Double Page Spread Analysis'

 Vibe Magazine
The double page is split into thirds horizontally, with the top third being 7 different images of Solange Knowles dancing across the back. The colours use are bright and contrasting, the blue of her cardigan is used in the text to make the overall appearance seem more continual. The font colour matches the gray scale of her smaller images, which draws attention to her bright outfit. The lines underneath the smaller images give a clear divide of the pages,
and make it easier to read and makes the page look less busy and cluttered. The use of the blue ' Solange Knowles' will indicate to the reader who it is, and most of the target audience would know that she is related to R&B superstar Beyonce Knowles, this would attract Beyonce as well as Solange fans. The fact the smaller pictures are of her standing up straight reflects the columns being very straight and formal. Judging by the pictures in the background she is being represented as Trevor Millum's 'Carfee' model. The ratio from pictures to writing is probably 60/40, as a reader would be too overwhelmed by a full page of writing and no pictures and this would put them off reading it. I like the bright colours used with the grey as I felt that it doesn't look too overwhelming, but quite relaxed with a twist. I like the idea of the 7 different images of her dancing across the background, as it gives the page more depth and more images to look at.

 Q Magazine
The colours used in this double page spread are the staple black, white and red. After looking at the cover, contents and now this page it is clearly established that these three colours are the three that they like to use, this creates their statement 'house style'. The page is split into two sections horizontally, the top two thirds are pictures of Brandon and the bottom third writing. The two pictures have been cleverly picked out to match with the colour scheme, the black furniture and red wallpaper reflects the black and red, and the white of his skin tone and the sound system brings out the three colour scheme in the pictures, these pictures reflect Brandon's music style. The writing cleverly uses all three colours; black and white for the majority of the writing then red for a quote. The page is set out quite simplistically, and I like that it doesn't look cluttered.

 Billboard Magazine
Compared to the previous  two articles this uses a lot more text and less images, yet the image at the top of the page is very eye catching (Rihanna is sitting on a turret of a pink tank, which could be interpreted as something else) This would draw the reader in and encourage them to read the whole article. The colour theme again uses grey which I think softens the appearance, rather than using directly contrasting colours such as black and white. The text is marginally broken up by inserting two pictures of Rihanna in the bottom right side of the right page. I like the use of the 'Pon De Airplay' which is a play on words of one of her songs, which gives readers a chart of her top 20 songs. The ideas I like from this are the smaller images amongst the text, however I do not like the huge amount of text as I feel it'd be discouraging to read when presented with this amount of information.

NME Magazine
Similarly to Q the three staple colours are used. The colour theme is carried throughout with Florence's hair being the same colour as the flag, and the rest being grey/white/black. I like the use of the font behind Florence, relating to her song ' You got the love', the title implies she has been to, or toured America. I also like how there isn't a huge amount of text so it isn't off putting to read, and it fits in line with the flag. It would be interpreted that Florence is what Marjorie Ferguson would describe as 'invitational', possibly attracting a male audience as well as people who appreciate her music. The inspiration I would use would be the text behind the main image, as I think it links the page together well.

Conclusion;
I found that I preferred the colours used in Vibe magazine and Billboard compared to Q and NME - which were quite similar, Q possibly more formal. After looking at these double page spreads I decided I want to use more than one image on my double page spread, but have one main image and a few smaller ones. I would like to use inspiration from fashion magazines such as Elle, Vogue and Pop mixed with typical traits from a music magazine. I thought that the text behind the image in the NME double page spread worked really well and linked the image and text together so I will be considerate of this when I am planning my double page spread. I found that Billboard and Vibe were most relevant to the genre (mainstream pop) of music that I have decided to do.

Contents Analysis'

Vibe Magazine

The contents text is fitted around Ciara's picture, as is the colour scheme. The outline of the 'V' keeps the idea of the Vibe theme, Ciara's legs also being in a V shape keeps the theme running. The magazine continues to be quite 'out there' by putting the word Contents on three different lines. The white block writing for the word Contents stands out as it is the biggest, and only white writing on the page. The subheadings read 'Features' and 'Fashion', using alliteration keeps an organised feel to the contents page. The subtitles font is also quite neat and classy, which would how readers would interpret Ciara, as the contents page is based around her, by using Ciara's image it shows the reader there will be a further feature about her, which is the first one under the 'Features' column. I like the idea of the contents page being based around a model as it keeps a theme running throughout, as Ciara was on the cover of Vibe in October 2008 - this issue. The colours used are quite neutral and relaxed, which again represents Ciara's music.The layout of this page is formal, and easy to find information, rather than a busy page which could have un necessary information and confuse the reader. This page looks simple, as less than 50% is made up of text.

