First finished magazine cover draft

Main Image- Draft

Draft

Analysis of a double page spread

The main image is of Shakira who appears to be in a recording studio, this gives the impression that Shakira is serious about her music career, however she appears relaxed with her feet up which implys she enjoys her work and feels comfortable in the studio. The word "Danger!" is part of the title and it is strategically placed where Shakira's red shoe's are which is an implication of danger. Another image on the spread is one of her looking over her shoulder with her hand coming around her waist as if like a claw which gives Shakira an animalistic impression, also, in quotes it says "I now go after my desires in a predatory way- with teeth and claws", this adds to the animalistic quality about her.

Analysis of a contents page

Q magazine stick with its main theme of red, black and white. The logo of the red and white "Q" is near the top alone with, in black and white, the word "CONTENTS", alone with the date, website and MySpace page.
The page is over taken by the main image which is the band The Courteeners, the connotation behind this is that the main feature in the magazine is the popular band and it is to show off the fact that they have a feature on them. The image of the band is a neutral setting off a hill and field, their costume is simple and casual in monochromatic colours which implys they ahve a relaxed carefree atitude.

Music Magazine Cover Analysis

Q Magazine is one of the UK’s leading music magazines, it was also one of the first UK music magazines to be published. Q also has a music channel on UK TV which proves it’s popularity.

The mast head "Q" is situated on the top left hand corner, the background being red and the letter "Q" in white which contrast with each other. The colour red is also a passionate colour which insinuates a passion for music. The letter could stand for many things, one of them being Quality as in Quality music. In actuality the magazine was first set to be called “Cue” as in “cueing a record” however it was changed to the single letter of “Q” to make it look more prominent on news stands. The type of font an elegant calligraphy giving the notion that the magazine is to a high standard. The mast head is slightly covered by the main image of Lily Allen, this insinuates that the magazine is popular enough to be able to recognise it despite it not being the completely on show.

The main image is of a popular music artist, Lily Allen. Her costume is minimal yet expresses a lot. She is positioned with her back to the camera and looking over her shoulder with a finger at her lips and one hand on her hip and her relaxed yet sensual expression, this gives a sexual impression. The costumes she wears on her lower half are strategically chosen, because she is topless the thick black tights with the hot pants and high heels make her look sexy and powerful, however if she were to not wear the tights she may be considered to look slutty and too revealing. Also the print on the hot pants draw attention to that area on her body. The two puma's in the main image add an exotic element to the cover, these animals are strong feline’s which gives the impression that Lily Allen is a feminine woman yet powerful.

The main cover line is located on the centre of the main image with the words in bold black and white capitals “LILY ALLEN” which lap over her derriere. The whole main cover line is “SEXY BEAST LILY ALLEN & HER WICKED WAYS…”, the colours are black white red and blue, the white red and blue link to the fact that Lily Allen is British and Q is a British magazine. The words “sexy beast” relate to the two puma’s and the sexiness of the main image. The words “& her wicked ways” draws readers in because it would make the readers want to know about why her “ways are wicked”.

The cover lines include the names of big, popular and well known bands in bold black capital letters with a blue arrow pointing towards them on each, this draws attention the big name bands rather than the information of what is inside the magazine about these bands which is in a much smaller font.