magazine cover analysis_worksheet

Masthead The bright colours to attract teenagers

and young people and it also catches

people’s attention. It is very large and is

in the primary optical area, this is so as

soon as you look at the magazine , you

know its Q.

Main image The main image is a close up of jay-z’s face, there is high key lighting to highlight the anger in jay-z face. This shows the genre of magazine and that it is about non-conformists.

Model credit The words ‘Jay-z’ are in gold to show his wealth. The colours gold has connotations of royalty and wealth. The size of the text represents his position within the world of music.

Cover lines The cover lines never use more than 4 colours; here the colours are orange, black, gold and white. These colours go together nicely and fit in with the house style.

Main cover line The main cover line is ‘meet the planet’s greatest rock star’ and ‘jay-z’ I know this because they’re both in gold. This makes the viewer want to read on and look at the interview with jay-z. The words ‘meet the planet’s greatest rock star’ are highlighted in gold to draw the viewers eyes to the text.

Colour

Red and gold have connotations of

wealth, power and royalty. This is

because jay-z is one of the richest men

in the world.

Typefaces They have chosen fonts that are easy to read, the black against the white makes it easy to read. The text is in capital letters to make it sound like who ever is saying it is shouting

Photography Lighting

There is high key lighting on the right side of his face which gradually lessens into low key lighting on the left side of his face. It looks realistic and 3 dimensional.

Design Principles Used? The guttenburg design principle has

been used. It directs the eye from the

masthead to the barcode, left to right.

(it is not necessarily good as it directs

the eye to the price and not the actual

content of the magazine. House Style The majority of the text is sans serif; this means that it is easy to read. The text is quite harsh; it represents the rapper on the front. The colours are mainly red, black and gold; these are the main colours for Q magazine. The text for the main cover lines are quite large however the cover lines are quite small.

Comment on how the design of the magazine cover attracts the target audience:

Masthead The white text against the vibrant red

hair attracts teenagers and young people

and it also catches people’s attention. It

is very large and is in the primary optical

area, this is so as soon as you look at the

magazine, you know that it is NME.

Main image The main image is a close up of Florence Welsh’s face, there is high key lighting to highlight her porcelain skin. This shows the genre of magazine (indie).

Model credit The words ‘Florence’ are in bold black text to show that she has a bold personality. The colours black has connotations of class as she is a very classy, sophisticated and mysterious woman.

Cover lines The cover lines never use more than 4 colours; here the colours are white and black. These colours go together nicely and fit in with the house style.

Main cover line The main cover line is ‘I would never have got through the x factor auditions’ I know this because it is just above the text ‘florence’. This makes the viewer want to read on and see what Florence welsh is

saying.

House Style The majority of the text is sans serif; this means that it is easy to read. The text is quite harsh; it represents the genre of magazine. The colours are mainly red, black and white; these are the main colours for NME magazine. The text for the main cover lines are quite large however the cover lines are quite small.

Comment on how the design of the magazine cover attracts the target audience: Colour

The colours black and red have

connotations of class and mystery. This

is because Florence Welsh is one of

the very classy.

Typefaces They have chosen fonts that are easy to read, the black against the red makes it easy to read. The text is in capital letters to make it sound like who ever is saying it is shouting Photography Lighting There is high key lighting on the Florence Welsh’s face which shows her porcelain face.

Design Principles Used?

The guttenburg design principle has

been used. It directs the eye from the

masthead to the barcode, left to right.

(it is not necessarily good as it directs

the eye to the price and not the actual

content of the magazine.

Masthead The blue text against the grey attracts

teenagers and young people and it also

catches people’s attention. It is very large

and is in the primary optical area, this is

so as soon as you look at the magazine,

you know that it is vibe, although Kanye

Wests head is covering the masthead, we

still know that it is VIBE.

Main image The main image is a close up of Kanye West’s, there is high key lighting to highlight his facial expression and make the viewers focus on his face. This shows the genre of magazine (indie).

Model credit

The words ‘Kanye West’ are in bold pink text and is on a slant to show that he is different and isn’t the normal genre of music. The colours blue and pink show that the magazine is for all genders.

Coverlines The cover lines never use more than 4 colours; here the colours are grey, blue, pink and black. These colours go together nicely and fit in with the house style

Main cover line The main cover line is ’10 big secrets the film wont tell’ I know this because it is just above the text ‘VIBE’. This makes the viewer want to read on and see what the secrets are, it is in big bold text and in the primary optical area to direct the viewer to it

House Style The majority of the text is sans serif; this means that it is easy to read. The text is quite soft because of the colours but has harsh edges; it represents the genre of magazine. The colours are mainly pink, blue, grey and black; these are the main colours for VIBE magazine.

Design Principles Used?

The guttenburg design principle has been used. It directs the eye from the masthead to the barcode, left to right. (it is not necessarily good as it directs the eye to the price and not the actual content of the magazine.

Photography Lighting

There is high key lighting on Kanye West’s face to highlight his facial expression.

Typefaces They have chosen fonts that are easy to read, the blue and the pink make it easy to read as they are bright. The text is in capital letters to make it stand out

Colour

The colours black, grey, pink and blue

show that the magazine is aimed at

both genders and the black is very

striking to catch the readers eye when

they see it on the shelf

Comment on how the design of the magazine cover attracts the target audience: