Conventions Analysis Double Page Spread
Descriptions
Continuous Colour Scheme
The colours used on this double page spread would have to be consistent throughout. The colours that are used would also have to be similar to the house style that is used on the front cover and the colour scheme that has been used on the contents page. If the colours were different then when the reader looks at all the pages they may think all the pages are from different magazines because they don't look the same and they don't look like they should be together. Having a colour scheme that isn't continuous makes the magazine look unprofessional and messy as there would be too many different colours on the page at once. Lastly, the colour scheme helps the reader to understand what genre the magazine is. For example, this double page spread includes lots of dark colours like red (which is a connotation for danger), so this would tell the reader that this magazine is going to include danger and they should also be able to tell that this is a Rock magazine because of all the dark colours, if the colours were brighter than it would probably look more like a Pop magazine.
Stand First
There is always usually a stand first whenever there is a double page spread that is being written. This is just an introduction to what the article is going to be about. It is very useful and you can see this because in the example that I am analyzing people may read the magazine and they may have wanted to look at other stories and they may have come across this page and not have known anything about 'MCR' or what they do, so this small paragraph would tell the reader what is going to happen in the interview. It is rare but sometimes in this small introduction there could be an explanation about who the band or person is so that the reader would be able to just read that small bit of information and know whether they want to read the article or not. Lastly, this is sometimes a start to the article as it may be explaining who the artist is and then when it got to the columns of the article it would then be able to go straight into the interview.
Article written in Columns
Most articles are written in columns because it makes it a lot easier for the reader to read. For example, if there were no columns then the text could just be placed anywhere on the page and then it would be hard for the reader to know where to look first as it would just look like there has been text thrown on the page. Some double page spreads have the actual questions from an interview on so the reader would be able to know exactly what was happening, when there are double pages spreads like this there is usually a column each for one question and one answer, this is very useful for the reader because it means they can look at one question and see the answer for that it easily and they don't have to look in different places just to find the answer. Furthermore, this is also very useful because the reader would be able to read the question and if they think that they won't find the answer interesting then they won't have to read it, this is a lot better than the reader having to read the answer and not enjoying it.
Pull Quote
Pull quotes are used a lot on double page spreads. Most of the time they are used because they try to entice the reader and get them interested in what is going to happen in the article. The quote is usually something that the interviewee had said because that is what the reader would have got the magazine to see. When pull quotes are being presented they should usually be enlarged so that it would be one of the first things the reader would see, if the quote was only small then the reader may not see it and they probably wouldn't get a sense of what the article is going to be about and so they may skip the article as they don't know what it is about and they may not be bothered to read it so they would just skip it. Furthermore, the colours that are used on the quote are also very important, the quote would have to stand out and to do this it would have to be a different colour to most of the things on the page. For example, this double page spread's quote has used the colours red and white, these stand out from the main colour which is black but they are corresponding colours so they still work well together. You are also able to see that the line 'THE BEST MCR' has been enlarged and is a different colour to the other parts of the quote, this shows that the creator wanted to reader to be able to see it as important information about the band and many of the reader would also find that this is important information.
Celebrities Name Standing Out
Most magazines like to embolden the name of the celebrity that is going to be talking in the interview, this is usually done because it allows the reader to know who the article is going to be about. If the name of the celebrity wasn't shown on the article then the reader would have no idea who the article is about until they have read it, but they may not want to read it, so if it was something that they were really interested in then they would probably want to read it but because they can't be bothered to read it and find out who it is actually about they will miss out on important information that they may need to know, so this is why the celebrities name should always be written on the article. This information is usually given in the Stand First so when people read about what is going to happen in the article they are also able to find out who the article is going to be about. The main reason this information should stand out is because if the reader was quickly looking through all the pages they would be able to see the name because it would be eye catching and when they have noticed it they would then want to read it.
