Competitor Magazine Analysis - Q

This is another of my competitors. ‘Q’ is a popular magazine which covers a range of genres, indie being one of the many. The feature article photograph is a group shot of the band ‘Kings of Leon’, who are a popular alternative rock band. The denotations of the photograph are, much like ‘The Fly’, four young people huddled together in close proximity to one another. They have their arms around each other, are smiling and appear to be generally having a good time. This shows that they are not just a band, but rather family – a group of friends who are happy to be doing what they are doing.  This creates a very positive and light atmosphere that is appealing to the magazine’s audience, as the idea of this comfortable lifestyle is attractive. The focus of the photograph is the band member’s faces, which are positioned in the reader’s main line of site: the centre of the page. As well as making them stand out more, this also means that the band members appear to be ‘on level’ with the reader, which creates an inviting, friendly and conversational atmosphere for the whole magazine, which is appealing to the audience. In addition, the background is very light, which further communicates the friendly atmosphere as it makes the photograph seem not at all intimidating.

The masthead of the magazine is located in the top left corner of the page. It consists of a large red square with a large white ‘Q’ inside. This appears in the exact same place, with the exact same sizing on each issue of the magazine. This allows the magazine to be easily recognisable and gives a strong sense of brand identity. The fact that the masthead appears to be ‘confined’ to the red box that it is in and does not stretch across the entire top of the page (like many magazine’s conventionally do) means that it stands out amongst other magazines, which again, makes it recognisable. In many issues of the magazine (including this one), cover lines or parts of the feature article photograph cover a portion of the masthead which, once more, makes it more recognisable.

The cover line ‘Kings of Leon’ is bold and takes up a large portion of the cover, which catches the eye. On the page, it is placed close behind the heads of the band members, which makes it obvious who the band is. The size of the text gives the idea that what the band is doing is a big deal, and is an exciting event that should not be missed. The black text also stands out on the white background, which, again, makes it stand out. The text is not straight, but rather slanted, reading upwards to the right. This, coupled with the facial expressions of the band members, creates a less serious atmosphere and more fun atmosphere which is inviting to the reader.
At the bottom of the page are located more cover lines. They are placed in this unconventional place to overcome the difficulties that come with using a group shot feature article photograph. Each of the cover lines are placed in a sort of ‘film strip’ shape, which is segmented by lines between each cover line, making it look cleaner and therefore more aesthetically pleasing. Similarly to the ‘Kings of Leon’ cover line, the ‘film strip’ arrangement and the text within it slants upward at the same angle. This gives the page a more consistent feel but also prompts the reader to turn the page and read more, as the angle does not level out, which suggests that there is more over the page.

The plug ‘World exclusive’ is bold, capitalised and in a strong red which stands out against the light background. These factors mean that it stands out and catches the eye. The words themselves greatly boost the status of the article and the magazine, as it claims that this is the only place on planet Earth that you will be able to read about the band’s comeback. Something that exclusive is attractive to the reader.
The puff ‘The world’s greatest music magazine’ works in a similar way as it also boosts the magazines status; as well as being the one place you can read about the band’s comeback, it is also the best example of music reviewing on the planet. This, again, is attractive to the reader.

 

 



This is the contents page for the October 2013 issue of 'Q'. It has a very conventional and effective layout, and is appealing to the eye. This is because although there seems to be a lot on the page, it still remains very ordered and neat. This is due to the fact that all of the listed articles are arranged into columns, and there are few irregularities. On the other hand, the page is not completely ordered. For example, some pictures are confined within boxes, whilst others seem to be free and occupying the page. Not only does this variety make the page more interesting, but it also gives a hint of rebelliousness which would be appealing to the magazine's audience. The 'more important' articles (such as the cover story) have been listed first, before the other articles. Although this can be quite confusing, it is also quite effective, as it is extremely likely that a reader of the magazine would want to read articles mentioned on the cover more than other 'less important' ones.

At the very top of the page is a large red banner, which seems to be an extension of the masthead found on the front cover, due to the large 'Q' on the left hand side. The colour red features prominently on this page, being used for text, amongst other things. This sets the house style for the magazine as a whole.

