2. To appeal to my target audience I have represented an artist within a
similar age range of my target audience (15-25).
Even though the magazine is female dominated image wise the
context of the magazine also appeals to the male audience and there
is a gender neutral house colour scheme, however I would say my
magazine leans more towards a female dominated audience due to
storylines such as “Girl power” and “Dealing with management
oppression”. The female models are not dressed in revealing clothing
and are not sexually posed, taking a stand against the stereotype of
women being a subject to the male gaze. This gives an empowering
message to the female audience.
There is a classic look to the product, such as the serif fonts and
colour scheme, which would appeal to the higher end of the age
group as it gives connotations of sophistication. However the bright
splash of colour still stands out to a younger audience. Content also
appeals to the whole age group with content such as competitions to
youthful music festivals and interviews with bands who fans are
within the age range of the product.
3. FRONT COVER
Content of the front cover leans towards both
gender, however the anchor line and pull quote
leans more towards the female audience as it
speaks of empowerment of a female character.
This would support Gauntlett’s theory of
magazines aimed at young women emphasis
that women should do their own thing.
The serif font gives a classic look which would
appeal to the higher end of the age group.
4. LAYOUT
The layout of the magazine is simplistic and
has a block style. The element of social
media opens a wider audience with the
lower end of the age group. A tag about a
competition appeals to the most of the age
group. Content is organised in one column
which is easy to locate and read and gives
content that is sufficient for cognitive
needs. More imagery appeals more widely
to the lower end of the age group as is not
too lengthy in words and is visually
appealing.
5. IMAGES
Most of the images in the product
use a direct mode of address to
create a personal connection with the
audience (uses and grats theory). All
the models are female and are not
dressed in revealing clothing or posed
in a way that is seen as sexually
attractive, this goes against Wolf’s
theory of women being portrayed as
“sex objects” and also Mulvey’s
theory that women are a subject of
the male gaze. This will appeal to the
female sector of the audience as it
will show women in a more positive
light that isn’t degrading and gives
realistic role models for the female
audience to look up to. These images
are all mid-shots except for one long-
shot.
6. IDEOLOGY
• Direct mode of address creates a personal connection with the
audience (uses and grats theory)
• Reception theory, to be able to relate the artists with the audience,
representing aspirational role models of similar age, highlighting on
things they have gone through that the audience can relate to, E.G
with a younger audience (15-18) an artist of similar of slightly older
age can relate to the struggles of growing up and teenage years.
• Affective needs, using emotions and experiences of an artist to draw
in an audience, E.G use of pull quotes from articles.