Drop Cap
Most double page spreads that you look at will have a drop cap in the beginning paragraph of the article. This is often used to help the reader see where the beginning of the article is and can sometimes be used instead of a subheadings because the reader would be able to know that the beginning of the article is where the drop cap is. Some articles include more than one drop cap on the page, this is very rare but it can be used for the beginning of each column. The double page spread that I am analyzing has only used one drop cap because there are only two columns so there isn't that much information on the page. The use of the drop cap also makes the article look more interesting because it makes the smaller text stand out which means people would be more interested in reading the article. Lastly, the drop cap is always larger and a different colour to all the other pieces of text, this is because it needs to stand out and the only way that is possible is by changing the font, size and colour.
Page Number
Page numbers are very important in a magazine, especially on the double page spread. If there were no page numbers then the reader wouldn't know what page they are on. There could be page numbers on the contents page which are next to a name of an article but if there were no numbers on the double page spread's, then the reader wouldn't be able to find the article easily and they would have to look through the whole magazine to find the article they want. Furthermore, the page numbers don't have to be a big size because they aren't extremely important but if there weren't any numbers then the readers wouldn't know what page to turn to. Lastly, the number is usually shown in the bottom corner of the page so when people pick up the bottom of the page to turn it they would see the page number and know what page they are on, if the number was at the top of the page then the reader may not be able to see the number and they wouldn't know what page they are on.
Smaller Images
Most of the time double page spreads will have small images that relate to what the article is about. These are very useful on a double page spread because they allow the reader to get some ideas about what the people in the article are like, the reader would be able to tell what sort of things or what genre of music the magazine would be by looking at the clothes the people in the images are wearing. Lastly, the place that the photo has been taken also tells the reader what the people in the photo are like and what kind of things they do. Most of the time the images are of people that are being interviewed and not random photos of an instrument, they usually take photos of the artists faces because it allows the reader to see their emotions and all the details on their face.
Information Boxes
Most double page spread's will have small information boxes if there are a lot of small images. They are useful because they tell the reader what the image is about and also who is in the image. These boxes are usually small and are seen on the corner of an image so the reader would be able to read what the box says but also be able to look at the image. Furthermore, these small boxes are put on top of the image so the reader would be able to know what box of information goes with each image. If the box wasn't on top of the image then the box could be placed anywhere and the reader may not know what box goes with what image as they are all just placed anywhere. Furthermore, these boxes are usually coloured so the reader is able to see that there actually is a box with information in it. For example, on this double page spread the boxes are colured black because it goes with the colour scheme, but if there was just text with no box around it then it wouldn't be clear to see and the reader may struggle to see it. However, if the box is too bright then it could take the readers eyes off of the image and onto the box so they aren't actually concentrated on the image.
Mast Head from Cover
Most double page spread's will have the name of the magazine on them. This is done because it allows the reader to remember what magazine they are reading, like I said when analyzing the contents page, it is there for the people that have never read the magazine before. If there are people like this then they may not remember the magazine they picked up and decided to read so while they are reading inside the magazine they are being told the name of it so they will be able to remember what magazine it is and they will be able to pick the next issue up because they know that they enjoyed reading that certain magazine. Furthermore, different magazines will have their Mast Head in different places on the double page spread page, on the page that I have been analyzing the name of the magazine is in the bottom corner on both of the pages, this has been placed here because to some people knowing the name of the Mast Head is important but to others it isn't so it has been made small so it is there for people that need to know it but for others that already know or don't want to know, it is out of their way. Lastly, the colour of this text isn't that eye catching because again it isn't that important for all people so the creators didn't want it to stand out too much but at the same time they wanted it to be seen for the people that do want to see it.
