Front Covers Evaluation

Within my format research, I researched and analysed three different music magazine front covers and their norms and how they defied convention. From the preliminary task, I feel as though I have improved my skills when researching and evaluating different magazine which will help me when designing and creating my final product.

In my front cover research I researched three different music magazines. They were; BBC Music, Rollingstones and Vibe magazine. All three of them were similar in some aspects, but as well as this, they did have differences which set them aside from one another making them more appealing to their target audiences. the fact that the three music magazines share both similarities and differences, means that I can compare the differences between the three magazines and evaluate which features and styles work best with my music magazine. My music magazine will be a classical music magazine, so in particular I can look at the features used in the BBC Music magazine which also has a genre of classical. Although I am going to create a classical music magazine, I can still use and evaluate features from the other two magazines which I may choose to use on the front cover of my magazine.

All three of the front covers that I researched in my front cover format research shared the same norms in various different ways. One of the common norms that each of the three music magazines used on their front covers is the the mast head was placed at the top of the front cover. All three front covers placed their mast heads at the top of the page because generally when looking at something, you start from the top. This allows the reader to see what music magazine it is straight away and whether or not they choose to look at it in further detail. Continuing with the mast head, two out of the three magazines shared a common norm, whereas one defied convention. The two that shared common norms had their mast head partly covered my the main image. This may show that the producers are so confident that people know what magazine it is, the whole of the mast head does not have to be displayed. As well as this, it may suggest to readers that they should know what magazine it is because it is so popular which may intrigue them to read it. The music magazine which defied convention was the Vibe front cover. This cover had the whole of its mast head on display. This is in no way bad as it makes it very clear what music magazine it is and makes the magazine more appealing because it clearly stands out over everything else on the front cover.

Another norm that all three magazines shared was that the main image on the front cover took up the whole page and was the dominating feature on the front cover. The fact that all three had such a large image on their front covers allows them to really stand out and make the magazine eye catching with a large image on the front which draws the eyes of the reader straight to the magazine. As discussed, BBC Music magazine and Rollingstones magazine have their images covering the mast head making it the dominant feature on the page over everything else, whereas the Vibe magazine has the image covered partly by the mast head defying convention. Despite this, the image on the front of Vibe magazine still stands out to the reader and does dominate most of the front cover.

Taking everything into account from my format research, I will use some of the common norms shared by the three front covers that I researched, but as well s this, I will take into account the covers that defied convention and will consider using some of these features which may help develop my front cover into a successful one.

Format Research- NME Double Page Spread

Branding- The branding of the NME Music magazine continues into the magazine to keep the magazine looking professional and more attractive to the reader. This double page spread is in an informal style therefore indicating that it relates to the genre of the music magazine, but also at the same time suiting the target audience of the magazine. As well as this, the same type of font is used for the headlines and also the rest of the text keeping the magazine looking professional and also making sure that the double page spread does not look out of place to the rest of the magazine.

Text- The text on this double page spread is quite formal and is right the way throughout the whole double page spread. It does not keep to the house style as the rest of the features on the double page spread, but despite this, the text does not look out of place and in a way fits in to the informal features of the rest of the double page spread. The fact that they have used formal text in this double page spread keeps the page looking professional and makes sure that it does not look out of place compared to the rest of the music magazine which is quite informal. This font style differs from the rest of the NME music magazine, butt this does not keep the magazine from looking unprofessional and tthe text looking out of place because the formal style of text relates to the purpose of the double page spread so to have it more informal may not fit in a nicely.

Image- There is one main image in the background of this double page spread which covers the whole of the spread. The use of the large image in the background of the spread makes it much more appealing to the target audience as it is what the reader first looks at. As well as this, it makes it clear to the reader what the double page spread is about without the reader having to read anything what so ever. In this very large main image, a variety of different colours have been used to attract more readers and make the spread look much less dull and boring. The fact that this big, main image is appealing and also relates to the text on this double page spread makes it doubly effective by catching the person's eye and at the same time informing the reader what the spread is actually about.

