NME is a weekly magazine which is published since March 1952. New Musical Express started as a newspaper and gradually moved towards a magazine format during the 80's. Its largely associated with rock, alternative and indie music. Inside the magazine we can find reviews, guides, discussions and recent news based around the magazines music interests.
Front Cover:
The short masthead which in this case is 'NME' is the largest text which is visible on the page. By the masthead being a short, three lettered acronym instead of its full name 'New Musical Express' it causes the name to be remembered in the audiences head, as well as not covering a lot of the magazines canvas allowing for other content to be spread out. By its heavy looking font in a bright colour which stands out against a simple background, the masthead draws the audiences attention. Additionally the positioning of the masthead in this example is very common in other music magazines which are available on the market. By the masthead being located in the top left corner of the magazine, it makes us as readers see it first as we initially look at the top of magazines at the first glance. Therefore when we see this, we automatically can determine what content the magazine will contain by only looking at the masthead. On the other hand we can see that a small part of the 'NME' acronym is covered by Mark Ronson's head. This has been done by purpose as now that the magazine is popular they don't need to present their name in order for their audience to recognise them, however they present the person in its full view as he is the main image of the issue.
The barcode can be seen on the bottom right corner of the magazine. This is because the barcode is not essential to us as the readers, however it is needed to be there for sale purposes. The barcode includes key information about the magazines such as its price or the date. The text around the barcode explaining these information is written in a small font, not to take away the attention from the overall front cover.
The centre of visual interest in this magazine is definately the image of Mark Ronson. The image has been set up to bleed with one side of the page. By it being relatively large, taking up a significant amount of the page it causes the image to speak for the magazine. Mark Ronson is well known in the music industry therefore in this case he is used to represent the 'music market'. Additionally by him holding a prop which is a musical instrument, it reinforces the idea of the 'music market'. On the other hand by the simple, fading background behind Ronson's silhouette, the person is brought forward as no details catch our attention making the magazine relatively clear to understand.
At the top of the page we can see a banner has been placed. From the first glance at the magazine the banner is very odd-looking, as it has a solid black background. This has been deliberately used to create contrast with the magazines background and draw our attention. In the banner we can see that from left to right, there is a variety of fonts used. Bold, fuzzy or thin. This wide variety appeals to different people therefore if it suits the persons liking it will automatically drag their attention and cause them to be interested in what the banner contains. In my opinion the main purpose of the banner at the top is to play a role of the magazines advert. This is because when the magazine is placed on a news stand in a shop we can only see the top part of the magazine therefore when the reader spots that the 'advert' contains interesting content he will go for it and purchase it.
Throughout the magazine we come across two types of cover lines. We can easily differentiate between them and their purposes, and why they have been constructed in such a way. There are cover lines which have a bold black text which is followed by a comment in a thinner black text, whereas the second types of cover lines have a similar bold font to the masthead and the main cover line of the magazine and use the same colour which links them to the masthead and the main cover line. The cover lines which use a similar image to the masthead etc. talk about the content which Mark Ronson is included in as. however the cover lines which use all black text talk about secondary information which can be found in the magazine. Additionally, at the very bottom of the magazines canvas we come across a cover line. This cover line contains text which presents the artists which are featured in this specific issue of the magazine. By its simplistic look, with a white bold font the cover line creates a contrast as it is easily seen against Ronson's clothing.
The first thing we see while looking at the double page spread of the NME magazine is the image of the female sitting down on what looks like a object covered in a flag of United States. The image is relatively large, covering a single page of the double page spread which introduces us to the article. By its size we as readers are presented how important that person is, in comparison to the article which is very small. Second of all, by the image being so big it shows to us that the person is famous and recognisable. This reflects how prestigious the magazine is as they feature people who are on a 'celebrity' level. Although the image continues over both pages, we pay more attention to the left page as it contains the silhouette of the person. This creates a suitable background for the article on the second page. I consider this image to be a picture boost as it promotes to us the feature which in this case is the article.
On both pages of the double page spread we can find a variety of fonts used to present different purposes. The text which mainly grabs our attention is the text which is presented behind the females silhouette which says "USA got the love". The word "USA" has been written in a tough, heavy looking font which presents the power of the country and the influence it has. On the other the phrase "got the love" has been written in a more freehand-looking, delicate font as this is what we associate love with. By this clever use of fonts the feelings we gain from looking at them are associated with the female. She as a celebrity is big and has a large influence same as United States, however she shows love and passion same as the delicate font used to write "got the love". Moving onto the article on the second page we can see two types of fonts used. The first being the same as in the phrase "got the love" which is used to create a drop cap. This is very effective as continues the image of the phrase above additionally introducing the article in a calm manner. Above the article we can find a puff piece which depicts secondary information about the female in the image, making the information stand out of the context. This puff piece has been written in the same font style as the article is, to continue the corporate image. Overall the article is sorted into three columns with suitable column gutters to match the shape of the puff piece.By the use of column gutter the text in the columns is more spread out making it easier to read as the columns do not merge with each other.