Main Image
This is one of the most important conventions on a double page spread, this is because it allows the reader to get a sense of what the article is going to be about without having to read it. The Main image usually takes up a full page and can sometimes go over the other page as well, the Main image will always have to fit in with the colour scheme because if it didn't then it would look unprofessional and the different colours wouldn't go well together. Furthermore, the main image will always have to relate the what the article is about. For example, this article is about a band called 'MCR' and the Main image is of one of the band members, so the image does relate to the article. Lastly, the Main image should be related to some important information in the article. For example, if this article had a small part that talked about one of the band members eating food then there shouldn't be an image of them eating food because that is only a small part of that information in the article, so instead of that they could have an image just of the band member because that is important to the whole of the article, like they have done on the double page spread that I have analyzed.
Tag
Tags aren't always used on a double page spread but sometimes they are. They are used on this page because it is eye catching and the reader can easily see it. It engages the audience and makes them want to read more of what is on the page. On this double page spread the word 'Exclusive' is used. This has been used to tell the reader this article is new and you won't be able to see it anywhere else. The use of this tag also makes the reader think that the article will be important and it would have to be read so they will read it. Furthermore, on this magazine the tag has been put in a box with a coloured background so it would stand out more and be seen more easily. Lastly, the text of the tag can sometimes be large and sometimes be small, when the text is small the tag is usually only in the corner of the page and the creators would think that the article wouldn't need much advertisement because they think the readers would read it anyway. When the text is bigger it is usually in the middle of the page because the creators are trying to make the reader see it, when the text of the tag is bigger it is usually because the article may not be as popular so the creators are trying to get the reader to notice it and want to read it.
Contact Details
Contact details are very useful when they are on a double page spread, this is because when people are reading the article they may want to ask the creator of the magazine something to do with the article. On this double page spread the only contact information that has been provided is an email address, this is the only information that has been given because the creators have said that you should go to this website to look at any news about this certain article or any news about the whole of the magazine. Other double page spread's may have other pieces of contact information like a phone number or even a mailing address, this would be given so the reader would be able to contact the magazine company about things other than news about the magazine. Most of the time the contact information would be in a corner of the page somewhere because some people think that it is important and others think it isn't, it is small so people that think it isn't important don't have to look at it and the people that do think it is important can look at it if they want.
Here is a LIIAR analysis of the double page spread I have chose:
The colours used on this double page spread would have to be consistent throughout. The colours that are used would also have to be similar to the house style that is used on the front cover and the colour scheme that has been used on the contents page. If the colours were different then when the reader looks at all the pages they may think all the pages are from different magazines because they don't look the same and they don't look like they should be together. Having a colour scheme that isn't continuous makes the magazine look unprofessional and messy as there would be too many different colours on the page at once. Lastly, the colour scheme helps the reader to understand what genre the magazine is. For example, this double page spread includes lots of dark colours like red (which is a connotation for danger), so this would tell the reader that this magazine is going to include danger and they should also be able to tell that this is a Rock magazine because of all the dark colours, if the colours were brighter than it would probably look more like a Pop magazine.
Stand First
There is always usually a stand first whenever there is a double page spread that is being written. This is just an introduction to what the article is going to be about. It is very useful and you can see this because in the example that I am analyzing people may read the magazine and they may have wanted to look at other stories and they may have come across this page and not have known anything about 'MCR' or what they do, so this small paragraph would tell the reader what is going to happen in the interview. It is rare but sometimes in this small introduction there could be an explanation about who the band or person is so that the reader would be able to just read that small bit of information and know whether they want to read the article or not. Lastly, this is sometimes a start to the article as it may be explaining who the artist is and then when it got to the columns of the article it would then be able to go straight into the interview.
Article written in Columns
Most articles are written in columns because it makes it a lot easier for the reader to read. For example, if there were no columns then the text could just be placed anywhere on the page and then it would be hard for the reader to know where to look first as it would just look like there has been text thrown on the page. Some double page spreads have the actual questions from an interview on so the reader would be able to know exactly what was happening, when there are double pages spreads like this there is usually a column each for one question and one answer, this is very useful for the reader because it means they can look at one question and see the answer for that it easily and they don't have to look in different places just to find the answer. Furthermore, this is also very useful because the reader would be able to read the question and if they think that they won't find the answer interesting then they won't have to read it, this is a lot better than the reader having to read the answer and not enjoying it.
