The document provides an analysis of a Q magazine cover using L.I.I.A.R, which examines the Language, Institution, Ideology, Audience and Representation. Some key points: - Cheryl Cole's image on the cover represents the magazine's ideology of being upmarket and trustworthy by featuring a famous role model. - The magazine's target audience is people aged 20-40 interested in indie music, as implied by the £4.50 price only affordable to older demographics. - Cole ties into the magazine's representation of the genre through her own music style, increasing readers who enjoy pop music and widening the audience.

1. L.I.I.A.R analysis of Q magazine
By Emily Lawson

2. Language:
The first thing I notice when looking at this magazine is the large main image of Cheryl
Cole that has been taken at a medium close up. The image immediately informs us of
the music genre of the magazine. Cheryl covers the majority of the page showing her
importance and power. This is reinforced by the way the features are all placed
around her head as it suggests that the magazine is working around her. She seems to
be wearing some sort of leather jacket which represents her sex appeal and infers that
the magazine may not appeal to a higher class audience. She also appears to be
wearing dark make up around her eyes and bright red lipstick which doesn’t match her
usual pop style and instead associates her with rock and indie music. The red lipstick
again represents her sex appeal. Her skin appears flawless on the cover which makes
viewers want to be just like her and therefore people will buy the magazine. In
addition to this she appears strong and demanding by the way that she has her hand
balled into a fist and is looking straight into the camera. This makes it look like she is
personally connecting with each reader and demanding them to buy the magazine.
The last thing that I notice about the image is that she’s stood in the rain and so is
soaking wet which again signifies her se appeal. The masthead of the magazine covers
Cheryl’s head slightly showing that it is the most important thing on the page as this is
how viewers recognise the brand. The masthead is very large and uses bright colours
to draw viewers to it immediately so they know that it’s ‘Q’ magazine. This is used on
every magazine so that the magazine is easily recognised. On some magazines the
masthead changes colour to work around the colour scheme however on ‘Q’ magazine
they use the same colours and work the colour scheme around the masthead. This
again highlights its importance. On this edition the colour scheme is black, white and
red. The colour scheme has been influenced by the image as well. The image mainly
uses the colours red and black and so they have then used the white to make the
magazine less dark and to bring it to life. I also think that the use of red links back to
the images connotation of sex appeal as this is the colour you would mainly associate
with sexiness. The colours don’t particularly attract a gender specific audience and so
this suggests its for both males and females. The plug on this magazine breaks the
colour scheme as it uses the colour grey, however this makes it stand out more and
this may have been done because they think this is something that the viewers should
be drawn to and may influence their decision to buy the magazine. The anchorage on
the magazine is printed in a much larger text than the other features and it uses a
strong font which again connotates power. The other features are printed in different
sizes and fonts, the more important ones seem to be printed larger making me think
that these are the ones they want you to be drawn to. A lot of the features state
different bands which are probably featured in the magazine, therefore giving us an
idea of the genre of the magazine. The last thing that I notice is the slogan at the top
of the magazine which has been printed in a large and sophisticated font making the
overall appearance of the magazine more professional. The slogan promotes the
magazine suggesting that a lot of people buy and therefore it must good which then
makes more people buy it.

3. Institution:
‘Q’ magazine is a popular music magazine that is published
monthly in the united kingdom. It is published in 15
countries and there are over 300 editions which can be
purchased in store or online. It was founded by Mark Ellen
and David Hepworth and the first edition was published
in1986 by the EMAP media group. In 2006 the magazine
was sold to the Bauer media group. The magazine was
originally called ‘cue’ however they changed it later on as
they believed that a singled letter title would be more
prominent on news stands. The magazine was initially
created as the founders believed that magazines were
ignoring an older generation of music buyers. Over the
years the magazine’s popularity has grown and it is now
‘The UK’s biggest music magazine’. The magazine has very
high standards of photography and printing which makes it
stand out compared to other magazines, making it a big
success. We can see how successful the magazine is by
looking at the many famous people they have featured on
the cover. The models tend to be very famous artists of the
time that are role models for many people, therefore if the
magazine wasn’t as successful as it is these famous artists
wouldn’t want to promote it. The price of the magazine
also implies that it is unique as it costs £4.50. This suggests
that it is a big company with a high end market as a low
end market may not be able to afford the product. The
magazines success keeps growing as they have expanded to
TV, radio and online, this had increased there profits
majorly. You can also now subscribe to ‘Q’ magazine so that
you can receive every issue released.

