This document analyzes the front cover of an Elle magazine issue. It discusses the target audience as females aged 18-35 based on the style and model used. The purpose is to attract this audience to buy the magazine through design elements like the title, layout, cover lines, and model image. Each section is then analyzed in more detail, discussing aspects like the elegant masthead typography, main image of Lily Allen and how it follows theories of representation, well-written cover lines that create intrigue and highlight key selling points.

1. Amelia Ollis-Olds

2. Audience and Purpose,
 The target audience based on this front
cover are females in the age bracket of 18-
35, this is because of the elegant and
sophisticated style (black and white text)
and the mature picture of Lily Allen. It is
also aimed at this audience because of the
content, this is shown through
interpellation of the cover lines.
 The purpose of this front cover is to attract
the target audience into buying this
magazine, this is done thorough many
things such as title and typography, design
and layout, cover lines and style of model
image.

3. Mast Head,
• The typography is very elegant and
sophisticated, although it is opaque white
there is a definite contrast between that
and the baby pink background.
• The mast head is very large and takes up
nearly a quarter of the page. Although you
cannot see the whole word you can tell what
it says as the mast head is iconic and highly
recognisable.
• The mast head is so big and eye catching
because the name of the magazine is one of
the main selling points. Consumers buy
the product because it has built up a
reputation and a name for itself .

4. Main Image,
 The main image on this page is the well known
singer/songwriter Lilly Allen, she has recently
become a style icon and has made a name for herself
in the fashion industry as she has her own vintage
boutique.
 The photograph follows Winship’s theory as she is a
young, white, perfectly groomed and she is has a
‘seductive’ look on her face.
 Her gesture codes draw attention to her face and
expression and her wedding ring (as she is a newly
wed) . She is also looking directly down the camera ,
breaking the forth wall to engage with the audience
and draw them in.
 Her dress codes are very high end fashion , she is
wearing a very recognisable Dolce and Gabbana dress
which attracts the target audience because after all it
is a fashion magazine and its a very fashionable dress.
 The main image also follows male and female Gaze
theory, as Lily Allen has been made to look as
attractive as she can she is attracting men to want to
be with her an women to look like her.

5. Cover lines,
 The cover lines on this front cover use interpellation
to entice the audience and show them what is to
come. All cover lines are no longer than 10 words
each and use carefully selected words to draw in the
target audience.
 ‘Love..could you do better?’ this cover line uses direct
mode of address to grab the audience and make them
feel as it the cover line is taking to them personally.
This creates a enigma for the reader and encourages
them to consume the product.
 The different cover lines all cover different selling
points of the magazine, e.g. Beauty, love, fashion, life
style and celebrity.
 Typography, each cover line is in a different font size
and colour (black or white). This keeps the style of
the magazine without it being boring. It also draws
your attention to each one.
 The main sell line is ‘the new mood what to buy,
wear, see & experience right now’ this is because it is
the biggest on the page and is in front of the main
image making it more important. It also creates
enigma as “the new mood” is quite interesting and
makes the audience want to buy the magazine and
read on.

6. Cover Lines
 ‘free manicure or pedicure, look great for less’ this cover line
is really cleaver because in he current economical climate
many women would sacrifice their weekly mani/pedi to save
money therefore having a voucher in the magazine is a great
selling point for both the magazine and the beauty industry.
 ‘Lily Allen, in pursuit oh happiness’ this cover line is
immediately grabbing because it is positioned at the top on
the left (which is naturally where our eye goes). It is also a
selling point of the magazine because using social integration
theory the audience want to know about Lily’s life so that they
feel closer to her. It also corresponds to the main image of her.
 ‘The beauty break through the beat surgery’ this headline
creates enigma for the audience as they want to know that the
breakthrough is. It is also a strong selling point because the
beauty and fashion industry share very similar audiences so
therefore the magazine is broadening its target audience.
 Again the cover line ‘the jumper of the season, its £40, be
quick’ has the same sort of idea behind it as the one above. It
is attracting the audience because women want
cheap/affordable fashion.
 In every text we read left to right, this structures the way that
we read the cover lines. We read the top right one first
through to the bottom left, this determines the importance of
each cover line. Although the “Lily Allen” cover line may not
be the biggest it is one of the most important because of
where it is positioned and the fact we read it first.

7. Small print,
 ‘ELLEUK.COM’ this is found in the ‘E’ of the ‘Elle’
mast head, it is put there to inform and make the
audience aware of the Elle website without them
actually having to buy the magazine. It also makes
the magazine accessible on more media platforms
e.g. The internet, smart phones and tablets. This
is a great way of marketing the magazine and
company as the majority of the target audience
have access to one or more of these things.
 Date line, this is there to inform what issue of the
magazine it is. The magazine is produced
monthly and comes out in the month before its
due date. The date is small and discrete because
the audience can generally tell by the main image,
cover lines and content which issue it is.
 The price is again small and discrete under the
dateline this is done so that you make a decision
on whether or not you want to buy the magazine
or not before you see the price.

8. Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that
focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and
entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest
fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff
and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in
French, means she.
Subscriptions account for 73 percent of readers.
With the remaining 27 percent purchasing single
issues, Elle is the only fashion magazine to have
increased its newsstand sales in the past five
years, most notably with an 18 percent increase in
the first half of 2006. There are 27 Elle websites
globally, which collectively attract over 1 million
visitors and 26 million page views per month Elle
reaches over 4.8 million readers. The vast majority
(82 percent) of Elle's audience are women between
the ages of 18 and 49. Elle readers have a median age
of 34.7 years.Forty percent of readers are single, and
the median household income is $69,973."Our
readers are young enough to think about life as an
adventure and old enough to have the means to live
it," said Robbie Myers, editor in chief. Elle owes its
graphic signature to Art director Peter Knapp

9. Amelia Ollis-Olds

10. What is it?
 Elle Edits are a key part of the
magazine, they are designed to keep
you up to date with all the latest trends
by showing various designers and snap
shots from their catwalk shows. The
inspire readers to follow the trends and
inform them on what has been on the
catwalk.
 There are a total of 9 pages in Elle
Edits, some only focus on one trend and
have one main image where as others
(such as opposite) have up to three.
 Each edit is numbered and has a brief
description of background information
on that trend, e.g. Where it originated
and what to wear it with.

11. Layout,
 Each trend has a number and heading, the
trend number and heading both use
different typography, for example the
trend number “Trend N 13” uses the same
typography as the channel n 5 perfume,
this is done as the target audience for the
magazine are probably familiar with the
perfume and there for associate them to
have the same level of sophistication.
 The heading for each trend is in elegant,
formal black writing. Again like the front
cover, it keeps the style of the magazine
throughout.
 Each picture uses a different format, some
have been photo shopped so there is no
background to them whereas others
haven’t, they are all overlapping and going
of the page, I think this is really visual for
the eye and creates good depth.

12. Layout,
 The page is split into three different
sections for each different look, this is
effective because you can easily tell which
pictures and text boxes belong to each
trend.
 Each individual picture has the name of
the designer or design house reading
vertically upwards, again the typography is
black or white (depending on colour of
picture) and in sophisticated/formal
writing. This is done so that the reader
associates each picture to a designer.
 Each heading is carefully worded so that it
is memorable, e.g. “The super sportswear”
this is memorable because it uses
alliteration . “the shining” this heading is
memorable because it is the name of a
very famous film.

13. Amelia Ollis-Olds

14. Mast Head,
 The “vogue” mast head is so
recognisable there is no need for the
whole world. This is because (like Elle
magazine) Vogue is one of the most
famous magazines in the industry and
so even though you can only partly see
the word, it is one of the main selling
points of the front cover.
 The typography is formal and white,
contrasting to background. It uses a
chic font that connotes power and
wealth.
 The main image is shown through the
mast head but not through the cover
lines. This is because the main image of
Rihannah is more important than the
mast head.

15. Cover Lines,
 These cover lines show what is to come,
they are all under 12 words each and
give brief description of the story’s,
features and headlines within.
 They are carefully selected and are all in
black and white which adds to the
brand image and reputation. The
different cover lines are all have
different typography . They use
different fonts, shapes and sizes to
attract the eye and create depth.

16. Main Sell Line
 ‘Rihannah Rocks’ is in bold capital
white writing, it immediately attracts
the eye and entices the audience in. The
alliteration is used so it is a memorable
headline and the writing underneath
connects to the main line creating a
sentence as well as two separate
statements.
 This cover line in the main cell line
because it is the main selling point of
the cover. It also connects to the model
image.

17. Date Line and Price Line,
 This is small and vague, this is because
the magazine comes out monthly and
the change in cover is more recognisable
then the change in date as the target
audience buy it monthly.
 The price is also small, this is because
they do not want to draw attention to
the very high price.

18. Main Image,
 The main image is of Rihanna the famous
singer. It is a very powerful picture of Rihannah
as she is looking down at the camera creating
direct mode of address and making her look
“God” like.
 Her gesture codes also connote power and status
because she is looking down at the reader from
a higher position with only the sky behind her
suggesting she is the only thing above
everything.
 This image both follows and challenges
Winship’s model image theory. As she is
young, perfectly groomed and has a ‘seductive’
expression she follows the theory. However she
is mixed raced and therefore challenges the part
of Winship’s theory that says all cover girls are
white. Although it is known that generally most
cover girls are white, the ones who are black or
mixed race are usually very well known and high
up in the fashion, beauty are music industry.

19. Questionnaire: 4. If so, which magazines do you
1. What gender are you ? buy ?
 Female • Vogue
 Male • Elle
• Company
2. How old are you ? • Glamour
 10-15 • Look
 16-20 • Grazia
 21-30 • O.K.
 31-50 • Other
 51+ 5. What attracts you to this
magazine ?
3. How often do you buy magazines ? • The cover image
 Never • The cover lines and stories
 Occasionally • The name/ reputation
 Sometimes • The style of the cover
 All The time

20. Questionnaire:
For my audience research I did a questionnaire into audiences and magazines they
buy and read. The results were as follows:
Females aged 16-20 buy:
Vogue
Elle
Company
Glamour
Look
Grazia
O.K
other

21. Questionnaire:
What Attracts you most to the
magazine?
Cover Image
Name/
Reputation
Cover lines/
Stories
Style of front
cover