A book by it's cover

Cover to cover

Front cover #1 Kerrang

• The Masthead and title of the magazine are basic black and white with a Grundy, distorted font and has cracks through letters to create a broken and rebellious attitude to fit the magazine's style. The magazine is clearly iconic enough to the point when they can overlap the title of the magazine with images and people will still be able to identify the magazine, this is important as it shows how the band featured in the magazine have a priority over them and are even more iconic that the magazine itself.
• The page uses a basic but effective colour scheme of yellow and metallic red. These colours contrast well together and work well with the theme of the magazine and the main article, the yellow and red colour scheme is common to both Kerrang and the band featured in the main article so this contrasts well with both. The Yellow and red are also eye catching and appealing amongst the bland black and white colours.
• Font's in the sub headings have basic bold fonts with some deterioration in the larger text, again to mirror the main article (MCR) several letters have been styled in a font similar to they're style e.g. several O's with a lightning bolt through the centre and by using star's instead of bullet points.
• The main article has priority over the masthead and has been shot mid-angle with the lead singer in key frame, the frame is large enough to get the several others in the band into frame but they are not fully visible. The name of the band is written across the picture in a similar red and yellow colour scheme and appears to have a scratched lightning bolt as it's background. The band is dressed in bizarre and vibrant leather clothing mainly red, white and blue, they almost seem like apparel for a biker.
• The subheading's are the only other point that takes priority over the main article, across the subheading are several images for other stories and the names to go with the image. 
• No knowledge is given on the front cover besides the names of the bands, this is clearly enough to captivate the customer to buy the magazine as by having the band itself would already capture the readers attention.
• I like the rebellious layout of the magazine it creates an ideal teenage feeling and would be an ideal layout for my magazine.

Front cover #2 Q

• The magazine is very basic and empty, with little text and almost no subheading's, it uses little colours besides the standard black and white, making the few colours on the page considerably more eye catching. 
• The main article takes almost every aspect of the page and is an extreme close-up of the singer, the plain background and layout makes the close-up image the most eye catching thing on the page and the creator's of the magazine are relying on the main article being so iconic that this alone would make readers buy the magazine.
• All font is basic with only one word besides the masthead in bold, the font is either black and white which sticks to the basic and neutral colour scheme.
• The Masthead has the most vibrant colour on the page so despite most of it being almost completely covered it is still very vibrant and noticeable. The name of the magazine is almost unreadable as its been covered an obscene amount, to a reader unfamiliar with the magazine the name could easily be mistaken for 'O'.
• Again they're is little information given on the front cover besides the name of the singer on the cover and a quote by the singer himself.
• Ideally this would usually mean that the magazine is so renowned that people could still easily identify the magazine by it's style, but this is somewhat beyond reason and looks poorly made.
• I don't like the magazine as it's bland layout and style is too boring to symbolise the energy behind music, and it's poor layout is somewhat off-putting, Ideally I wish to avoid something like this for my magazine.

  

Front cover #3 Spin

• The masthead is basic but somewhat effective as it stands out amongst the colours of the rest of the colours as the red background of the Masthead is bright and eye-catching. It uses a simple but efficient font in white to contrast well with the red background and even has a small white background surrounding the text makes the masthead look formal but effective.
• The Subheading of the page is in another clearly visible position and is fashionably relevant to the genre of the magazine, the font used varies; the 'Cool' is written in a digital font with lettering similar to a computer interface it is probably styled like this to match the word itself, other text used within the box are simple but formal and stylish. The text with lesser importance is smaller and is in a more standard font whilst the extracts with higher importance are more eye-catching and unique, the numbers are also typed in a separate font colour to make it stand out against the casual text.
• Other text extracts on the page are integrated into the front cover picture as they have a transparent background, despite being wrote freely on the page they are still clearly visible over the darker colour scheme of the picture. Almost all font is in basic white with several other quotes are highlighted in a vibrant yellow, the yellow text are used as lesser sub-headers across the page as they either are stating a quote about the band featured or it is stating who else is featured in the magazine. All font in the text extracts are formal and basic with only the phrase 'ELECTION 2004' in bold. The font is all considerably small compared to other text extracts within the page probably due to they're lesser significance.
• Despite being a registered magazine they're is no visible barcode on the front cover, this is odd as without the barcode they're is almost no way of stock check and would cause problems whilst being purchased. To contradict this, the barcode could either be stationed at the back of the magazine or have been formatted into the new QR code which would also be placed at the back of the magazine.
• The image of the band shows a wide angle shot of the band being featured with all of it's members being fully visible. This view of the band enables the reader to see the band in an unconventional pose which expresses they're fun loving and random style, this quirky pose can also relate to the magazines simplistic but fun layout and design as they both appear visually smart but with a more laid back and fun loving style. The members of the band are all wearing similar costumes with most of what they're wearing being a deep dark blue, the dark attire blends well with the dark neutral colours within the background, they're outfits again go hand-in-hand with the style of the magazine as it retains elements of being formal and relaxed.
• The background of the image is almost completely dark in the distance but in the foreground of the image is a decrepit and empty street with a worn down building to the left of the shot and a car-less road side with the double yellow 'no parking' stripes painted across it. All colour used is neutral and  unsophisticated but this is the theme of the magazine so it still contrasts well with the rest of the page.
• They're is a colour scheme emerging of yellow, red and orange. These are the only major colours that stand out and make an impact on the page as they are more eye-catching when placed over its dark landscape. Even when the colour scheme applies to the image of the band, the colours are still noticeable for example The man in the centre of the band has bright crimson features to his shoes and the double yellow line, despite being dark and diluted they still brighten up the page.