Q was a British popular music magazine founded in October 1986 by journalists and broadcasters Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who had worked together as presenters on the BBC music programme Whistle Test. The founding editors originally wanted to call the magazine Cue, in the sense of getting a record ready to play, but changed the name to Q to avoid confusion with a snooker magazine and to make it stand out on newsstands.[1] The magazine ceased print publication in July 2020, with its final issue (Q415) released on 28 July of that year.[2]
Design and History
Throughout its print run, Q’s masthead was a single white uppercase letter Q set against a red square background, placed in the top left corner of the front cover.[3] The single-letter title was chosen deliberately so that it would be more prominent on newsstands.[4] The red and white colour scheme remained a consistent element of the magazine’s identity across its decades of publication.[3]
Q was originally published by the EMAP media group and was sold, along with other EMAP consumer magazine titles, to the Bauer Media Group in January 2008.[1] In late 2008, Q revamped its image with a smaller amount of text and an increased focus on subjects other than music.[5] The magazine’s final issue, titled “Adventures with Legends,” compiled some of its best interviews from its history, including with David Bowie, Joni Mitchell and Prince.[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The name Q derived from the original proposed title Cue, referencing the act of cueing a record, ready to play. The spelling was changed to Q to avoid confusion with snooker terminology and to create a distinctive single-letter masthead.[1] The white Q on a red background was designed to draw attention and stand out against other titles on newsstands.[4]
Typography and Design
The Q masthead used a simple sans-serif letterform for the single uppercase Q, rendered in white against the red square background.[6] The logo remained consistent throughout the magazine’s print history, maintaining the same basic layout of the white letter on the red square across all front covers.[3]
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