NME
Magazine Analysis: Case Study
Colour in Magazines – Front Cover
A few colours are used on the front cover this magazine. This
creates a more calming effect. The colour red is used more than often on the
front cover. It has been used as a background to the NME logo. It has also been
used as a big bold and bright background to a number of cover lines and finally
it has been used to underline another cover line with large font. The use of
red highlights the more important information on the front cover of the
magazine. The title is presented with a big block of red in the background to
overshadow the surrounding information.
However, to show the importance of a number of other cover
lines, the colour red was used again in the background to highlight the key
information and was used to attract the attention of the reader to read on
regarding the information presented. In this case, it was used to introduce
important people such as “David Bowie” and “Julian Casablancas”.
There has been a vast use of the colour grey as it has
covered nearly the entire front cover of the magazine. This bland look allows
the reader to focus on other important information in the surrounding, as well
as the main image of the front cover. There has also been used a range of
colours from one end of the spectrum to the other, underlining the main title
which is in big and bold capital letters “IAN CURTIS”. This underlining
spectrum has been used to introduce the main information of the magazine. The
rainbow colours underlining a colourless title insinuates that there could be
more to this title than just the name and it gives the reader an insight and lures
them in to read on inside to find out more.
The colours black and white have also been used as
backgrounds to highlight some information that takes places inside the
magazine. The colour black has been used as a choice of font colour to a cover
line whilst being underlined by a fine white line on top of a grey background.
This attracts the audience by allowing them to spot a near camouflaging cover
line and making them think the reason behind this. The cover line says “A
personal journey into the mind of a troubled genius”, just below the main title
on the left.
Colour in Magazines – Inside the magazine
The main colours that are used throughout the magazine are
white, black and red. The colours white and red also happen to be colours as
the main logo of NME, the big block of red is the background to the thick and
bold white letters NME. These colours attract the audience in different ways
for example the chunk of red with the white letters could catch the attention
of many readers as they are aware of this logo because they have previously
read a magazine published by NME.
In the same way the colour red and white could attract somebody
who has not previously read an NME magazine before. The use of the bright block
of red as a background can attract and stop the eye of anyone who happens to
walk pass this logo, even if it may be for as little as a second long. The red also
highlights the importance of a piece of information and is also used in the
background of the title and subheadings.
The colour white is used as the main plain background
covering the entire page; it is used in majority of the pages in the magazine.
The use of the plain white background neutralises the page and because of the
colour of font used in the articles, it shows that the main message that is
trying to be portrayed is within the articles itself. Also the use of colourful
images on the white background draws the attention of the reader to the image
instead of the background.
However, there are also other colours in the magazine itself
such as green, blue, purple, pink and orange. These colours have been used as
the background to the subheadings. The colour yellow has been used to highlight
the importance of a piece of information in an article. The majority of the
colour of the font throughout the magazine is black or white but with colourful
backgrounds to the writing. The effect of all these colours on the reader is
dependent on the colour itself. This is because some colours are either more or
less appealing to different people. The colours blue, pink, red and orange are
more attractive colours as they are very bright and attention seeking. On the
other hand; black, grey and brown are less appealing to the reader as they are
most commonly categorised as boring, bland and plain colours.
Analysing
the front cover of the magazine
In this magazine the reader is given a view from the end of a
table focusing on the other end where a gentleman is seated and is glaring
straight at you with his head lowered on to the back of his hands as his arms
are folded flat on the table. At a first glance of the front cover of the
magazine one may not find the main image to come across as friendly. However,
after acknowledging the image and the surrounding words “The unseen notebooks
of Ian Curtis” and “A personal journey into the mind of a troubled genius” this
interests the reader and wants them to read more about this.
From looking at the front cover of this NME magazine, I would assume that it has a target audience of well-educated fans of bands and new music.
