Q January 2011

Front cover:
There are four colours used on the front cover of Q - red, white, black and gold. The red and white is the traditional 'Q' logo colours, therefore they are heavily featured in the colour scheme, whereas black keeps it simple and enables text to be read clearly. There is only one image on the page, with a simple white background. There is lots of text on the front cover, and the text is structured around the image, for example 'the 10 new faces of 2011' is placed around the foot of the woman. The 'Q' logo is in the top left corner, as it always is, with a bold headline across the page 'review of the year and 2011 preview'. It is placed at the top of the page as it could arguably be the most important article/feature in the issue, therefore it stands out and allows the reader to see what will be in the magazine.The headlines are in bolder font, in comparrison to the subheadings, which attracts attention and is able to be read quickly, whereas the smaller text underneath the headings is purposely small because it requires more time to be read.

Contents Page:

There are three main colours in the contents page - red, white and grey. The background is white, which enables the text to be read clearly. The page numbers are in significantly larger font than the text, which allows the reader to jump straight to that specific page, without having to read through text. There are six small images, and one larger, main image. underneath the larger image, the page number is in black, despite the rest of the page numbers being in grey. This could show that page 30 is an important article/page, and the black font allows it to stand out and to draw in attention straight away. The contents page is set out in a 'blocky' style, which is simplistic and not fussy, giving clear information through lots of text. There is a red box at the right hand side of the page, with 'tracks of 2010'. The red background contrasts with the white background on the rest of the page. This highlights what the magazine is initially about - music - therefore the album/track listings stand out.

Double Page Spread:

The double page spread is image dominated, with one large photograph of the artist crossing the centre line onto both pages. The colour scheme is a mixture of red, black and white, which links not only with the traditional 'Q' magazine colours, but also with the image on the page. The photograph is quite dark, with lots vivid red tones. One half of the image is bright, whereas the other half is dark, which is why the text is purposely placed there. The text is white, in small font, which covers only a small section of the page. the white text contrasts with the black background, making it easy to read. There is a large letter 'I' at the start of the article, a convention used regularly in magazines. The language is simple and straight forward, easy to understand and not sophisticated, which suggests the article is aimed at a younger audience.