Front cover analysis of Q magazine

Target Audience and genre

The target audience for Q is generally

middle aged people as there are a lot of

adverts fro after shaves and alcohol.

But the artist that occupies the front

cover is Jake Bugg who is a younger

artist so this might attract a younger

audience.

Main Image

The main image of this issue is of Jake Bugg.

It sets a rebellious tone as Bugg is wearing a

leather jacket which has connotations with

rebellion. The jacket also links into Buggs

music as his lyrics represent rebelling and

confronting something whether it is his

parents or society. The guitar also

represents the genre of his music.

Model credit

The model credit for this magazine is ‘on dating models

hanging with noel and why he feels so guilty’ this give the

customer a taste of what is to come in the article and the

last bit suggests that Bugg has done something wrong

and the audience might want to find out what that is,

also as Noel Gallagher is mentioned this may attract fans of Oasis or High Flying Birds.

Main Cover Line

The main cover l ine included in this issue is ‘Jake Bugg’, the font

is quite disjointed and quirky. The audience can also see that

there are a different types of fonts used this is to represent Jakes

personality as he is portrayed as an outsider of society. The font

is white to fit in to the house style of the magazine.

Colours/Typefaces/House style

The house style of this magazine is red, gold and black. Red is

predominately the colour of Q’s masthead and the editor has

chosen to place the coverline headers in it aswell. Gold has been

chosen as it has connotations with achievement and prestige, as

the audience sees one of the coverline sis ‘Nirvanas final triumph’

this coheres with the connotation of gold. The editor has used

black as it stands out so it can highlight the important information

on the coverlines

Masthead

Q’s masthead is in serif. This presents the magazine to be

formal and reflects how long the magazine has been going. The

masthead contains the quote ‘the world’s greatest magazine’

this is a self-promotion aimed to sell more copies. The Q is in a

red square which fits the house style of the magazine. The

masthead is also located in the primary optical area meaning

that the first thing the customer would see will be the logo.

The Gutenberg Design Principle

This issue of Q follows The Gutenberg Design Principle. The

masthead is located in the Primary Optical area meaning this

would be the first thing the customer would see so it promotes

the brand of magazine more. The Terminal area would be

studied next by the customer and the editor has placed a

coverline there as the reader would have examined Jake Bugg

because of the Reading gravity so this will aim to attract older

audiences as bands like Fleetwood Mac are showcased. Buggs

head occupies the Strong Fallow area and more coverlines

occupy the Weak Fallow area which is peculiar as this the last

area the custmore will look at.

Coverlines

By using Jake Bugg Q is trying to appeal to a

younger audience, this may not please many

of the original readers of the magazine so

they have included a lot of older bands in the

coverlines such as Nirvana and Metallica, this

is also to exhibit the wealth of articles in the

magazine.

Banners/Flashes/badges

This issue contains the badge ‘his most revealing interview’ this is connected to the

main article, the colour of the badge signifies it’s important as gold has

connotations with importance. Another badge, which is located in the strong fallow

area, this has been used as the target audience would listen to Bob Dylan thus

attracting them to buy the magazine