Analysing the front cover of a magazine.

Font; Most of the fonts used are serif, which is more significant with younger people and looks fun and interesting. It gives them an effect that it could be for people their age. The name of the magazine is a lot bigger and bolder than the rest of the text, this is so it stands out more and people can see what it’s called. They have used this as it is vital for a magazine cover otherwise you can’t see that title of the magazine. The audience will read this and know what it’s going to be about, and to see if they would enjoy this. Also they have headlines of something and then smaller text underneath, for example ‘GCSE RESULTS: WHY WE’RE THE BEST’, this is so it gives you a little on what will be in this magazine, and some more information about what the article is or about what the headline is saying. They have used this to get people more interested in this, and gives the audience an effect of wanting to know what’s inside and them wanting to read it. The ‘teenage stress’ is in a fun font and slanted a bit, which shows it’s a bit more rebellious.

Layout; The route of the eye has been used here as you first look at the primary optical area (top left) then look at the top right then go down do the bottom left and then to the terminal area (bottom right). They have used this

as it is conventional for a magazine cover. It is quite an ordered layout, and makes it look better for the audience as there is not too much to see on the front cover because If it is cluttered it looks too messy and too much for just a front magazine. The ratio of image to text is that there is a lot more of the image on this than text, which is conventional for a magazine cover as it draws your eye and grabs your attention.

Image; A medium close up shot type has been used here as it is conventional for a magazine cover. The effect is that you can clearly see the facial features and her emotion to what genre it could be. It is of a school girl which fits the magazine genre of a school, as she is wearing her school uniform, a blazer and a tie it looks more professional of a school magazine and can see what type of magazine it is. There are no props on this front cover. The setting seems a normal outside on the path, perhaps on the way or from school? It is a normal setting which the typical students would go to and from school.

Colour; The colours used are all bright, which is fun as it is not dark or dim, and draws your attention. The colours of most of the text are white, which stands out more against the other colours and you can easily read this, the colours (pink and blue) of the background of the text help this. They are all main bright bubbly colours which will attract the younger audience. They have given the impression that this will be for a younger audience.

Mode of address; This magazine has an informal language, for example ‘our guide to teenage stress’ grabs the attention of the audience and they will know its for their age, it is friendly as well and the audience will want to read it. The fonts also come across as informal as it is serif with curls and a child-like font.

Conventions; The whole of this cover is quite typical, especially for this type of magazine. The layout is also typical as it does follow the route of the eye, which magazines do. The content of a school magazine is also typical, as it has everything you need, including a suitable image, the fonts and the information. The setting is also quite conventional as it is basic and where younger people might go to and from so could be familiar?