NME Double Page Spread Research

The first double page spread I am analysing is from NME, and concerns Pete Doherty. One page is occupied by a photograph of the subject of the article, while the other is used for the story about the subject. However, the text in this spread is broken up by a large pull-out quote in the centre, and a small picture in the bottom right corner. This adds a more playful and less serious tone to the article which reflects the personality of Pete Doherty. Like I've said I want to put the whole focus of the article on the main artist so designing the page to fit their personality will help this idea to work. They use a simple colour scheme of orange, white and black. the orange was likely chosen because Pete Doherty's jumper and beer being that colour. This would suggest that NME is flexible with the overall design which makes the magazine more adaptable. It concentrates on being innovative instead of having a lasting design theme which will fit the idea of my magazine. Again it gives me the idea to focus the design of the double page spread on the artist. The quote in the centre of the text grabs the attention of the reader and gives away the subject of the article Pete Doherty’s role in his band. His tenuous role is emphasised by the way he is holding two glasses of alcohol in the photograph. Readers who want more information on Pete Doherty’s struggles with drugs and alcohol would want to read this feature, as would fans of his music, as there is a picture of him performing in the bottom right of the text. This helps to broaden the audience of the article as it targets existing fans and new readers. Using features that reach all audiences is useful when designing and established magazine so I want to concentrate on features like this when doing my photography. Props and location will also help to make the story more relevant and appealing. I like the use of text on top of the image as it sort of gives a title to the article and plays with the photography at the same time. Only a small amount of text us used on top of the image to stop any difficulties reading, I want to use this feature with my double page spread so I will stick to the same code. I have noticed they have used a lot of punctuation to reinforce the expression and personality of the artist. It also helps to bring the interview alive as the reader can almost hear the emotions being expressed. This makes the article much more exciting and interesting to read so I may use this when talking about certain topics.