Front Cover Analysis

This is a Kerrang! Front cover featuring All Time Low as the main article.

On this cover, there is one main image with 3 smaller ones placed on the bottom horizontal third of the page. The image is set up so the faces dominate any objects around them (the title) and their bodies are partly covered up by the titles of different articles and the smaller pictures. The colours from the pictures are quite neutral colours, dominated by the bright yellow writing, which draws your attention to the band name that is displayed on the front cover. Some of the fonts lower down on the page compliment the background colour and some of the clothing wore by the band. The smaller images also fit with the bigger image due to the colours used inside the pictures.

When closely looking at the fonts, there are three distinct types used. The font used for the words 'All Time Low', the banner right at the top of the page and the titles of articles in the bottom third of the page are using serif fonts. The other font that is used on this page are sans serif, and give the magazine more of a casual look as it is meant to symbolise handwriting. All of the titles are put in a much larger font compared to everything else and in a different style, which makes them stand out more. All of the sans serif fonts are similar sizes and used as titles for different articles. The cover is very consistent and only uses three different colours. In order for some to show up, they have put a black box behind them to make them also stand out more.

Altogether, only 4 images are used on this front cover in a variety of sizes. The biggest one covers the whole page, whereas the three smaller images take up most of the room on the bottom horizontal third. The effect this gives the cover is that there is so much information inside the magazine it looks like they tried to cram it all on the cover. This is more of an organised mess look which is a common convention found on rock magazine. It is hard to tell if many Photoshop effects have been used, apart from one involving layers which means the heads of the band can go above the title itself. My opinion on this magazine is that it is very well constructed but personally I find it a little too crowded. If I was to improve it, I would have moved some of the titles from the side of the page and moved them onto the bottom so it also looks neater.

This is a Rock Sound front cover featuring Lostprophets as the main article.

On this cover, only one big image is used, with two tiny ones in the bottom right hand corner next to the bar-code. They set up in a very neat and organised manner, leaving the centre of the page to be filled with the main central image. The band in the photo are all put into the background at the same level, so show they are all equal, with the main icon of the group in the foreground, so people at a glance would be able to identify the band easily without having to read the titles or anything. The colours used are quite neutral colours which compliment each other well. The little images, however, are bright and slightly more eye-catching compared to the main image. There is no particular colour scheme because each image shown contrasts against each other.

This magazine cover uses several different front styles on the cover, not keeping a very consistent theme going. The title of the magazine is similar to the title 'Lostprophets' as it is both using a serif font and using the same colour show they are the most important titles on the page. The colours have been kept consistent to four main colours, which all go well with the background behind the main image because it is a gradient grey background. The font styles seem to fit with the font size and I have spotted 4 different font styles used. This gives the cover more of a variety of styles combined together. The text is laid out so it is mainly found in the far thirds of the page. No texts overlaps each other and it is kept very neat and organised.

Apart from the main image and title, the rest of the images and texts have been set up in an organised way. The texts are set up into columns on each side of the page, which means you can see the picture of the band more clearly. It looks less cluttered than the Kerrang! Magazine. My opinion of this magazine is that it is clearly set out; however it doesn't have the same eye-catching affect some other types of rock magazines have. It is clear this is set for an audience who prefer to read the articles and would get the magazine for the people on the cover rather than much of the contents inside. To improve it, I would have added a couple more images to draw more attention to other parts of the magazine mentioned.

This is a Kerrang! Front cover featuring You Me At Six as the main article.

On this cover, a main image is used as well as four little ones. The little ones are found in the bottom third of the magazine, 3 of which overlap, still showing what the image is but also making the page look buys and jam packed. The red border around them helps them to stand out from each other but still work well together. The main image has the lead singer in the foreground and at the centre of the page making him stand out a little more, catching people’s eyes as they glance at the magazine and recognise the band shown. The colours they are wearing are dark, which makes the text on the page show up better because they are in a lighter colour. The three little image grouped together are different because of the backgrounds they use because two use a light colour whereas the other one is darker than the other two.

