1. The masthead Q relates to
‘cueing’ is the process of putting the cue leaver onto the vinyl
player. The ‘Q’ actually looks like this process. Q and cue are
both pronounces the same inferring Q is a magazine that is
delicately produced and is made with care. In addition the Q
masthead is visible on the front of every Q magazine and
therefore when people look at it they know exactly the genre of
the magazine. In addition the fact the Q is bold at a large font
suggests the magazine is a strong and successful magazine.
Subsequently, the red box behind the Q is a form of attracting
the customers, the point of the box is purely to stand out against
competitors. To continue the colour red has connotations of
love, death but also domination which suggests their target
audience is probably: middle aged working class.
The non direct address of Ed Sheeran infers that Ed Sheeran is
perusing a music career because of his music passion and therefore
he doesn’t need to focus on attracting an audience and he doesn’t
necessarily care about fame. An alternative negative interpretation is
perhaps Ed Sheeran doesn’t care about his connections with his fan
and therefore he has no interest in trying to interact with them. The
full bleed exaggerates how Ed Sheeran is the main focus and
consequently at the top of the hierarchy. In addition he looks quite
shocked as he cant believe he’s reached ‘global superstardom’!
Ed Sheeran is wearing a leather bomber jacket; the jacket has a
symbolic sign of being seen as ‘cool’ but alternatively the fact it’s the
style of a bomber jacket Makes Ed Sheeran seem relaxed he doesn’t
need to constantly try to gain fans he can just be himself. The light is
also directly on Ed sheerans face implying that his personality may
shine through more than his music. The fact he is holding is guitar
exaggerates his passion towards music but perhaps his guitar is his
main feature his fan base aspire to. In addition, having the guitar in
the full bleed informs the reader who may not necessarily know
what ‘q’ magazine contains what sort of genre is included. They
haven’t actually used any thumbnails because Q magazine is a strong
magazine using strong artists and therefore they don’t need to show
everything that’s inside. An alternative interpretation is just the fact
sometimes thumbnails can look quite unprofessional.
‘Q’ magazine has a continuous colour scheme throughout all their
magazines: red with the shades white, black and grey. On this front cover
the colour of importance is red, this means those at the top at the hierarchy:
Q magazine, Ed sheeran and one of the main selling points appeal clearly to
the reader. Therefore all those lower down the hierarchy are in white,
although they’re still important as they attract a wider range of audiences.
‘Ed sheeran- an everyday tale of one man, his guitar and global
superstardom…’ is the main selling line for q magazine hence why its
placed directly in the centre of the magazine. This highlights this story
is the centre of importance in this issue. Again, ‘Ed Sheeran’ is in red to
stand out but alongside that it’s also in a different font compared to
the rest of the sell lines. The use of the different font depicts Ed
sheeran is original with his own identity and doesn’t need to constantly
fit in. This is something an audience/ upcoming artists are likely to
aspire to because he’s got such a big fan base but at the same time he’s
extremely down to earth putting across the message that do what
makes you happy and let people except you for you. The other sell
lines (lower down in the hierarchy) but they’re there to appeal to the
audience informing them about what’s inside. The writing that’s in a
much bigger font are more prominent on the page making them be
one of the main reasons someone would potentially buy the magazine.
‘Q’ magazine contains some Administrative
detail on the front cover which is used to inform
the audience. The contain the price of the
magazine: £3.99. However the purpose of the
magazine is to make their audience so their
attention isn’t on the price.
Typography: The san serif font used on the front cover suggests the
magazine hasn’t got a specific gender it wants to appeal to as is if
used serif fonts it would seem a bit more girly.
The use of the banner: ‘ESSENTIAL!’ and the button: ‘50 albums of
2014 your definitive must hear list’ is a way of promoting what's
inside and as its large it could be one of their main selling points.
2. The masthead: Billboard is the largest san serif font on the front
cover suggesting it’s at the top of the hierarchy of importance and
again it’s something the audience may familiarize with and
therefore they want they want their audience to recognise that.
Although the full bleed of Katy Perry is actually covering some of
the mast head. This suggests two things… Firstly, Katy Perry is the
main selling point for the magazine and therefore needs to be the
centre of attention but secondly Billboard is so well known it
doesn’t need to be the main focus and despite the fact you cant
see all the letters because its so well known the audience will more
than likely be able to fill the gaps. To continue, the use of the blue
and yellow in the masthead connate the magazine is multi- gender
automatically increasing it’s target audience but also its more
visually appealing and eye catching for the audience.
