Analysis of Professional Magazine Front Covers

Vibe, DJmag, Mixmag

MastheadThe mast head in this front cover is placed at the top of the page. The cover star is covering part of the masthead. This portrays the magazine as well known and is also a convention of a magazine. The colour of the mast head is not bold but it fits with the house style of the magazine. It also uses different shading in the text giving an edge to the magazine which will fit the target audience being late teens to young adults. Despite this, it is the biggest font of writing on the page and is place at the top and therefore identifies as the masthead.

Main Cover lineIncludes big bold colours and direct mode of address ‘stand up!’ which engages the audience. This is written in an italic font making it stand out to the reader. It fits with the house style and the name of the cover star is in a big font in red which makes it stand out telling the audience that this women on the magazine is important. It is positioned next to/over the top of the cover star giving its identity of the main cover line

QuoteThe quote is written informally as it uses the slang ‘gonna’. This addresses the target audience as the younger audience will be able to relate to the language used. It fits with the house style. It is placed underneath the main cover making it link to the main image and be part of the main cover. Under the quote in smaller writing in brackets gives the page number which may be useful.

SkylineThis is found at the top of the magazine. It shows advertisements of the magazine. The colours fit with the house style making it look stylish and they are bold colours with a high contrast so it is clearly visible to the audience. It also makes the page look more full.

Cover lineThe cover line fits to the house style including red and black. This is a classy look and the writing in red also stands out. The information is relevant to the magazine and also gives an incite to what is in the magazine. The language is informal but not to informal that it is too hard to read. There is not a lot of writing which is pleasing for the audience. The font of this writing isn't matching which gives an edgy and less sophisticated look to the magazine.

Issue InformationThis gives information about the magazine, such as, the date and price. It is only in small font and doesn’t really catch the readers eye. The colour of the text is in white so isn't extremely visible even despite how important the information may be for the audience. The barcode that is included firstly gives an identity to that specific magazine but also lets the audience know that it is on sale

Cover StarThe cover star is a glamorous celebrity. This makes it aesthetically pleasing for the audience and therefor will grab the attention of the readers. The Mise-en-scene of the image shows a plain white background which again gives style. Her costume is limited as it looks like she is only wearing black heels. The editor has done this so the male target audience will be attracted to the magazine. The connotations of the image shows the representation of the female gender being sensual which again fits to the target audience.

MastheadThe masthead is very bold colours being red with a black outline making the name stand out. The cover star covers part of the masthead giving the magazine a sense that it is well known. Included into the masthead is the web address to the magazine. This gives extra advertisement to the magazine and considering the writing is white on a red background makes it clearly visible.

Cover lineThe cover lines are extremely visible for the audience as it is bright red and yellow so grabs their attention. The colours fit to the colour scheme except the yellow highlight around ’60 minutos con David Guetta’ challenges this house style and therefore stands out from the page. The Spanish writing puts a theme onto the magazine which will vary the target audience for this specific picture.

Main Cover lineThe main text of this main cover line blends into the cover star with the colours being black and white, however, the font is the biggest on the page and bold so has no issues with standing out. There isn’t too much writing so it stays catchy and is placed next to the cover image with shows an association between the two convention.

SkylinePlaced at the top of the page following the convention. Uses an iconic image to the genre of the magazine being a star used as bullet points to make the skyline look more interesting. All the writing is in black using the same font. Place on top of a white background so is noticeable

PuffThis puff is red which fits into the colour scheme. it is bright red and fully filled so stands out on the page as it also contrasts with the background and image being black and white. The puff is an incentive, advertising a CD. This will be good for the audience as they will be offered a free sample which will make the readers want to buy it more. The CD is relevant to the magazine and target audience.

Cover starThe cover star is in black and white which puts a spin on the type of magazine making it look more authentic. The denotations of the mise-en-scene of this image is a male about 25 saluting the camera. He is looking directly at the camera giving a direct mode of address making the audience think that the cover star is saluting them. The background is plain white giving a classy look making it not too cramped.

Issue informationThis gives information about the magazine that is important for the readers. I.e.. Price, date, barcode. It is placed in the bottom left comer which doesn’t get in the way of the cover star or cover lines. This is done so that the magazine still looks formal enough and not messy.

Tag lineThe tag line relates with the magazine and usually is an advertisement for the magazine as the phrase can become recognisable. It is placed under the mast head which is appropriate as it portrays a connection between the texts and therefore conveys the conventions of a magazine front cover.

MastheadThe masthead is spread across the full width of the page and is coloured white on a blue background which makes it prominent. The cover star is overlaying the title which is a convention that makes the audience recognise that it is a known magazine.

Cover lineThe cover lines have limited writing in each section and the language is also informal meaning it fits the target audience. It addresses the colour scheme throughout an they are all situated around the sides of the magazine letting the cover star be the main focus of the front cover.

Main Cover lineThe main cover line is big, bold and includes the year of release. It establishes that the cover image is situated in Ibiza which is an exciting topic for the target audience. The language is easy to read and catches the eye of the readers.

Incentivethe incentive reals the audience in. it also relates to the magazine as it is a free cd and the magazine is a music magazine. The text on the magazine gives space to where the cd will be

located.

Issue InformationThis includes the price, date, barcode and website. It lets the reader know a little about the magazine but isn’t very important information in relation to what the audience wants to see on a front cover so the text is small and no so easily seen.

Buzzword The buzz word is bold so grabs attention towards the word. It makes the reader think that the magazine is superior.

Cover starThe cover star is very glamorous and eye candy for the audience. the denotations of the mise-en-scene of this image portrays a summer holiday theme as her costume is a bikini and the background is a beach with a prop of a yacht. The connotations of this is a party holiday for young adults. Her costume matches with the colour scheme which is yellow which puts a more summer feeling to the magazine.

PuffThe puff stands out on the page as it is a unique shape compared to the rest of the conventions and it overlays everything else on the page. The colours fit to the colour scheme except the black writing which only appears on this puff. The text includes an incentive and underneath it a page number so its easy to allocate

SkylineThe skyline is at the top of the magazine and it is a tagline of the magazine. It is yellow so fits with the house style as the font is also the alike