Magazines

Mojo and Big Cheese

Front pageThe focus of the magazine is Classic music, including punk, rock and Ska genres

Mojo magazines initial publishing company was Emap, but since January 2008 Bauer has taken over

The editors name of Mojo magazine is Phil Alexander

The frequency of the publication is monthly and the date of the first publication was 15th October 1993

The price of the magazine is £4.60 and you also have the chance to subscribe

The distribution of the magazine is mainly from people subscribing for it in common stores like WHSmith, and newsagents as well as being supplied in certain supermarkets and magazine stores

The headline of the magazine is written in big bold text which makes it stand out more. The use of black font colour allows it to fit in with the gold, white and black theme

The Picture on the front cover is of Robert Plant out of Led Zeplin

The cover lines relate to the photos on the front cover, being of Robert Plant, the cover line promotes an ‘exclusive interview’

The cover lines are in the same font but different sizes and colours to make it more interesting and to fit with the theme of the magazine

The magazine gives away a ‘free CD’ which convinces the reader to buy it

The pictures are used to give you a clue as to what is included in the magazine and appeal to people who are interested in the genre

The bar code is placed on the bottom right hand side

• Aspects I will use from this magazine is the photo styles, I like them because they are different and they keep the reader interested, the way that they are in black and white then in colour is a good way to keep contrast flowing throughout the magazine itself.

• I also like the way that the cover lines on the front cover are around the image instead of over it, this is good because we get the full effect of the cover photo and we are able to thoroughly read the cover lines with no struggle. I will do this on my front cover because I want the main image to stand out. Although I don’t like the way that the album cover is taking up the bottom corner, I don’t like this because it looks as though it has just been placed there with no intention of fitting in with the theme.

Front cover

Contents pageThe headline of this page is yet again ‘Mojo’ which is the same font as the front cover, this will be the same in every issue as their own font

The colour of the background is pretty dull but yet fits well with the colour of the fonts being red and black

The style of the contents page is simple and interesting

The image used is relavent for the contents page as it has a quote next to it from that person ‘Alice Cooper’ and then tells you what page to find the rest on

The contents is still promoting what is in the magazine by adding photos and quotes in appropriate places

I like the colours red and black as they seem to blend in with the genre of the magazine being rock, punk and metal

I find the numbers of the pages are slightly confusing and may not be the best layout to use for my own magazine

The dates and issue are included on this page too

• I like the image on the contents page it really fits in with the theme of colours and the keeps the interest of the readers.

• The layout of the contents page is very well presented, it is easy to read and the colours fit in. I think I will use something like this layout in my final contents page because it is easy to navigate but still looks effective because of the size and boldness of the text as well as colour.

• The way that the header and the contents pages are split up is a good way or separating the page with the date and the issue number in-between, I think I may use something like this in my magazine because it looks professional.

Contents

2 page spread The headline of this page is bold but is a gradual colour from orange to white to show something which may include change

The images used are the Artic Monkeys and the Bascals. This shows us what we are going to read about

The brick background brings out effect for the page and makes the photography that is being used more eye catching and interesting for the reader

The colour of the font that is used throughout the page is mainly white, this stands out on the dark background

The way that the photos are in black and white and the text is in white and orange makes the whole 2 page spread more effective than lots of over riding colour

Double page spread• The colours work nicely with the black and white background/images. The images are simple

and keep a balance throughout this page by being in the same place on both sides, In my magazine I only want photos on one page but I may consider this type of imagery but the only reason I wouldn't do this is because it is featuring one person, therefore it may not look right with different images of the same person either side of the page.

• The colour in the title of the page works really well and I like the gradual colouring because it created tone and interest in the magazine. It works well with the white in the images and background.

• I like the way that the text is centred and the size of the text is small but readable, this make the whole page work together, better than if the text was later. Being a white colour it also stands out. I want my text to stand out on my double page spread so I will be careful of the background colours that I use.

Front pageThe focus of the magazine is punk, metal and rock music as well as bands and reviews

Big Cheese’ magazines initial publishers of this magazine are IPC and Bauer

The editors name of Big Cheese magazine is Jim Sharples

The frequency of the publication is monthly and was first published in 1996

The price of the magazine is £4.99 and you also have the chance to subscribe

The distribution of the magazine is mainly from shops such as supermarkets WHSmith, Esso garages and independent news agents as well as online

The headline of the magazine is written in big bold text which makes it stand out more. The use of red and black font is a common style of their magazine

The Picture on the front cover represents the style of magazine and the main band being ‘THE KING BLUES’

The cover lines relate to what is going to be inside the magazine, such as listing the bands that are going to be included

The cover lines are in different fonts to show variety and in 2 different colours being white and red to stand out on the dark backgroud as well as matching the theme

They promote Ska with ‘WORLD HISTORY’ which helps me with research for my own magazine

The bar code and the price are in the bottom right hand corner

• Aspects I will use from this magazine is the bright colouring, this has inspired me not to be afraid with putting colours together. The things I wouldn't use off this page is the amount of different fonts and font sizes, I don’t like this because it makes it look too scruffy and unneat. The images are relevant to the magazine, therefore I will put relevant images into mine that reflect the magazine that I am creating.

• The header is too hidden by the main photos in my opinion, I want my title to stand out as well as the image with out taking up too much room.

• I do like the way that they have all the main important things slightly bigger than the rest, this shows the readers what they have got to offer throughout the magazine, this is something that I will take into consideration throughout my magazine.

Front cover

Contents pageThe headline of this page is ‘KINGSIZE’ it s in bold writing which stands out on the white background

The colour of the background is white but is mostly covered in pictures of artists that you can find within the magazine and have numbers for what pages you can find them on

The style of the contents page is simple and basic and the page numbers are easy to read and understand

The colour red is used again to carry on a theme from the front cover, this promotes theme through out the magazine

The contents is still promoting what is in the magazine by adding photos and quotes in appropriate places

I like the colours red and black as they seem to blend in with the theme and genre of the magazine being rock, punk and metal

As well as writing what is available on what page, they include a brief description for certain pages which is helpful for first time buyers or whoever is interested

• I really like the way that the images represent the pages on the contents instead of written words, this is something that I may consider Although it may not be appropriate navigation of all readers.

• I’m not too keen on the way that the contents fonts are laid out, this is because they are different sizes and the odd one has more detail, I think that each one needs to be the same and needs to replicate a contents page being simple and easy to read, instead of different tin each one.

Contents

2 page spread The headline of this page is bold with a white outline but is small, maybe so that it draws in our attention

The images used are 30 Seconds to Mars, this shows us that this is what we are going to be reading an article about, the way the y are posed makes us more interested

The background of the page slowly fades to black so that the writing and articles can be seen and read better, I think that this is a good idea for my 2 page spread in my magazine to create effect

The colour of the font that is used throughout the page is mainly white, this stands out on the dark background

The way that the photos are in colour but the background is orange and red whilst they are mainly in black and white makes it seem dark and mysterious

‘Stay beautiful’ is in red maybe as a sign of danger or warning

Double page spread• The colours used in this double page spread work really well, they replicate the band and the

image works really well. The way that the colours turn to black so that the writing is readable is a really good idea, I want to make sure that my reading is readable in all cases. I don’t think I would use a complicated background like this as my images are not going to be as simple as this one.

• The way that they have words in big red bold writing at the bottom of the page from the band is inspiring, therefore I may include a quote that ‘Seamo’ my feature artist has said to encourage the readers.