Looking at double page spreads

I specifically looked at the Rolling Stone magazine and Q. As they seem to be the closet thing i have to the magazine I am aiming to create. 

From this I will use the idea of a mid close up shot with eye contact. Lily Allen(featured) is portrayed the way her fans recognise her,edgey with a gothic trend. The use of font relates to the modern art technique of cut out lettering. This goes well with the genre of music. So when i produce the quote fromt he artist, I will design it in a retro way, with a slightly modern slant.

Again this is a strong image of a female artist, The image takes up most of the space, and not much body text is used. This keeps it short and snapy and easy to read by the target audience who want to know the information quick without trouble. There is a relation between the image and title USA, as she is sitting on a flag. this creates a theme for the page, and can tell just by this, what the article is about.

The layout of this double page spread from Q is very simple, a strong black and white image, with the use of one colour- red for the Drop cap letting of L (standing for Lady Gaga.) This magazine takes another aproch by including alot of text. So I will bare this in mind when writing the article.

By looking at the double page spreads ( at various editions) I have noticed the constant use of a strong image, usually a close up or mid close up in order to see facial expression and pose. Also it demonstrates how you are let into, just for a moment the life of that artist, and the close up shows the relationship between them and you the reader. Eye contact is a strong element used, but used to create different moods. The image is normally placed on the left side of the double page, and sometimes, if a powerful image, takes over the whole page. 


The content is usually an interview of some description.So I will also look into the use of language, content and layout to create a believable interview.