Double Page Spread Analysis

This is a double page spread for the magazine ‘Top of the Pops’. The double page spread follows the general layout conventions of a double page spread as it has a large image of the artist being interviewed and the actual interview placed around it. There is also a headline which is related to the text. This particular double page spread is mainly similar to other double page spreads for this magazine which helps maintain brand identity, though the colour

scheme is slightly darker than usual.

The title of the page is a large quote with bold quotation marks around it. It says ‘‘’I’d dress like Lady Gaga!’’’ It suggests that the article about the pop artist Leona Lewis is going to reveal a more crazy side to her which the public doesn’t usually see. This would draw the audience in as it would make them feel as though the interview is very exclusive and contains information you wouldn’t usually find about Lewis. The mode of address used is using teenage linguistic devices, for example addressing their questions as ‘silliest questions ever’ which would appeal to the target audience as that hints that the article will be entertaining to read. The font used is plain and white which contrasts against the black background and therefore makes it stand out more. The overall presentation of the title gives the article a personal touch which makes it feel as though the target audience will be asking Lewis the questions.

The images that feature on the page are of the artist being interviewed, and of people who relate to the answers she gives, for example she says that she would dress like lady gaga so there is a small image of Lady Gaga wearing an outrageous, crazy outfit next to it. This is used to entertain the target audience which would appeal to their sense of humour. The main image of Leona Lewis is of her laughing, wearing a pink sparkly dress and feminine makeup which not only works well with the pink writing across the pages but also represents her youth and femininity. The mise-en-scene for this double page spread is being arranged in an easy to read style. The text is accompanied by an image which makes it easier to read for the target audience. Each image, not including the main image, is accompanied by a speech bubble containing a humour comment which would draw the audience in as it would make it more enjoyable to look at and read.

The body copy is an interview, and contains lots of bite size amounts of text among lots of images. It is presented in quite an aesthetically interesting way in order to draw the young audience in. The artist is being presented as humorous and relatable for the age range in this article as it discuses embarrassing experiences which is frequently used in pop magazines. Pull quotes are used in the article, for example ‘’I’m sorry Queen but I’ve got to go save that pigeon’’. This quote was used as it emphasises the humorous side of Leona Lewis and entertains the audience. This humour would appeal to the target audience. Another pull quote used is ‘I’d dress like Lady Gaga!’ which has the same effects which the previous quote would have. This maintains the idea of comedy and humour used throughout to appeal to the audience.

Other text features on the double page spread are placing the questions being asked in pink puff’s above the paragraph of text, which goes with the theme of making the text more digestible for the audience due to their young age range. The mode of address is quite comical as the questions being asked are not very serious, and there are a lot of bright colours used which lightens the tone and makes it even less serious.

The layout of the double page spread is very similar in each issue which maintains the brand identity. Pink features heavily which goes with the pop genre as it is quite feminine and fun and reflects the age range and gender of the readership of the magazine. There is a lot of bold fonts used on specific words and sentences to put emphasis on their importance, for example the word ‘outrageous’. Each piece of text is placed with an image which is effective for the audience as they may find i harder to read large chucks of text.

The font which mainly appears is Calibri Body, and there is some variation of size and whether or not it is written in bold or italics. The variation in size maintains the brand identity as it puts more attention on buzz words.

Double Page Spread Analysis

This is a double page spread for the magazine ‘We Love Pop’. It follows the general conventions of a standard double page spread as there is a large image of the artist used alongside the article, there is a title to the article and the questions being asked are written in alternate colours to the replies from the artist being interviewed. Despite the fact this is a Christmas edition of the magazine, it has still managed to maintain brand identity as the title is written in a red shape and the artist is photographed on a page to themselves with no text surrounding it. This reinforces brand identity.

The title of the page is ‘Merry Christmurs!’ which is a pun linked to the artist being interviewed as he is called Ollie Murs. The title suggests that the article and artist will be amusing. It will draw the audience in as it is placed in front of a red background and this is a very eye catching colour. It will also appeal to the target audience as they are also humorous. The mode of address is informal as there is a pun used. The writing used is in a bold, white and yellow font.

The images which feature on the page are all of Ollie Murs, and they represent him in a positive, jokey light, but also as being quite masculine and in fashion. This would appeal to the target audience as they get to relate to his more funny side but also admire his style in a teenage girl way. The mise-en-scene for the images is of snowflakes which reflect the seasonal edition of the magazine for Christmas. One genre specific piece of iconography is the tinsel around his neck in one of the images. This is quite a fun, playful thing to add to the magazine and the sparkly, reflective element of tinsel goes with the genre well. There is one image on each side of the article and one next to the headline. This means that the pages are not too busy, and don’t distract from the article but work well with it. There is a text box placed in one of the images saying ‘Do you promise this is straight off the Burberry catwalk?’ which reflects his style. Also, Burberry is an English shop so this also indicates that he is from Britain. The humour used in this text box appeals to the target audience.

The body copy is an interview with a well known British pop artist which goes well with the pop genre as pop magazines usually contain interviews with artists. It is not presented as bite size amounts of text amidst lots of images but instead has images surrounding the interview. It has been presented clearly as you can obviously see which parts are the questions and which are the artist’s replies. This would make it easier for the young audience to read. The artist is being presented as

very down to earth, as he refers to himself as a ‘geezer’, and also sweet and caring as he says that he would give Rita Ora (another pop artist) ‘a nice cuddle. A pull quote used is ‘Ryan walked around naked most of the time’. This quote was used as it is entertaining to read and you learn more about other pop artists. The audience would find the information appealing and draw them in as they get to not only learn more about a famous pop artist but also about other’s who Ollie Murs is friends with. The mode of address used is quite casual and uses a lot of teen slang to relate to the target audience, so they will therefore feel like they are able to relate to and understand the magazine more.

The text boxes and speech bubbles of text are being used to make the spread more interesting, digestible and interesting to the audience as it shows the text in more bite-sized chunks and draws more attention to the more exciting, interesting pieces of text to the audience. It also helps give a better idea of the personality of the artist being interviewed as well. The text is presented in quite an organised way but also fun and exciting as the magazine has chosen some quite bold colours for the font.

The organisation of the double page spread is kept very similar in each magazine which helps maintain brand identity. There is always a large image filling up one whole page of the artist being interviewed, with the other page devoted to the interview itself, connected by a piece of text or an arrow. The layout is used to make the article more interesting as one page is used to appeal to teenage girls aesthetically by showing off the looks of the artist, and the other is used (alongside smaller images) to show the artist’s personality.

The colours which dominate the double page spread are red, yellow, black and white. These are not very feminine colours, though this particular article has been dedicated to a male celebrity. The colours black and white contrast strongly so this makes the text stand out more, and the colours yellow and red are also very bold and eye catching so overall the colours are used to make the interview stand out among the other pages. The colours suggest that the readership like to stand out from the crowd.

The font is mainly kept serif, though some parts are in italics, bold, or sans serif. The effects of the fonts used are to draw attention to certain pieces of text or to present the mood of the text, for example the parts in large bold font are more important than those in small, pain text. The fonts and typefaces used maintain brand identity as the italics is curly, and the feet on the font also makes it look slightly more fun, creative and feminine.