Layout- The layout of the double page spread in this NME Music magazine is very similar to those of other NME Music magazine double page spreads. The main image is large and takes up most of the double page spread allowing the spread to become much more appealing to the reader by producing a range of colours and also because of the largeness of the image, it automatically dominates the page and is what the reader first recognises. Generally, the whole layout of this double page spread is quite informal and fits in with the genre of the music magazine and the rest of the layout of the magazine. This keeps it looking sophisticated and professional to the reader. The text has a section to itself, but despite the largeness of the image, the text is not at all cramped and does not look out of place from the rest of the double page spread. You can read the text clearly and as well as this it relates to the rest of the spread which helps it to fit in with the other features on the pages.

Format research-BBC Music Magazine Double Page Spread



Branding- In this double page spread in the BBC Music Magazine, the same branding has been continued throughout the pages in the magazine. The Mast head's fonts are exactly the same as on previous pages within the magazine and other issues of them, keeping the house style consistent therefore making it look much more professional. The fact that it looks much more professional and formal, it appeals more to the music magazines target audience enabling them to sell their magazine more effectively.

Text- The text on this double page spread is very formal and is right the way throughout the whole double page spread. It keeps to the house style as the rest of the features on the double page spread so looks professional to the reader making the magazine much more appealing. The fact that they have kept the same very formal text in this double page spread keeps the page looking professional and makes sure that it does not look out of place compared to the rest of the music magazine which is also very formal. The same font style is also used in this double page spread as the rest of the music magazine as seen in the contents pages of my format research. The mast head tops the rest of the text, but is in the same, formal font but is much bigger and bolder than the rest of the text on the double page spread.

Images- There is one main image in the background of this double page spread which covers the whole of the spread. The use of the large image in the background of the spread makes it much more appealing to the target audience as it is what the reader first looks at. As well as this, it makes it clear to the reader what the double page spread is about without the reader having to read anything what so ever. In this very large main image, a variety of different colours have been used to attract more readers and make the spread look much less dull and boring. The fact that this big, main image is appealing and also relates to the text on this double page spread makes it doubly effective by catching the person's eye and at the same time informing the reader what the spread is actually about.

Layout- The layout of the double page spread in this BBC Music magazine is very similar to those of other BBC Music magazine double page spreads. The main image is large and takes up most of the double page spread allowing the spread to become much more appealing to the reader by producing a range of colours and also because of the largeness of the image, it automatically dominates the page and is what the reader first recognises. Generally, the whole layout of this double page spread is very formal and fits in with the genre of the music magazine and the rest of the layout of the magazine. This keeps it looking sophisticated and professional to the reader. The text has a section to itself, but despite the largeness of the image, the text is not at all cramped and does not look out of place from the rest of the double page spread. You can read the text clearly and as well as this it relates to the rest of the spread which helps it to fit in with the other features on the pages.

This is another example of a double page spread in a BBC Music magazine and as you can see, in comparison to the first one, it is very similar and shares many of the same norms as it. The layout is virtually the same and they both have features like pull quotes within the double page spread to give the reader more of an insight into the spread.

Format Research - Vibe Double Page Spread

Branding- The branding of the Vibe Music magazine continues into the magazine to keep the magazine looking professional and more attractive to the reader. This double page spread is in an informal style therefore indicating that it relates to the genre of the music magazine, but also at the same time suiting the target audience of the magazine. As well as this, the same type of font is used for the headlines and also the rest of the text keeping the magazine looking professional and also making sure that the double page spread does not look out of place to the rest of the magazine.

Text-  Generally the text on this page is quite formal and keeps to the same sort of house style as the rest of the features on the page. This differs to the rest of the music magazine which tends to be quite informal in comparison to this double page spread. The mast head on this double page spread carries over two different lines making the mast head more eye catching and appeals to the reader more because of the largeness of it. Also part of it is highlighted in yellow and the brightness of this colour contributes in the mast head standing out more but at the same time keeps to the house style to the rest of the double page spread. There is one big block of text on this double page spread in the Vibe magazine. This main text is in a formal, serif font and is in quite a small font size which means that it does not stand out as much and is dominated by some of the other features of the double page spread. As well as this, the size of the font could mean that it could be slightly harder to read for the reader.The sub heading in the top right hand side of the double page spread is in an informal font not keeping to the same house style as the rest of the page meaning that it could look slightly out of place. Despite this, it is in a bold font and it is made clear what that section of text is about and what information it contains. In this section, the sub headings are highlighted in yellow like some of the other bits of text on the double page spread keeping in with the house style of the rest of the pages and making it look much more professional.

