Double Page Spread Analysis

Reading through pages in magazines, I have learnt many techniques that producers use in their double page spreads. Most magazines have a big image, with a big and bold title and a stand first as well as the article or interview itself on its double page spread.

I have spotted many things when analysing a double page spread in Word Up magazine. Starting of with the background, I instantly knew that they used gradient tool using the software Photoshop when editing this. The colour is darker at the top left corner of the page and gets lighter towards the bottom right hand corner.

On the right side of the page there is an image of the model Nicki Minaj in a medium shot which fills the whole right page of the double page spread. The black top she is wearing goes well with the light grey background. She is looking at is from an angle of gaze, showing a connection between her and the readers. She is posing with her hands on her head to emphasize her hair that often changes to different styles and colour. This also makes the tattoo on her hand stand out. The pose that she is doing shows her inner self let out and how she really is like. Lastly, there is a shadow effect on the image which shows the great use of photo editing software that is used on her.

At the top of the left page, there is a blank space. This makes the double page spread look better because it makes the writing that comes after it look clearer and more effective, because it shows that ‘less is more.’ The title is ‘BEFORE SHE WAS BORN’ and this starts a quarter down the page with enormous writing so that it is visible and readable, and also the first thing we read on the page. The stand first on this page is written in bigger fonts in this article, most people tend to read this before the article because it allows us to have a preview of what the article is going to be about before we read it. Under the stand first is always the journalist’s name. Reading through the article, there are many quotes from Nicki Minaj which shows the type of person she is and the type of way she speaks. The article starts of with a big and bold ‘E’ that announces the article and overall, it isn’t very chatty but rather formal.

The second double page spread that I analysed was from a different magazine called XXL. The two double page spreads have many things in common for example in both articles, the image fills most of the right hand page leaving the article/interview on the left, both with big and bold headings that start of a little lower down the page, however this double page spread has a lot more writing than the Nicki Minaj one.

The background colour for this double page is a creamy-white. The artist model Dr.Dre is looking at an angle of gaze however he has a very serious facial expression. The image is taken in a medium long shot so that we can analyse the black clothes he is wearing.  You can tell that this image has been photo shopped well because of the sepia/old fashion effect on the image. The colour of it looks similar to the background.

This double page spread is written smaller then the first double page spread analysis because there is more writing, however it is still as effective as the other one. The title is the first thing that people would read when they see this because it is catchy, big and bold. Alliteration is also used in the title which pulls the readers attention right when they start reading the beginning. This article does not have a stand first but on the other hand it does have a paragraph on history for people who have missed out. This interview is different is different from the Nicki Minaj one. In the Nicki Minaj double page spread, there are a few quotes whereas this one has a more of a question/answer layout where the interviewer asks a question and Dr.Dre answers them. The questions are written in bold and the answers are normal. This makes the question stand out more and just like the Nicki Minaj double page, this is not a very chatty interview but a more formal one.

I have learnt many techniques when researching and analysing these double page spreads such as having a plain background with a big image of an artist on one side and writing on the other. I will definitely make my title big so that catches peoples attention and is the first thing people look at to read.  For my own double page spread, I will add a lot more writing than the first double page that I analysed and hopefully as much as the Dr.Dre double page spread.