The title of the article is what primarily stands out the most at first glance due to the large, 3D text in bold red writing and the 3D effect of the text coming off the page immediately grabs the reader's attention. The title itself is unique and quite vague therefore would intrigue the reader, the title is a play on the featured artist's album name 'Red' as it is a primary colour. Red is also part of the magazine's cover scheme therefore ties in nicely.
The Billboard logo above the masthead relates to the title as it features three primary colours (yellow, red, blue) and familiarises the reader with the magazines logo therefore making it more recognisable in future. These three colours are also used throughout in the magazine's theme again making it more fluent, professional and organised.
The main image denotes the featured artist and gives the reader an instant answer to who the article is about. The main image is very large and takes up an entire page as the artist's actual name is not featured in the title. For those who do not recognise Taylor Swift as they may be unfamiliar with her music, the large image gives the reader the chance to analyse the artist and get an idea of what her personality is like and what her music may sound like. The fact that she is holding an acoustic guitar indicates she is a serious musician who perhaps writes and performs her own music. The purpose of this double page spread article is to give the artist the chance to promote her album and the way the artist presents herself in the image makes her music sound more appealing through the use of direct eye contact and smiling.
A plain, grey background has been used to ensure that the contents of the page (image, title and article) contrast well and are the main focus. The image of the artist contrasts very well behind the artist and connotes that she is a young, modern artist with a fresh new sound. The fact that there is no noisy background distracting the reader from the main focus makes the overall layout of the double page spread look very professional, organised and aesthetically pleasing.
The subheading of the article gives the reader an idea of what the article will be about. They have used a play on words with the words 'palette' and 'create' going along with the previous colour theme, as though the album 'Red' is art. Formal language has also been used to highlight the importance of the article and the process of making the album.
The large T drop cap has been used to indicate the beginning of the article and is a regular convention found in most magazine articles. The captial 'T' is also relevant as it reminds the reader of Taylor Swift's initials.
The main title of the article stands out significantly due to the large bold text and pink contrasting with it. The title says "Wild Child" which will make the reader want to learn the context of this and why the featured artist is being portrayed this way. The reader may want to learn about the artists lifestyle and behaviour and therefore will want to read on.
The subheading includes an introduction to the article in captial letters and larger text to indicate that it is the subheading so that the reader does not get confused. The artist's name and their band's name has been highlighted in pink to stand out and so that the reader will be able to recognise her name when reading the article.
The bands name 'The Pretty Reckless' has been featured at the top right of the page to indicate to the reader what band the featured artist is from in case they weren't familiar already.
The colour scheme of black. pink and white has been used throughout to create a consistent theme and make the page look more professional, organised and aesthetically pleasing. In the main article, the questions asked to the artist have been featured in pink text and the answers to the questions are in white text to make it easier for the reader to identify and read without getting confused. The pink used throughout represents Taylor Momsen's (the featured artists) feminine side, however there is still a lot of black colour and the black used on the artist's clothes and makeup represents the heavy metal in her band's music and gothic style. Both contrast well with each other.
A pull quote has been featured in the bottom left corner away from the rest of the text on the page and stands out well behind the vibrant background. The word 'mistakes' has been featured in a different colour which makes the reader want to learn what her mistakes were,
A large image of the featured artist which takes up an entire page has been used again to indicate who is the main focus of the article/who the article will be about as the name is not instantly recognised. However in contrast to the last artists clothes and body language, this artist is seen with heavy, dark eye makeup and dark clothing to give off the impression that the artist is gothic and mysterious and suggests that the type of music the artist's band plays is quite heavy rock. She is again making direct eye contact with the camera to create a personal connection with the reader.
The main heading of this double page spread actually contains the artist's name unlike the previous two covers, indicating who this article/interview will be about immediately. The artist's logo has been used in big red font to stand out and look recognisable to fans or to ensure that it will be recognised again by those who have not heard of this artist before. The font of the heading looks quite urban and has been placed against a white wall to make it look like graffiti, indicating to the reader that this artist has quite an edgy look/sound.
The main image again follows the conventions of a generic double page spread article as the image takes up the majority of the left page. The image shows a mid shot of the featured artist sitting down allowing us to see her full body, similar to the first artist, however this time she has her legs out on show whereas Taylor Swift in the first article was pictured with her legs crossed wearing trousers, which may give the reader an idea of what type of music Rita Ora sings and what she is like as a person. The artist is also seen wearing a leather jacket similar to the artist on the previous cover, however this time it gives the artist a more rebellious look and fits in with the artist's street/urban look as opposed to the previous artist's mysterious and gothic look. The mis-en-scene of the double page spread ensures that the readers focus is on Rita Ora due to the fact that there isn't that much text in comparison to the size of the image. This may be due to the magazine trying to appeal to the target audience who may prefer more aspects of media as opposed to a lot of text as younger readers can become disinterested when there is too much information to read.
The artist is pictured sitting on a black floor which contrasts very well with the white text boxes featuring the interview and making it as easy to read as possible. This article has kept a strict colour scheme of white and red which avoids the magazine looking too unorganised and is a colour scheme which is seen throughout many other magazines.
Normal font has been used for the answers of the questions however the questions are written graffiti style font which further emphasises the street/urban aesthetic. Again the questions have been written in a different colour (red) and the questions in black to avoid confusion between who is talking.
To summarise:
Deconstructing these double page magazines has gave me a clear indication of what to include in my magazine to make it look as good as possible and what to avoid to ensure it does not look unprofessional. It has informed my own creative choices to make sure I stick to magazine conventions but still be creative about them. I do not want my magazine to appear too generic, I want it to stand out and look unique which will hopefully persuade the reader to purchase the next issues.
