Front cover research 5: Q

I will be looking at this Q front cover for inspiration for my own work, in hopes to make my layout appear professional. Not only is that the reason I will be analysing Q, but also because Bauer releases this magazine, and that is one of the constitutions that I am interested in to 'selling' my magazine for.

What I really like about it is the colour scheme, and how the cover stories are placed around the central image.
What I find odd is that the whitespace is so plain, however it is effective and actually looks good, having a busier whitespace would drag the attention away from the central image, the cover stories and possibly the main headline.







The masthead

The iconic Q is in the red box-out as always, with it's housestyle white serif letter, which is placed at the top right hand corner as usual.
However, what is unusual is that there is a little slogan just above the name, in the boxout. Q does that at times, but not usually, this break it's own housestyle and convention, which I find rather odd.
What is also odd about the use of the masthead overall is that in some issues, the masthead is brought to the foreground and hides parts of the central image, depending on size. However, on the equal amount of time it is brought back and parts of the central image go on the foreground of the box-out, just like in this instance, that the model's hair and slight part of head is seen in front of the masthead.


The Image

What I like about the central image is that it's placement is not exactly central, as it is carefully composed alongside the actual cover stories. I also like the pose of The Smiths, however, their facial expressions look awkward and forced, which I find rather unattractive in a photo.
I also really like how the colour scheme of pink is accompanied by the strong black and white effect placed on the photo.








The Cover Stories




The main cover story is large, and bright because of the fiery pink, and small kerning ,sans serif font.
I love the size of the name of the band and the fact that such a colour is used as it is considered not masculine, it is very unconventional for a male band to be accompanied by such a colour.
What I also really like about  this cover story is that there is a pull quote from possibly a review that states how they feel about the band. I will consider using something like this for my own magazine, as I feel it is very effective.
What I also really like is that 'The' is in a little box out, and even though it is plain black, it still manages to stand out just as well as the magnificent pink. The underlined text is in bold, and the words themselves intrigue me as a reader because of how dramatic they sound, and therefore act as a lead.

I really like the location of this cover story, and I will try to locate one of mine in a more distinct location on my front cover as well.