DPS sketch

DPS article draft

"I spent 18 months looking over my shoulder, not knowing who tried to kill me or why"

The rapper known as Levz is living proof that grime is as much as a lifestyle as it is a type of music. He was a star in the underground mixtape circuit for several years, but the rest of the world did not hear about him until last year, after his shocking incident in Brixton, a tough neighbourhood, plagued by gang violence. As a result the young rapper was constantly in the press and his life became an open book. Levz was not your typical 'studio gangster' meaning a musician who made up stories about his life, he was the real deal. He grew up in the streets of Brixton and survived being shot six times, those experiences reflected in his music giving it a gritty edge. Almost all his songs talk about drugs, guns and death. However, Levz is not apologetic about his lyrics as he told Link-Up tv "I curse to express how I feel... the things I've been through made me the way I am".

Contents page draft

Contents page sketch

Contents Page Analysis

Text: The text has been columned which is the common magazine house style allowing it to be neat and structured. The purpose of the text is to give the reader a brief overview of what the magazine  contains and what pages to turn to for specific articles, making it easier for the reader. The important key appeal/headings are in red whereas the information is in black this makes the separation of information clearly identifiable in a neat way.
The contents page uses four main subheadings these being “cover story” “features” “regulars” and “Q review”. The all use a capitalised white font against orange, grey, red and black rectangles allowing it to stand out. It also uses a block capital “Q” in white in a serif font as this the name of the magazine and there masthead therefore fits well into the contents page.

Masthead: The masthead uses the same font style that is on the front cover and this is unique to Q magazine and promotes the brand identity. Its white and has been placed into a red rectangle which allows it to stand out as red is the dominate colour in the magazine therefore makes the magazine brand more recognizable for new readers. It also says 'review' rather than contents allowing it to be unique. It is positioned across right corner and is the largest text making it different from the rest of the page.

Promotional Features: A subscribe section is on the right side and it provides information on how readers can subscribe to the magazine and it also emphasises on the fact that is cheap to subscribe to 'Q' which encourages the audience to purchase more magazine.

Colour scheme: The main colour scheme is red, white and black. This follows the conventional house colours keeping consistency and follows throughout the magazine. The palette is used effectively to contrast certain words and also ensures that the main information stands out by using the colour red and black and ensuring the headline is bold. The colours are bold and vibrant which reflects the type of lifestyle the readers are assumed to have this being outgoing and fun.
Images: Most of the images are of recognizable artist such as Rhianna. The size of the images vary across the pages, going against the magazines house style of having pages very neat and organised.
There is also a comic picture, this allows there to be a larger target audience and could appeal to more people who have an interest in comics. The picture on the top right looks fashionable and he looks like he lives a luxury life since his got sunglasses on and is looing away from the camera into the light which is reflective the genre of music.

Page numbers: The page numbers are white and have been placed in red squares allowing them to be
The numbers also make it easier for readers to find pages with their specific interests on. The size of the numbers are big in comparison to the writing size in order to attract the attention of the audience.

Date: In the bottom right corner, Q have put the date and issue number. The date has been included on the magazine as its vital for the reader to know when the magazine has been released as the information needs to be up to date.

Final Front Cover