An analysis of a Rolling Stone front cover

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Target Audience and genre
RollingStone magazine appealsto
adultsmore than children,asthe
textisquite complex,andthe artists
that theyfeature don’tappeal to
those of a youngeraudience.The
genre of thismagazine isquite
mixed,asthe coverdisplaysartists
of differentgenresof music.
Main Image
The main image isa posedimage of
Lana Del Reyin blackand white.
Thismay be in blackand white to
reflectthe solemnnessof some of
hersongs. Thisimage usesinformal
balance,asLana ison bothsidesof
the page,howevershe isn’tposing
ina perfectlysymmetrical way
Model credit
The model creditgivesvague
informationaboutLanaDel Rey’s
“inside story”intriguesthe reader
and makesthemwantto buythe
magazine sotheycan read onand
findoutabout thisexclusive story
that the artist hasshared.
Main CoverLine
The model creditisinlarge black
lettersmidwaydownthe right side
of the page.Thisstandsout due to
it beingsobold,andbecause the
backgroundimage ismainlywhite,
therefore there isacontrast
Colours/Typefaces/House style
The colour scheme forthispage isblack,white
and red.The main featuresare ina largerfont,
withthe smallerfeaturesinasmaller,non-
boldedfont.Thishasbeendone tomake the
mainfeaturesstandoutmore,and grab the
reader’sattention.
Masthead
The bright redof the mastheadcontrastswith
the black andwhite backgroundof the image.
The mastheadaddsdimensiontothispage as it
partiallydisappearsbehindLanaDel Rey’s
head,as if it isinthe background.
The GutenbergDesignPrinciple
The primaryoptical area featuresthe name of
the magazine,anda banneradvertisingthe
WarpedTour 2012 dates,whichmay want
some readerswantto buythe magazine to find
out whenthe touris.Down the axisof
orientationisthe mainimage of LanaDel Rey.
Thismainimage will attractfans of her music,,
therefore makingmore people wanttobuythe
magazine.Inthe terminal areaisthe barcode,
whichdisplaysthe price of the magazine.The
strongfallowareaisblanks,whereasthe weak
fallowarealiststhe namesof otherartiststhat
are featuredwithinthe magazine.
Coverlines
The cover linesattractattentionastheyare vague enoughtomake
the readerwant to buythe magazine andread whatishappening.
Artists’namesare ina bolderfont,sothatfans of these artistswill
see theirnamesandwantto read on.
Banners/Flashes/badges
The bannerin the top leftdescribeshowif the
readerbuysthe magazine,theycansee the
WarpedTour set list,whichmayappeal to
some readers,and make themwantto buy
the magazine sotheycan findout whowill
be playingat WarpedTour