NME Feature Article Analysis

Functions of a Music Magazine

Music magazines promote bands and artists to readers. They inform readers of the latest music news and gossip, as well as gig and album release dates. The magazines give the reader a chance to feel a connection with the artist, in addition to a sense of belonging to a community or fandom. Most music magazines promote a certain genre and use reviews to guide readers to listen to specific music. Artists use magazines for marketing a certain image of themselves. This helps them to promote their music the way they want and to gain the desired fan base. Finally, music magazines give away freebies to introduce readers to different artists and products.

NME Front Cover Analysis

Q Front Cover Analysis

Conventions of a Problem Page

o   The masthead is large and clear in order to quickly inform the reader on the page topic.

o   A clear image of the agony aunt creates a sense of familiarity between them and the reader, as does the use of a name in the masthead. The agony aunt is always smiling to imply they are friendly, nice and trustworthy.  

o   A distinct difference between question and answer, usually in colour, helps the text to be clear and easy to read.

o   Most columns have bright colours, often including pink, which suggest a female target audience.

o   Key words are emphasised to catch the reader’s attention and curiosity.

o   Contact information allows the reader to get involved with the problem page.

o   Contain slogans, usually to explain why the agony aunt’s advice is reliable.

o   Some problem pages contain images relating to the questions.

Analysis of Problem Page

Evaluation of my Problem Page

Design Choices

Masthead- I named my article ‘Dear Louise’ mostly for the reason that it is from the readers’ point of view, as if they were starting a letter. The use of a name also gives a sense of familiarity between the reader and agony aunt, which in turn makes the reader more likely to trust the advice given. In addition alliteration can be made with “love Louise”, which can be used to end each piece of advice.

Slogan- I invented the slogan ‘Our girl solves your problems’ for many different reasons. Firstly, it gives clear, concise information about the content of the article. In addition, pronouns such as “Our” and “you” involve the reader, and “girl” reminds my teenage girl target audience of the similarities between them and ‘Louise’. This then makes them trust the article even more. Lastly, even though “problems” is quite a negative word, it is strong and powerful and implies that the agony aunt is taking the questions seriously.

Colour Scheme- For my colour scheme I chose pink, teal, orange and white because they are bright and contrasting and so stand out and attract readers. The pinks and oranges are very warm and inviting, and the white stands out as a happier alternative to black. Finally, these colours are youthful and commonly favourable colours amongst my target audience of teenage girls.

Dominant Font- I chose the Rockwell font due to it being smart and professional, yet not dull. It is also clear and bold without being imposing. The mixture of thickness in letters draws the readers’ attention, but isn’t too bold for large text. Finally, the font appeals to my target audience because it is interesting and grown up yet still fun and youthful, just like the sixteen to eighteen year old target audience.

Successfulness of Page

I think that my problem page was a success in that the overall look was bright and attractive. I really like colours and fonts that I used because they suited the article well. I really like that straplines at the top and bottom of the page as they look quite professional and the masthead is clear and exciting. I also like the position of the image in the middle of the page.

Changes to be made

For the main coursework there are a few things I need to work on. Firstly, the quality of image must be improved for a nice overall look. This can be achieved by using a better camera and taking time to edit the image. I also need to make my text more comprehensible by planning my space better. On my problem page the text is very overcrowded and confusing to read. Finally, the article would very much improved if I have been more careful about typos, as InDesign does not have spell check, and so I was not used to checking the text myself. In the main project I will run my text through Microsoft Word to be on the safe side.

Problem Page House Style

My Problem Page Design

Problem Page Target Audience

Age Range

The problem page will be for a sixth form magazine, so the age range will be sixteen to eighteen year olds. Therefor the issues and questions will be very school and relationship focused. Students will be interested because they will be dealing with the same sort of issues.

Gender

I am going to focus on a female target audience, because I think women are generally more likely to be interested in a problems page. I think this is because they look for advice more than men, who usually prefer to deal with any issues in their own ways. In addition women can often find situations much more serious than men do, and will look for help to avoid making a mistake.

Personality

Although I will aim to make an advice column for a wide range of people, I will aim it at people who are interested in gossip. This is because they will probably be interested in embarrassing stories and issues. It is likely that these people will be a little bit nosy, and therefore be intrigued by other people’s issues.

Interests

The problem page will be aimed mostly at people who like to read, but also others who aren’t so good at reading. A clear, concise layout with large images will invite these readers in, because less text will appear less intimidating. I will also aim the article at an audience who are quite serious, and are consequently worried about their own lives.

My Problem Page