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.

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.

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.

Magazine Front Cover Research - Big Cheese.

I have decided to look at the front covers of Big Cheese in addition to my Kerrang! research to show my knowledge and understanding of other rock magazines.

Big Cheese is a hard rock magazine which focuses on rock/punk/metal. It is priced at £4.99 which is released once a month. It is aimed at teenagers aged 16+. They will most likely be the stereotypical teenagers who dress in dark outrageous clothing and spend money on attending numerous concerts and buying merchandise both at the gigs that are listed in the magazine and in shops or on-line at the selection of rock merchandise sites that are also featured in the magazine.

This is an example of a Big Cheese front cover. The masthead is partly black with a white outline and the rest is light blue with a white outline which makes it stand out from the black outline. It is partially covered by a medium shot of four males aged from 19 to 40 years of age. They are not stunningly attractive but they still get a lot of attention for their looks. This is a typical picture to be seen on the front cover of Big Cheese which is covered by a sub-title informing the reader on what this months issue includes. Under this they have listed the bands that will also feature on the left hand side above the barcode, leaving a lot of the picture showing. They have a banner at the top to tell the audience there is a free CD and giant posters that are included in the magazine which has an extra image at the top left to highlight the posters. The banner at the bottom includes extra information that the reader will find in the magazine. The colour scheme for this issue is pink, blue and yellow. They have also used black and white but these colours are reapplied in each front cover they create. The pink, blue and yellow however are used together to make the information stand out but these combinations change with each issue to compliment the image that has been selected to feature on the front.

This is another example of a Big Cheese front cover. The masthead colours has changed slightly, from light blue to white, to make it stand out against the light blue/grey background. This example uses the same medium shot image that partially covers the masthead. The sub-title that is laid over the top, central left, informs us that it is "Bring Me The Horizon", a band of males in their early 20's that are portrayed to be your average looking typical males that you would associate rock music with. The central guy who is the lead singer is outlined in flames which reinforces the sub-heading "Unleash Hell!". This catches the readers eye are draws them into the image which makes them want to read the article to find out about the band. Unlike the example above, this time Big Cheese has moved the list of additional bands to central left next to the sub-title. This has been done so they can include additional pictures at the bottom which appear to the audience that they have been cut out of the original image and all outlined in white so that they fit together. These images are above the bottom banner that is the same as the above example where it tells the reader what else to expect in the magazine. However the top banner on this example is not so clearly made out as it has no base colour so the text is laid out simple over the background. It still stands out enough though to be seen by the reader to tell them that there are posters included in this issue that are highlighted by the overlapping images in the top left corner.

Magazine Front Cover Research - Kerrang!

For my initial research I decided to choose "Kerrang!" as it is a music magazine which I am familiar with. "Kerrang!" focuses on the punk/rock/screamo genres of music. They aim at readers aged 14+ who will be the type of teenagers who have the money to spend buying the magazine each week at only £2.20, and will attend concerts in their free time. They will listen to loud guitar heavy music and will aspire to be like the bands in the magazine and the majority will be able to play an instrument.

This is an example of a "Kerrang!" front cover. The masthead is black, in bold and outlined in a white box so that it stands out. It is partially covered by the main picture, this design is standard on "Kerrang!" covers. The picture is of males, late teens early twenties which is a common stereotype of music magazines. The music of the band is reflected into the styling of the image to create a similar attitude. The centre photo itself is covered by a sub-title which tells the readers that the magazine will feature "You Me At Six". They have also added in smaller text a few lines about the band above and below the central sub-title. "Kerrang!" have also included overlapping photos in the bottom left corner which also show the reader what they will find, a poster special, in the magazine. They have also included an additional image to the right which is set in a typical polaroid outline which has text underneath for information which refers to the image. A banner top and bottom also list bands that are included in this weeks issue.The colour scheme is black, white, yellow, red and green.

Unlike other music magazines "Kerrang!" goes against the typical use of two or three main colours as each cover features a different mixture, however even though they use more than the average amount of colour, they only use small amounts of each colour so they all stand out equally.

Kerrang! use the same style throughout all their front covers as this next image shows. This front cover features 30 Seconds To Mars. It is laid out in the same way, a banner top and bottom, masthead behind the main image, images both in the bottom left corner and on the right above the barcode. The main image shows self confidence and power by the serious expression and looking straight at the camera. Also the dark sunglasses reflecta cool attitude. A sub-title in bold about the main feature of the magazine with smaller text bellow and above the sub-title which include snippets of the interview to entice the readers.

Preliminary Task.

To show our understanding of Adobe Photoshop which I am using to create my magazine we had to complete a preliminary task. As I have chosen the area of print I had to create the front cover of a college magazine as well as block out the contents page.

This is my front cover for my college magazine. I chose red and blue as the main colours because I wanted colours that would stand out but also contrast each other. Also I understand that magazines have a limited colour pallet and would only use 3 of 4 maximum.
 The masthead is vertical down the left hand side and is in bold. I chose to have the title over the image as I wanted it to stand out more.

The image itself is a medium close up shot of a typical college student. I have edited the image by cropping it from the original as it was too large. Then I brightened the image using the tools on Photoshop and then made it more contrasting. I edited the image because I felt it was too dull and was flat compared to the text and boxes that I layered on top.

Overall I am pleased with this, I think it is well laid out. Simple, yes, but I think it stands out well enough without the need for too much to be going on.

Creating this has enabled me to understand how to use Photoshop and the different editing techniques.

This is my blocked out contents page. I used the same fonts for the writing as the front cover to make it flow from page to page as I understand the need to develop a house style for continuity. I decided to split the contents list into two sections, features and regulars, to make it a bit different from all the other magazines out there. I chose to place the photos on either side to help break down the text because I didn't want too much information on this page as contents pages are usually just brief notes about what will be in this issue of the magazine.
This was relatively easy and simple to create after my front cover because I had a better grasp of the program and a better understanding of how contents pages should be laid out.
I have continued with the red and blue colour scheme so that the magazine flows continuously from page to page.
I am happy with this layout as I think it works well how it is set out. I t has enabled me to understand how to layout contents pages which will be useful when I come to create my final coursework.