Examples and analysis
The
name is quite obviously an acronym and by using an acronym it allows the name
to become rather catchy and memorable to the reader. By giving the logo a
double outline with three different colours it allows the masthead to stand out
even more to the reader and by making the key colour of the type face red that
just emphasises this as obviously bright colour stick out especially when
contrasted with dark colours , in this case black. The bold / large font is used to make it look
similar to a billboard which yet again stands out and so it is rather clear
that the presentation of the masthead for NME is like most masthead designed to
stand out and this does this via its font style and colour.
Q
magazine uses the idea of a masthead doubled up as a logo as it is only one letter so it can look like a logo but is also obviously the title of the magazine, by doing this they are making the logo / masthead become more noticeable to the reader as it can become almost like a label . The colour red
features again similarly to how it features in NME and it is used for the same
purpose as well which is to stick out and become more noticeable and eye
catching to the reader who they want to buy the magazine. Q magazine being an
alternative rock magazine does cater and target the more mature older audience
member therefore the simplistic design links in with this quite well and
therefore allows it them to capture and reach their target audience very
successfully.
Kerrang’s
name is meant to be linked to the sound that an electric guitar makes when it
is strummed which straight away links to the ideas of reaching out to their
target audience which is the rock genre of music as the electric guitar is an
instrument that is commonly associated with this genre of music. The effect
that has been put on the masthead is meant to make it look as though its been
smashed which is linked to the idea of the rock n roll lifestyle that the
artists featuring in this magazine live as they are notoriously known for
smashing and breaking things at their concerts or at parties afterwards. The
use of font colour is different to the two previous magazines as it is trying
to hit a younger target audience and therefore is trying to capture the colours
that a young rock fan would be associated with which is commonly black and
white as they are rather unique and different types of people and black is a
colour commonly associated with rock music.
