SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF A MAGAZINE COVER

HESTER TEASDALE

SEMIOTICSSemiotics is the study of sign processes (semiosis), signs and symbols, or signification and communication. It is usually divided in the three following branches.

- Semantics: Relation between signs and the things to which they refer.- Syntactic: Relations among signs in formal structures.- Pragmatics: Relation between sings and the effect on people who use

them.

In media, semiotics are important as they help us to read texts analytically and think of a deeper meaning behind signs and codes as we understand signs by differentiating them to other things. If analysing a front cover of a magazine for example, we would look for the meaning behind the colours, language, typography and images, seeing what certain things imply or connote.

Semiotics can be applied to anything which can be seen as signifying something - in other words, to everything which has meaning within a culture. Even within the context of the mass media you can apply semiotic analysis to any media texts (including television and radio programmes, films, cartoons, newspaper and magazine articles, posters and other ads) and to the practices involved in producing and interpreting such texts.

BRIEF ANALYSIS OF A MAGAZINE COVER

Masthead -Representation of colour- Clear brand identity

Strapline- Uses and Gratifications

Central Image- Direct Mode of Address- Close-up - Engaging and Welcoming audience- Straight direct framing.

Anchorage

Main CopyConventional bar code - Legal Requirements

The magazine is aimed at a young, female target audience as it is highly based on fashion and image, which our society values.

Price is $8.50 (about £4), I personally think this is worth the price because of the contents and quality of the magazine.

Colours represent the Autumn season in which the magazine is displayed.

New Zealand magazine so no British buyers.

Anchorage

The masthead of the magazine is called Frankie, this is significant as Frankie was originally a boy’s name and has developed over time to be a cool, edgy name for many females. The use of lower case letters appears quite feminine, especially combined with the bold rounded font creating the initial reaction this magazine is aimed at a young, female target audience. The masthead has been positioned straight across the front of the magazine, this is so that it is easy to locate on the shelf and is easily recognisable to buyers; it is also the largest typeface on the cover so the title is prominent.

The colours used in the masthead and strapline are white and yellow. These pastel colours represent purity, innocence and happiness– these colours are often used to attract and welcome a playful audience, giving the magazine a strong identity. The colours are feminine and connote all-round positivity, also the shape is circular which is a soft shape but it works to create a logo identity.

The tagline reads: Art, Fashion, Music, Craft and Life. These are bold statements about image and lifestyle, targeting a range of a wide young audience increasing the magazines variety. In addition, the uses and gratifications theory could be incorporated as someone may just have a particular interest and purchase the magazine purely for that.

The ‘e’ is positioned on an angle in a circular shape to create a logo or motif, this is thier brand identity will be highly recognised all over the converging media, e.g. The magazines website. It also implies product familiarity as the audience will be familiar with the brand and it will stand out to regular/new buyers.

MASTHEAD

The central image is framed as a straight close-up shot of an attractive, young female model. She could appear inspirational to a certain audience that will want to emulate her style and image, males will also be attracted to her, which in turn strengthens her allure to a female audience and ideology. She is using direct mode of address, engaging and enticing the audience and creating a welcoming feeling to the magazine. Her facial expression appears to be subtle yet serious, indicating that although the style of the magazine is playful and unsophisticated, it seems to be serious about the different genre’s included. In Todorov and Prop’s narrative structure, this model in my opinion would play the part of a damsel in distress as her innocent is obviously portrayed through her very natural, pure qualities.Her clothing and overall appearance (e.g. Hair colour) is based on the Autumn season and the in style fashion at that period of time. The magazine will have cultural differences and values to us of the UK so her clothing may be classed as highly fashionable and trendy in New Zealand. The colour palette represents warmth and neutrality, drawing in the target audience and inviting them in.

CENTRAL IMAGE

On the right side of the magazine, anchorage is used to tell the buyers what kind of things will be appearing in the magazine. The ‘+’ sign signifies that there will be more things to investigate inside, enticing the audience to come and discover what extra information the magazine has in store. The typography is in a straight, playful font to attract the young female audience and the lettering is displayed is block capitals to grab the readers attention and symbolise the importance and interest of the stories. The pink text has been incorporated in the colour scheme as it connotes feminine characteristics such as romance, liveliness and purity. The last piece of text stating ‘Sweet giveaways for our 30th issue’ will create an effect, as free merchandise is always a bonus as well as adding hegemonic values, plus the fact that it’s the 30th issue is a unique selling point for the magazine. On the left hand side of the magazine, a similar style of writing has

been used to those on the right. Short, snappy sentences have been used to appeal to the readers as they are aesthetically pleasing and are easy to separate from the magazine. The fact that these specific pieces of anchorage have appeared on the front cover will interest the audience and make them question what is so interesting and exciting about these features that have made the front cover, drawing them in. The use of language is informal, therefore attracting the younger audience who’s interests consist of the themes appearing in and on the magazine. The black and white colours are used to reflect on the seriousness of the magazine this time, representing some sophistication whilst echoing a newspaper.

ANCHORAGE

CONCLUSIONThe semiotic analysis has taught me to read different aspects of a magazine analytically and think deep into the meaning of a specific feature, discovering hidden connotations and signs that I previously would not have noticed. Semiotics works by incorporating subtle cues that attract the target audience towards the magazine. For the audience, awareness about semiotics and its use in anything in the media is helpful for them to decode the hidden meanings behind the features which would be hidden persuaders for them to purchase the magazine it and therefore be less amenable to the idea of purchasing the product.

Different semiotic techniques are used to attract a certain target audience, e.g. In my analysis of a magazine front cover, the magazine was aimed at a young, playful female target audience. Effects such as the representation of colour will attract different kinds of people, so the magazine made sure to include lots of pastel pinks and creams to create a genre that the target audience will accept and like.

A symbol stands for something, and is meaningful by association. Using expression, background, clothes, etc, all come under the use of semiotics to convey a particular message in the converging media, semiotics attaches positive feelings, moods and emotions when associated with visual imagery and the logo of the brand. This comes with the pictures used, the colours, the setting, the context and in case of logos, even the fonts used all serve to impact the image of the brand that the consumer carries with them. The use of semiotics, along with other things, can help grab the attention of the intended target market exactly if done right.