NME Analysis

Colour on the front cover

Grey, red and white are the main colours on NME magazine. Grey is the background and the colour of David Bowies suit. This gives the magazine a serious look showing that the magazine is of a fairly formal magazine genre. The red NME and David Bowie is bright against the dark background and as it is on the third left it would be visible from a distance when stacked on a shelf. The text underlined in red below David Bowie relates to the David Bowie article so the matching colours show they are together. This also works with the red text The new NME below the magazine masthead. The white text against the red gives the magazine less of a gothic look as the magazine is of a general music genre, not specifically rock. The other articles shown on the cover are the colour of the paper planes in the main image which separates them from the David Bowie article.

Colour on the contents page

In the contents the black, red and white has been continued The magazine logo is next to the title and the articles (25 new bands 20 essential tracks) sharing the logos red are specifically relating to new music as the magazine is mainly about new music. The articles highlighted in black makes them show off as big and important, asking questions that make the reader want to find out the answer (HOW HAS MIA RESPONDED TO BEING SUED BY THE NFL?) and the smaller text in black has the article titles in bigger black font so they stand out article titles but not as important as the articles with bigger fonts. Bigger features that are not as important but are not regular so would be of some interest are in a smaller font but red text which highlights them as something to pay attention to.

Colour on the double page spread

On the page 51 double spread the main colours are grey as it shares the colour of Bowies suit on the cover and white because it shows up clearly against the grey. Grey and white are also used to create a minimalistic effect but also to draw attention to the little colour on the page, the colours underlining the masthead. They underline words that describe the articles content so would tell the reader what theyll find in the article without having to read it, and they are also the colours of the paper birds Bowie was throwing on the front cover so show that this was the article advertised on the cover.

Images on the cover

The only image on the cover is David Bowie this shows he and the article are big and rare news. The image focuses on his face and then loses focus on his hands and the paper birds he was throwing which shows the reader that they should be looking at his face and recognising him. Also as the magazine doesnt need many pictures to advertise its articles it shows the magazine is established and known for being quality rather than having to convince a reader to buy it.

Images in the contents

In the contents there are more pictures so the reader can see if a musician they are interested in is featured without having to read through all the text. The image of MIA shows just her face with a confident, and when seen with the text it gives the impression there is probably drama. The features column has a picture of the main David Bowie feature so would alert that this is where the reader would find the main cover article and that the other features mentioned are probably of the same sort of article.

Images in the double page

The only image on the double paged spread is a picture of David Bowie taking up the entire page. He has a serious look which could show he is serious about his music career, and because he is not using direct gaze it is like he not looking towards the reader but instead looking into the distance at the future of his career. The drawing in front of his face shows that David Bowie is quite an artsy and quirky musician so shows a reader whether this would a music genre they would be interested in reading.

Design on the cover

Keeping the title and all articles but one gives a third left so the reader can see what is featured in the magazine without having to specifically pick it up. The magazine has a minimalistic look showing it doesnt need to advertise itself as readers would know it has quality articles and the modern type font shows that although an older man is on the front cover, the magazine does cover modern music. David Bowie is covering David Bowies arm which shows the reader that the image is of David Bowie.

Design in the contents

The magazine contents page covers three columns as the first of these is dedicated mostly to text and articles, the second is for images and the third is for new music the reader can easily read the page and see that the articles in each separate column relate to each other. Along the bottom of the page is the editors or CONTRIBUTORS message and advertisement because a reader would most likely not be interested in them so they can be put along the bottom in an unnoticeable position.

Design in the double page

Dedicating an entire page to a picture of Bowie makes it very clear he is what the article is written about and his is an important man to use an entire page on without any text. The large text shows the page title and the type of article without having to read the entire text. Below the text is smaller, giving more information the title to further give the reader information to decide if they were interested and below in the smallest text is the article itself, in smallest text because it has the most information. To the side of the page is the page number so it can easily be identified when flicking through the magazine and along the bottom is the name of the magazine so a reader would remember where they saw the article.

Language on the cover

David Bowie being the largest text aside from the masthead shows he is the main feature of the magazine and the main image. Hes back again! makes the article sound exciting, particularly with the exclamation mark which induces excitement. The word exclusive on the article in the bottom left corner is in a different colour making a reader notice that the magazine has something not available to others. The box beneath the NME masthead uses a censored swear which gives the magazine a young and casual look which contrast with the formal look of David Bowie.

Language in the contents

The 20 tracks to hear on the right side of the contents page are described as essential which would make the reader feel like it is important they read it. The advert on the bottom on the right hand side is had **SPECIAL** meaning it is likely a limited offer which would convince the reader to buy a subscription while they can get it cheaper. When describing Jungle Band it uses hype and mystery. It would make the reader wonder why the two extreme emotions would be produced by the band and so they would want to read the article to find out. The captions below the magazine titles use odd language such as its got something to do with Elvis and it involves a middle finger, obviously which makes a reader want to read it for context.

Language in the double page

Saying that David Bowie is The Past, Present and Future of Music makes it sound like he dominated the music scene before and so the reader would want to find out what is to be expected from the future of music. It also describes him as Pops greatest chameleon and like no other artist on earth which would make a reader curious to find out what makes him so special.