Q Magazine (2013 Issue) - Deconstruction

Front Cover:

• Comparing this particular issue of Q Magazine to previous covers, I can see that the idea of being able to cover the masthead has also been used. This shows that the company are not afraid to hide parts of their magazine that may help to sell it because they are confident it will remain recognisable to the audience. As analysed in other Q deconstructions, the red and white colour of the masthead enables it to stand out from other competitors and draws the readers in. The tagline here 'Music Magazine of the Year', as well as 'The World's Greatest Music Magazine', set high expectations for the brand itself and create desirability to the consumers that would see this being advertised.

• Other than the main uses of white and red, it is difficult to necessarily differentiate a recurring theme colour on this front page. At the top of the cover white has been used to create a simple but effective background to feature important information and advertise key aspects of the magazine. Perhaps the gold border has been used to emphasise the special edition and could connote the importance and class of this magazine.  

• In the centre, a white square has been included to highlight the greatest feature of this particular issue - 'Perfect Playlists' involving well known figures such as Robbie Williams and Noel Gallagher. Not only does this highlighting technique clearly emphasise the magazine's best features, but the colouring allows the album artwork around the edges to stand out and surround the cover in an almost frame like style. Furthermore, it could be considered that the white colour shows connotations of this 'perfection' that is being advertised, so that ties in well. 

• Appropriate fonts have been used in certain areas of the front page and all remain readable and have a sense of simplicity. The coverline/hook in the bottom left uses a quote paired with a famous celebrity to draw in the readers, whilst the ripped paper border helps to seamlessly blend into the cover, making it visually appealing to the eye.

Contents Pages 

It is particularly important to analyse the contents pages as not only have I completed my front cover already, but I am currently in the stages of working on my own contents page. Therefore, I should pay close attention to the codes and conventions used as to inspire my own work, although in this case the contents page is spread across three pages rather than one. 

• From a glance, this contents page appears to be fairly busy and slightly confusing, however when you inspect the different aspects you can see that they have been cleverly laid out to draw in the readers. For example, the use of images of artists layered over the top of some texts and other images creates an almost 3D effect that makes the page more interesting for the consumers to look at. The large amount of dark, black colours have been balanced out with the highlights of red and white spaces, creating a clean and modern effect. I can see a letter from the editor welcoming the readers to the magazine has been included, which has made me decide that I will definitely include one of my own in my magazine's contents page. 

• A variety of articles and features of this magazine have been advertised through page number referencing and brief information over photographs, which I will definitely make sure to use for my own contents page. Furthermore, as this contents spreads over a total of 3 pages, I can see extra details and contact information have been placed on the third page; despite me being reduced to only 1 page, I shall definitely include brief contact details so that my magazine has a professional feel. Overall, I feel that although this example is fairly busy and almost confusing to look at, it holds many appropriate conventions of a magazine that I should take note to incorporate into my work as they are found to be extremely successful with audiences. 

   Double Page Spread 

Moving on to the next magazine feature, it is also particularly important to analyse the codes and conventions as well as those used for the contents page as I am in the process of creating my own double page spread too. 

• The artist of the 'Sing Out Sisters' has been featured, with a full page sized image on the left, and a page of text on the right. The capitalised, bolded, large text at the bottom takes up nearly one third of the double page spread, clearly explaining the artists within the article and selling this section of the magazine. This would not only be easy to read, but would also create interest for the readers of these artists who may not be well known to the audience. 

• The main image itself presents three young women with happy expressions, engaging with each other. The fact that they are positioned together without having eye contact with the camera shows that it is not necessarily a key feature to have in order to maintain interest with the readers, as this image is still fun and well designed. Text placed over the borders of the photograph includes extra information about the sisters that is not particularly needed in the article itself - a feature I may choose to include in my own products.

• Looking at the article, a simple black text on a white background with a basic font has been used, separated into 3 columns. 

• A strip of 3 images showing the artists in action, with further text placed over the image is placed in the centre of the right page, emphasising the recurring theme of 3 in this article for the 'Sing Out Sisters'.