4. Ideology:
There are many beliefs and values that this magazine
communicates to the viewer. Firstly we can see that they
want to be portrayed as an up market magazine by the
£4.50 cost to purchase it. This is quite a high cost for a
magazine and would only appeal to a specific audience.
They also have a very famous artist on the front which
again suggests they want to be seen the top music
magazine. The artists mentioned in the features also are
very famous and so suggest the magazine is very popular as
these artists wouldn’t want to promote the magazine.
Further more the magazine is trying to portray
professionalism by using conventional well thought out
layouts which always stick to a colour scheme and never
look overwhelming. They also use a very thick and glossy
paper to print there magazine onto which again shows they
are professional as it high quality. The magazine is also
thought of as trustworthy as it is associated with Cheryl
Cole and other big artists who we trust and use as role
models. These artists are all linked to the genre of music
the same as the magazine and so the trustworthy image is
again portrayed as we understand that they have a good
knowledge of music. In addition to this famous artists often
talk with the magazine about personal issues which shows
that they trust the magazine to tell their story correctly and
therefore we trust the magazine too. This not only portrays
the magazine as trustworthy but also reliable. If the
magazine wasn’t as big and upmarket then famous artists
wouldn’t want to tell them personal information.

5. Audience:
The magazines main audience is people who are interested
in music, particularly the ‘indie’ genre. We know this
because it is a music magazine with the genre being mainly
‘indie’, so this will be the general audience. The estimated
age range of the target audience would be people in their
20’s- 40’s due to the high cost. The cost of the magazine is
£4.50 which means the younger teen audience can’t
generally afford it, whereas the older generation often have
paid jobs and therefore can afford to buy the magazine. In
addition to this a lot of the models featured on the cover
are of this age and so it will be more appealing to this age
group. People may also buy the magazine if an artist they
like is on the front of it and they want to purchase it to find
out more about them. Occasionally free things are given
away in the magazine and this may also attract people to
buy the magazine so they can get the free accompaniment.
The magazine isn’t aimed at a specific gender which we can
see through the gender neutral colour scheme, this tells us
that the magazine is open to all individuals and isn’t
isolating a specific gender like if the magazine used the
colour ‘pink’ throughout.

6. Representation:
Cheryl Cole is the model used for the main image on this
front cover and she ties to the magazine very well. This is
mainly because she is the same age as the target market
and so many readers can relate to her and her experiences
but also because her music is of the pop style which the
magazine occasionally uses as well as indie and rock. This
makes people want to buy the magazine as they think they
can be just like Cheryl Cole. She therefore acts as a trusted
role model for providing tips about music, making the
magazine trustworthy. Cheryl’s dark hair, clothing and
make-up also link with the colour scheme of black, white
and red. Cheryl is pulling a powerful and confident face
while looking directly into the camera which sends the
message of ‘If you want to be as talented and as beautiful
as me buy the magazine.’ The use of Cheryl Cole on the
cover may increase the amount of readers as people will
associate the magazine with Cheryl Cole in the future and
continue to buy it. This may have been why they used her
on the cover initially as the magazine is generally a
rock/indie magazine whereas Cheryl Cole tends to be more
of a pop artist. This therefore gets more people who enjoy
pop music reading the magazine, widening the magazines
audience.