The title of the magazine is named after an English musician
Ian Curtis. The reader would be attracted to this name as it is named after a
well known musician back in the late 70s. The reader will also be fascinated
and interested in the front cover because of the subtitles. The words “unseen
notebook” and “Ian Curtis” captivates the attention of the reader as they want
to find out more about the suicide of Ian Curtis and may have leads by this
“unseen notebook”. This mostly appeals to specific readers who have been
previously interested in Ian Curtis or the band Joy Division.
The language that has been used in the front cover of the
magazine is informal and emotive. I know this because the main person, Ian
Curtis, who is on the front cover, is described using emotive words for example
“troubled genius”. This grabs the attention of the reader as it sparks an inner
curiosity in the reader to find out more. Also, the words that have been used
in the magazine are words that the reader feels comfortable using as they would
use them, therefore, they sound personal and friendly.
In my opinion, the price of the magazine is a fair price as
it is not too expensive or too cheap. The category of the target audience is
able to purchase this magazine as it is priced at £2.50, which in my opinion is
affordable. This price is advantageous to the publisher as well as the reader
as it is cheap to buy, therefore, many people are able to afford this.
Analysing
the contents page of a magazine
The contents page of this NME magazine is divided into more
or less three equal sections. The section on the left is categorised as
‘Regulars’, the section in the middle is categorised as ‘Features’ and finally the
section on the right is categorised as ‘Band List’. There is only one image on
the contents page and it is assigned to a page number. The image gives the
reader a visual insight to what shall take place on that specific page.
There are only 4 colours which are used on this contents page
and they are red, black, grey and white. The red attracts the reader’s eyes and
captures their attention. The black is used as the font colour and also used as
a background to the subheadings which are written in a white font. This also
seeks attention as it is a big chunk of black with white coloured letters on it
which are placed mostly in the left and middle section of the magazine. It has
been used repeatedly in all subheadings.
They colour grey is also used as a background but this time
to black and red font. This appeals to the reader as it is laid out in a more
sophisticated layout on the right side of the magazine going vertically down
the entire page. The colour white is used as the main background colour to the
contents page, it may be plain but it helps to make the image, colour, font and
layout stand out.
The language which has
been used on the contents page of this NME magazine is informal, this makes the
reader feel comfortable as they have been previously familiarised with this
informal language. The language also has a positive reaction from the reader as
it is on a personal level and comes across as friendly. This makes the reader
feel pleased and happy with their purchase of this magazine as there is a successful
communication between the magazine and the reader.
Analysing
the double page article of a magazine
NME Magazine issued on 11th October 2014, pages 26
and 27
The topic of the article is “Unknown Treasures”. The theme
which relates to all the articles is music. The article on this double page is
regarding music. Specifically speaking, one special artist called Ian Curtis.
It is about his “unseen notebooks”. The message which is being portrayed is
that there is ‘treasure’ which has been found and is still ‘unknown’. The reader
may be interested in this article as it is appealing and intriguing. It makes
the reader interested to find out more as the limited given insight is already
very stimulating and captivating, which leaves the reader curios to find out
more.
The double page spread is covered in an extreme close up,
black and white picture of Ian Curtis. On the right side of the double page
there is a free-hand writing saying “Unknown Treasures” in quite a large font.
Directly below there is a paragraph typed up in a bold and smaller sized font. It
consists of Ian Curtis’ notebooks, scraps of lyrics, poems, a building novel
and his widow Deborah Curtis.
Analysing
the editor’s letter in a magazine
NME Magazine issued on 22nd November 2014, page 3
In
this magazine the editor answers to the readers' questions. Each week there is
a new person answering the readers' questions. I know this because on the top
right side of the page there is an introduction to this week's editor. It says
"Answering you this week: Greg Cochrane". Greg Cochrane answers the
question in a conversational tone. He comes across in a friendly way and
approaches the readers in a cool, calm and collected manner. This builds a
close relationship with the readers' by addressing them using their names.
"Tom, I'm as hopeful as the rest of you" and "Ignorance is bliss, Keira. Trust me". The language in his responses to the readers' questions is informal and
answers their question as if he knows them personally and as if they are
friends.
NME Magazine issued on 22nd November 2014, page 3
