of the page; image on the right, article on the left. They also sometimes have more than one column of text depending on the length of the article that they have written.
This is a really effective approach to a double page spread and I like how the image and the text box blends together. When designing the double page spread for my magazine I will most likely include some aspects of this example.

Double Page Spread - Kerrang!

For my coursework I need to include a double page spread article. To show my knowledge and understanding of what double page spread articles are I am going to analyse some. I will start with Kerrang!, which is one of the magazines I am taking my ideas from.

This is an example of a typical double page spread article that you would find in Kerrang! magazine. They have chosen to have a large image that takes up almost three quarters of the whole double page. This is a medium shot of the band My Chemical Romance in quite stereotypical poses which show that they are indeed a band. As this image dominates the rest of the page it reflects the attitude of the band.


On the left side of the double page is two black columns which includes the interview with My Chemical Romance in white writing. They have choose to have the background of the article black so that it stands out against the colour of the background for the rest of the page. White writing in this contrast the black and makes reading the interview easier for the audience.
At the bottom of the second column are red lines which split these couple of sentences from the rest of the interview. This is done to grab the attention of the reader to tell them that the second part of this interview is in next weeks issue. At the top of the two column is a quote that tells the reader a little something about the interview before they read it.
A small black box next to the bottom right corner of the second column names the band from left to right.

Kerrang! typically use this set up for most of their double page spread articles that they include in their magazines. Sometimes flipping the order so that the image is on the left with the interview on the right.
I think this is a very effective set up and will use this when I design the layout for my double page.

Monday, 19 March 2012

Contents Page Reserch - Big Cheese.

I have previously looked at Kerrang!'s contents pages so in this post I will evaluate Big Cheese's contents pages and compare the two to outline the similarities and differences.
This is an example of a typical contents page in ~Big Cheese magazine. They have split the page in half by a thick white line down the centre of a double page. The first side of this double paged contents is split into three columns. The first is a black rectangle which lists everyone who has been involved with the production of this months issue. The next two columns are only half the length of the page and list the "Regular" articles that feature in every issue of Big Cheese and the page number that each can be found.. Also, at the side there is a black box which is a little side note from the writers of Big Cheese telling there readers about what they can expect in this months issue. Below these two columns is a medium shot of a band member which you can read about in the "Regular" section of the magazine.

On the second half on this double page it has been split into two columns. The first tells the audience about the "Kingsize" articles which are the main features in this issue and their page number. These tend to follow on from what has been shown on the front page so that the magazine flows better throughout. This easy to read format is used because this is the navigation for the rest of the magazine. They have included two smaller images of artists that appear in this magazine in this first column. By being smaller it shows the audience that yes there is a feature but it's not as heavily focused on as the ones in the next column. As the second column has three pictures much larger than the two in the first column of this page it shows that these artists have a greater importance within this magazine and will have a musch larger article written about them. The symmetry of this layout makes it effective and easy for the audience to read.

I think this is quite an effective layout as it is laid out in a user friendly way as it is very easy to understand. More over I think they have managed to balance out the amount of text with enough pictures so that it's not daugnting for the reader to have to just read a long list to pick out the articles of interest.

Friday, 16 March 2012

Contents Page Research - Kerrang!

For the magazine that I will be creating I need to include a contents page so I have decided to look at some examples of contents pages from Kerrang! and Big Cheese as I have looked at their front covers so I will be able to see how they have followed through from the front cover to the contents page and see if their layouts are similar. This will allow me to grasp the concept about how contents pages should be laid out. In this post I am going to focus on the layout of Kerrang!'s contents pages.

This is an example of a typical contents page in Kerrang! magazine. They have split the page in half by a white line. Above this line is a medium shot of a band member from Blink 182. This image is shown to be taken at a concert which reinforces the target audience personality for readers of Kerrang! magazine. This image has been partially covered by a black box, top right, that informs us that this is the contents page. Below this box are two smaller images that are pictures of the double spread pages that follow on from the main image of Blink 182.
Directly beneath the white line is a black strip which informs us what is in this weeks issue. Under this it a white background which has been used so that the information stands out. This has been split into four columns, so that it is easier to read and pick out the key parts that you wish to look at. In the first column is a note from the editor of the magazine telling the reader what has happened this week. These are sometimes quite personal which I think helps the audience connect more with the magazine almost as if your friend was telling you a story from what had happened to them this week.
The next two columns are the listings for each article which specifies the page that you can find it on. This is what makes it a contents page as without these listings the reader would not know what page to turn to for the articles that they are interested in. Some listings have a couple of sentences in much smaller text which is like a sneak peak of the article relating to the listing.
The final column on the right is a listing also but on this particular one they have included a small image which has text laid over the top to tell us what this p[age will be about. This includes a smaller image because it is also a featured topic in the magazine, however it is not as heavily focused on as the large image above the white line.
Also they have chosen to advertise the subscription to the magazine underneath the final listing. This is to remind the readers that they can receive the magazine straight to their door and save money on the price of the magazine. They also include a double page towards the end of the magazine that includes more information on how to subscribe, it usually offers a gift with the subscription to attract more people.