Audience research

These two Billboard magazine covers include bold colours which are visually appealing due to their vibrant and eye catching appearance.

They both include the colours white and black which are two basic colours which contrast well on bold backgrounds.

The Billboard front cover on the left has a blue, green background which contrasts with the white Billboard masthead and the front cover on the right has a red background which is a popular colour amongst many current magazines such as the Q house style.

The layout of these two Q magazines both frame the face of the two artists as the cover lines are located around their faces and highlight their facial features as well as their expressions, breaking the fourth wall. This brings the audience's attention the centre of the page and causes the viewer to react in a certain way.

The masthead is located on the top left corner of both Q magazines however it is very large and distinctive meaning we will instantly notice what magazine it is without it being located in the centre of the cover.

The two artists also overlap the masthead to cause the artists to stand out more and make the main image look more eye catching and significant.

Similarly, the main cover line on the right magazine front cover overlaps the medium close up of the artist 'Adele' however the majority of the cover lines are located on the left which reveals more of the main image to the audience meaning the magazine image is very visually appealing which is also emphasised by the high key lighting.

On the left magazine front cover, the main cover line overlaps the medium close up of the male artist which causes the cover to look busy, gripping and full of interesting content which may entice the viewer to buy the magazine to read the articles within the article.

Two preferred colour schemes

The font 'Colors Of Autumn' is a handwritten font which appears to have a careless yet professional style which would be suitable for my pop magazine as it may reflect the rebellious and carefree attitude of my artist. I could consider searching for other handwritten fonts to give my magazine a sense of originalityand authenticity as I could use these fonts as a possible artist signature.

The font 'Lemon Milk' is a bold, capitalised font which is eye catching due to its simple but distinct style. The sides and edges of the font are sharp which gives the font a powerful and striking appearance which reflects the style of the pop genre. This font would be appropriate for mastheads or a headline as it is an engaging font.

These are two contrasting contents pages despite both being visually appealing in different ways.

The Q contents page on the left makes use of the colours red white and black which is the Q magazine house style, making it very recognisable to the viewers as it is original. This contents page also makes use of 6 different images displaying a range of content that is within the magazine which allows the viewer to discover more and possibly encourage them to read further. The image is a long shot of a male artist which is interesting as it is revealing his whole outfit and we can infer from this and the images around him that he is a rock artist. The arrangement of the other images is also interesting as they appear to be scattered on the contents page giving it a more reckless and laidback feel which may allow the audience to connect more with the content and enjoy reading the articles. I could consider incorporating a similar idea on my contents page to give it a relaxed and casual style.

Q magazine contents page

The Billboard contents page on the right makes use of the colours black and grey which can be considered to be dull but simple colours. Billboard does not have a consistent house style as they alter their colours to suit every individual magazine to ensure there is a good colour combination. This contents page only contains one image which also acts as the background of the contents page and the artist, Ariana Grande, covers the majority of the page, leaving room for only one column on the left. I could consider including one column of text to be able to emphasise certain images. The use of the medium close up is interesting as the artists in posed in a shy, innocent manner which may be reflective of the type of artist she is. I can consider using certain camera shots for my magazine to allow me to express my characters personality and traits. The overall design of the contents page is very simple and sophisticated which may appeal to viewers as it appears to be professional.

Billboard magazine contents page

Q magazine front cover

Billboard magazine front cover

There are many factors that contribute to making this front cover the most appealing. The house style of the front cover is red white and black as this is Q magazines style which instantly creates a vivid appearance to attract the audience. The use of different sized fonts and the juxtaposition of the serif and san serif font as well as the colours create a unique secondary cover line on the right side of the front cover. The use of a puff is also appealing as this includes additional content on the front cover and our eyes are instantly drawn to it as is stands out amongst the main image. Furthermore, the word 'Rocks' covers the entire bottom of the magazine front cover which not only stands out but creates emphasis on the word which may indicate what the article will be about. The medium close up is also appealing as high key lighting has been used to highlight the artist; Cheryl Coles features and conveys her in an original and different style. Although the Q masthead covers some of the main image, it still is very eye catching due to the lighting, eye contact and striking costuming of the artist. As inspiration from this music magazine front cover, I could consider using a juxstaposition of different fonts to entice the viewer to read a certain cover line and a headline on my magazine front cover and double page spread.

Q magazine front cover