Analysis of 5 front covers- Research

This is the most appealing cover that I have looked at. It’s really unique and stands out from similar music magazines. The cover image has been edited to make it look like its raining. This has a really effective look to it and makes it stand out and become more unique. The direct mode of address of the artist also draws the reader in. The body language of the artist suggests that she is tough and dangerous yet better than the rest which is what the magazine wants to achieve. The body language of her is quite sexual as she is dripping wet and has her mouth open with a look of desire on her face. I was also attracted to the copy at the bottom of the page. Although it is not very bold the wording is very clever and fits in with the artist’s debt album name. I believe that the genre of this magazine if pop/ modern music as Cheryl Cole is a very well known pop artist. The image of her is conventional for this genre of magazine as she is seen as a role model/ idol to many people. The target audience appears to be teenagers and young adults as the cover artist is very popular with these people and the fact that the music is modern and varied. Again the colours have been kept to a minimum and feature a lot of red. This is as it’s an attractive and eye catching colour but also ties in with the cover image. The red and white together also look very British which suggests that the magazine is proud to be British and features lots of articles on British artists. The main/ best selling point for this magazine cover is the artist used. The main heading has been centres and is at the bottom of the page rather than accross the centre. The rest of the titles are either left or right alligned which is quite conventional of a music magazine. The copy on the right hand side of the page has a coloured box around it to help that piece of information stand out. The house style of Q magazine is really effective as the colours all work very well together and is very appealing to the target audience of this magazine.The magazine cover also features a lot of capitalisation which reinforces points that they want to stand out and are more important. The masthead is just a single letter which doesnt tell the reader anything about what the magazine is about which is quite unconventional of a music magazine. It is however easily recognisable due to its simplicity and the fact that it is very unique. The cover of this magazine features around 4 different font styles which make the magazine really effective. Most of the copy on the cover is sans serif as this is less formal and more suitable to the target audience.

The genre for this magazine can be easily told from its front cover. The images are mainly of men who have long dark hair and wearing dark clothes. These are connotations of rock/ heavy metal music. The target audience of the magazine is teenage boys and young men. This is because of the use of genre and it is stereotypical for only boys to like this sort of music. The most attractive part of the cover I believe is the image of the main singer/ band member that has been cut out and placed in front of the masthead. The artist has a direct mode of address which helps hook the reader in to reading the magazine. The rest of the band members are placed behind the masthead which suggests that they are less important. Also the colours used are very dark not very bright. The name of the cover artist is written in large bold lettering across the centre of the image which suggests that this is what is the most important. The body copy on the cover is actually quite small for a front cover meaning that it is only there for people who want to know exactly what is in the issue rather than those who just look at the larger copy and image. The cover includes attention grabbing cover lines featuring words such as ‘Free’ to draw the reader into purchasing the magazine. The best selling point of this magazine cover is the free posters and the front cover image. Some of the copy on the page features drop shadows helping the text to stand out more. The magazine cover also features a lot of capitalisation which reinforces points that they want to stand out and are more important such as 'Free!' and 'Plus'. The masthead has been created to look like it has been cracked which also reflects the genre of the magazine. The colours that have been used have been inverted to create a more successful house style. The house style is simple yet very effective as the colour scheme has been kept to a minimum, and all of the contents are relevent to the genre and target audience. The fact that the main cover line is in lower case lettering is not very conventional and suggests that it does not need to be in capital as the image speaks for itself. The cover of this magazine features around 5 different font styles. These are all quite different however relevant to the genre and target audience of the magazine.Most of the copy on the cover is sans serif as this is less formal and more suitable to the target audience.

