.

1. The Big Issue:
Research into Codes
and Conventions of The
Big Issue

2. The Big Issue The Big Issue is a
street magazine,
founded to give
the homeless and
vulnerable a
source of income
and a creditable
job.
Any profits are
either reinvested
into the
magazine, or used
to offer support to
homeless or
marginalised
people. Therefore,
the charity tries
to keep the
magazine current
and discussing
popular culture or
issues to retain as
large an audience
as they can.

3. How does The Big Issue adapt to
appeal to their audience?
The Big Issue has multiple genres of magazine covers that they seem to rotate to
continue to appeal to a wider target audience. Here are a few examples:
• The Celebrity Cover- The Big Issue often holds exclusive interviews with popular celebrities.
They include many denotative and connotative symbols in these specific editions
Direct Address- In the vast majority of celebrity editions, the subject is staring directly at the
audience, connecting the audience to the celebrity and making them seem more ‘relatable’.
Facial expressions and Body Language- The magazine tends to employ two techniques to create
an interesting front cover using body language. Firstly, they may instruct the celebrity to have a
humorous expression (such as Richard Osman in the examples). However, they may ask different
clients to have a serious, reflective expression (like the example of the Arctic Monkeys). This is
usually depending on the celebrity’s niche or personality i.e. Richard Osman is known for being
comedic, so it’s understandable that he would be presented this way.
Sell line- Whilst the magazine seems to depend on their audience knowing the celebrity on the
cover (as it seems to be their main sell point), they also always use their name in the sell line
which could be a good tactic since many celebrities are known more by their name than face. That
could create intrigue for the customer and encourage them to have a further look. Other key
phrases like ‘big plans’, ‘returning’, ‘unknown’, ‘reveals’ and ‘icon’ also help create intrigue for
consumers that might not have usually been the audience, they are curious as to what could be so
exciting or how they could have missed out on what is presented as a big event.

4. • The Political Cover-
Graphics- The Big Issue often chooses to have an artistic design on its cover rather than a real photo.
This can be utilised for political covers since the editors can have their exact vision designed, rather than
relying on finding a source for a photo opportunity. They can also manipulate it in any way they want, so
the customer can see one situation one way or another.
Bias- Accompanying the graphic design idea, political covers often portray certain issues or figureheads
to comply with their political ideas. This could be because they just want to convey their beliefs to their
consumers, or because they may try and sway or convince their audience to change their political track.
This is an example of political bias in the media. The issue below is an accurate example of this, since it
has designed Boris Johnson to look like the devil, with horns and a grotesque expression.
Real Life shots- The Big Issue seems to also use many real, emotionally provoking images on their
covers. This reminds the reader of our reality, it could also encourage or remind them about political
debates or current issues and how they shouldn’t ignore them.
Statistics- Spreading statistics over the cover will also often shock a customer. Similar to the real life
shots, statistics can remind the consumer of our global problems, and that we need to remain politically
and environmentally engaged with information (media like this magazine) and public efforts.

5. Other styles
• Cartoons/Art- Appealing to children/parents/guardians and creative people
• Pop culture/media(TV shows, movies, art, sports etc)- Appealing to general population
• Socially conscious think pieces- poverty, homelessness etc

6. Cover notes
• Direct address
• Sell line/ Main headline
• Header
• Masthead
• Strapline
• Price and date
• Barcode
• Facial expressions/body language
• 16-25 demographic
• Images- art style/journalistic photos

7. Possible recreations