Images- There are a variety of images on this double page spread making it very appealing to the reader who is most likely to be attracted by the pictures than most of the other features. The large, main image in the background of this double page spread is the dominating feature of this spread and attempts to draw readers in a read the rest of the spread. As well as this, it makes the page much more appealing to reader's which makes it more likely for them to read the magazine. There are also smaller images within the spread which back up the main image and the rest of the text on the double page spread. The fact that the smaller images are used in relation to parts of the text makes the spread much more appealing and eye catching to the reader and also makes it more entertaining.

Layout- This Vibe Music magazine double page spread is quite similar to other vibe double page spreads and other music magazines double page spreads. It contains most of the typical features of a double page spread but also defys convention in some ways too making it slightly different to other double page spreads. Like most other double page spreads this one from Vibe magazine contains a drop cap and an article title which clearly displays to the reader what the double page spread is about. Despite this, the double page spread also defys convention in many ways. It does not contain a by line, a pull quote, an anchor or a caption. Therefore, the reader may not be as clear what the spread is about and it also doesn't look as professional as other double page spreads would be as this one is missing out on some of the features.

This is another example of a Vibe music magazine double page spread. This one is very different in comparison as it contains most of the features as explained above and looks more professional than the other double page spread.

Format Research-NME Contents Page

Branding - The branding of this NME music magazine has been continued onto the inside of the magazine in its contents page. The informal style of typical NME front covers has been used in this contents page to keep the whole magazine interlinking and to keep it from looking out of place with the rest of the magazine. The big and bold style of writing used on its front covers has also been used in the contents page to keep to the house style making it look more professional and appealing to reader's. The mast head has been kept exactly the same as the one on the front cover and the images used in this contents page relates to the text around it and also the purpose of the NME magazine.

Text- In this NME music magazine contents page, the text is in a very informal style which links into the genre of the magazine which will make it more appealing to the target audience of the magazine. The very bold font style that they have used really makes the text stand out to the reader and catch their eye than a normal piece of text would do. Also the size of the sub headings within the contents page also allows the page to appeal to reader's. This is because the most important bits of information have been made the biggest and the boldest on the page. As a result, the page will be more eye catching as it is larger and much easier to reader than any other text in the magazine and other magazines will be. Another strategy in which NME have attempted to make the text stand out is by using a variety of colours that also keep to the same house style as the rest of the magazine. The red at the top is the stand out piece of text and is also the name of the magazine which reminds buyers of what magazine it is and also attempts to appeal to potential new reader's.

Images- Like most other contents pages in music magazines, NME have included one large, main image which dominates the page and is the stand out object on the page. As well as it dominating most of the contents page, it also relates to the text around it meaning that it does not look out of place and fits in with the rest of the page making it more professional and appealing to read. By relating the picture to the text, the reader's will know what is included in the rest of the magazine without even having to read any text and just by looking at the image. This is a good way of attempting to attract people to buy a magazine as a good image is what people first look at so a good first impression makes it more likely that people will buy the magazine.

Layout- The layout of this NME music magazine is informal, but at the same time like very professional meaning that it will appeal to reader's. None of the images or text over lap with each other and the page doesn't look too cramped and is easy to read because of this.  Like most other music magazines, the main image used takes up the majority of the contents page allowing it to be more eye catching and appeal to the reader much more easily. Also much like other music magazine contents pages, the text is to the side of the main image. This leaves the main image to dominate and stand out of everything else as it is more likely to catch the reader's eye. The mast head is at the top of the page as it is possibly the most important part of the page is it is what people recognise the company buy, so placing this at the top is crucial as people tend to read from top to bottom!

