1st Double Page Spread Analysis: NME 26/2/16

After previously analysing a front cover and contents page of an NME magazine, it is clear to see that this particular music magazine has a very strong brand identity that is followed throughout the entirety of the magazine. There are multiple conventions that this double page spread follows to which I shall be exploring. 

With regards to the layout of this page, I believe it is very effective in the way that the picture has been given its own page. By doing this, the reader is immediately drawn to the image as it is not only the main focus because of its size but also the styling of the shot. The image is a close up of Graham Coxon wearing his notorious thick-framed glasses along with his classic short fringe, stubble and relaxed outfit. His facial expression is very negative and moody which link to the information in the header on the other page. Additionally, his eyes seem to draw in the reader as the bold fames enhance his dark eyes and add a sense of mystery.

The header on the right hand side of the double page spread is extremely large and takes up over half of the page. The font is very striking and the variation in the colours used and the size of the lettering makes the page more exciting and creative. The words have been separated into either black or grey, this has been done because the colour black stands out on the white background more than the grey writing. The singer is represented as quite inappropriate and perhaps more appealing to the older generation as the language used is fairly unsuitable for younger audiences e.g.‘orgies, vomiting, vicodin’.

As the house colour for the majority of NME magazines is red, the outfit worn by Graham contains this colour to perhaps relate to the magazine as red is the only bright colour on the page. In addition, the magazine logo/name is placed in red at the bottom of the right page, to further enhance the identity of the magazine brand and follow the house style through onto the rest of the pages. 

There is a fairly large amount of writing placed on the double page spread below the header. I believe this reveals the target audience as younger readers would be less attracted to a story if there is a lot of writing. On the other hand, I believe that the amount and style of writing is aimed at older generations as younger people would perhaps prefer a short interview piece.  Moreover, the drop capital 'G' about half way through the story helps to split up the writing and adds more excitement to the lower half of the page.

For my own double page spread, I would like to follow some of the conventions this one follows. Firstly, I would like to include one main image as I believe this looks very effective and is extremely eye-catching. I will also use bold and striking fonts in order to make my header stand out. I particularly like how they have used a quote on the page as I believe it makes it more personal so I would like to include one on my own. Finally, I would like to incorporate a drop capital into my work as I think this is an effective and stylish way to break up text and make it appear less cluttered.