Additionally, on the double page spread we can find what looks like a sub-heading. This sub-heading presents the name of the person the article is about. The purpose of the sub-heading is to act like a strap boost, telling us what the article is about, without even glancing at it. On the other hand, by its simple format, "Florence" the strap boost is very delicate which matches the font used on the image covering the double page spread, portraying information to us in a very prestigious manner. The positioning of the strap-boost is very precise, as when the reader is going through the pages one by one or even flicking, he/she can spot the text in the top right corner, which as a result draws their attention to the article.
Contents page:
First of all we can see that the content page has used the same font and colour for the 'NME' acronym in the title as it has been used on the front cover. By this the corporate image is followed through the magazine, additionally making sure the reader acknowledges what magazine he is reading. By using red as the colour of the font on the contents page, it makes these simple three letters stand out against other content visible on the page. On the other hand we can see a link between the front cover of the magazine and the content page as on both pages we can see a a black strip going across the top of the page. In my opinion the idea of the 'banner' was continued to the contents page to create the same effect which in this case is to emphasise the 'NME CONTENTS' and by having the black background it draws our attention to the text.
The small article which is positioned below the main image explains to us what is happening in the above. This is rarely seen on magazines however it is a useful technique to introduce the reader to the topic and get him into reading. I can consider this article to be a buried lede and a kicker, as even by its explanation we as an audience do not fully understand what happened, therefore we are even more interested and want to know the details. This means that by the main point of the story being covered up we are keen to read on. Additionally, the article uses a drop cap which starts of the article. By this our attention is carried all the way from the start of the "Kasabian got romantic in a church" to the beggining the article allowing us to easily flow through the page and read on.
Right beneath the image and the article, we are shown a internal advert of the magazine. This advertisment presents to us the subscription rate and the method to subscribe to the magazine. In this advert NME has used a black background which creates contrast in the same way as the banner does, however they have additionally used yellow text which is not used throughout the front cover or the double page spread making the information stand out. For example if a white background was used for the advert it would not be as effective as it is with the black background. They have included a special offer for the readers as we can see that the advert says "SAVE OVER £45", this is seen by the audience as a 'bargain' therefore they are more likely to subscribe. Even though NME are loosing money as they do not advertise a secondary product , they can benefit from it as more people will subscribe which will gain them profit.
On the right hand side of the content page we can see that the overall information in the magazine has been sorted into various sections beginning from 'NEWS' to 'FEATURES'. This benefits the readers as they can easily spot the section which interests them and look for the content which suits their liking. It is a simple yet effective way of presenting information. To even make the information clearer for the audience, NME has placed special arrows to point out the content which was mentioned on the front cover. As a result, when the reader spots the cover line on the front cover, skips onto the content page and looks for what he is interested in, he/she can easily find the information on what page number the exact content is mentioned on.
Located in the very bottom right corner we have what looks like a subheading which says 'THE UK'S No. 1 GIG GUIDE STARTS p58'. This text can be visible on a arrow which is a bigger version of the arrows which have been used to point out the content which has been mentioned on the front cover. The arrow is in red whereas the text is in white. This makes the arrow stand out on the page as the red has been mainly used on the 'NME' acronym. Additionally by the arrow pointing to the right it signifies to the reader that the content which the arrow mentions can be visible on a page further on in the magazine. By this information is easily transferred to the reader instead of using long sentences of text which are not as attractive, meaning that the reader wont even spot them on the page. This arrow is represented as a strapline as it is similar to a subheading however it is used for marketing purposes.
The main image which is visible on the page represents what looks like a rock band performing on the stage. The image seems as if it has been cropped as we can only see the main singer and the main guitarist. I can tell this as from my research I have found that the band "Kasabian" has 4 members. This cropping has been done by purpose as the magazine editor wanted to make it fit the page. On the other hand. by only showing the two main members of the band the people who know them will recognise them immediately as we consider these people as the pin-up members of the band, which in other words can be the 'faces' of the band. Furthermore, the image has been taken or even cropped to make it seem as it has been taken from a POV of one of the members in the audience. By this when the reader looks at the image he feels as if he is at the concert, making the reader being dragged in and more involved with the magazine.
No comments:
Post a Comment