Magazine Cover Analysis- Preliminary task

•             One dominant image for audience to focus on. Usually a celebrity. In this case Taylor Swift is the dominant image. This suggests that Taylor Swift is more eye grabbing than the magazine masthead.

•             The colour red is often present in magazine covers. (Red connotes romance and/or attraction)

•             The Masthead is prominent and one of the first things you see. It’s high up on the importance hierarchy.  It’s hidden slightly behind Taylor Swifts head suggesting, as I said above, that she will attract more people than the magazine brand.

•             Cover lines are in large, bold letters to attract people’s attention. The more interesting the cover line the more prominent the lettering. There are big names on the front of the magazine to attract all ages of readers.

•             There are no giveaways on the front of the magazine suggesting an audience who is more interested in actually reading about music than winning music.

•             Typical conventions of a magazine cover is the writing is more a less a border around the dominant image. The masthead is always at the top but whether it is behind or in front of the dominant image changes.

•             The magazine addresses the audience like a gossiper spilling secrets. It uses phrases like ‘wild memories’ and ‘heart break kid’ to entice the audience to make them feel like they are knowing top celebrities big secrets.

•             The Readership appeals to anyone who is a teen or above. It uses big names for all older ages like Rod Stewart but also uses celebrities for a younger crowd like Taylor swift. It’s a unisex magazine because it features different musicians of all genders and age. Personality wise the magazine appeals to anyone with a love for music.

•             One dominant image for audience to focus on. Usually a celebrity. Like Amanda Seyfried.  

•             The colour red is often present in magazine covers. (Red connotes romance and/or attraction) It is present again in the GQ masthead just like the rolling stones and Lucky. In this case the use of red is meant to portray the celebrity in a ‘sexy’ way to attract audiences.

•             The Masthead is prominent and one of the first things you see. It’s high up on the importance hierarchy.  In this case it is the most important as the main image is behind the title.

•             Cover lines are in large, bold letters to attract people’s attention. The more interesting the cover line the more prominent the lettering. Examples in the cover include ‘diamond giveaway’ which will appeal to its readership because it sounds exciting and luxurious.

•             There are no giveaways on the cove which suggests, like GQ, that the readership is mature and don’t need or even want a giveaway or competition to be excited by a magazine.

•             Typical conventions of a magazine cover is the surrounding the dominant image. The masthead is always at the top but whether it is behind or in front of the dominant image changes. Unlike the magazine cover above, lucky has the masthead in front of the dominant image.

•             The magazine addresses the audience as women who want to know how to be ‘beautiful’. The coverlines appeal to them with things such as ‘a new way to perfect skin’ and ‘super affordable glamour’.

•             For readership, the cover appeals to women who are middle class and not particularly wealthy because the coverlines use rich words like ‘diamond’. They also have a guide to ‘affordable’ glamour which will attract an audience who care about their appearance but don’t have a lot of money.

•             One dominant image for audience to focus on. Usually a celebrity. In this case Ryan Reynolds. This suggests that Ryan Reynolds is more of an attraction or style icon than the magazine masthead, GQ.

•             The colour red is often present in magazine covers. (Red connotes romance and/or attraction) It is present again in the GQ masthead just like the rolling stones.

•             The Masthead is prominent and one of the first things you see. It’s high up on the importance hierarchy.  It’s hidden slightly behind Ryan Reynolds suggesting, as I said above, he will attract more people than the magazine brand. As he behind the coverlines it gives a 3D impression to bring more attention to him.

•             Cover lines are in large, bold letters to attract people’s attention. The more interesting the cover line the more prominent the lettering.

•             There are no giveaways on the front of the magazine suggesting a mature male audience as this magazine is primarily aimed at men who enjoy fashion and latest trends.

•             Typical conventions of a magazine cover is the writing is a border around the dominant image. The masthead is always at the top but whether it is behind or in front of the dominant image changes. Just like the magazine cover above.

•             The magazine addresses the audience as if it were a fun guide which is trendy. It uses words like ‘swagger’ to be relatable with a younger, ‘laddy’ audience.

•             For readership, the cover appeals to males because it refers to things they would enjoy like ‘male style’ and ‘sex, thugs and rock and roll.’