Magazine Analysis 2

For my second magazine analysis, I will be analyzing an issue from Q Magazine; as shown to the right. The cover consists of a close-up of Paolo's face, providing the viewer with a little more depth into his facial appearance.  This shot also allows us to establish the difference in Paolo's eye colour - the left being green, the right being red. I am un-clear as to the reason this effect has been applied, however may have been used to provide an even color balance across the cover; the red Q logo matching the color of his left eye. The background of the cover consists of a faded white/ blue color, creating a strong contrast between Paolo's face and the background of the cover. This effect results in Paolo's face to become more clearer in terms of his appearance, creating a more visually appealing and eye catching cover towards the viewer. In terms of the cover layout and text context, the Q logo is positioned behind the right side of the artists head, along side the quoted text saying "The music that changed my life". The Q is presented in a bold fashion, making it obvious to the viewer what the name of the magazine is. The text below it is again presented in bold text, however with a different color variation; this time consisting of black and yellow. Above Paolo's head in brackets is the text;-"25th Anniversary Collectors Edition", providing the consumer with a little more information about this particular issue and what is shown inside. This is presented in black capital letters, limiting its ability to stand out on the page. The text at the bottom of the cover says "Plus; 145 albums to discover", again providing the consumers with a little more insight in terms of what the magazine has to offer. This is written in a bold, grey, capitalized text, with the "Plus" presented in red; use to grab the viewers attention. Towards the bottom of the cover, there is a list of 25 different artists. These are presented in a blue color (slightly darker than the background color to allow the text to stand out). At the bottom of the cover is written "Paolo Nutini" (the name of the artist displayed on the cover). The color of the text is bright yellow, with the size of the text being rather large in comparison to the other texts displayed on the cover. The issue number of this particular magazine (13) is shown to the right of Paolo's face; again written in a bold black text with a yellow box around it - used to help the text stand out on the page. This number however isn't used particularly to show the issue number, however is used to show that this is the 13th cover of 25 collectors edition covers. This information is displayed just below the number in the same font and style; however, a little smaller in terms of its size. The bar code is displayed at the top right of the cover along side the date at which this issue was released. This feature is purposely kept towards the corner of cover to keep it out of the way and to simply provide more room for the more important information to be placed.