Here I am going to review the double page spread of the music magazine Under the Radar. I have also reviewed the magazines contents page and cover page. The magazine is an indie music magazine that prints five issues a year, is distributed across North America and internationally. It therefore has a reasonable amount of content within each issue.
To start with I shall talk about the layout of the page. The fact that there is a large image situated on the left hand page and is encroaching on the right is extremely eye catching and will automatically grab the audiences attention if flicking through the magazine. It is bright and bold, it will add interest to the article and is clearly a group mid shot of the band which is featured in the article. However through doing this the page has left a lot of empty space, and could make the article feel empty. To combat this there is a range of different shapes such as rectangles dotted around the edges. This fits in with the style of the magazine making it feel indie and modern. It stops the feeling that there should be more on the page, and feels that actually it has a busy and smart look to the page. These shapes contrasting with the grainy worn look of the filter on the image, bringing the page back into the 21st century and adding a splash of bright colour to the page. Even though the image takes up the majority of the page, there still seems to be a large quantity of text within the article, helping to combat the feeling of a large amount of wasted space.
The colours and font used within the page and article are modern and the fonts are bold and sharp. The font used for the mast head of the page is the same font which the band use for their advertisement and promotion, therefore helping promote the band and promoting the feeling of independence and individuality. The majority of colours used is black and grey, however certain words or letters within the article are highlighted in a light blue font. This has been done to add colour and brightens up the overall colour of the page and also helps add a feeling of modernisation to the overall final product.
The text has been laid out in two vertical columns down the side of the page, this keeps the article easy to read and not seem such a daunting task with lots to read at once in one big block of text. A simple pull quote has also been used, which breaks up the article and helps to improve the aesthetics of the overall page.
The image used fits in well with the theme of the page, and must have been done in order to accurately represent the band and the genre and theme of their music and act. The colours are faded, with a filter clearly being added after the original shoot. The clothes and stances of the people in the shoot represent the genre and connote that they are an indie band which use guitars and have a grungy indie look.
Overall the magazine follows the usual codes and conventions of music magazine, and includes the usual features of magazine. Throughout the page , the feature has been presented in an aesthetically pleasing way, with the article appealing to the target audience.
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