Analysis of existing magazines

Analysing and comparing the cover of 'Q' - September 07 issue and 'MOJO' - June 03 issue.
These magazines are both of a similar rock and general music genre.

Title - both titles are written in capitol letters which could show the boldness and importance of the magazine. I like the title MOJO for a magazine as it means your own style and feeling which suggests that this magazine is expressive and could be the readers 'mojo'.
The title 'Q' is quite ambiguous as it never says on the cover of the magazine what it stands for. One meaning for it could be the phonetic spelling for the word: cue, for when you cue some music. I think this is an equally good title as it is bold and stands out on its own and can make the reader curious.

Use of font - The font used on the cover of both magazines is overall quite simple and easy to read but still managing to be modern, and it has only been varied slightly around 3 times on each cover. This relates to the older target audience they are aiming at as they would not find it necessary to use wacky and bubbly writing to attract younger people. Both the titles are in a clear bold font, but the main sells on the page vary in size. On Q some of the words are written in italic for emphasis, e.g 'Wicked'.

On both magazine covers they have stuck to only stuck to 2-3 colours for the font so it doesn't look busy and confusing, and all these colours stand out from the background.

The overall colours on both the magazines are quite neutral with the backgrounds being either grey or white which makes it seem slightly classy and upper market. (Once again making their target audience clearly adults) Q then makes this contrast with the bold red in its title whereas Mojo uses quite soft complimentary colours such as white and a dark peach colour. (Q also uses gold complimentary colours). The colour clothing of the bands featured on the front of the magazines is also quite dark which helps their facial expressions to stand out but not drawing the attention away to the clothes).

Use of language - Q uses the pun of 'GUITAR HEROES' which links in with their instrument and the popular video game. It also lists names of band members and artists which is assuming the reader knows who they are which helps to show they're aiming for an audience who will know these bands and has this type of music taste. Both magazine use numbers on their cover to show the reader they have a lot of content. Mojo also refers to band names, assuming the reader knows who they are. Mojo also uses more punctuation on the cover such as '?' and '!' which suggests it is trying to make it more dramatic and exciting.

The images on the covers of both the magazines are quite similar - 3 males standing in a triangle formation. Both magazines have made the band look quite powerful and intimidating by using a low angle shot. The subjects on the cover of Q are pictured with guitars which links to the pun title. All the subjects have fairly relaxed facial expression which suggests they have a laid back nature, and linking in with the target audience again, these are not world renowned artists so both magazines are aiming for a particular target audience that would know them.

The main sells are similar on both magazines; interviews with artists, references to bands featured inside and numbers of things reviews and bands inside. The main flashes both refer to the subjects on the cover.

Both magazines include essential information such as; bar codes, prices and what issue it is. Mojo also has a corner with a different colour background to make it stand out that says you get a free CD inside, to help attract consumers who would like that type of C.D.

The contents page of Q is in a simple and easy to read layout with a picture taking up most of the page. It sticks to the main colour schemes on the front of the magazine. The main picture is done at a low angle again showing power and intimidation for the subjects.

The columns are split up into easier to read sections such as 'FEATURES', 'REVIEW' and 'EVERY MONTH'.

The font used on the contents page is Times New Roman which I think makes it seem quite adult, once again suggesting their target audience, which is similar to the scheme they have used for the font on the cover.

Double Page spread - From 'Q' I picked a specific double page spread that stood out to me the most.
The background of the whole two pages are taken up with a picture of the band 'FRIENDLY FIRES' they are all standing against a line up in a police station with their names hanging from boards on their neck, they are pulling off masks of previous presidents with confused and slightly outraged facial expressions. They are wearing quite stylish shirts and jeans. I think the one word that would some up this whole picture is, attitude. This could be wanting the reader to admire the subjects and their attitude which relates to the pyschographic group of aspirers.

This picture really drew me in as it made the subjects look very interesting and you wanted to find out more about them by reading the 200-300 words long article about them at the bottom of the right page. As the background is a grey colour the writing is in white to help it stand out more and is once again written in Times New Roman in quite a simple format of just 2 short columns which I think again might seem daunting to younger readers.

Overall i think from 'Q' magazine, all the pictures link in with each other giving all the subjects attitude that makes them enticing to the reader so they want to find out more.