A double page spread of a feature on Jay Z in Q magazine from October 2010. The main body of the text is on the right of the spread, with the main image on the left.
The target audience for Q is quite mature. Mainly people of the age 30+. This is shown through the magazine via the simplicity of the layout of the magazine and the amount of writing used. If the target audience was younger there would be less text.
‘J’ The letter ‘J’ has been used as a background behind the body of text in the article. It’s in a bold, bright red serif fonts to stand out front the rest of the text used on the page. The colour red is also the conventional colour for ‘Q’ as a magazine. The letter ‘J’ has been used as that is one of the artists initials. This conventions typical for ‘Q’ magazine. Initials of the artists are often used in the backgrounds of the interviews.
Main imageThe main image is of the main feature of the double page spread, Jay Z. it is a head shot of the artist with what would be direct eye contact had it not been for the sunglasses worn. Jay Z wears a stern expression which gives a dangerous feel. The use of sunglasses closes him of from the audience which adds to the feel. The image is quite natural and holed a plain background, however studio lights have created the red/blue lighting effect. The image has been placed on the left of article and is take up the whole page showing he is important enough for his own page.
Drop cap- these have been used twice throughout the text to suggest different topic changes. They are in black to stand out and are in a serif font.
Colour theme-
Pull quote-
Body of text-
The colour theme is black, red, blue and white. Having 4 colours used throughout the spread is a magazine convention. Using regular colours keeps consistency. The colours are quite contrasting, showing they have been used for a purpose. The connotations of the colours also fit in with Jay Z. Red for being a bit dangerous, blue for being ‘cool’ and black and white for the classy atmosphere he may be trying to create.
Used to give the reader a hint of what is to be expected. It’s written in red to match with the background of the main image, as it is on top of the item of clothing that Jay Z is wearing in the image.
The main body of the text has been placed on the right of the spread, which suggest that its second best after the picture dues to typically reading left to right in English. The text is simple and in black and white to stand out from the reds used. It’s written in columns and uses gutters to separate the text, both of which are typical conventions of magazines.