Media Weather Report

This is my analysis on the February 2010 double page spread of Cheryl Cole, when analysing I followed these rough guidelines:

The artist- who are they? Large photo is more likely to bring attention to that page as if she is a big artist it is more of a selling/attraction point, may be used as poster when finished with magazine

Type of shot
Background, does her makeup and facial features contrast the colour background i.e. dark eyes on white background, does the makeup make her look gothic or scary
Hair and the way its styled, is it a crazy hairstyle?
Is there a constant theme i.e. black eyes and red lipstick = punk rock
contrasting photos- confident VS dark and mysterious

Font-
connotates for being girly and soft
harsh and bold
contrasting fonts could as a split personality

Colour scheme
Is it the same colour as the front cover- Q magazine tend to follow through with their red, white and black theme to maintain brand identity

Small typeography on bottom corner of the page
Intertexuality- the idea of connecting 2 types of media, likely to be on every printed page, if they enjoy that article may decide to look for other content

Q- anchors the magazine name into the audience

Page number
Easy access to page, date makes for a more sophisticated look, good for collectors

Quotes- pulls away important or shocking parts of the story – ‘don’t know what I look like anymore’ there is proof in the background colour of the 2 contrasting photos, she is hidden behind heavy makeup and contrasting costumes- not an everyday outfit (non-casual clothing stands for the non-casualness of the situation

Clear columns- makes article easier to follow, typical convention of any magazine

Large ‘C’- follows the magazines typical celebrity double page spread, makes it stand out, keeps in with the colour scheme, looks sophisticated

Overall, it is a clear easy to read and professional double age spread

Here is a clearer photo of the double page spread:

Why I did this task and how it will help with my research:
I completed this task because i thought that from the knowledge i gained from analysing the conventions of this double page spread I could then adapt and use the codes and conventions portrayed in order to create a double page spread that fits the ideal and looks unique to any other current music magazine. I chose to analyse Q magazine as it has a similar target audience therefore traits such as colour palette, font and layout can be closely related.