Rolling stones layout analysis

The layout of this magazine is very simple and allows the reader to know what music will be talked about in the magazine straight away. With it being a very simple design only the text that has to be on the cover is on it. Only the features, masthead, one small plug and a barcode are on the cover. This creates a minimalist and professional look to the cover. Due to the minimalist look everything that is on the cover now stands out even more meaning that there are less colours used and editing done to help attract more users.

 The use of features all on one side of the page enables readers to read easily what is in the magazine and also what the main article is.  As all of the features are on one side of the page it makes loads of room to show the photo without covering it up. Doing this not only means that the features will be in one place but also makes the picture a lot more evident. With the picture being one of the main ways a magazine attracts new customers having the features out of the way of the picture means fans of the artist or that genre of music  will instantly be interested in that article.

 As all of the features are on the left hand side naturally for the majority of people this makes it easier to read. As most of the western world (where the magazine is targeted) read from left to right, having the text on the left side makes it not only easier to read for the readers but also makes them stand out a lot more.

With the features being one of the main parts of the magazine how they are presented is one of the most important.The size of the writing on the features not only creates a change to the magazine but also creates a slight hierarchy in the features. The most important ones are printed in the biggest text size with their own straplines in a much smaller size. With the hierarchy in text size showing what the most important article is they use the side of the magazine to show this too. The features are all down one side with the most important ones at the top next to the masthead (where it stands out the most). Although there is a hierarchy in these features the use of features is to attract new customers in the target audience of the magazine. The features on the cover of the magazine are put on the cover because they are bands/ topics that the editor thinks the target audience of the magazine will feel are most important. For example they wouldn’t put an off topic girls band in this magazine front cover because they don’t appeal to the main target audience that the magazine is aimed at.

The font on the cover of the magazine is basically the same throughout the cover. The font used on the masthead is the exact same on the features and strap lines. Doing this makes the magazine look more professional and also gives the text a different look compared to the standard “san serif” text.  The font itself gives the reader a feel of importance in that particular article and with it being a bold font again makes it stand out even more.

The picture itself gives the idea to the reader that it is barley edited. As the artist Lil Wayne is covered in tattoos it means the picture isn’t as dull as other pictures in medium close up.  The fact he isn’t looking near the camera creates an idea that there is a meaning for doing so.

The masthead is the most important part of the magazine and how its presented helps present the whole magazine. With it being printed across the whole width of the page it doesn’t have to show the whole name. This is because the magazine is so well known that knowing it is a magazine and the first word is rolling, almost everyone is bound to know what the magazine is and what it will be about.  With the layout of the magazine being so simple having the masthead written across the whole page emphasises that it is such a big magazine.