KERRANG DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ANALYSIS

Colour

The core colours used on this page are black, white and red. These colours appear to have been used on this particular double page spread as they are often used when trying to dramatise an important piece of information. KERRANG has used these loud, powerful colours here to emphasise the importance of the story. Much of the page is in black and white - including the images - with only a few key aspects, such as the main heading, highlighted in red. This black and white theme makes the page look classy, as well as helping the areas in red to stand out to the reader as being of more importance.

Design

The images cover roughly 2 thirds of the double page, whilst the rest of the page consists of a black background covered in text. The images each have a small black box on them containing a humorous caption relating to that particular image. These witty comments will relate to KERRANG's young target audience. There is a small, tab-like box in the up left-hand corner that contains the word 'NEWS' in bright red font. This gives the impression that the story is current and important. The title is in huge font and covers a vast amount of the left side of the double page, as well as overlapping slightly with the main image. The words 'HUNGER' and 'BACK!' in particular stand out, as they are in very large, bold capital letters. The main text is mounted on what appears to be torn out notepad pages. I really like this design feature as it separates the text from the rest of the page in a clear and unique way.

Images

There are 3 images on this double page spread, all in black and white. Using black and white images not only makes the page look classy, but also helps the red parts of the title to stand out in contrast. All 3 photos seem to have some sort of musical theme, which reinforces the magazine's focus on music. The main image spreads across a large section of the page and includes all of the band members. The band in the photo are quite young and are dressed in casual clothing, which makes them look like ordinary people and not at all intimidating like famous musicians can sometimes look. This will appeal to KERRANG's target audience as they will probably be able to more easily relate to people who don't look too different from themselves. The image is not at all serious, the band members look as though they are joking around with one another which suggest the article is going to be enjoyable to read and probably humorous. Below the main image are 2 other, much smaller photographs. In one of these photos, one of the band members looks as though he is screaming into a microphone, whilst in the other image another band member is playing a guitar. This helps to again remind the reader that the article, as well as the magazine as a whole, is about music.

How are words used on the cover?

The title is in huge, bold red and white font, and is positioned on the left side of the double page. The words 'HUNGER' and 'BACK!' in particular, stand out significantly, suggesting what the article is about, without giving away too much. This catches the reader's eye, enticing them in to read the article. Another phrase that really catches the eye is, 'BIGGEST YEAR YET...', in white font, highlighted in red. This is a section of the statement that follows the title. This choice of words makes the article sound more exciting, leading the reader to believe that what they are about to read is going to be amazing. The use of capital letters for these 3 words only, also helps to dramatise it. The main text is all arranged on 3 scruffy looking notepad pages. This fits in well with the ordinary, laid back impression that you get from the images on the page.

Language

The language used is all quite enthusiastic and dramatic, helping the reader to feel excited about what they are reading. This will appeal to the mainly young target audience who probably don't want to be reading an article that has been written in a serious manor, as many young readers are likely to find that boring. Also, the actual amount of text on the page is very little, which again suits the younger members of the target audience, as it gives the impression that the article is going to be short and to the point, instead of dragging on over several pages.
The title is in speech marks, and looks as though the band are talking directly to the reader on a personal level, helping to address the reader by making them feel involved. Also, the use of capital letters gives a loud impression, resembling the genre of music that KERRANG focuses on.

Overall Impression

Overall, this double page spread is well suited to the target audience KERRANG is aimed at. The magazine is not as high-class and serious as some other music magazines, instead it is more of a fun and easy read. This is clearly shown through the use of a large title and mutiple images, together with little text. The humorous nature of the images and the enthusiastic style of language give the double page an element of fun, which will appeal to the relatively young, wacky target audience.