 

The text on the page is very easy to read. On each article listing is a large black page number, which stands out very prominently against the white background and is incredibly obvious and effective. Next to the number is, in a red sans serif font, the name of the artist that the article about. This is effective here as it tells the reader clearly who the article will be covering. Beneath the artists name, in a smaller, black, serif font, is a short description of the main points of the article, designed to entice the reader to read the articles. This is smaller so that people who do not want to read it do not have to, which is rather functional. Also, on the right hand side of the page is a list of the reviews inside the magazine. As this is a secondary feature of the magazine and less people will want to read them, the page numbers are located after the description of the review, in a not at all obvious state, meaning that only people who are interested in reviews will read them.

 

This is one of the feature articles for the October 2013 issue of ‘Q’ focusing on the band ‘Kings of Leon’. The first two pages of the nine-paged article create a double-page spread containing the headline, standfirst and a very large photo of the band. Firstly, the photograph consists of the four band members walking side by side toward the camera. The heads of the band almost touch the top of the page, and their feet almost touch the bottom, making them appear large in size. This conveys that they are 'kind of a big deal' and conveys that the article will be all about them. I perceive this as being appealing to the magazine's audience, who I feel are the kind of people who are not intimidated by fame, but idolise it. This status is boosted by the light/lens flare which appears to be shining through from behind the band. This light also makes the white of the page's backgrounds appear much more attractive, as it seems a lot less plain.

The headline is unconventional but, in my opinion, it works quite well. Altogether it reads 'Heavy lies the crown'. The first three words are written in white capital letters and are highlighted with separate red backgrounds. This – as well as being an attractive design choice – reflects the house style of the magazine. The final word, 'crown' is much larger than the others and reaches across the bottom halves of the pages. Each letter lies in the space between each band member. The text also lies behind each band member. This could be interpreted to mean that they are leaving the 'crown' behind, as if they don't particularly care about their fame, the fact that they do not look smug or cocky supports this. I believe that this would be appealing to the magazine's audience as no one dislikes a bit of modesty.

On the right of this double-page spread sits the standfirst. The text is quite small in relation to the headline, is printed mainly in white and is each line is contained within a separate black box. The contrast of the white on black is attractive, and the fact that the black boxes separate the text from the image is also appealing, as it makes it seem a lot less invasive. In the standfirst the words 'Kings of Leon' are printed in read and capitalized. This is effective as it prominently highlights who the article will be about. The text in the standfirst is also effective as it creates intruige and makes the reader want to read on, thus performing it's function. Below the standfirst is an arrow, noting that the article continues over the page, making the article fool-proof, which is an important quality in my opinion.

At the top left of the third page is a small black banner featuring the 'Q' masthead followed by the words: 'Cover story: Kings of Leon'. This running head makes the article even more fool-proof, and would let readers who may have flicked randomly to this page know who this article is about. This features once on every double-page spread in this article. The running head is also not intrusive, which is a good quality for it to have, so it is not distracting.

Below this lies the article's first drop cap. It is rather large, and vertically reaches about a quarter of the way down the page. I believe this has been done to make the large, uninterrupted bulk of text appear less daunting, and it completes this task well. The drop cap is also red, so as to fit with the magazine's house style. Another drop cap is used on the fifth page to the same effect.

The main body of text throughout the article is black, so as to be easily readable on the white background. It is in a serif font and serves its purpose well, as it is easily readable.

Throughout the article are various pictures of the band. Examples include photoshoot photos, old pictures and live photographs. Although some of these pictures look similar, they all strongly carry the meaning of the band's closeness. In my opinion, meaningful pictures such as these are very important in an article, as they make the article as a whole much more interesting. The various pictures that are used also effectively break up large chunks of text and make the mass of information seem less intimidating, which I would say is appealing to any audience. The pictures are also captioned, which in my opinion should not be necessary, as these pictures speak for themselves. However many people like the extra information that captions give, and in that respect, the captions present in this article are effective.

Throughout the article are assorted pull quotes. They are located in effective positions such as within text or pictures, which means the readers eye will not just be drawn to the pull quote, but also the information around it. This could prompt more 'difficult' readers to want to read the text. Most of all, the pull quotes are not at all intrusive, which is an attractive quality for them to have.

Lastly, on the eighth page of the article is a small piece of filler called 'Caleb's Strip Steak with Neon Leon Sauce'. It is a recipe. This recipe being featured in the middle of a music article is quite humorous and a very creative and effective way to fill up space. I believe that this is very effective, as it also expertly puts across the message that the band are not too bothered about the fame, as sharing a delightful recipe seems to be the complete opposite of arrogance.​