This document provides an in-depth analysis of the front cover of the magazine "Top of the Pops". The summary analyzes key elements of the cover design including the masthead, main image of One Direction, additional celebrity images, fonts, colors, and layout. The target audience of young girls is considered throughout. The design aims to attract this audience with fun, bright elements that match the bubbly brand identity and showcase popular celebrities to generate interest in reading the magazine.

1. ‘Top Of The Pops’ Front Cover Analysis.
The Masthead
The mastheadis‘Top of the Pops’thisclearlyshowsthe genre of the magazine straightawayand
allowsthe audience toguesswhatthe magazine isaboutalso The name of the mag indicatesthat
onlythe ‘top’popartists will feature inthismag.Onlythe bestwill be presentedtothe target
audience.Italsorhymeswhichmakesitsoundcatchyand memorable the rhyme reflects
moreover, the fun brand identity of the mag. It isboldand brightwhichcatchesthe reader’s
eyesmakingthemreadthe magazine.Asthe textiswhite ona vibrantpinkbackgrounditallowsitto
standout fromother magazinesmakingthisone differentfromothermusicmagazines,the colour
white hasconnotationsof innocence andyouth,remindingusof the target audience.The ‘S’ is
curledanddecoratedmakingthe headerlookstylishandfun,comparedtoa basicdisplayfont,the
slightscriptlooktothe title of the magazine makesitlook funandexciting.Italsogivesita girlyfeel.
The fact some wordsappear ina circle shape addsto the funof the magazine makingitlook
differentandstandout.
Aroundthe mastheadare small stars,whichagain,linkto the girlyfeel andmakesthe personalityof
the magazine appearbubblyandfun.Itgivesita decoratedlookandfeel andlinkstothe popgenre
as pop musicisgenerallyfunandexciting.The starsalsoreflectthe ideaof ‘stars’andcelebrities
whichfeature inthe magazine.

2. The Image
Thisparticularmagazine featuresOne Directionasthe mainimage.Thisistypical of a pop music
magazine astheyusuallyfeature aboybandon the front coverto attract younggirlswho are
especiallybigfansof boybandsto buythe magazine.Younggirlssuchas the oneswhoreadthis
magazine,wouldlove boybandsasitwouldbe a hot topictheywouldtalkaboutwiththeirfriends,
as theywouldall have a favourite memberof the bandwhotheywouldhave a crushon, therefore,
by featuringbandssuch asOne Direction,TopOf The Popsare able to attract theirtargetaudience.
Theyappearsmilingandlaughingtogive ita happyand funfeel.Theyuse directaddressastheylook
directlyatthe camera at the audience tolure themin,tomake the audience feel theyare lookingat
them.Thisiseffective asyounggirlswouldfeel theyare lookingatthem, allowingamore personal
and friendlyfeel.
Each of the band membersare wearingacasual suit,to make the suitseemmore casual,Liam, Louis
and Niall have ajerseyt-shirtundertheirblazers.Thisgivesamore funandcalmingapproach,
showinghowOne Directionare lighthearted,cheekyandfashionable.Allof theminsuitswould
have made themappearolderthantheyare whichwouldgoagainsttheir highenergy,youthful
brand identity.All of the boysare wearingatleastone itemof blue clothing,thisistomake them
appeartidyand professionalandalsohighlightstheirunityasaband andtheircompanionship.
However,theyall wearothercolours toshow theirindividualityanduniquestyle.Portrayinghow
each of thembringsomethingdifferenttothe band.The suitsgive thema sophisticatedlook,
showingthatalthoughtheirbrandidentityisfunandfilledwithenergy,theyhave amature,
understandingandhumble side tothem.Thisisalsoshownthroughtheirhairstylesinthe image.
Zaynshair isfreshlycutand almostgivenablow driedlookintoa curl whichcomesoverhis
forehead.Thisaddstohisquirkyand funkyfashionstyleandthe blonde streakaddstohis
rocky/edgylook.The contrastincoloursalsohighlightshisfunandoutgoingpersonalityyetthe
darknessrepresentshismysteriousandalluringpersonality.Thischoice of hairstyle couldbe seenas
brave and controversial showinghowZaynisconfidentinhislookandisnotafraidto standout.
Liam,Louisand Niall all have similarhairstyles,astheyare all freshlycutandstyledintoa quiff.This
givesthema sophisticatedlookandhowtheytake time intheirappearance.Harry isshownwithhis
signature curlylocks,styledperfectly.The facthishairis seenlike thisinmostimagesof One
Directionhighlightshiscontinuitythroughoutthe band.Also,asHarryand Zayn have distinctivehair
stylesshowshowtheyare the mainband members,itcouldalsohighlightthatthese are the most
popularbandmembersthereforeitsimportantforthemtostandout.
Liam,Harry, Niall andLouisall appearsmilingintothe cameraalmostas if theyare laughing.Asthey
are all smilingitmakesthemappearfriendlyandbubbly,italsohighlightstheirsimilarinterestsas
theyare all laughingatthe same thingat the same time,portrayinghow theyare young,funand
goodfriendsall enjoyingthemselves.Yet,Zaynisshownwithamysteriousfacial expression,withhis
headtiltedtothe side.Thisagainremindsusof hisquirkyand intriguingstyleandpersonalityand
howhe standsoutfrom the group.
Theyare all positionedinthe frame inagrouptogether,yetratherthan juststandingside by side
theyare close toone another.Noone is blockingone of the memberssowe can see all of theirfaces
clearly,thisshowshowthere isnokeymembertoOne Direction,theyare all a friendlyband.Also,
as theyare positionedinagroup ithighlights theiryouthalot more as it wouldbe unusual tosee a
youngerbandsuch as One Directionsimplystandinginline withone another.Thiswouldbe seen
more witha boy bandlike Westlife,therefore thiswouldnotsuittheirbrandidentity.
Theyare stoodinfront of a settingmade upof lotsof fairylights,yetthe backgroundisunfocused,
makingthemappearslightlyblurred.Thisistomake sure all the focusison One Direction.The lights

