Music magazine double-page article research

The main image that has been included on the page takes up one page out of the two pages on the double page spread. This has been done so that the customers can see closely what the gentleman looks like. The image has been taken in a close up and the reasoning for this is so that the people can see clearly what kind of facial expression the man is wearing, and can slightly see what kind of clothing he is wearing. The fact that this happens is quite seductive as it leaves the audience with intrigue as they want to see what he is wearing. This is backed up through the fact that his shirt and tie are loosen which make him look more appealing to people. The background that the image is placed on is quite dark which has lighting above him, which makes him look quite angelic. There is also lighting coming from the side which lights up one side of his face. This can add to the intrigue of people as the fact that one side of his face is lit up and the other isn’t suggest a dark side to him, which further draws people in to it. On the darker side of the page, there has been a piece of text that looks like has been taken from the interview with the man from the image. This has been written in a reasonably large font which help it stand out, and the use of the white colour make this happen even greater. This is down to the fact that the white makes stands out amongst the dull background which contrast slightly. 

The style of writing that has been used in the title of the magazine has been written in a large font, which helps draw the attention of the audience. Although it isn’t as large as the image, it does help sell the story a little bit. The title has been written over the two pages which help people realise that these two pages are linked together. They have been written in a black font which stands out over the two pages. As the background on the page on the right is white, it allows it to stand out more predominantly than it does on the other page, as the black writing contrasts with it. But on the page on the left, although it isn’t as clear on the white, the fact that it goes over a light part of the page means that is does stand out.  

The orange border down the two sides of the spread has been done to improve the presentation of the overall document. This border resembles a frame that would normally go around a picture, and helps grab all of the people’s attention by making it look like something special and important. The border goes all the way down both sides of the page and this has been done deliberately so that it would make people focus only on the actual article, and stop them from being distracted by things off the page. The page numbers have been placed in the bottom corners of both pages, and because they are written in white, on top of an orange background, means that it is clear on the page. Above the numbers there is a little portion of text which displays what kind of genre that this gentleman is associated with. When people look at a page, their eyes go around the page in a clockwise motion, so they can quickly get a glimpse of what is on the pages. The way that the little portion of text has been written is to fit this. So the page on the left, the writing goes up and on the right, it goes down.

The layout of the text has been done to match with the stereotypical magazine style. It has been written in columns which help break up the page and make look much more presentable than just one big block of text. The start of the article has the first sentence in a bold font. This makes it stand out and make it look like it is an important piece of text. The text has been written in paragraphs to make it look clear and well presented. The font that has been used is sans serif. This has been done because it is a non formal style, as there are no flicks used; they make it look less traditional and more contemporary and young. The size of the font is quite small, and this has been done so that the article fits onto the one page. As the image is on the entire page on the left, the article has to fit onto the page on the right in order to make it be a double page spread. Although the font is of a relatively small size, it still is clear to read.

Above the text is a small passage that is a few lines long. They have been used a larger font so that it is easy to read on the page and it stands out more than some of the other features of the page, and so that it is read before the article. The text has been written in sans serif for the same reason as was stated in the passage about the article’s layout. The name of the artists has been written in bold so that it stands out above that passage of text. This therefore gives the audience an idea of who this article is about, if they haven’t recognised them from the image.

The main image that has been used on the page takes up a whole side of the page. This has been done to promote the artist Florence from Florence and the Machine. This has been taken from a long shot which allows the viewers to see all of her outfit that she is wearing. The colour of the dress she is wearing is black and this contrasts with the red hair that she has. The black colour allows her hair to stand out and these two colours are lifted off the page from the background of the page. The fact that her music is from the rock pop genre, matches with the style of clothing and hair colour that she sports. The black colour can be seen as representing the rock genre as music from this category can be seen as quite dark and sinister, and the red hair, creates quite a happy and vibrant feeling that can be seen in pop songs. The direct mode of address that is used on the image contrasts with the high heeled boots and the short dress that she uses. This is because of the fact that when someone looks at the camera, they normally seem quite powerful and fearless which are usually masculine traits. But the use of the dress and the high heels show femininity, which allows the two to contrasts with each other. The fact she is sitting on top of the American flag suggests that she is a big hit in America and that she has done what is seen as ‘quite hard’ in the music world, which is to crack America, as the fact she is sitting on it, shows she has beaten it.  