About 3 or different fonts are used on this page in a few ways. The ‘Kerrang!’ logo is cut up, making it look like it’s slightly broken up, but it is hidden behind the band’s head. The words ‘You Me At Six’ are in a clear serif font in white, making them stand out against the dark clothes the band are wearing. The purpose of having a bold simple font as the title makes it stand out against the other parts of the page and it draws your attention to it. The rest of the fonts on the page are slightly softer in their appearance, making them look less harsh. This page doesn’t follow the conventions some other magazines follow because they use more than three colours and use five colours instead. This gives the page more colour and variety on it.

Some of the colours on the page are used to make borders around certain sections of the cover, making certain parts stand out on each part of the page. This also means that not everything would blend into the background and make each part look different because they are about different things. A Photoshop aspect that has been used is that the little images together are on a slight slant to each other so they overlap and still show most of the image. They would have created through the free transform capability.

My opinion of this is that it is very well organised, it doesn’t look too overcrowded and has all of the necessary information required. It is clear this is designed for the music lovers who would like to be updated on their favourite bands.

This is a Rock Sound cover featuring Paramore as the main article.

On the cover, there is the usual main big image taking up most of the space of the magazine and then two little ones located in the bottom right corner of the page. The little pictures overlap each other, making them look as if to stay on the busy page they have to overlap in a small space. The main picture is set up with the lead singer being the main attraction in the foreground, the band are more spaced out away from her, making her seem more important compared to the rest of the band because none of her is cut out of the picture whereas some of the band have been cut out from the cover. The colours on the pictures are all bright and compliment each other.

On this page, there are around 3 to 4 different fonts used. The word ‘Paramore’ uses an affect that you would find when watching a 3D film, making it stand out more compared to the rest of the words in the page. The writing used in the bottom third of the magazine looks rough and like a scrawled handwriting. It looks rushed and squished together but using the two different colours shows where one band ends and another band name begins. Apart from the effect around the title ‘Paramore’, the magazine only uses 3 different font colours. The black font colour is only found at the top of the magazine, whereas the yellow and white is a constant theme through the page.

The layout has the main image in the centre of the page, with the texts mainly surrounding them. It acts like a border around the picture. The top of the page is organised and neatly set out, whereas if you go further, the text and images are on a slant (most likely to have been created in Photoshop using the free transform tool) fitting in around the bottom of the image. It gives this the effect that it has a lot of information too much for just the cover itself.

My opinion of this is that it looks too full of information. If I was to change this, I would have put less writing on or move some of the items around a little more. It is clear this is created for music crazy fans that want a lot of information.

  This is a Kerrang! Front cover featuring one of the 9 members from Slipknot.

This front cover is a lot more simple than the others I have analysed because it only uses one image, which is the main one. This is a pretty extreme close-up used so the face & mask take up most of the page. It is set up so that the most eye-catching important part of the page. Having no little images around the main one drags your attention to the centre of the page rather than anything else around it. The colour used fits in with the scheme of the font colours as well.

Following the traditional codes and conventions that are usually associated with Kerrang! Magazine in particular, the cover only uses four different colours to create the desired effect. Three different fonts are used in different ways. The title of which band is on the cover is actually using the band's logo (known and recognised by fans of Slipknot everywhere.) The caption under the name 'Slipknot' is a sans serif font, which is the same as the words 'Free Posters'. These are similar sizes and fits in with the theme of rough looking, which compliments the band on the cover.

There is no text in the centre third of the page, meaning that the picture is the main element. All of the text is only found at the top and bottom of the page. No effects have been used on this one as it looks a lot simpler and neater compared to any other magazines I have analysed.

My opinion of this is that it uses simplicity well and doesn't look crowded. However, it is not as eye-catching as some of the other magazines have been, making it a little boring in a way. It isn't as clear who the target audience is this time.