Research DPS 3 - Q Magazine

Pictured right is a double page spread from the May 2014 issue of Q Magazine.











The main headline of the article appears to be written in a sans serif font, and has been given the effect of brush strokes to imply it was painted on a wall by a vandal who wanted to express their feelings. The word 'This' is underlined to add emphasis to it, and relates to the main image, as the subject is trying to tell the reader who they are in a non direct way. Also, the headline is text wrapped around the stand first, which breaks convention as normally the stand first and the headline have their own sections on the page and are not crossed together in this way.

The image itself complies with Dyer's theory of representation. The subject did not wake up holding large sheets of paper, or dressed head to toe in leather, and therefore the subjects image has been manipulated to suit the theme of the article. The cards that are being held by the subject portray a powerful message. The words 'Fight Transphobia' and 'Smash Gender Roles' imply that the subject of the image has been the victim of transphobic and sexist comments, and feels the need to do something about it herself. Her costume is stereotypically punk, therefore relating to the genre of music the subjects band perform, which will be explored in the article. Also, Barthes' semiotics work indexically to suggest that the subject has had to overcome many set backs because of who she is and how she identifies herself.  Also, the words 'fight' and 'smash' could be perceived by Western audiences to mean that things can get quite violent when transphobic and sexist comments are made, and that we have a war on our hands if we want to rid these comments from modern society. The wall featured in the background could symbolise the wall onto which the headline has been painted.

The stand first uses a serif font which contradicts the font used in the headline of the article. This could have been a conscious decision by the editor as the change in font could symbolise the change in the article subjects life. The black text creates synergy in the article between the colour of the headline, the colour of the costume, and the colour of this text. The stand first is also in a red text box, which helps it stand out against the white background of the article.





The article is divided equally into two columns, which follows conventions for magazines. Interestingly, there are no dropped capitals in this article, which breaks convention. Instead of this however, the first four words of the article are written in bold text. Also, there are no pull quotes in this article, which breaks another convention.

Despite the screengrab being slightly blurry, the page number and date of issue can be found on the page, which follows convention.



How this research has helped me:

• I like the fact that Hall's theory of language and audience was used in the image, and I could look at incorporating this somewhere in my magazine.
• I like the style of text used for the headline, and could look at using a similar font in my magazine.
• I do not like the lack of dropped capitals in this article, and would therefore avoid this and follow convention.