The colour scheme that has been used throughout the page is a grey and silver colour. These colours have been chosen because the black font that is used for the text can be easily seen from these colours.  The colour of the American flag brightens up the page as it is the only colour on the page that isn’t silver or black. This allows the image to stand out more than anything else on the page as the red is really radiant. The colour of the text ‘USA’ in the background of the page is a darker grey than the rest of the page. This has been done to allow it to stand out of the page but more subtlety because of the fact that it is behind the image, they don’t want this word to take away much of the attention away from the image. This is another reason why it has been placed in the background and the image in the foreground.   

The style of font that has been used is mixed. There is both serif and sans serif fonts used. These two styles have been incorporated into the page to make it look both modern and stylish. The flicks that are used on the words “got the love” make the text look quite feminine which match up with the image of Florence of the left hand side, allowing a sense of continuity throughout the page. The use of the Drop cap has been done to help make the article look more real as this is a feature that is used regularly in articles. The fact that it is written in the serif font as well make it look stylish and continue feminine feel, into the article.  The use of the sans serif font on the word “USA” adds a bit of a modern touch into the magazine as the letters without the flicks make it look more up to date. The actual article itself has been written in a serif font, which makes it look more stylish and traditional, which gives a good mix of stylish and contemporary features used on the page.

The layout of the page has the image placed on the left, with the article on the right hand side of it. This has worked quite well as it allows both pieces to remain separate and to stand out and not overlap each other. The image has Florence placed centrally to show that she is of high importance as she is placed in the middle of the rule of thirds. The article that is placed on the right hand side of the page, has been put together in columns which make it looks like an actual article. It has also been written in paragraphs which make it look more real, as real articles have them included to help break up a large portion of text.  At the top of the page, the words “USA got the love” looks like it is a play on words of a song that she wrote. She sang the song, “You got the love” and she has incorporated the USA from the word “You”. This allows the audience to make a reference to help music and the words on the screen.

The main image that has been used on the page has been placed on the right hand side of the double page spread. This has been done so that Lily can appear as big as possible, allowing her to stand out more than anything else on the page. She is wearing a red chequered top which has the button undone to the cleavage. This is quite a feminine touch as it sows of her womanly features, which promotes her as a female. However, the use of the gold chain around her neck is quite masculine, as you would normally associate gold chains with men, which contrasts with the fall of the shirt. The black hair that she has allows her face to stand out as it, coupled with the red shirt, both draw the eyes of the reader to her face. The use of the black eye make up has been done so that her eyes stand out as much as possible, making them seem larger than they actually are, grasping their full attention. As she is facing the camera in a direct mode of address, it makes her look even more powerful on the page (which is another manly trait) - the use of the red shirt also does this as well. Because of the position of her eyes, it means that no matter where you move in front of the image, it looks like she is staring it you, which makes the audience feel quite inferior to her. The way that her lips are positioned make her look like she is quite a cocky and arrogant person, as it seems that she is of greater importance than them. This coupled with the fact that she has hers arms on her waist and leaning forward slightly, further add to this idea.

The layout of the page has been done to show off both the image and the article. The image placed on the right hand side allows it to be the clearest of all things on the spread, as it is placed on the page pretty much by itself. The magazine has included some of the article at the top of the page in what looks like newspaper cuttings. The reasoning behind this feature is so that it catches the eye of the readers and in one sentence, gives the audience an idea of what is coming up in the interview. The layout of the article itself has been done in columns. This follows the traditional style of an article as columns help break up the page to make it easier on the eye of the readers. The page numbers have been placed at the bottom of the page so that they aren't easily seen on the page, distracting the viewers away from the actual content of the magazine. The name of the magazine has been placed to the side of the numbers. This has been done so that the audience can have a gentle reminder of who the article belongs to, and it casually promotes the magazine as if the reader is being bombarded with the name of the magazine, they will be more likely to remember it as opposed to a magazine who doesn't do it.

The segment of the article that is placed at the top of the page is quite a unique feature to this magazine. This is because nobody uses this specific technique to draw the attention to the article. The black background behind this piece of text is black and changes both shape and size depending on which letter it actually is. This gives it its paper cuttings kind of effect. The use of the white colour text in front of the black background allows it to be seen as clearly as possible, as the use of two contrasting colours means that they are going to be easy to see. By making the letters of the text appear in different sizes also helps it stand off the page as it is quite a peculiar feature to use.

