Reviews on Double Page Spreads - Article Research

This is a double page spread on the band Florence and the Machine. This story featured in the magazine NME, which is based around indie artists. The design has been structured so that the left hand side is all one image and the right side includes the main body text. There is an overlay of text for the main title “USA got the love.” To put emphasis on the word USA, it has been put in bold so even though it is behind the music artist, it is still clearly visible. For the words “got the love”, as it is a reference to one of the bands songs, it has been placed as an overlay, in black, a different font and in italics which suggests that it is considered more important. The design of the main body text has been structured clearly into 3 columns to keep the information neat and easy to read. Also above the third column there is a reference to the writer and the photographer who took the feature image. The music artist has been positioned on the left side because then there is more room for information and it is eye catching to the reader. However, I think that there should be an image or images to break up all the information in the main body text because otherwise it looks too much.

There is a colour scheme throughout the double page spread of red, white, black and grey. By using this colour scheme, the magazine avoids all elements of making it look tacky and unprofessional. Above the main body text there is a small paragraph of information which makes the reader want to read the rest of the article. The colours in this paragraph include blue which completely stands out from the rest of the colour scheme and draws the reader’s eyes to it. The editor of the magazine has included a drop cap at the beginning of the main body text. The drop cap is in a different font and size from the rest of the text so therefore stands out as the rest of the text is much small. The use of the drop capital states clearly where the beginning of the article starts. The design for this article is very plain and simple. I think that the editor and designer wanted to make the image look classy and sophisticated. Overall, the two pages aren’t very busy and are in fact quite spacious because there is a lot of free space around the page. An example of this is in the top right hand corner where the text overlays. To make this page better I think that more could be added to the design, because there is only one picture and then text. I think if there were more images then the two pages would look more appealing to the viewer.

This is a double page spread on the band You Me At Six. This story featured in the magazine Rocksound, which is based around rock music artists. The design has been structured so that the left hand side is all one image with and the right side continues the image but also includes the main body text. The main heading is the name of the band “You Me At Six” which stands out from the rest of the page because it is much bigger and in a different font from the rest of the page. Category text has been used on both corners of the pages reading “exposure”. The aim of this is to draw attention to the pages and with the added effect of a yellow background; it is able to achieve this. Under the Category text there is more information relevant to the band. As it is a brief summary of the page is has been also designed with a yellow background so that it stands out as important information. The design of the main body text has been structured clearly into 2 columns to keep the information neat and easy to read. Also above the first column there is a reference to the writer and the photographer who took the feature image. Half of the band has been positioned on the left side and the rest on the right side so that the image is evenly spaced out and not just on one page.

There is a colour scheme throughout the double page spread is a mixture of different tones of blue, white and yellow. By using this colour scheme, there is a clear divide between the background image and the information on the pages. Above the main body text there is a small subheading which reads “The Famous Five” which has the aim to make the reader want to read the rest of the article. The colours in the main body text include black with a white block background which completely stands out from the rest of the main body text and draws the readers eyes to it. The editor of the magazine has included a drop cap at the beginning of the main body text. The drop cap is in a different font and size from the rest of the text so therefore stands out as the rest of the text is much small. The use of the drop capital states clearly where the beginning of the article starts. The design for this article is very plain and simple. I think that the editor and designer wanted to make the image look intriguing and brief. Overall, the two pages aren’t very busy and are in fact quite spacious because there is a lot of free space around the page. An example of this is the left page where there is only the background image and a little bit of text. To make this double page spread better, I think that there should be less information on the right side and more on the information on the left so that it evens out the information so there isn’t so much.

This is a double page spread on the band The Gossip. This story featured in the magazine NME, which is based around indie artists. The design has been structured so that the right hand side is all one image and the left side includes the main body text. The main heading has been split into two sections. The first section is “Standing in the way of...” which is in a bright pink at the top and overlays the two pages. It stands out from the rest of the heading because it leaves the reader hanging on and wanting to read more. The rest of the heading is in back, bold text to make a statement. However, part of the title is in white text and is overlays the black picture. It has been designed this way in a different colour so that it is still visible over the image. The design of the main body text has been structured clearly into 4 columns to keep the information neat and easy to read. Above the main body text there is a small paragraph of information which makes the reader want to read the rest of the article. The colours in this paragraph include pink which completely stands out from the rest of the black text so therefore draws the reader’s eyes to it. The band has been positioned on the right side because then there is more room for information and it is eye catching to the reader. However, I think that there should be images to break up all the information in the main body text because the picture of the heart in the space of the columns which just separates the columns and not the text, therefore it looks too much.

There is a colour scheme throughout the double page spread of pink, black and white. By using this colour scheme, the magazine avoids all elements of making it look tacky and unprofessional. The editor of the magazine has included a drop cap at the beginning of the main body text. The drop cap is in a different font and size from the rest of the text so therefore stands out as the rest of the text is much small. The use of the drop capital states clearly where the beginning of the article starts and also makes a statement. The design for this article is very plain and simple. I think that the editor and designer wanted to make the image look fashionable and appealing without making it look too overdone. Overall, the left page is quite busy compared to the right page, so I think to make the double page spread better, more could be added to the design, because there is only one picture and then text. I think if there were more images then the two pages would look more appealing to the viewer. Also, I think that if more images overlaid over the two pages then it would look more appealing.