Contents page analysis and proposal

I have researched many different styles and designs for contents pages within music magazines to help inspire me and give me ideas about how I might like mine to look. I've chosen this NME                                                                      contents page, as It appealed to me and I think it's more interesting than most others I have seen. Even though most contents pages are usually fairly plain, and simple which works well as it isn't meant to be the most hectic page, this particular one is quite busy and it works just as well if not better, especially to suit the variety of music genres within the magazine. I am keen about the different boxes on the left hand side, (Features/News/Live/Radar), I think I may do something like this in the same style on my page as it compliments the magazine and its style. I also really like the fact that there is more than one image on the page because it makes the page look more interesting and not overloaded with text. In addition, the "subscribe today" box at the bottom of the page really grabs my attention, as the font is a completely different colour to the whole page so it stands out a lot. As well as all of that, the different coloured boxes, fonts, font sizes and font style itself makes the page very interesting and appealing. When I make my own contents page I will include more then two photographs that I have taken and place some of my text over the top of one image. Also, I want to include a "FREE ADD" box, so it will tempt the audience to buy the magazine as they see it as a freebie  even though they are buying the magazine. This will lead to an increase in consumption and an even bigger increase in revenue. 

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Front cover analysis and proposal

After looking at different music magazines and how each genre of music is portrayed and reflected through the style and design of the magazine itself, I chose this particular cover out and decided I want to make mine in the same style if I can. I like the idea of the plain block colour background, therefore, the masthead, image,  cover-lines, taglines, and puffs and plugs are seen more prominent and appeal to the audience more.
I think this magazine design is very well suited to the genre of music it focuses on. The main image, a portrait photograph of Eminem, makes it clear to the target audience (people whom interested in rap music) what the content of this magazine will include. However, if people were only recently fans of the genre of music, they may notice the magazine and the content from what the image actually is. Straight away you can tell the magazine isn't going to include information, gossip and the latest updates about classical or country music for example, due to the image being a fairly musculus, tattooed man wearing bling and a vest top. As well as that, the posture and body language convey a sense of negativity and 
domination. Also, the serious facial expression, and direct eye contact with the camera, reinforces the power the figure seems to display. The colour scheme used, of red black appeals to the audience and fits the genre of music. The connotations of the colours, exhibit hard, seriousness and can sometimes be seen as intimidating and offensive to people. eg. - elderly people. I like the big bold masthead, on the page as it grabs the audiences attention and is very forward. The use of different colour, size font and font itself, is affective as it highlights different context pieces on their importance and how the editor of the magazine may want them to be read and seen as. As well as that, it makes the magazine more appealing and less boring. If all the font was the same, the magazine would not be so alluring and engaging, therefore there would be a massive increase in consumption and revenue for the business. 

Flat Plans- Music magazine

I drew some rough ideas of what i might like my front page for my music magazine to look like. I thought of having my masthead down the side of the page, as it may look authentic and different to other magazines, but  I then decided it would not look strong enough and my magazine would be more eye catchy with a bold title dominating the page. I thought of having some tag lines and puffs and plugs within boxes on the page to stand out and highlight important pieces of text that i want my reader to see, the rest of the text will probably just be placed on the page without a box. However, to make the page come more alive i may put back drops on individual pieces of text, as well as changing the size, colour and font itself. After looking at different stlye music magazines, and how the layout, format and design was displayed it gave me inspiration on how to present mine and what i would like mine to look like.