Blog 3- Analysis of existing magazines

I am comparing two magazine covers, NME- Febuary 08 issue and kerrang!- March 04. Both magazines are rock genre which is the genre i have picked for my own magazine.

Title- Similarly, both magazines are in sans serif suggesting to readers that it is a modern style
magazine. NME and Kerrang! are both in bold and a large font so stand out on the front of the cover and are eye catching to readers. The NME title stands out more than Kerrang! because it is in colour so it is likely to be the first thing a reader will recognise on the page. The title for Kerrang! is half hidden by other pictures on the cover. This suggests that the magazine is well known so readers don't need to see the whole title to know what magazine it is.

Use of colour- NME uses a colour scheme of blue and yellow and also red for the title. Kerrang! has a colour scheme if yellow and pink. Therefore, both magazines use bright and bold colours that clash together, which are very effective and represent a rock style because of the daring contrasts they have used. I think the use of colours kerrang! uses are more effective then NME because the colours used on NME seem to be washed out a bit more, where as, Kerrang! has use of very bright, bold colours that would stand out from most magazines on the shelf.

Font Styles- Again, all the font styles on both magazine covers are in sans serif, therefore, shows a more modern effect. Kerrang! uses large, bold writing throughout the whole cover therefore all the text stands out on the page, where as, NME only uses bold for the main stories, so the other, less important, text doesn't stand out as much.

Layout- Kerrang!'s layout is very crowded with lots of words and pictures that jump out on the page to make it seem very busy and suggests there are lots of interesting stories and pictures inside, persuading readers to buy the magazine. NME is similar in this way because both layouts are un-organised in a positive way which shows the magazine is modern which will interest readers of a rock style. All the writing in kerrang! is mainly down the middle of the page and only lists off the main things that are in the magazine rather then going into detail. The majority of the cover consists of pictures. This magazine is more visual. Where as, NME has all the main stories in bold down the side with more description underneath. So, kerrang! is more eye catching when seen on a shelf but NME gives more details into what is inside which may attract readers more. It depends if the reader prefers visual or written methods. Both the main images on the magazines are set out in the middle of the page with the other text and pictures working around them.

This is a karrang! contents page.

It uses a similar colour scheme as the front cover. The eye catching pictures relate to the articles in the magazine which makes you want to read on. The contents page is done in a more visually attractive way. It is done in an un-traditional lay out which links with the un-traditional style of the magazine. Other, less important, stories are displayed down the side of the page.

This is an NME double page spread.

Again, the colour scheme is the same as on the cover therefore, they could use the same colour sceme throughout the magazine.

The majority of the double page spread is taken up by the picture on the left. Specific parts of the text have been put in blue colourful box's to give it a scrap book effect which appeals to a younger target audience. The picture also creates the same effect because the people look very laid back and there are lots of posters in the background which could represent teenagers.