Pull Quote
Pull quotes are used a lot on double page spreads. Most of the time they are used because they try to entice the reader and get them interested in what is going to happen in the article. The quote is usually something that the interviewee had said because that is what the reader would have got the magazine to see. When pull quotes are being presented they should usually be enlarged so that it would be one of the first things the reader would see, if the quote was only small then the reader may not see it and they probably wouldn't get a sense of what the article is going to be about and so they may skip the article as they don't know what it is about and they may not be bothered to read it so they would just skip it. Furthermore, the colours that are used on the quote are also very important, the quote would have to stand out and to do this it would have to be a different colour to most of the things on the page. For example, this double page spread's quote has used the colours red and white, these stand out from the main colour which is black but they are corresponding colours so they still work well together. You are also able to see that the line 'THE BEST MCR' has been enlarged and is a different colour to the other parts of the quote, this shows that the creator wanted to reader to be able to see it as important information about the band and many of the reader would also find that this is important information.
Celebrities Name Standing Out
Most magazines like to embolden the name of the celebrity that is going to be talking in the interview, this is usually done because it allows the reader to know who the article is going to be about. If the name of the celebrity wasn't shown on the article then the reader would have no idea who the article is about until they have read it, but they may not want to read it, so if it was something that they were really interested in then they would probably want to read it but because they can't be bothered to read it and find out who it is actually about they will miss out on important information that they may need to know, so this is why the celebrities name should always be written on the article. This information is usually given in the Stand First so when people read about what is going to happen in the article they are also able to find out who the article is going to be about. The main reason this information should stand out is because if the reader was quickly looking through all the pages they would be able to see the name because it would be eye catching and when they have noticed it they would then want to read it.
Drop Cap
Most double page spreads that you look at will have a drop cap in the beginning paragraph of the article. This is often used to help the reader see where the beginning of the article is and can sometimes be used instead of a subheadings because the reader would be able to know that the beginning of the article is where the drop cap is. Some articles include more than one drop cap on the page, this is very rare but it can be used for the beginning of each column. The double page spread that I am analyzing has only used one drop cap because there are only two columns so there isn't that much information on the page. The use of the drop cap also makes the article look more interesting because it makes the smaller text stand out which means people would be more interested in reading the article. Lastly, the drop cap is always larger and a different colour to all the other pieces of text, this is because it needs to stand out and the only way that is possible is by changing the font, size and colour.
Page Number
Page numbers are very important in a magazine, especially on the double page spread. If there were no page numbers then the reader wouldn't know what page they are on. There could be page numbers on the contents page which are next to a name of an article but if there were no numbers on the double page spread's, then the reader wouldn't be able to find the article easily and they would have to look through the whole magazine to find the article they want. Furthermore, the page numbers don't have to be a big size because they aren't extremely important but if there weren't any numbers then the readers wouldn't know what page to turn to. Lastly, the number is usually shown in the bottom corner of the page so when people pick up the bottom of the page to turn it they would see the page number and know what page they are on, if the number was at the top of the page then the reader may not be able to see the number and they wouldn't know what page they are on.
Smaller Images
Most of the time double page spreads will have small images that relate to what the article is about. These are very useful on a double page spread because they allow the reader to get some ideas about what the people in the article are like, the reader would be able to tell what sort of things or what genre of music the magazine would be by looking at the clothes the people in the images are wearing. Lastly, the place that the photo has been taken also tells the reader what the people in the photo are like and what kind of things they do. Most of the time the images are of people that are being interviewed and not random photos of an instrument, they usually take photos of the artists faces because it allows the reader to see their emotions and all the details on their face.
