Magazine deconstruction

Front Cover 
Looking back at my AS magazine deconstruction, I can see how my kills have developed since then. I didn't really categorize the different areas of a marine and just said what I think of the front covers and contents page. now I know how to analyze and deconstruct a magazine with more terminology knowledge and ideas.

The first magazine I am going to deconstruct is a national magazine. This is the September 2016 edition the the GQ magazine. Although this magazine creates more lifestyle content, it still represents some culture. 


 

Masthead

First of all, the masthead is the same on each and every magazine, sometimes the colour may change to create a colour scheme for each magazine. It is quite large in size and stands out a lot. The design is simple and unique in a way that it is designed to be original for GQ magazine. I like the style of this masthead because it shows power. The design all fits in together to create a very professional front cover. 

Colour Scheme

The colour scheme in this case, is dominated by orange and royal blue. It makes the magazine look well established and elegant. This will tie in with the whole style of the magazine, for example, the costume on the model (James Corden) is a suit which suggest professionalism and dominance. Again, this links in with the main sell line 'Mr America', it gives him recognition and will lead onto the double page spread. 

Other sell lines include diets, celebrities, money, fashion and sport. This front cover has quite a few cover lines and detail, which is ironic because it is aiming for a professional simplistic layout. The style of the sell lines revolve around lifestyle. They are trying to inspire others worldwide. I can use this to think about sell line i might use but will apply to my region in particular. This balances out the professional and mainstream features.  Another thing that stands out to me is the small cover line beneath the masthead which says "stay cool". I feel like that has been purposely put there to incorporate the colours with the text because the colours are quite cool looking. This is a linguistic feature that may be used for a pun effect. It has more than two meanings, one humerous and one to link in with the contents inside of the magazine. 

Fonts

The fonts used on this front cover vary. It uses mainly a traditional font on the main sell line and the cover lines. This links in with the style of the magazine and the design they are aiming for. It helps it look well presented and organised. I think if they were to use a bold font throughout, it would look unprofessional. By being a cultural magazine that includes a variety of contents, they have to fit each convention with each article. They need it to look right otherwise it will just look like one feature rather than a range of different ones. The fonts are quite fancy. They have used a couple of different styles which make it look more detailed. i really like this idea because it looks like more effort has went into it, rather than just the same font throughout.

Layout

I think the layout of this magazine has an eye for detail. There is quite a lot of text on the front cover, but you can still see the main image stand out. They have made the main sell line bigger than the cover lines in order for it to be dominant and stand out from the rest. This is because it is used as the main attraction to get the target audience engaged in the contents of each magazine.  The first and third column of the front cover is full of text , where as the second column is just of the main image. 

Body Language

Instantly I can see that James Corden is feeling very proud. His facial expression and body language suggests that he has made a big achievement, which is stated in the main sell line of this magazine. It shows that he has worked hard to get where he is today and to do that you have t have challenges. He is holding his tie as if he is trying to say he is independent and can do it on his own. The clothing he is wearing shows that he is quite noticeable and well known worldwide.

Lighting
The lighting is quite bright which suggests positive vibes. The background is bright white which could refer to happiness and a new beginning. the colour scheme fits well with the lighting as they are quite bold primary colours which contrast with the overall colours. I would really use this sort of lighting, just because it wouldn't match my ideas of a regional magazine. I want my front cover to look detailed with a main image in the background rather than being plain white. 

The next magazine I am going to deconstruct is a regional magazine from Cornwall. 

Masthead
The masthead on this magazine is very different to the one above. The font used makes it look more old-fashioned, which is a good idea because it link in with the region and could represent traditional values. The colour makes it stand out against therein image. The white makes a really good contrast with the blue scenery behind. Local people would be drawn to this magazine as it shows heritage just from the masthead. 

Main image 
I really like this main image as it gives a sense go home. It will have been taken in cornwall, hence the whole point of the magazine. It makes you feel quite relaxed, which implies a place that you feel happy. The target audience, especially people in the region will see the image, and they are likely to know where it is. It could make them feel quite proud of living in Cornwall. I am actually thinking of using an image like this for my front cover as it make a design look regional as well as the change of a target audience. There is also a lot of landscapes in Sunderland which I could use for my own ideas. 

Layout
The layout of this front cover really appealed to me. I like the way the image is bold and stands out. I feel there is just enough text on, so that the image can be the main attraction. The conventions all stand out, and with only little text, it still manages to look detailed. I feel like the sell lines and the font help this. I also really like the idea of including advertisements/competitions. It makes the magazine look more interesting and adds that little bit of extra contents. 

Fonts
The fonts are pretty much the same. The sell lines are in capitals with a bold font. I think this link in really well with the image, because if it was to have very detailed text, it would look too over powering. The image wouldn't really stand out as much, and with the masthead having a traditional font, i feel like the sell lines have to be simple.

Overall, I really like this front cover. It just matches the style I am going for, and it represent the region with a clear perspective. 

The next front cover is a magazine from my region which is the north east. The only difference is that this magazine applies to the whole north east, where as I am going to just do Sunderland. 