The direct address of Katy Perry automatically creates a connection
with the audience also indicating that she’s someone who cares
about her fandom and wants to make them feel accepted and
wanted. The full bleed is of Katy Perry in a flowery rather unique
dress which you could argue links in with her personality. Flowers
have connotations of happiness and being fragile which is the view
many people may have of Katy, but in this magazine she appears to
be putting on a brave face at the same time you could say the
flowers represent Katy Perry blossoming into a strong solo artist.
This feature is something many up coming artists are likely to
aspire and therefore they’re likely to buy the magazine. In addition,
Katy Perry has a full face of makeup mainly using pink, this and the
pink background infer the magazine’s target audience is females.
Also, the fact she’s wearing a lot of makeup suggests she's trying to
be someone that everyone can look to but also just emphasising
the fact she’s a very girly character.
The main colour scheme is black and yellow including white
and orange. This makes the magazine just have more of a
professional look. ‘Billboard’ and ‘Katy Perry’ are both in
bold and at a bigger san serif font due to order of
importance: they’re at the top of the hierarchy and
audiences are generally quite materialistic so they tend to
see the things that are bigger and brighter first.
The use of including the date is to inform the reader if
they’re buying a new issue but also it helps them keep up to
date with when the next issue is due. However the
magazine doesn’t use any other administrative detail
making the magazine seem quite basic. At the same time
this could be inconvenient to the audience as they may
have to go out of their way to find out how much the
magazine costs although the price may be on the back.
Billboard doesn’t include many sell indicating they’re a very
strong magazine and they don’t need to promote
everything that’s inside their magazine they tend to focus
on promoting one main selling point. ‘Katy Perry’ is the
main sell line, she has a large fan base and increases the
magazines target audience. Katy Perry is also well known
and therefore allot of the general public would ever aspire
to here or be interested in the gossip said about her. The
other sell lines are in a small font. One of the sell lines that
stands out to me is ‘Beyond Farmvile’ as this isn’t
necessarily about music and therefore makes the magazine
suitable for all taste’s.
This magazine doesn’t include any banners but it
does include a button which is used to highlight
one of the magazines best bit: chart heat. The
range of artists named again, increases the target
audience. The fact the main titles are in yellow is
one visually appealing but secondly indicates their
no specific genre that this magazine is aimed at.
3. The direct adrdess of Rhianna along side her facial
expression: an over the top pose exaggerates her
confidence. She also looks quite love struck which
links to one of the main sell lines: ‘crazy in love’ Half of
Rhianna’s face Is covered suggesting she’s got a side to
her she’s either not proud of or doesn’t want people
to se however the fact she looks like a strong powerful
woman is a trait many will aspire to. Rhianna is
covering the masthead suggesting she’s at the top of
the hirachy .
The masthead RollingsStone is in a large font which
is red. It is partly covered suggesting it’s so well
known. Rolling stone is actually one of the most
well known bands which in a way makes this
magazine more respected and again stands out
more even though it isn’t named after the band.
The magazine is 44.99 suggesting their target
audience is middle to working class and it
perhaps not for children as its too expensive. It
indicates the magazine is quite grown up and
mature, something that mainly adults will enjoy.
In comparison to the magazine itself the
masthead is quite small but the fact it’s the only
thing in red makes it stand out but it also
indicates the magazine doesn’t need to boast its
already got a good brand image.
All of the sell lines are on the right as Rhianna is
looking to the left they don’t want to cover her
face symbolizing the respect people have for
her. In addition they’re very structured and in a
way it makes the magazine seem very
professional. Each sell line has its own visual
look showing that everything in the magazine is
original which you won’t be able to find any
where else.
There’s a range of typography used both serif
and san serif. Rhianna is serif which adds a
female touch to her and depicts that the ideal
target audience is females
There aren’t any thumbnails used as this is
more of a professional and grown up
magazine. Thumbnails are less serious and look
slightly less mature .
.
No slogans are used as the magazine is more
sophisticated. This ties in to why there’s no
buttons or banners, it just doesn’t fit with the
style of the magazine and because it’s well
known it doesn’t need to boast about what’s
inside people trust and respect the magazine.