Information Boxes
Most double page spread's will have small information boxes if there are a lot of small images. They are useful because they tell the reader what the image is about and also who is in the image. These boxes are usually small and are seen on the corner of an image so the reader would be able to read what the box says but also be able to look at the image. Furthermore, these small boxes are put on top of the image so the reader would be able to know what box of information goes with each image. If the box wasn't on top of the image then the box could be placed anywhere and the reader may not know what box goes with what image as they are all just placed anywhere. Furthermore, these boxes are usually coloured so the reader is able to see that there actually is a box with information in it. For example, on this double page spread the boxes are colured black because it goes with the colour scheme, but if there was just text with no box around it then it wouldn't be clear to see and the reader may struggle to see it. However, if the box is too bright then it could take the readers eyes off of the image and onto the box so they aren't actually concentrated on the image.
Mast Head from Cover
Most double page spread's will have the name of the magazine on them. This is done because it allows the reader to remember what magazine they are reading, like I said when analyzing the contents page, it is there for the people that have never read the magazine before. If there are people like this then they may not remember the magazine they picked up and decided to read so while they are reading inside the magazine they are being told the name of it so they will be able to remember what magazine it is and they will be able to pick the next issue up because they know that they enjoyed reading that certain magazine. Furthermore, different magazines will have their Mast Head in different places on the double page spread page, on the page that I have been analyzing the name of the magazine is in the bottom corner on both of the pages, this has been placed here because to some people knowing the name of the Mast Head is important but to others it isn't so it has been made small so it is there for people that need to know it but for others that already know or don't want to know, it is out of their way. Lastly, the colour of this text isn't that eye catching because again it isn't that important for all people so the creators didn't want it to stand out too much but at the same time they wanted it to be seen for the people that do want to see it.
Main Image
This is one of the most important conventions on a double page spread, this is because it allows the reader to get a sense of what the article is going to be about without having to read it. The Main image usually takes up a full page and can sometimes go over the other page as well, the Main image will always have to fit in with the colour scheme because if it didn't then it would look unprofessional and the different colours wouldn't go well together. Furthermore, the main image will always have to relate the what the article is about. For example, this article is about a band called 'MCR' and the Main image is of one of the band members, so the image does relate to the article. Lastly, the Main image should be related to some important information in the article. For example, if this article had a small part that talked about one of the band members eating food then there shouldn't be an image of them eating food because that is only a small part of that information in the article, so instead of that they could have an image just of the band member because that is important to the whole of the article, like they have done on the double page spread that I have analyzed.
Tag
Tags aren't always used on a double page spread but sometimes they are. They are used on this page because it is eye catching and the reader can easily see it. It engages the audience and makes them want to read more of what is on the page. On this double page spread the word 'Exclusive' is used. This has been used to tell the reader this article is new and you won't be able to see it anywhere else. The use of this tag also makes the reader think that the article will be important and it would have to be read so they will read it. Furthermore, on this magazine the tag has been put in a box with a coloured background so it would stand out more and be seen more easily. Lastly, the text of the tag can sometimes be large and sometimes be small, when the text is small the tag is usually only in the corner of the page and the creators would think that the article wouldn't need much advertisement because they think the readers would read it anyway. When the text is bigger it is usually in the middle of the page because the creators are trying to make the reader see it, when the text of the tag is bigger it is usually because the article may not be as popular so the creators are trying to get the reader to notice it and want to read it.
Contact Details
Contact details are very useful when they are on a double page spread, this is because when people are reading the article they may want to ask the creator of the magazine something to do with the article. On this double page spread the only contact information that has been provided is an email address, this is the only information that has been given because the creators have said that you should go to this website to look at any news about this certain article or any news about the whole of the magazine. Other double page spread's may have other pieces of contact information like a phone number or even a mailing address, this would be given so the reader would be able to contact the magazine company about things other than news about the magazine. Most of the time the contact information would be in a corner of the page somewhere because some people think that it is important and others think it isn't, it is small so people that think it isn't important don't have to look at it and the people that do think it is important can look at it if they want.
Here is a LIIAR analysis of the double page spread I have chose:
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