This is another example of an NME music magazine contents page. It follows the norms of the other contents page and most other contents pages in music magazines and does not really defy convention too much.

Format Research-BBC Music Contents Page

Branding- Like most other music magazines, this BBC Music magazine continues its branding onto the inside of their magazine on the contents page. The front cover of the BBC Music magazine is very formal and this is continued on the contents page with a professional layout and serif fonts. The mast head is much like the one on the front cover and is very formal and in a similar type of font which is frequently used throughout the magazine. Also the images are clear and relate to the purpose of the magazine and attempts to intrigue and draw people in to read it.

Text- The text on this contents page is very formal much like the front cover and keeps to the same house style. The mast head is in a serif font which is very formal and is also much bigger and much bolder than the rest of the text on the page. It also relates to the purpose of the contents page and the images next to it which keeps the page professional-looking which appeals to the target audience. The rest of the text is much smaller as it only contains more minor information and just explains in more detail so does not need to stand out as much. The text directly under the mast head is smaller but is in a bold font which shows that it is a slightly more important piece of information than the other text and helps stand out to the reader so they can see the most important pieces of information. The formal, serif style of this text relates to the genre of the magazine and aims to appeal more to the target audience who are more likely to buy something more formal than informal.

Images- This contents page for a BBC Music magazine contains a variety of different images. The main image on this contents page takes up most of the page and is the stand out object which is used to catch the reader's eye in an attempt to make them read the magazine further. As well as it dominating most of the contents page, it also relates to the text around it meaning that it does not look out of place and fits in with the rest of the page making it more professional and appealing to read. A smaller sub image is also included in this BBC Music magazine contents page. This is quite effective as it relates to the much larger main image and almost backs up the image whilst making the page more attractive to the reader's.

Layout- The layout of this BBC Music magazine is quite typical of other BBC Music magazines and does not defy convention too much in comparison to other music magazines as well. Like most other music magazines, the main image used takes up the majority of the contents page allowing it to be more eye catching and appeal to the reader much more easily. Having a large image is much more efficient and effective at standing out than many smaller images as it is clear and easy to see and dominates the page. Also much like other music magazine contents pages, the text is to the side of the main image. This leaves the main image to dominate and stand out of everything else as it is more likely to catch the reader's eye. The text is split into two parts. The more important information and the less important information. The more important information is in a slightly bigger and bolder font the the less important information so it highlights the most important information to the reader.

Format Research-Vibe Contents Page

Branding- The magazine brand continues when it gets to the contents page inside the actual music magazine. It is still in an informal style with the layout quite jumbled up and the san-serif font style indicating that it is more informal than formal. There is a main headline which carries over three lines, this also makes it slightly more informal and maybe more appealing to the audience. Despite being informal, it has a professional layout with headlines and sub titles on the page next to a main image which is large and eye catching.

Text- Generally the text on this page is quite informal and keeps to the same sort of house style as the rest of the features on the page. The mast head carries over three different line. As this is only a one word mast head, this could make it a bit more difficult to read, but it adds to the effect of the page and makes it more creative than a normal mast head would be. Bolder and bigger fonts are used for the sub titles and mast head to highlight the importance of them compared to the smaller text. This way it is underlining the main points of the music magazine. The smaller text however may not be as effective as the surrounding texts. This is because it is a bit too small to read and is in a handwritten font which the audience may find a bit more difficult to read than normal font would anyway.

Images- The contents page on this music magazines features just the one image. This image takes up most of the contents page and is the stand out, eye catching feature which brings the page to life. The image on this page relates to the purpose as it is a picture which some of the text is explaining so the reader has an idea what is to be included in the magazine before even reading any of the text. The size of the image could indicate that it is the main story within the magazine and attempts to attract readers to buy the magazine.

