Absolutely South East Analysis

1. Regional
Magazines
Codes and Conventions – Absolutely South
East February 2014 Edition

2. The name of the Magazine ABSOLUTELY
South East – the word ABSOLUTELY is
prominent on the page, and in a
contrasting colour to the other text. This
makes it stand out and indicates an
importance of the word. ABSOLUTELY is
a brand name, representing different
regions across the UK. They have used
the title in this way to create a
transferable brand image across all of
their magazines and a fan of
ABSOLUTELY would instantly recognise
it. They have used an orange colour,
which contrasts with the background,
whilst blending with the colour scheme for
the front cover. They have used a bold
serif font, creating a contemporary feel to
the magazine and making it appeal to a
younger target audience. By using capital
letters they are bringing the readers
attention to the importance of the word.
For the reader, South East is a second
though as they initially identify the
magazine as ABSOLUTELY. They have
followed a key code and convention of a
regional magazine by including the region
it is targeted at and represents in the
name of the magazine.

3. They have made use of a Main Cover line which
makes use of a different font to the rest of the
page. ‘The Futures Bright’, this suggests that the
magazine features something which will affect
the reader in the future making them want to
read the magazine. A key code and convention
of a regional magazine is to have a main cover
line which draws the readers attention and
makes them want to read on. This creates a
hermeneutic code of the reader wanting to know
what the magazine is referring to, in this case
what has made the future bright, and who the
future bright will be for. They have made use of a
white colour, with a thin capital serif font. This
gives the magazine a contemporary and modern
feel, whilst contrasting the background and
making the sell line stand out. They have written
the text over the main image which also draws
the readers attention to the image. The
description of the cover line is again written in
white, however this time in italic and bold. This
makes it clear this is still relevant to the main
cover line, whilst remaining separate. The use of
white has a connotation of positive things, and by
using this on a title about the future being good –
it is connoting to the reader about the topic.

4. They have made use of sell lines around the
front cover, written in bold white serif fonts
creating a contemporary feel and staying in
keeping with the ABSOLUTELY house style, of
modern and contemporary with bright colours.
Rated in importance, by how they stand out on
the page. The topic on Inspector Gadget, and
Helen Graves are in a bold font, making them
stand out from the grey background. , with their
description/subtitle in a standard font which is
harder to read from a distance. The third sell line
is in a standard font, ‘Print Impress’, with the
description/subtitle in bold, lowercase. This
suggests that for the top two sell lines the
headline explains the most about the article and
therefore attracting the readers attention,
whereas the third headline/title does not explain
as much and therefore they want the readers
attention to be brought to the description. By
using the word ‘Explore’, they are suggesting
that the magazines article is very descriptive
giving the reader an immersive reading
experience.

5. At the bottom of the page, they have used the
magazines motto, ‘Stylish, Intelligent, Elegant,
Absolutely’. Written in a bold font, in gold it is
clear this is something which is part of the
magazines ethos/house style. Something which
would appear on every edition, this is because it
is formatted in the same way as the title, yet
does not stand out as much on the front cover.
This could be because this is not a selling point
of the magazine and therefore does not need to
attract the readers eye to get them to buy it. This
is there instead, to once the reader has picked
up the magazine and started reading they get an
idea of the style of the magazine and the content
inside. A key code and convention of a magazine
is to portray the ethos and image of the
magazine itself on the front cover. This gives the
reader an impression of what it will be like.
Usually done through the use of a
motto/strapline.
They have featured the price and issue date in
the top left corner, by using a small font for this it
is indicated this is not of importance to the front
cover.

6. The background of ABSOLUTELY
South East, is a woman wearing an
orange coat which compliments her
orange hair. The reason for the
image is not made clear on the
front cover, creating a hermeneutic
code for the reader, wanting to
know who she is and why she is on
the front cover of the magazine.

7. This is a double page spread advert from
Absolutely South East magazine. This is
advertising Pedder Property, a London estate
agent. This advert utilises a red background,
transitioning from lighter red on the left hand side
to darker on the right. This gives the
advertisement a darker feel, but using the bold
colour attracts the readers attention. The main
sell line for the advertisement is “Are you getting
the full picture?”. This is a direct address to the
reader and creates a hermeneutic code making
the reader want to know what it is referring to.
This then prompts them to continue reading. The
image on the left is of one side of a glasses
frame. Linking in with the sell line – this is
suggesting that you are only seeing from one
eye, whereas if you went with Pedder Property
then you would be experiencing more. This
advertisement is designed to catch the readers
attention and then give them the information
promoting their business and encouraging
customers to sell and buy their house using them
as their estate agent. This advertisement is
getting more information across by using a
double page spread.

8. On this edition of Absolutely South East
they are making use of a single page
contents. They are continuing the
luxurious house style shown in the
other pages of the magazine onto this
page, giving the reader an idea of
continuity. They have assorted images
around the page, giving it a
contemporary feel with the contrasting
white page number written over it. They
have included topics in the images of
food, fashion and places which makes
it clear to the reader what it is
associated to. They have then used a
mixture of traditional and serif fonts for
the content listings, again separating
the topics by their area. By using the
sub titles in bold this makes it stand out
to the reader and makes it more
personal, allowing them to choose
which they read.