7. Language:
When looking at this magazine the thing that I notice the most is the colour scheme. The colour scheme of the contents page
matches the general colour scheme of the whole magazine, using the colours black, white and red. I think this is very effective as it
makes the magazine easily recognisable. On this particular edition the dominant colours are black and white but red is used in places
like on the header, stopping the magazine from being dull and instead bringing it to life. The colours used aren’t gender specific
therefore suggesting that the magazine is for both males and females. The use of the colour red ties with the front cover keeping the
theme of sex appeal. The layout of the magazine is effective and seen as quite conventional however there are some things that break
convention, such as the fact that the contents page spreads across two pages instead of just the one, I think this may have been done
to stop the page looking overwhelming and crowded. The contents page uses spacing cleverly, making the most important pictures
larger then the rest and placing the listings of articles around the pictures. The text and its placement is particularly effective, for
example the title ‘contents’ has been placed at the top of the page surrounded by a red box. The red box draws you to it initially
because it is bright and therefore the title is the first thing you read. It is also printed in a large font making this stand out even more.
This is essential so the reader knows what they are reading immediately when they turn the page. The other text on the page tends
to be printed in the same font, suggesting that it’s all equally important. The font of the text used is neither female orientated of male
orientated which implies that the magazine is for both genders. In addition to this the images used are all very diverse meaning that it
appeals to a wide audience of both males and females. There is a cover story in the bottom left corner of the magazine which is quite
conventional to have on magazine contents page. It is effective to have these as it gives the reader a small insight of what they can
expect from the full article making them want to read on to see what happens.

8. Representation:
The contents page of this magazine represents music well as everything on the page is music related. The pages use a
gender neutral colour scheme and have pictures of both males and females which shows that its trying to appeal to a wide
audience of both genders, these all still link to music therefore representing the style of the magazine. The magazine is also
represented as diverse as the images are all of different styled people and of different age groups etc suggesting that the
magazine is for a wide range of people. I think individualism is represented in this magazine as well because other magazines
try to be more sophisticated and conventional, whereas this magazine tends to break conventions and is very different from
other magazines. An example of this is it uses a very bright red colour as part of its colour scheme in every edition which
connotates danger suggesting ‘Q’ magazine isn’t afraid to be different to other magazines.

9. Language:
The right page shows a medium shot of Cheryl Cole which fills the majority of the page showing her importance and dominance. The
image connotates power as Cheryl is stood in a strong and demanding stance implying that she can do what she wants, which we
know is true because her fame gives her a lot of power. Her clothing style links her to the rock genre which the magazine often takes
along with indie. The black clothing also suggests that she's dangerous and not to be messed with. This is also implied by the way her
hair is wild and free as it suggests she not held back by anyone. Her skin looks flawless on the image making the reader want to be
like her and therefore they will read the article to find out more about the pop idol. Generally these pictures have a small caption to
accompany them however this one doesn’t which implies that the image is self explanatory and gets its message across to the reader
without a caption. Finally Cheryl is looking to the left which is where the article is, this suggests that she's directing the reader to it
demanding them to read it. The colour scheme of the page follows the overall colour scheme of the magazine which is black, white
and red. The colour scheme appeals to both genders as the colours don’t appeal to a specific gender. The red colour can be associated
with danger which could be representing the magazines daring nature. The smaller image of Cheryl shows her doing some sort of
photo shoot or music video which informs us that the text will be based on her music history. The use of an image placed in the
article is very conventional and makes the article look quite professional. The image is quite large as well which shows her importance
as she fills almost a quarter of the page. The text on the page has been set out in columns making it easier to read and several letters
have been printed a lot larger to draw your attention to them, particularly the large red ‘C’. The large letter ‘C’ signifies the start of the
article and has been printed in a very large font which covers part of the article. This makes the page look more interesting and draws
the reader to the text. The opaque red colour has been used to keep with the colour scheme of the article.

10. Representation:
The double page spread of this magazine represents rock music very well as the style and layout all are related to this genre
of music. An example of this is the choice of clothing and make up that Cheryl is wearing on the full page image of herself as
it is very similar to the rock style. The fact that her hair is quite wild and untamed shows us her personality and how she’s a
wild character. This then suggests that she suits the genre as these are the connotations held about this genre. Her hair and
make up also matches the colour scheme of the magazine and so she represents the magazine quite well. The use of a world
famous artist as the main feature in the magazine represents the magazine as trustworthy as it shows the Cheryl Cole trusts
the magazine and she acts as a role model for readers, therefore making us trust the magazine. I also think that the
magazine could represent danger and individualism as it not only uses the colour red (which connotates danger) but also the
main image uses a powerful and dominate position, this could be trying to suggest that the magazine is daring and not afraid
to challenge conventions.