Analysis of existing magazines

I have chosen two magazine covers, a contents page and a double page spread of typical pop magazines and I am going to analyse the features of these.

This is the front cover of top of the pops magazine. Top of the pops is a monthly magazine produced by the BBC. It includes chart information, celebrity gossip, beauty and fashion tips. It specialises in the pop music genre which is why I have chosen it.



The masthead of the magazine is consistent and is the same design on every issue. Occasionally the colour of the title changes but the size and the style of the lettering remains the same. On every issue there is the BBC logo and the barcode which are always situated in the same place.


The main flash of the magazine is 'High school musical'. 'High school musical' is very popular amongst teenagers of today which will make them want to pick the magazine up and find out more about them. Zac Efron is also considered as a 'god' for teenage girls which will also make the want to buy it. When the readers first see the magazine they will see the headline 'Exclusive interview you're a star' posted across it. This word exclusive means they cant find out about it anywhere else so it makes them want to read it and the direct address 'you're a star' makes it seem like the magazine is talking directly to the reader which draws the reader in to it.


Other headlines such as 'Celebrity love secrets exposed' and 'My diet of death' are smaller on the cover but are used to draw the readers attention by using shocking stories to tempt them to buy it. They are also chatty and informal.


The magazine also looks entertaining, exciting and informative because it has alot of stories posted all over the cover.


Every month the layout of this magazine is the same. This will help readers find their favourite information every month.


The price of this magazine is £2.20. I think this is slightly overpriced considering it is aimed at teens because they only receive pocket money so it should be cheaper.

This is another example of a pop music magazine. This is smash hits. It is now defunct but I can still use it as an example. This magazine was issued every fortnight. It included information on celebrity gossip, music and fashion and cosmetics.

As with top of the pops magazine the font and style of the masthead remains the same each issue but the colours of the title change each time.


The main flash of the magazine is McFly. McFly are a popular band for teenagers to listen to which will mean they will want to find out about them and want to buy the magazine. When the reader first picks up the magazine they will see the headline 'Son of dork, why McFly should be afraid...very afraid' This is dramatic and sounds bad so readers will want to know why.


Other headlines such as 'Louis xfactor gossip' and 'Greendays secret life exposed' seem interesting and exciting and will make people want to pick it up and buy it. Language such as 'secret' and 'gossip' makes it seem like they are going to find out things that other people won't know. The designer of this magazine also makes the target audience want to buy it by adding bonus's such as 'Win poll winners tickets'.


The price of this magazine is £2.00. I think this is reasonable but could be cheaper considering the target audience is people that only earn pocket money.

Top of the pops magazine doesnt have a contents page so I am going to analyse a contents page from Mizz magazine becuase this is the most similar one I could find.I emailed the editor of Mizz magazine to check the target audience was similar to the top of the pops magazine. They replied:

Mizz is aimed at 10-14 year old girls. This is similar to my target audience so it is suitable for me to analyse.


The images on the page are of actors from Disney films. This makes it suitable for the younger audience because generally older people won't want to read about Disney films. The image of Zac Efron will help sell the magazine becuase females love him and the target audience is females. He is also an international star so is well known. There is also an image of someone modelling some fashionable clothes which will make the reader want to read on so they can find out where the clothes were from and also females of the younger age are generally interested in fashion.




The colour scheme of this page is mainly bright colours. This makes it suitable for the target audience becuase younger people are usually attracted to bright colours. They are also quite feminine colours which shows that it is aimed at a female target audience.


The title that states its a contents page is quite small and in a sans serif font. It is also in bold and red on a white background which makes it stand out. However becuase the font is small and its off-centre it makes it hard to know where the contents actually are.


The remained of the writing on the contents page is also in sans serif font. Colours have always been chosen that will stand out and make it clear for the audience to read. However this font is quite small so this could make it hard for the reader to read.


