Analysis of Magazine Covers

Here is the cover of a front cover of a music magazine, which is a popular one called 'NME', standing for New Music Express. This magazine is quite different to the ones in the same industry, but is also similar in it's features.

First there is the Masthead: 'NME' - here we see a very big and bold masthead that stands out. The colours used are very effective and help make it eye catching, as it's red, but it also mixes in with the theme on the page, which is meant to be attractive and colourful. This always appears at the top of the magazine.

Then there's the cover lines. These cover lines are usually just writing placed around the main image, but some of these on this cover are different, as they are pictures. These are more effective for the reader and will attract the audience as they are very visual. Also, the colours of these mastheads are similar to the ones on the cover, with reds and yellows again. The coverlines on magazines are usually mixed up around the main image, and are placed on the left hand side and the right hand side.

Then there's the main coverline. This is usually centered or placed bigger than the other cover lines near the main image. This main cover line is related to the main image on the cover.

The main image on the cover of this magazine above is Florence Welch, from Florence and the machine. The line reads 'The new music issue, NME'S top 10 tips for 2009,' and underneath is the name 'Florence and the machine.' The main coverline is again red and yellow, which the connotation of these colours could be excitement and things bursting out, which is the aim of the magazine, to stand out and suprise readers. The main cover line also gives a lot of information about what the main feature is going to be about, in this case 'new music,' including the artist enlarged on the cover. Also, on the cover of convetional magazines, the layout, and everything on the page is quite muddled, and bright, so the reader is attracted. It's rare for magazine covers to be neat as this can be seen as boring, and neat magazines usually like 'Vogue' to show sophistication.

I think the target audience for this magazine is 16+ males and females, who are interested in new music, with any genre. I think this because the cover shows a lot of new artists and the issue is dedicated to upcoming artists that these people may be interested in, plus they don't just appeal to men or just women.

Here is another cover of a magazine, and this is again a music magazine. This one is called 'Hip Hop.' This has all the features the magazine has above, the masthead, the coverlines, the main coverline, the title and a main image. The colour scheme is a little different, as it's more subtle than the one above, and it has a more straight forward layout. The colour scheme is red, black and white, and these colours go well together on the cover. The name of the magazine is placed at the top, like all names are usually placed, and is in white to stand out on the red background.

The coverlines are also white,and are placed straight and going down on the right of the page. These again stand out, but instead of sentences, the subheadings are just names of artists that feature in the magazine. This makes the layout of the magazine less crowded.

The main coverline is '50 cent, hip hop icon.' This is in the center to attract the reader, and is white to stand out. The minute the reader reads this, and sees the picture of 50 cent, we know that 50 cent is the main attraction of this magazine, and he must be an big character in the hip hop world to attract audiences, as he's on the front.

The barcode is again at the bottom, and the main image, which in this case is 50 cent, who is an inspirational artist in the hip hop world, is in the center, which is different to the magazine above, as the main image is at the side. The main image is a medium shot, which is the case with magazine covers. The connotation of 50 cent can be hip hop, rap, and black people, which indicates the target audience for this magazine is in fact, black people.

This magazine is named Heat. Instead of the masthead being sat the top, this is on the left hand, and placed behind the main image, which shows this magazine is that popular it doesnt even need to show the title fully. It's red, and bold, which stands out.

This is also a very popular magazine that has been around for a while now. It talks about general gossip with celebrities, weird stories, and shocking real life events that people can spread around and tell other people. I believe this magazine is aimed at a wide audience, such as 16+ young women.

We can tell this magazine is less sophisticated and for the middle class sort by just looking at the front cover. The centre image is of a man that featured in a real life experimental show, Big Brother. He has his top off, which connotations could be revealing and uncovering. This could represent the magazine as it's a very up close and personal magazine.

It's tradition for every issue, someone from the show whose just been evicted features on the front with shocking stories and revelations. The stories that feature on this cover are about crude subjects, mostly to do with sex and cheating. 'Sheep watched me lose my virginity.' Stories like these are there to shock and amuse the audience, whereas stories featured in like Vogue are there to educate and interest in a different way.

The layout also is similar to the covers above. Everything on the page leaps out at you, the colours, the text, everything's there and you dont know where to look next. It's more bright, which attracts you to it straight away, but also shows that it needs to have this aspect. It's again a muddled layout, and has cover lines that also include pictures. They are white, red and black, which seems to be a reacurring theme on covers, because these colours work well together and jump out at the reader.

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