Format Research Magazine 1 - NME

For my first format research i have looked at NME magazine. For starters i started by looking at the NME front cover and this is what i analysed from it:

Most of the information on the front cover is to do with the Band “Franz Ferdinand” and the free CD that is by them. The main image of NME magazine is a large image of the band “Franz Ferdinand” that is mentioned throughout the whole of the front cover. It is bold and covers all of the front cover as it is the main story that is being portrayed on the front of the magazine cover. The main image is the only image that is on the front cover, this presents the importance of the band as they are the only picture on the front cover they must be the main article in the magazine. All the text that is around the image is also to do with the band this shows that they are trying to promote there article inside and the Free CD that come with the magazine.

The Colour scheme for NME is red, white and yellow. The Red is there house style this is used for there masthead and any other important writing, the red is part of the brand and will be used throughout the whole of the magazine and every issue that NME produce. They then have a dirty white background with some white and some yellow writing, the colours that are used for the writing stand out on the front over and contrast well with the red. It is effective that they have more than one colour to write with because it makes it look more interesting to the eye.

The price of the magazine is located by the masthead, it is very small and out of the way. It is good that it is out of the way and small as it means that it doesn't distract you and get in the way of any of the other text or images that is on the front cover. But the writing is so small that it is hard to find and people with poor eye sight would not be able to see it that easily.            

I then went on to look at the Contents page of the magazine:                                      

The NME magazine contents page still talks out the USP which is the free CD by “Franz Ferdinand” this is so that the person who purchased the magazine would get to know a tiny bit more information on the USP before they read the article.

The contents page also has a text box which talks about subscribing to NME magazine. This includes the red house style this will attract attention as it is bright and it is also part of the colour scheme. It is also there to advertise subscribing for there magazine so by using bright colours it will attract the viewers attention.   

After looking at the contents page i then went on to looking at the double page spread:

The text that the magazine has used is a small serif font so it looks quite formal, it is a small font so that they can fit enough on the page and so that it doesn’t get boring with massive writing as you would finish reading it very quickly. At the start of each paragraph they have put the first letter bold and in the colour blue this is so that there is a contrast between colours and also so they show the start of a new paragraph that the viewers don’t think that they can there isn’t breaks in the text.

                                                                                    

The article also has a quote in the middle of the text, this quote is bold and is in a San-serif font, this stands out to the reader as it is in the middle of the text so it one of the first things you see when you look at the text. The quote also gives you a bit of an insight as to what’s written in the text this will catch the peoples attention the viewer will want to know a little bit more as to what’s inside.

I would say that the magazine article is informal this is all because the genre and they way that everything the layout is set up it looks like it attracts a younger audience so the article would have to look more informal that formal. This is because there is a big image and images attract younger audiences and also some of the masthead is jagged so the text is also informal and it looks “cool” this would also appeal to a younger audience as it is more edgy and really stands out. There is a contrast in informal and formal fonts that has been used in the text and the use of lexis isn't that big and complicated so this make the article look like it is for a younger audience such as a teenager so it would be seen as informal. The magazine has also used direct address to engage the reader in there article by using the words like “you” this also suggest that it is informal and for a younger reader as it is talking directly to you rather than telling you about something.