The use of the red colour of the font over the name of Lily Allen and James Mason has been done to allow them to be seen on the page more than the rest of the font. This is because of the fact that Lily Allen is who the article is about, and James Mason is the man who has created the article. The red colour stands out on the white background and has been taken from the top that she is wearing so that there is a theme of colour, and a sense of continuity throughout the spread. It also stands out amongst the black text around it for the same reason as above. The black font has also been taken from the top and the hair colour to allow this theme to run through the page.  

The main image that has been used on the spread goes along the top half of the page and along the left hand side of the page on the right. The reason behind this is to break the page up so that there isn't a large portion of text in front of the reader, which can be quite off putting. The images along the top of the page are of Solange (who the article is based on) in different poses. This makes the audience see that she has a personality as not everybody would do images of still shots them dancing. All of the images show her in the same item of clothing, resulting in a sense of continuity as the viewers aren't introduced to anything out of the ordinary. The images that go across the top of the page have been put in a grey scale colour. This has been deliberately so that all of the largest image, which is in colour, can be seen first by the audience. The use of the grey colour could be perceived as the old Solange and the coloured image could be seen as the new Solange. This could be backed up by the fact that she is dancing in the grey images suggesting that she is quite young and hyper, and the coloured image with her standing still, is quite a sophisticated look. So the saying, "the light at the end of the storm" could be used in reference to this. The use of the red dress that she wears contrasts with the blue text that is on the page allowing to stand out even more. The colour, coupled with the fact that she is wearing a very short dress, showing off her legs, allow her to stand out off the page, as the audience become aware that she has amazing legs. Although the image could suggest that she is quite sophisticated, the way that she has her legs positioned and feet pointing, show that she is quite young,flirty and perhaps ditsy. This is because she has legs bent outwards with her feet pointing inwards, showing that she is still quite young and immature.

The layout on the page is quite different to the normal style of the article. This is because of the fact that there are images that go both across the top and down the page, which split it up. The large image allows the article to be separated as there is another piece of text to the right of the image. The actual content of the article has been separated into columns to make it look like an a well structured and real story. The page numbers have been placed in the bottom corners of the pages so that they can be seen subtly without been seen clearly, taking some of the significance of the article. Next to this is the name of the magazine which again, acts like a gentle reminder to the public who this story comes from. Next to this in the edition that it has came out on. This is quite a useful feature to use and isn't used on every magazine. This again allows people to make a reference to it easily as the name and edition that it came out on are both visible on the page. The way that the word "volume" has been written is the same as the contents page has been done on similar editions of vibe. This therefore reflects the style that is used by Vibe magazine allowing people to see a link between the two. On the bottom of the page there is the name of the photographer who took the image which is a good feature as not only is it the music artist that is being promoted, but the photographer as well. On the left of her feet, there is a small passage about what clothing she is wearing. It says the name of the company and which bit of clothing they made. This is quite a unique feature that has been used on the magazines that I have analysed which acts a promotion to those companies. This is because of the fact that if members of the public see an item of clothing that a celebrity is wearing, they are more likely to go out and buy it. On the right of her legs, we are shown a small portion of the interview. This has been written in a bold font which makes it stand out even more and gives a glimpse to the public what is to come in the article.

The fact that the name of Solange has been written in blue has been done to match up with the passage that this is part of. As it talks about her being "outspoken", the fact that it is written in a different colour to the rest of the text, it allows her to stand out, which as stated in the passage, doesn't happen. Also the fact that it is written in blue, contrasts with her red dress which she is wearing on the opposite page, allowing her name, and her image, to stand out amongst each other.

The font that the story has been written in is Times New Roman. This is a serif font which means that it has flicks. This is quite a traditional style of writing and makes the article look much more formal. However on the first line of the article, there is the use of the bold sans serif font. This has been so that there is a gentle transition from the sans serif font at the top of the page to the serif font of the story. The sans serif font that has been done was chosen to make the story look more appealing and informal. At the start it draws them in, which is something that the serif font just couldn't do, and once this is done, it switches to the serif to give it to the story, so that it seems more formal.