Magazine Research

My next step is to create the double-page spread. In preparation for this, I have looked at the various layouts of different types of magazines.

My first example is from the Kerrang magazine; very relevant, seeing as this is also a music magazine:

To the left is a double-page spread on My Chemical Romance from an issue of Kerrang. The first page is completely taken up by a picture of the lead singer of the band. This is an effective method of attracting readers to the article if they are just flicking through it. They will look at the guy and think they recognise him, of think he looks interesting, and will read on. The colour scheme is very basic; a black, white and red. Additionally, all the photos are also black and white. There is a certain art to laying out an article, and this is done effectively. There is not much text on the opening of the article, and this is the very think that will draw the reader in. Once they get immersed, they may continue to finish reading on the following pages. The key to it is making people want to read it, and this is done through the composition of pictures, paragraphs, titles and other items to generate the required response from someone just glimpsing the page. On the right of the page is a small information box. It is separate from the rest of the article, but it is relevant, as you can see. This is a clever way of including more information in a page without it seeming like too much at a glance. Statistics do, in fact, show that the average reader will only take the time to read something that doesn't look like an essay. This fact will come in handy when I go about creating mine. Another point about this page, is that it shows personal opinions of the band in conversation. Readers may generally be interested in things like this, so this adds to the attraction effect, amplified by the tactical and strategic placement of the items on the page to provoke a response.

To the right, we have a picture of a double page spread from a review of Clash of the Titans in the Empire magazine. Again, the whole of the page on the left is taken up by a full-body view of the main person involved. In this case, it's Sam Worthington dressed as his character Perseus. The main title is a catchy idea of what the article is about, and it is in big, fancy letters, coloured gold to match the colour scheme of the film and the rest of the page. There is not much text to begin with: a technique used before in the Kerrang article. There is a smaller picture at the bottom, crossing over to both sides of the page. It has a caption, and this is meant to draw the reader in further and get them interested in seeing and readin more about this film. The background on the left is dark, in contrast to the white patterns of the background to the right. Contrast is a clever method in attracting the eye, with white and black being opposite. Above the word 'Monsters' there is another short summary of the article in bold and italic. This will, again, attract the attention of the reader. The layout of the page is interesting, with a massive gap from the top before the article actually starts. This is a stylish way of setting it out, and it is a method I may consider when making my own double-page spread.