2 Double Page Spread Deconstruction's

Kerrang Front Cover Deconstruction

Firstly, the Kerrang cover is quite clearly aimed at people who like rock music. There are many factors which suggest this. The first is the large ‘KERRANG’ text at the top of the page. It has the effect of being painted onto the page (the white dots close to the letters) and the lines going across the text have the look of broken glass which are both quite rocky things. Throughout the page there is a variety of different text fonts/colours/sizes. This gives the cover a ‘rough at the edges’ look and suites the rock genre. All of the text has a contrasting coloured shape behind it which makes it stand out from the background more and so easy to read.

There is a light behind Billie Joe (the main person on the cover) which makes it easier to see his outline. They have put his head laying slightly over the masthead so that his whole head can be seen easily, and the masthead is still easy to read so I think that it works well. There are quite a few different colours used on this page however the main ones are yellow and green, as well as black and white. These colours work well because they stand out from the black/white background clearly.

They have advertised the main big features down the left of the page so that they can still be seen when arranged in a newsagent. They have also put the main lure at the top of the page so that it is in one of the places the reader will look at first. They have put the barcode in the bottom right corner because this is usually the last place the reader will look.

Kerrang Contents Page Deconstruction

Again, this contents page uses a variety of presentational techniques. The most consistent colour throughout this page is yellow. This colour is used for all of the main heading and page numbers which I think works well because it stands out well from the rest of the page. This shows good use of house style.

This contents page is slightly less structured than the Q contents pages I have been looking at; however this is not necessarily a bad thing. I like the use of lots of small pictures as it gives you more of an insight into what will be in the article rather than just text. You can tell that the biggest feature is going to be on You Me At Six, simply because they have the biggest picture on the page. I would assume that the others are all of a similar length because they are all the same size.

They have organized the pictures in page order from left to right. This isn’t as clear as the page numbers on the right of the page however it is still easy to tell what is going on.

They have also used good mode of address which can be seen in Rob Flynn’s quote in the top right corner of the page. 

Q Contents Page Deconstruction

There are many different presentational techniques used in this contents page. The first of these is the consistent use of the colour red throughout the page, similarly to the other ‘Q’ contents page I analysed.

I like the way how this contents page has a very organised and structured layout, unlike a lot of other rock magazines contents which seem very cluttered. I think it looks this way because they have placed no text directly on top of pictures which means you can still see the text and picture very clearly. In places where they have put text over a picture they have added a white background which I think works well to make the text clearer.

They have organised the features down the left hand side of the page in chronological order which makes it easy for the reader to find the page they want. They have also used good mode of address by making the text used to describe the features quite informal and casual to appeal to the readers who are probably roughly 15-30.

Deconstruction of 'Q' Front Cover, Contents and DSP

Rock Sound Front Cover Deconstruction

There are many messages that can be taken from this front cover. The first of these is that the person standing closest to the camera could be the main member of their band so perhaps the lead singer. The others are laid out well in the background so that all of their faces are visible and also part of their torso. They all have a sinister type look on their faces which could suggest quite a heavy genre of music. They are also all wearing very dark clothing which furthermore suggests this point. They have put two of the band members heads slightly overlapping the ‘ROCK SOUND’ text which I think works well because it means you can still see the whole photo and read the name of the magazine pretty easily.

I like the use of colour on this cover. The only 3 colours used are black, green and white. I think this works well and has a higher impact than using a lot of different colours. I think the use of green and white for the text works well because they both stand out against the dark background. I think that one part of the text that could be changed slightly is the ‘My Chemical Romance’ text. I think that this covers up too much of the main image.

I think it has good that they have placed their main lure in the top left corner as this is the first place a human eye will look on the page so it will instantly make the reader want to buy the magazine. They have used this method again by putting the barcode and price in the bottom corner because this is the last place someone would look on the page and they don’t want anyone to be put off by the price before they have read what is in the magazine. Also another good reason for putting their main lure in the top left hand corner is that it is usually only the left hand on the front cover that is visible in the newsagents.

This is my moodboard for rock music magazines.