The front cover of this magazine is quite appealing. I like the fact that it has been kept quite simple in that it hasn’t got too much text on which a few other music magazine do. The colour scheme really works as it has been kept to a minimum. The red is a connotation of danger, which fits in with the woman who looks like she has attitude as she is smoking. Red is also a primary colour so it stands out and is quite bold. The woman on the front of the cover has a direct mode of address, which helps engage the reader and draw them into buying the magazine. The artists name is the largest font style on the page and is even larger than the masthead. This is quite unusual for a magazine to do this however they have used the same colour for both of these large areas of text to show that they are of the greatest importance. The target audience for this magazine is not really made that clear as the artist is not especially well known. Also there are not many well known names featured in the list of names along the right hand side which suggests that the magazine may focus on the more up and coming acts rather than the all ready established ones. The best selling point of this magazine cover is the copy and the layout. The copy on this front cover is very unconventional. The cover lines on the right of the page are right alligned which is quite unusual to see. These cover lines are also in a list form which is quite long which is also not a very conventional feature to have on a front page.The cover also features mainly capitalisation to help make the lines stand out and become more noticable. This particular magazine also features no banners which is quite unusual. There are also no buzz words such as 'Exclusive' or 'Free', which suggests that the magazine is hoping to be sold on the cover story. The cover of this magazine features around 3 different font styles which is very effective as too many different fonts can make it look tacky. Most of the copy on the cover is sans serif as this is less formal and more suitable to the target audience.

The front cover of this magazine I find is very appealing. It is aimed at teenagers and its genre is modern chart music. I think it is more aimed at girls though as it also features posters and girl talk. I am attracted to the use of bold bright colours and layout of the magazine. It is very busy which is the sort of thing that appeals to its target audience. The colours used are quite girly and 'hot' as there is a lot of pink, purple and yellow which are archetypal colours for girls. The cover is very appealing to the target audience as it features many aspects that they are drawn to/ are interested in. The direct mode of address with the use of the word 'You're' helps the target audience realise that they are ebing spoken to. The cover lines are very informal and in the style of writing that the target audience would recognise and use. The cover artists are very well known to young girls and teenagers as they are also in a very popular series of films. The banner across the centre of the page is very eye catching as it feature bold, easy to read copy. The masthead is very recognisable and also shows the genre of the magazine to be pop and girly due to the sparkle. The masthead is also written in lower case lettering and features no capitals which is very unusual for a music magazine. The masthead also features a drop shadow to help it stand out from the page. The cover also features a lot of smaller images which go with the cover lines. This makes it more appealing to the target audience as they prefer things to be more visual rather than textual. I think the most effective selling points of this cover are the cover artists and the appealing cover lines which make the reader want to find out more by using buzz words such as ‘Exposed’. The largest font on this page is the word 'star' which is the main / most important feature that the magazine wants you to take notice of. Also it suggests that if you read the magazine you will become a star like the cover artists. The cover lines are very informal and feature titles that teenagers will want to read about such as celebrities and real life as well as music to keep the audience interested. There are a large amount of different font styles reflecting the different stories on the cover for example the words 'Body Shock' are presented in a way that illustrates the word (shaky). The cover features around 10 different font styles which is quite a lot to take in for the front cover of a magazine. Most of the copy on the cover is sans serif as this is less formal and more suitable to the target audience.

This magazine has a slightly different layout to the other magazines that I have looked at. The bottom left hand side always features a free CD. This is appealing to the target audience as it means that they get a magazine featuring news of music that they like and a free CD to go with it. The colours used on this front page are not very common and are bright and different compared to other music magazines. It features lots of yellow red and white. These are very bold an attractive colours. The background to this cover is also quite unusual in that it features some detailing of the trees which does take the eyes attention away from the cover artists a bit. The best selling point of this magazine cover is the inclusion of the free CD this is very appealing to all readers/ target audience. The image is also quite unusual. The artists have sunglasses on which means that you can’t see their eyes. This magazines genre is club/ dance music. The readership for this magazine is 72% male and 28% female. It is aimed at young adults from the age of around 20. The copy on this cover is quite unconventional as most of it is right alligned. Some of the text is also larger than the masthead which suggests that the magazine thinks that it is more important and really wants to grab your attention. The large cover line on the left hand side also has a drop shadow which helps it to stand out against the background. There are around 8 different font styles used on this cover. This cover also doesnt feature any banners however I believe that this is a good thing as if there was one the background image will be too covered.Most of the copy on the cover is sans serif as this is less formal and more suitable to the target audience.