Q Magazine

This page is set out in boxes, which gives it an organised feel and contains all of the information neccisary in a non cluttered way. The colours used are the staple colours used in a music magazine, and are the same as the front cover. The columns are aligned to the left which is where the eye would be drawn to, as the main features are underneath the Q logo and the title 'contents' , which is the biggest and most contrasting piece of information on the page. The two titles which would then draw the eye are the 'Features' and 'Every Month' columns, the features column would interest a regular buyer more as the articles will be new and different, compared to what they are used to reading every month. The picture of the courteeners used is following the black/white/red colour scheme, by the members of the band dressed in monochromatic clothes. The lead singer is in white, standing out from the others implies his importance. There is a text box on the picture saying the page number and 'The Courteeners' which immediately tells the readers who they are. The review box is also easily identifiable at the bottom right hand of the page, giving more subheadings of the different reviews available in this issue. This page looks quite busy compared to Vibe magazine as their is a lot of text, I think it is too much information and makes the page look cluttered. I like the idea of putting more than one picture on the contents page as it is more aesthetically pleasing than just words. I don't want to use staple red/white/black colours as a theme throughout my magazine as I want mine to stand out.

NME Magazine (picture quality is bad due to poor lighting)

A instantly recognisable similarity between Q magazine and NME is the three colours used; red, black and white. This contents page uses these colours more strictly, as the images chosen are using predominantly black and white. Colour wise the page seems to be vertically split in half , the left half has more red and the right half has more black. The only other colour used is the yellow 'subscribe today' text at the bottom, to advertise to readers the subscription service they offer. Again, this contents page is more similar to Q's content page than dissimilar, the layout is structured to look tessellating, which would give a more organised feel to the contents page. I wouldn't agree that this works as I think the page is too busy and there is too much text and information to look through. There are more subtitles than in Q magazine, 'News' 'Radar' 'Reviews' 'Live!' 'Features' which I think adds to a busy page. Although the band index is a good idea it makes the page look cluttered and that it has an overload of information. Judging this layout I would say that this magazine is aimed at 15-35 year olds, as there aren't any images or colours to attract younger people, and the layout is too busy for older people.

Billboard Magazine
I decided to analyse this magazine as the bright colours and cleaner style is the type I'd like to use for my magazine. This page is separated into two sections vertically,therefore using two colour schemes. The left hand section is a music chart, giving the readers information on who is at number 1 etc, this continues the theme of it being a contemporary mainstream pop magazine. I think that doing it in a more ' clean cut ' style this chart is a good idea, and adds more relevant information to this page, rather than the band index on the contents of NME which makes the page look cluttered. The two thirds on the centre and right side of the page use more contrasting colours; black, white and blue. The outfits of the artists are matching this colour scheme which gives the overall look more classy, the artist in the centre on the right hand side's outfit contrasts with the background, which makes it the divide between background/picture clearer and makes the page easier to look at. The writing is quite small and no text apart from 'Contents' and 'No.1' stands out, this encourages the reader to read through the articles to find out what is in this issue. I like the idea of using bright colours with grey/black/white to create a certain theme on the page. I also like the use of the inserted pictures with page numbers on, as this gives the reader an image to base their opinion on what the article is going to be like. I also like how nothing is overlapping in this contents page, as it makes it easier to identify certain information.

Magazine Cover Analysis'

Q Magazine

3 colour palette;

Red, grey/white and black are used. These colours are closely associated with Rock and are popular amongst music magazines. These colours strongly contrast with each other, black and white alone would be monochromatic so red is used to stand out and be eye-catching. 

Banner;

The banner doesn't take your eye away from the masthead, yet stands out as directly opposite colours used. 'The UK's biggest music magazine' isn't too complicated so wouldn't need much effort for the reader to read. 

Masthead;

The largest letter on the page, in the top third which is where the eye gets drawn to first. A connotation of Q could be that it is an unusual magazine, as the letter 'q' isn't often used. 

Central Image;

Cheryl Cole is represented in a 'rock' style, rather than her usual 'pop' style. She uses Marjorie Ferguson's romantic or sexual expression, or possibly Trevor Millums seductive expression, indicating to men that she is available - this would encourage a male audience to buy the magazine. 

Rain is also used again, to the semi-literate audience, to advertise her newest album 'Messy Little Raindrops'. The words '3 words' were used also which relates to Cheryl's single; ' 3 words', this would encourage Cheryl Cole fans who don't usually buy Q to purchase the magazine.

                                                                      NME Magazine

NME Magazine;

Top Third:

Reading and Leeds festival are known to be rock festivals, which would give an immediate invitation to the target audience to look further. Apart from the masthead the 'preview special' contrasting with the black background would immediately draw the eye, as it would stand above others on the newsstand.

The colours used in the top third are all equally contrasting, comparing to the second/third third which are slightly more layed back colours. The names of the bands are directed at a variety of audiences; Metallica is the older generations, Foals are more indie whereas Slipknot are closer to heavy rock.

Bottom 2 thirds;

The font ' The Killers ' is similar to The Killers' logo, making it more recognisable to fans. Their front man Brandon Flowers, is made identifiable with the subtitle 'Can Brandon find the plot in time for Reading and Leeds?', using his first name makes the magazine more personal and the readers will feel that it's easier to relate to him. The smaller quote ' I'm having a personality crisis right now' is reflected in the pictures having three different expressions, and that he is possibly torn between choosing which one, as the effect on the paper is torn.

The cover has a festival theme to it, as it mentions V Festival and Reading and Leeds festival, so if it was released in the summer it would be more appealing as it is festival season.

                                                                  Vibe Magazine

The colours used in this magazine contrast with those of NME and Q, which were quite similar. The colours are bound to be different and attract a different audience as this is a completely different genre of music. The masthead is the only piece of text on the cover which is gold, so that would stand out from any other image/text placed on top of it. The next most important text is coloured red, which is the 'special collectors edition' ' 150th issue' ' Mary J Blige' and ' Kisses,Clothes', there are many artists named in grey which indicate they are important, yet not as important as the feature article on Mary J Blige.

The grey(silver) and gold could also reflect that r&b artists stereotypically wear a lot of silver/gold jewellery.

The central image of Mary J Blige is the centre piece, as the text is fitted around her; this implies she is the most important and there will be more information included about her.

I decided to chose three different genre's of music magazine to analyse as I wanted to experiment with different styles, I found that the R&B artist was more aesthetically pleasing, and that I preferred Cheryl Cole image as it was very stylised and matched the style of the magazine. The three colour palette colour scheme was more effective, as it didn't make the magazine look too cheap or 'busy'. On the subject of colour I found that the yellow on the NME magazine looked at bit tacky, and wouldn't encourage my target audience (Similar age group to me 15-18 years old) to buy the magazine.

I think that using one image, rather than 3 on NME, makes it simpler and easier to look at, and again doesn't make the front page look too 'busy'.

The dress of my model must reflect the genre; if Mary J Blige was wearing skinny jeans and vans it wouldn't reflect the genre closely.

Whilst looking at these covers I have decided to do a mainstream pop magazine, taking inspiration from Vibe, as I didn't really take to the black and red, as I find it looks too 'rocky'.

After I evaluated these covers I then found 'Billboard' magazine, which represents what kind of style/colours I plan  to use for my magazine. I would like to mix this style of magazine with a more classy style of a fashion magazine such as Elle, Pop or Vogue.

I prefer these covers as they are more contemporary and eye catching, I also like them as they are different to typical music magzines; they don't contain the basic red/white/black colour pallete which I think doesn't suit the type of magazine I have decided to do. Billboard have also used contemporary female artists, who look like they could be models, rather than someone (e.g) Hayley Williams from Paramore who looks like a rmusic artist. I think that Billboard magazine is more relatable to the type of music magazine I want to do.