Music Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis: Q

My final piece for my music magazine requires an analysis of a double page spread so that the style of the product is coherent with that of conventional magazines. Below is a magazine produced by the popular music journal: "Q". The article features an interview with Shawn Carter, who is most commonly known as Jay Z, the appearance is simplistic yet still appealing to the eye, which is why I chose to de-construct this particular issue.

Masthead: Unlike most articles there is no masthead; this is unusual yet not totally ineffective. Whilst you could class the "J" on the right page as a form of title; or the the small title at the top of the right page: there isn't anything to draw the reader's eye in terms of information that gives an insight to the audience. Personally, I like the use of the "J" as it can imply that the artist is well known and that the letter alone would represent him. Whilst this may contradict the whole idea of it, as "J" could be anybody, Jay Z would be one of the first celebrities let alone musicians who would come to mind. Whereas the title above the article could also replace the main masthead, it's small, discrete but still maintaining some form of attraction. Centered in the top section of the page, it allows the reader to have an understanding of his fame, success and what they are about to read. Even though the information is limited, due to his status he is globally recognisable regardless of whether or not an individual listens to his music.

Main Image: The close-up photograph of Carter relates to how the article is enabling the reader to learn more about him, it's as though there will be some familiarity in the sense that the audience knows him. With the use of red and blue lighting the theme still flows well, as red is Q's trademark the use of the coloured lighting shows some form of representation for the brand. As a hip hop artist the relevance of the sunglasses, short hair and necklace is quite significant; having being used throughout the industry with many artists it becomes a connotation and immediately recognisable.

Article: Personally I really enjoy the contradiction between the two pages; one is loud, vibrant and eye-catching, whilst the other is simplistic but still interesting. Due to the left page being so bright its important that the other is minimalistic and doesn't try to compete with the other's appearance. Black text on a white background is typical of any magazine simply because it doesn't need to stand out, the previous page already does this.

Opinion

Overall, this double page spread was styled to relate to Q's trademark, whilst this means that I can't really take much from it as it wouldn't be at all unique there are things that I can be inspired by. For my double page spread I have decided to utilise two photos as backgrounds (one on each page) but will use simple colours to draw attention to the article, which is somewhat similar to this example. I have also chosen to use a close-up of the artist on the first page, because it allows the reader to feel as they can relate to them by finding out about who they are.