Masthead
Again, this magazines uses a traditional looking font. The style is very similar to the magazine above. It represents heritage and culture within the north east. This masthead is also white, which stands out against the background which is an image of a landscape. I think that this magazine would more likely appeal to the older generation as they will be passionate about the old traditions of the North East. 

Main image
The main image on this front cover is of a landscape, just like the Cornwall magazine. So I am seeing that most regional magazines like to look traditional rather than modernized. I want to try and include trends from now, as well as keeping the traditional style. 

Language/text
The language used in the sell lines here, are including the names of different places within the North East. So if someone from across the country was to read this, they would really know or understand what is meant. This is what makes it regional. only local people will be able to know about the places and where they are. This will help med decide on what sell lines I want to include, because I want to make it look regional, rather than national. For example, "Morpeth country house rescued", people from that area are likely to know what has happened to that country house, and have an opinion on it, where as someone from down south, aren't likely to know what is happening with that situation. 

Layout
Again, the layout is very classic, it will more likely appeal to an older target audience due to the style and contents. This front cover does include slightly more text/cover lines, but it still looks detailed. The sell lines are in a custom font, this does make it harder for the masthead to stand out, but it gives that traditional, established style.

Content pages
Looking at my connect page from my AS, I feel like this was one of my weakest points. So for my A2, I am going to look at inspirations in more detail so that I can get a clear idea on how to make it look professional. 

Masthead

In this contents page I don't feel like there is a masthead. It sort of just gets straight into the contents. 

Image

I really like the images used here. They are the same sorts of images i will be including in my own magazine. This focuses on places,and the images look very historic. There are 6 images included and they are stand out. I like how they have used two pages rather than one as it allows you to show more detail by including these images rather thank only having one main image and text. On the right page, there is small text over the images which state where the image was taken, and from this I see that they are from around the world, suggesting it is a national magazine. The positioning of the images look really neat, and make the whole layout look tidy. 

Font 

You can't really see the fonts, but they just look like a standard font used of a software. Sometimes that can make the magazine look degraded, but in this case it just match the whole theme of the magazine. The color that dominates is black and white. But there are some sub headings that are red which make it clear to understand and is showing the 'important' information. 

Extra 

It includes typical conventions such as the page number, website and date. They are positioned in the corners and are quite small. this is so that the text and images can stand out, and you don't want them to look really big, but you will see them as you turn the page. 

Double Page spread

I really like this double page spread because it looks professional and has detail. This sort of style will go really well with my ideas for a front cover and contents page. 

Layout 
In this page, there is five columns that are equally spread out across one section of the page. This makes it look like there is more text, and gives that little bit extra detail, rather than just having the columns on one side of the page, they have sprit across both. I like hw each piece has been given a 'place', like there are additional images on the right had side which makes it look more interesting, and then there is a main image in the background. All of this together makes it look more detailed, however, it still looks simple, but does have a bit more of an edgy style to it. There is some layering between the images, as the additional images have been placed onto of the main image, this will link in with the article a bit more. 

Images 
there is one main image that covers the whole two pages. This makes it look 'more put together', and co-oporates with that edgy style. However, it does also have four additional images that are quite small which are situated on the left hand side. If I were to hear about additional images like this, I would think it would look overcrowded, but it actually makes it look more interesting and nice to look at. All of these images are of males, which is the dominant gender, linking in with the masthead which says 'Beastie Boys', clearly linking to a boyband which is the main focus of the doubt page spread. 

Language 
I can't really make out what is included in the article, but from looking at the masthead I can see that is is quite informal. 'Beastie Boys - Back with a band' wouldn't really be used in a national magazine. It also uses alliteration which may connote that boys are dominant. The images are of males, the article is all about males, and with the letter 'b' repeating, it is all linking together to state the dominance of males within music.

When looking for a double page spread, I came across this one. I really liked the design and layout and think it would go really well with my magazines as it doesn't stick to one style, it is quite complex. 
Layout
The layout of this magazine is quite old looking. There are three columns which look quite detailed and they don't stand out too much. I think this is effective because it lets you focus on the image the most, and then the article will be writing about the person on the next page. There aren't any subheadings, it is more of a long article, but there is a drop cap which gives it more of a detailed look. It stands out quite a lot, and may be there to draw people into reading the article. I used this in my A2 work, and I really like the idea of using it again in my next creations as I think it makes it look more professional. 

Images 
The main focus of this double page spread is the image. It takes up one whole page, which will immediately draw the reader in. The image looks quite passionate, and does have a filter in black and white which makes it look quite historic. There is also a small image in-between two columns, which I think is advertising a song by the person in the image. 

Language
The introduction to this article is very sensitive. "His finger got shot off and heroin almost killed him. Meet the man who developed a cult following with the help of a stick, a hat and rhyming slang". This just shows how personal this article is and that it is a true story. It is incoming the readers ff a sad time in the persons life. It will draw the reader in and people will be intrigued to see what it is all about. It is a good way of summarizing the article, and will interest people straight away.