Layout- The layout of this Vibe magazine contents page is typical of other contents pages in other music magazines. The main image is very large and takes up most of the space on the page which allows it to take control of the page and stand out to the audience. Having an image this large is much more efficient than using smaller images as a larger image is much more likely to catch the eye of someone than a smaller image would. This contents page also shares the common norms of other contents pages by having the text down the side of the main image in different sizes depending on the importance of the text. The sub titles are larger and bolder than the text underneath to outline the importance of it. A way this contents page defies convention is by the way its mast head spills over three different lines, even though it is only one word. This could make it more difficult to read, but laying it out this way puts it aside from other contents pages and looks different which may attract readers to read the magazine.

This is an example of another Vibe Music magazine contents page. We can see the similarities it possesses to the first one with the mast head filling up three different line and the main image which takes up most of the space on the page. As well as this the text is displayed down the side of the page in different sized fonts depending on the importance of the text.

Format Research-Vibe Front Cover

Text-The text on the front cover of this music magazine is informal. You can tell this as the font used is quite curvy and not rigid with flicks on the ends of the letters. Like most other music magazines, they have used the more important sub titles in a bigger and bolder font, whilst using a different colour at the same time. However, they have kept to the same house style as the rest of the magazines and have used the same variety of colours for the rest of the front cover. The slightly smaller text is still easy to see as it is in bold, capitalised writing in a brighter colour. This makes it easy for the reader of the magazine to see and is not lost amongst the rest of the front cover of the Vibe magazine.

Audience-By looking at the front cover of this music magazine, you can see that the audience of this music magazine is aimed at teenagers and people who listen and enjoy hip-hop music. The informal style of this magazine indicates that this is aimed at teenagers as this sort of style is most associated with teenagers and younger people and not adults. If it were aimed at adults, you would expect more of a formal style and layout of the magazine. This music magazine is also aimed at fans of hip-hop music. You can tell this because of the main image who is of an artist who is famous within the hip-hop music industry. As well as this, the text down the side of the front cover contains names of artists who are also well known and famous within the hip-hop industry. From this, the reader is given the indication that it is purely a hip-hop magazine.

Main Image-The main image on the front cover of this Vibe music magazine shares the common norms of most other music magazines on the market today. It is very large and takes up most of the front cover, but leaves enough space for text around the sides of it. This helps the music magazine to be more eye catching and stand out form other magazines around it. Despite sharing some common norms with most other music magazines, this image also defies convention in some ways as well. The main image on the front cover of this Vibe music magazine is in black and white and not in colour. This means that it may not stand out as much as other magazines as it does not have all the bright colours, but people may notice that it is different and is set aside from other magazines because of the lack of colour it displays. Another way the main image defies convention is that it is partly covered by the mast head of the magazine. Most other main images cover the mast head of magazines but this one gets covered by the mast head. This could be more effective as you can see the whole title whilst being able to see the main image clearly and in detail.

Mast Head- On this front cover, the mast head shares common norms and also defies convention. The way it defies convention is by the way it covers some of the main image and is not partly covered itself. This may work better than other magazines as you can clearly see the whole mast head and it only covers the smallest amount of the main image so the reader can still see it clearly and also allows it to stand out still. Despite it defying convention, it also shares common norms of other mast heads. It is big, bold and colourful which like other magazines allows it to become much more eye catching and attempts to get the reader to pick it out over other magazines. Also, it keeps to the same house style as the rest of the front cover so does not look out of place and fits in nicely with the rest of the front cover.

Format Research-Rolling Stones Front Cover

Text- The text on the front cover of this music magazine is quite informal.This could indicate that the audience of the magazine could be for a younger audience and in particular teenagers. The main sub headings on the front cover are in bigger and bolder writing than the rest of the text, so the reader is able to target the main topics within the magazine. Also the same house style is kept so it gives a much more professional look to the overall front cover. Using the same font for the text helps to create this more professional sort of look as none of the text looks out of place, and it all fits in together, even though the text sizes are different, because its all in the same type of font, it does not look like it shouldn't be there.

Audience- From the front cover of this music magazine, I can gather that this magazine could be for teenagers, rock music fans and also male adults. The reason that I believe that the magazine is partly aimed a male adults is because of the main image that is used. It is mildly explicit and is of a female model which would appeal more to male adults more than it would to females as they are more likely to be interested in a female model than a woman would be. This magazine could also be aimed at rock music fans as the Rolling Stones were a famous rock band, so this magazine would be very popular with rock fans, especially those who were fans of the Rolling Stones.

