analysis of front cover own magazine

1. The genre of thismagazine ismusic
and the sub-genre isrock music.I
knowthisbecause several iconsof
rock music,suchas ‘Slipknot’ and‘A
Day to Remember’are denotedas
coverlines,showingstoriestothe
target audience aboutwell-known
rock artiststhat theyare interested
into get theirattention.
The rule of thirds isusedon the
frontcover to ensure thatthe layout
makessignificantcoverlines,
featuresandthe maincoverline
visible whenthe magazine ispartly
covered,toshow the target
audience whatexclusivefeatures
thismagazine hasto offerthem.The
thirdswiththe coverlinesaround
the mainimage and the mainimage
inthe verycentre alsokeepsthe
layout ina simple form, whichisnot
confusingforthe audience,andsoa
grid-like formatwill appealmore to
them.
The masthead is positionedatthe
top inthe centre of the frontcover
to immediatelytell the audience
that thismagazine iscalled
‘Kerrang’,andtherefore givesthe
magazine a unique branding,toset
it apart andmake itrecognisable
fromothermagazines.Despite
slightlyunderlayingthe mainimage,
the unique large andcapitalized
typeface makesthe mastheadstand
out.The fontappearscracked,and
so connotesa message tothe
audience of loudmusic,shattering
glasswindows,andthereforeagain
representsthatthissub-genre is
loudrock music.
The model of thisissue is‘Gerard
Way’,a popularrockartist that the
target audience will recognise andbe
drawnintohis storyinside.The artistis
the main image of the front cover,in
the centre of the page and overlaying
the masthead,tomake the image a
focal pointof the frontcover.It isthe
mainfeature of thisissue andso will
be the firstthingthe audience sees.
The mis-en-scene isdenotedwith
Gerard’s direct addresswiththe
audience,creatingaclose andpersonal
relationshipbetweenhimselfandthe
audience,engagingtheirattention
further.Thisisa mediumlong shot, as
it cutsoff at the artist’sthighs,
denotinghisbeltandtrousersinhis
blue suit.Hissuitmakeshimlookwell-
presentable andthe vividroyal blue
suitand hisredhair fitsintothe bright
blue yellow andred colourscheme on
the front cover.These brightcolours
make a boldstatement,capturingthe
target audience’sattentionrightaway.
The main cover line is denotedina
biggerfontand a differentcolour
than the othercoverlines,tomake
it standout andto showit isthe
mainfeature of the magazine,asit
isanchoredto the main image of
Gerard Way and hisarticle.
The other coverlinesare there to
show whatother articlesare part of
thisissue’scontents,toshowthis
magazine hasa lot of interesting
featuresforthe targetaudience to
readand again give themmore to
offerthan othermagazines,tohelp
the magazine ingettingsold.
The barcode is conventionally
shownonthe frontcover,along
withthe price and the issue number,
to give specificdetailsaboutthe
magazine tothe audience andto
showthat thisnew issue isnow
available forthemtopurchase.
The strapline can be positioned
alongthe verytop or bottomof the
frontcover.This striptellsthe target
audience more of the different
featuresavailable toreadinside,by
visuallylistingafew of them,such
as ‘the funniestinterview you’ll
read’,whichisshownonthis
particularfrontcover.The target
audience have more tolookat by
givingthemmore texttoread,
whichkeepsthemdrawninto the
magazine.
The target audience iswhothe magazine isaimedat.They are keptin the editor’smindwhendesigningthe
frontcover bychoosingcharacteristicsorfeaturesthatwill appeal tothemmore,makingthemwantto
purchase the magazine.The targetaudience forthisKerrangmagazine isaged between13-40 as the vivid
colourscheme of red,yellowandblue willcapture theirattentionmore,whereas more subtle colours,such
as blackand white wouldappeal more toanoldertargetaudience (of above 40).The class of the target
audience will be middleclass,fromlookingatthe price of ‘£2.20’ as thisisnot too expensive,andwill
appeal tomiddle classpeople more. Aswell asthis,youwouldstereotypicallyassociate people of anupper
classwithrelaxingclassical oroperamusic,andmiddle classpeoplewithmore groundedmusic,suchaspop
or rock, like Kerrang. Also,the genderof the targetaudience ismostlymen,asthe boldandstandardfont,
alongwiththe loudand intimidatingmusicasthe sub-genre will appeal tomenmore thanwomen(who
wouldprefermore delicateandfancylookingfont).