Front Cover Analysis

Analysis 1:

 

The colours that have been used are very simple and bold. The background colour is white and the font colours are red, white and black. The white background represents innocence and purity and the red represents love and passion. The red can also represent importance and urgency ,which in forces the idea on the reader that the information inside is important. These factors are usually associated with females. The white background makes the font stand out because it is a much lighter colour, which makes the red and black look really bold.

The main image is a picture of Adele, so where her image is covering the white background, white font has been used to right over the image because the colours Adele is wearing are a lot darker than the white which makes it ok to use and lets the white font show up. I like the choice of colours because they make the magazine look quite classy and clean and as this issue looks like it would be aimed more at woman than men, I think the choice of font colours fits the magazine very well and appeals to me.

The only image on the front cover is a main image of Adele, who is a famous singer. She is shown to have very pale skin, which goes very well with the other colours used. It shows her with brown hair and you can’t see much of her clothes, but she is wearing purple. I think they have used purple for Adele’s outfit because the colour goes very well with red and black to match the font. I really like the choice of image because Adele looks like she is looking right out at you when you see the front cover and that gives the reader a personal connection with her as she looks like she is noticing you. I also like this image because I like Adele, just like a lot of other people, so the fact that she is on the front cover makes me more interested in the magazine and want to know more about it, which is what the front cover is supposed to do.

This style does appeal to me because I like how all the colours work together and I like how it comes across quite modern and feminine . This magazine does draw me in because Adele is looking right out at me and it somehow makes me think she is just looking at me. Her eyes are shown to be a bright blue colour, which really stands out against the rest of the colours and the fact that her eyes are almost directly in the middle of the cover, makes you notice her even more because when people first glance at a magazine then usually look around the middle section first. What also draws me is the famous red Q logo, which is in the top left hand corner of every issue.

I think the target audience for this magazine generally would be men and woman between the ages of 17 and 30 but for this particular issue, I would say it is mainly aimed at young woman because of the layout, colours, tag lines and Adele as the main image. Also, the way it appeals to me makes me think that it is mostly young woman that are the target audience. Adele’s style of music is also mostly aimed at teenagers and young woman, which is why they chose her as the cover girl.

Analysis 2:

The colours used are light grey and dark grey misty colours for the background and this gives the magazine a bit of an edge as grey isn’t usually associated at a happy colour. These colours connotate mystery and danger. The colour of the title which is ‘V’ is in a bright orange colour, which really stands out and creates a contrast with the grey. The colour of all of the font is white because it is very bright and stands out against the rest of the darker colours. There isn’t any font on or overlapping the orange V, which was a good decision because the colours would have clashed a bit and it would be harder to make out what the writing says because the two colours are both very bright. Nicki Minaj is the main image and she is wearing bright pink lipstick, which also makes the magazine stand out and contrasts with the dull background colours. The pink colour also goes very well with the orange and they tie the whole front cover together and make it stand out a lot more.

The main image and only image is of Nicki Minaj’s head and shoulders. You can see her face peeking out through the middle of the V. Just like on the Q magazine above, Nicki is looking right at the camera, which makes the reader feel she is personally looking at you. This is a good technique that many magazine covers use with their cover stars because it makes the reader feel accepted and like she is looking at no one else but you. I also think it is good that there aren’t any other images because it could overpower the front cover and make it look too busy, especially because of some of the really bright colours used.

The style doesn’t really appeal to me as I really like bright colours on magazine covers and even though there are a few brighter colours, I don’t really like the grey background because it is very dull and it makes the magazine look a lot less feminine. If the background was white or a lighter colour it could be a bit more appealing to me as that is the kind of style I prefer. I do still like the cover though, and I like the choice of layout because it is very simple, but there are a lot of bold colours that make it stand out. I also like it because it suits Nicki Manaj’s style, which makes her fans be more attracted to the magazine. It also suits her music style as her music involves a mixture of rap, pop and urban music styles.

The magazine does draw me in. This is especially due to the giant V filling up the whole of the space on the front cover as it is such a bright pop of colour and stands out against the darker colours behind it. I also think Nicki Manaj draws me in because she is a very famous pop star and people always want to know more about her and what she will be doing next. The fact that she is on the front cover tells the reader and reinforces the idea that news about Nicki and her music will be inside. The look in her eyes and her facial expression also really draws me in as, like I mentioned before, she looks like she is looking right at you, which gets my attention.

The target audience would be teenagers and young adults because that is also Nicki Manaj’s main audience, which is why the magazine has used her as they can draw in her fans as well as the audience the magazine already has. The cover also speaks to the reader through the tag lines for example ‘What’s new?’ and ‘The Discovery Issue’. This is telling the audience that there are things they want to know about inside the magazine.


Analysis 3:

There aren’t many different colours or a wide range of colours on this front cover and I would say the ones used are very laid back. The background colour is purple, which is mainly associated as more of a girly colour, but this particular shade is a lot more mature and suits the theme of this front cover very well. The purple colour and the black represent a more mature, dark and serious image, which also links with Miley's facial expression. Miley is wearing all black and as this front cover is representing her as becoming a young adult from a Disney teen I think this is appropriate and represents her new image. The font colours are mainly white and yellow and these colours show up really well in front of the purple and black because these are much lighter and brighter colours. I really like the way they have used these colours because as well as white and yellow standing out, purple and yellow are also complimentary colours, which means they complement each other and look good together. I also really like how the bottom of the page is all black and dark from her clothes and the top half is lighter as her skin looks quite pale, the title is in white and that is where you see the purple background.

The main image is the picture of Miley Cyrus. You can see from her head down to her hips and she is wearing all black. Miley is holding a giant M which looks like its maid out of wood and she has a very serious expression. She is holding the sides of the M like they are jail bars in front of her and this symbolises to me that she is trying to break out of her old young Disney teen image to try and come across more mature, but the bars are in her way. It looks to me like this issue is what can be her milestone for her new style and image. Miley looks like she is looking helplessly out through the bars out to the audience and it makes you feel a personal connection with her.

The style used doesn’t generally appeal to me, but I really like how this front cover looks because it is very simple and tells a story to the audience, without them even needing to read the content inside. I think this also appeals to me because of the celebrity, style and colours used as I think it is aimed at teenage girls, which almost targets me perfectly. As I am a teenage girl, I can see that the right intention has worked on me, which is why I liked the look of this magazine. If I were to change the style in any way, I would change how the masthead is positioned because even though you can tell what the magazine is, Miley’s head is covering the middle of it and I just think it makes the cover less effective as the masthead doesn’t really stand out at all.

The magazine does draw me in, especially through her expression as it instantly captures your attention first. I think the fact that Miley also looks very different to what we are used to seeing her as. I like the way and think the way they have places her name right in the centre in bold capitals as this is a good selling point and gets Miley’s fan base interested.

The target audience is teenage girls who like the pop music genre as they are Miley Cyrus’s main fan base and a wide fan base of people who read Billboard magazine. The magazine mainly captures and speaks to the audience through the main image of Miley and her name written in capitals in the front cover.