Main Image- The main image on the front of this Rolling Stones music magazine follows the general norms of most other music magazines and does not defy convention. It takes up the majority of the front cover leaving little space around it. Therefore, the main image makes the magazine much more eye catching to the reader's eye and is more likely that they will recognise it over other competing music magazines. Having the main image so large means that it also covers the mast head of the music magazine which means that the reader is not able to see the whole mast head. However, this is not necessarily a bad trait to have. The fact that it does cover part of the mast head tells the reader that the magazine is so popular and well known by people, that you do not have to see the whole mast head as everyone knows what magazine it is.

Mast Head- The mast head of this music magazine follows the norms of most other music magazines on the market today. The mast head is large and colourful and sets itself aside from the other text on the front cover because a different font is used and as well as this, a different colour has been used. As a result, the difference between the mast head and the rest of the front cover of the music magazine allows the mast head to stand out slightly more because of the change of colour and size compared to the other bits of text. Despite half being covered by the main image, the mast head is still successful. This is because the parts of it the reader can see is different to the rest of the magazine so sets itself aside. Also it is suggesting that they magazine is very popular so the whole of the mast head doesn't have to been seen as if you are good enough to buy the magazine, you should be able to tell straight away what magazine it is.

Genre- In this case, the genre of this Rolling Stones magazine is Rock. You are able to tell this from the title of the actual magazine itself as it is named after a worldwide famous rock band called The Rolling Stones. As well as the mast head giving the reader an indication that the genre of the magazine is rock, the fact that the font of the text is more informal could suggest that it is rock because it is associated with a more "funky" style.

This front cover of the Rolling Stones magazines also suggests that it is a rock magazine as it displays a famous rock singer on the front of it. Having this on the front of the magazine makes it clearly obvious that it is indeed a rock magazine.

Format Research- BBC Music Front Cover

Text- The text on the front cover of this music magazine is very formal and sophisticated. This could indicate that the magazine is for adults than it is for children or teenagers as magazines aimed at younger people normally have a more informal type of font. The subheadings on the front cover are larger and stand out slightly more than the subtexts underneath so the reader knows exactly what the magazine includes. It also attempts to catch the reader's eye with the big and bold "Sarah Chang" subtitle. This piece of text is capitalised and aims to stand out to the reader's.

Audience- The target audience for this magazine is mainly adults and for people who like classical music. You can tell this because of the image with the person holding a violin and the text at the top of the magazine which states that it is the best selling classical music magazine. Even if you did not see that text at the top, you are able to tell this mainly via the image. The fact that the font is more formal, this indicates that the magazine is for adults as magazines with less formal fonts are normally associated with younger people. 

Main Image- The main image on the front cover of this particular music magazine takes up most of the front cover. This allows it to stand out more as the image is the first thing you see when looking at the magazine because of the sheer size of it makes it dominates the whole front cover. The main image on this front cover also covers some of the mast head of the actual magazine. This could suggest that the magazine believes that it is so well known that it does not need the whole of the mast head to be displayed. It could also suggest that the magazine producers are intending to get more readers to buy it. This is because covering the magazine may tell people who don't normally read the magazine that to be worthy of reading the magazine, you don't even need to see the whole mast head, which could get readers to feel as though they are missing out on something.

Mast Head- On the front cover of this music magazine the mast head is partly covered by the picture. As explained, this could mean that the producers are making reader's think that the magazine is so well known by people, they do not need to display the whole mast head. Apart from this, what we can see of the mast head is large and in a formal font. It also shares the same house style with the rest of the magazine continuing the same type of font and also the same colour.

Genre: The genre of this music magazine is Classical music. This is indicated to the reader by both the font and also the main image used on the front cover. This genre in particular suggests that the magazine is aimed towards adults and obviously in particular classical music fans. Classical music could be associated with sophistication which is why the font and layout of the magazine is very formal and professional.