The language used throughout this page is colloquial and chatty. For example 'wake up' and 'enjoy'. This makes it informal and will attract the target audience becuase they will want it to be chatty and fun towards them. They are also catchy so will stick in peoples heads and make them remember them.

This is a double page spread from top of the pops magazine.


The tone of the language used in the article is colloquial and chatty. An example of this is 'hello campers'. This is friendly and will invite the audience to read the article. It is also advertising a film so it has included the casts reviews of the film and they all say its good so it will make the audience want to watch the film.  


The image that dominates the page is of the Jonas Brothers who are popular amongst teenage girls which will attract their attention. There is also images of the cast introducing themselves which is friendly.


The colours used throughout the double page spread are bright and inviting and will attract the readers eye.


The quote 'We want the girls we date to be our biggest fans'has been pulled. This makes the teenage girls reading the magazine want to be their fans because

The question of the interview is put in bold and in a different colour to the answer. This shows the reader what part is the question and which is the answer. Also it shows the change in the speaker.

Target Audience

I have visited the website www.NRS.co.uk and researched the audience of a typical pop magazine 'top of the pops'. I have found that there is a total of 169,000 readers, this is 0.3% of the population. 62,000 of the readers are A B and C1 socio-economic classes. This is 0.2% of the population. The remaining 107,000 readers are C2 D and E socio-economic classes. This is 0.5% of the population. 139,000 of the readers are aged 15-44 (0.6%) and 30,000 of the readers are aged 44+ (0.1%). This shows that most of the readers of my genre of magazine are in the class C2, D and E and aged 15-44.

I then went on the top of the pops magazine website and found the specific information about the readers of their magazine.

This shows that the specific target audience is mainly females ages 11-15 years.

Main coursework

Introduction
My task is to produce magazine that is based around a specific genre of music. The genre of music I have picked is pop because it is my favourite type of music and I find it interesting. Also there is not alot of pop magazines made anymore and Smash hits magazine is now defunct I feel there is a gap in the market. This task is a development of my skills from the preliminary task which you can find below.

Contents page

This is the mock copy of my contents page.Our task was to briefly outline what we would put on the contents page. I think it is important to have a bold heading to show people what page it is. I think it is important to use images because they attract the readers attention, and then make them want to know what the story behind the picture is. I have split my contents page into two columns with an image and writing in each one to make it varied and interesting to look at. I didn't make any changes compared to my initial flat plan.

Front cover

This is the final design of my front cover. I used adobe indesign to make this. I think it is important that a contents page includes striking headlines and images to draw the readers attention and make it look interesting. I also think that the headlines should be clear so that people know what its going to be about. I think they should include the Issue number so people know if they have read that one before. I think that the title should be eye-catching and bold so people know what its about. The difference between my flat plan and final front cover is that I didn't include the headline that I desired to do because it covered too much of the image so you couldn't see the face of the person. I think overall I produced an attractive and interesting front cover.

Photographs

These are the photographs I took for my magazine. I chose this person because he is a typical college student and the magazine is for college students. My first image is landscape so I cannot use it for my magazine because magazine images are typically portrait. They are suitable for my target audience because it is a student of their own age.

Flat Plans

These are the flat plans for my front cover and contents page. I have briefly outlined the elements that are going to be in my front cover and contents page. I have picked the font calibri becuase it is easily legible and clear. I think this will appeal to the target audience because they will want it to be easy to read. I have picked the colors red black and white because they all contrast and will attract the audiences attention. On my front cover I have put striking stars to attract the readers attention and highlight the importance of the headlines. I have chosen a catchy slogan and put it in caps to make it stand out and make people want to read it. The photo I have chosen for my front cover is of a student and the magazine is for students so they will want to read it. The photos on the contents page are of things that will be happening around college so it will make the reader interested and want to read the articles about them.

Introduction

My task is to create a college magazine front cover and contents page. My magazine is going to be aimed at college students generally aged 16-19 male and female.