This Q issue 316 published for November 2012 features the rock artist Noel Gallagher former lead singer of the band Oasis.
The positioning of the main subject, Noel Gallagher has been placed in such a way to make a bold statement. His posture oozes confidence, pride and manliness. His direct gaze downwards towards the camera makes the reader feel intimidated and dominated by his presence to make the audience feel small in comparison. His folded arms makes a hard rocker image as it shows he doesn't let anyone in; That he devotes himself to his music, not love.
His clothing also gives off a rock image, with the leather jacket and jeans. Even though this is casual wear, it has a hard edge to it which makes him get on the same level as his audience but to still have a sense of superiority.
The choice of washed out grey background allows for the subject and other features to stand out and catch the readers eye. However, the colouring slightly becomes lighter towards the subject, Noel Gallagher to focus the audience's eyes to him without noticing. A more colourful background would clutter the cover and make text harder to read. A plain, commonly grey background has been a feature of almost all my chosen magazines for my textual analysis's. As mentioned previously in my introduction and aims, the alternative genre itself continuously uses washed out nude colours as part of its own style to allow overlapping colours and subjects to become the main focus and feature.
This front cover of Q uses the colour scheme of black, red, gold and white for its typography. These rich colours connotes the idea of rock and royalty. They create a bold statement, as apposed to pinks and blues which are typically found on a pop music magazine.
Another main feature of this front cover is the music speaker in which Noel Gallagher is leaning against. This image connotes the thought that he is all about the music and concerts rather than the fame side of his celebrity life. He leans against the object in respect as if the speaker itself is a member and friend of his band.
This particular front cover decided to use up the majority of the space for text to feature as many articles on the front cover as possible; even writing over top the image of the speaker. Laid out in columns is common in most magazines, as it makes the cover more tidy and legible. All the typography made in the columns is written in capital letters as if shouting at the reader to buy this issue. The brief quotes and cover lines may be seen as controversial; for example, 'Genre Benders', 'They're national treasure! How did that happen?' and "Get Oasis back together? Not even for starving children..". These brief quotations are what gets their readers buying their magazines. They keep the industry interesting and create debates on what is right and wrong; this is often done in the rock genre. They push the boundaries to get people talking about their magazine and the bands featured.
This music magazine is more aimed at the rock genre, however, it does present some alternative qualities. For example, the choice of colours, posture and pose from the subject and the conventional layout and design.
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