Mixmag Contents Page Analysis: October Issue 2015

Contents Page:
The contents page, like the front cover, has quite a lot of negative space, this makes the page(s) look clean and formatted as every piece of text and every photo follows a convention and everything fits perfectly.

The page’s masthead is big in comparison to the rest of the text on the page. The typography on the contents page is really small, especially on the descriptions under the sub-headlines. However, on the main two images the page numbers, which are over the images, are extremely large; larger than the masthead. This grabs the reader’s attention immediately as the pictures are colourful, bright, and noisy and the huge page numbers make it easy for the reader to understand where to find the information behind the image. One interesting thing about the images is that they are not focused on an artist they are focused on the experience, for example the large image on the right hand side has a headline of ‘David Clarke at Tomorrowland’ and the contents of page 74 is about Dave Clarke however the main image on the contents page is a wide shot of the main stage at Tomorrowland, which Dave Clarke may be on but we are unsure because we can’t see the act or artist well enough to make a judgment. This again hints at the demographic of the magazine; that they are young and want to have these types of experiences.

The sub-headlines are organised into different categories to help the reader navigate around the magazine and read the parts that they are interested in. The sub-headlines are in a bold font but are quite small, the description underneath them are even smaller however the font is easy to read. This follows the house-style for Mixmag as it allows them to have lots of negative space, which makes their magazine look sophisticated and modern, which would appeal to their demographic.

The language used on the contents page is very simple and to the point, which tells us that the readers of Mixmag are likely to only read the magazine purely for enjoyment and not intellectual benefits.

Mixmag Front Cover Analysis: October Issue 2015

Front Cover:
Mixmag’s masthead is very simple, bold and readable and covers almost the whole of the top third part of the front cover. The typography is distinctive and one of the first things you notice when looking at the magazine due to the bright purple colour. From this we can tell that Mixmag is aimed at 15-25 year olds who enjoy partying and dance music but work hard to have a good income as the magazine costs £4.95 each month. The title of the magazine, ‘Mixmag’, suggests that it is aimed at everyone due to the use of the word ‘mix’ possibly short for ‘mixture’ meaning that a mixture of different people would be interested in its content, although we can clearly see that its demographic is of the younger generation because of the bright colours, bold, light-hearted font and the contents inside the magazine being about festivals and clubs.

The magazine has a puff at the very top of the front cover stating that it is “the world’s biggest dance music and club culture magazine” this gives the impression that the magazine is highly rated and has a high status. The typography of the puff is clear but small so it is noticeable but it doesn’t stick out too much.

The feature article photograph takes up the majority of the front cover. It is of a man covering most of his face with both his hands. He is wearing white, suggesting that he is pure and God-like. He has a messy but stylish haircut and looks like he is in his early twenties; which fits the demographic. It is a posed, eye-level mid shot and fits the minimalistic feel of the whole magazine. He looks determined but almost emotionless and has a mysterious feel about him intriguing a reading if they didn’t know who he is.

The front cover contains multiple plugs however, they are unconventional as they are in a really small font and they don’t really stand out unlike most other plugs on other magazines.

Evaluation of my School Magazine

Student Magazine Evaluation from EmmaCrystall

Portrait Workshop

I used one soft-box light to the left of my model here so that she was well lit and so that you could clearly see her face. This also made the background slightly dark contrasting with the lighting on my model.

I also took inspiration from the internet.

Here is what I took from the photo. I lit her from the left so that her right side was dark.