Analysing Title Block

This is an analysis of existing music magazine title blocks. By analysisng these title blocks it will help me with understanding what genre and style of music the magazines use. Also, it will help me give me ideas and design my title block. 

By looking at the title block it seems that the magazine is a rock music magazine because I can picture Elvis Presley and the cast of Grease on it, which is in the 1970’s. The title block is in red with a grey shadow which makes it stand out and more eye catching, giving it a 3D look, but also, it makes it seem old fashioned rock as the shadow is white with black lines to make it look like a newspaper. The font gives the title block a vintage, 70’s/80’s look. The font is also in joint up font which shows that the magazine is old because in the UK everyone used to write in joint up handwriting. However, the style of the font also makes it look American. The target audience of the magazine could be the older generation, such as 40+ year olds as rolling stone magazine used to be like newspapers and the younger generation don’t really tend to tread newspapers.

You can’t really tell what genre of music this magazine is by looking at the title black but it might be a type of music which is bright and bold, such as rock. The colour of the title is red with white and black boarder which makes it stand out more and eye catching. Most rock magazines use the colour red so I’m assuming that it is rock music. The whole title is in capital letters which makes it seem that the magazine is shouting and screaming at you to buy it. It also suggests that the genre of the magazine will be loud such as rock, once again or heavy metal. The magazine is called ‘NME’ and if you pronounce it faster it sounds like ‘enemy’ so it could mean that but in short. The word enemy connotes evil, danger, war so the magazine might include dark mysterious music. The font and colours used make the magazine look modern and dramatic so the target audience of the magazine could be 16-30 year olds, of both genders and people into rock music.

The genre of the magazine looks like it could be rock because the font is in black and black is usually associated with rock, gothic and mysterious etc. The black font contrasts with the white background which makes the title bolder. The title looks like it has been smashed like a glass which gives the title an edgy look. The smash on the title could suggest that the loud rock music has smashed it; it could also mean that the artist is rebellious and likes to do what they want. The font is in capital letters which could also suggest why the title has a smash on it and there’s an exclamation mark at the end, so when you pronounce ‘KERRANG!’ you have to shout it, this could be another reason of the smash on the title. The word ‘KERRANG!’ isn’t really a word but it does sound like a sound an instrument will make, like a guitar and electric guitars are used in rock music. The target audience of this magazine could be young-middle aged people and people who are into heavy rock music.