3. alsogo withthe christmastheme of Top Of The Popsmagazine,as itgivesa festive feel.Italsoadds
a touch of delicate colour,withoutoverpoweringthe band.
A mediumlongshothasbeenusedsothat we can see mostof One Direction’scostume,asthe
target audience of the bandwouldwanttosee as much of themas possible.Italsomeansthe image
can fill the entire frontcover,asthe bottomhalf of themcan be slightlycoveredwithotherfeatures
such as the mainsell line,ratherthana close upbeingusedastheirfaceswouldbe covered.
FashionSection
In the top rightcorneris a fashionsectionwhichisaconventionof popmagazines,showingthe
audience whatisinside.Asthe targetaudience wouldbe luredintobuyingthe magazine.The
captionis‘132 perfectpartybuysfor you!’.The targetaudience of Top Of The Pops wouldlove the
fashionsectionastheyare younggirlswhowouldhave a love tolookgoodand enjoyshoppingwith
theirfriends.Theywouldalsowanttogrow up to looklike the artistsandcelebritieswhofeature in
the magazine,andby having thisfashionsectiontheyfeeltheycouldbe more like them. The
number‘132’ sounds non-contrived and natural and also that there are lots of fashion items;
132 sounds more than 130. ‘Party buys for you’ gives use of direct address, the target
audience feel like the magazine is helping them out like a friend, as they want them to look
and feel good about themselves. The idea of a party also gives a fun feel to the magazine,
sticking to its brand identity, it also highlights how the target audience of this magazine are
bubbly, fun and like to party and have a good time with their friends. Finally, as the prices
are shown it makes us feel like they want us to buy these exact items, as the target audience
would enjoy shopping, by seeing the prices are not too expensive and that they are
affordable, would make them want to buy the items. This could also be a hot topic for her
and her friends to talk about together, as they could look at the pictures of 132 items of
clothing and discuss which items they love and why.
Alongside thisare imagesof clothes,accessoriesandshoeswhichwouldattractthe eyesof those
interestedinfashion,the colourof boththe jumperandshoe are pinkwhichisa typical girlycolour
and a typical colourfor a popmagazine tofeature.
The Skyline
The skyline isavibrant,brightblue colourwhichstraightawaygrabs attentionandintrigue.Itsays
‘FREE! 50 HUGE CHART HITS’ the word ‘free!’isinboldandcapital letters,followedbyan
exclamationmark.Theyhave done thistomake thiswordstandout comparedto the rest of the
sentence asthe wordfree isa buzz word,everyone will be interested.The exclamationmarkalso
adds statementandloudnesstothe word.It goesonto say the ’50 HUGE CHARTHITS’ feature.The
word‘huge chart hits’isalliterationmakingiteasytorememberandthe wordhuge is alsoanother
buzzword makingthe sentence soundexciting.Nexttothe textisa picture of a popartist,Taylor
Swift.She appearswithredlipstickandblonde hair,herfacial expressionappearssmilingwithher
mouthopen,makingherlookfunand happy.Thisisimportantto come across ona popmusic
magazine.
Left Hand Third
In the lefthandthirdthe audience are presentedwiththreebrightblue boxescontainingthree
differentcelebrityboystars,includingTomDaley,AstonMerrygoldandUnionJ.All these boysare

4. youngand handsome whichwouldattractgirlstowant to readaboutthem.It alsoincludesastripat
the bottomof the page containingsix imagesof celebrities.The titleis‘Plusall these starsand
more!’all six of these celebritiesare youngandup to date.
The target audience wouldappealtothe articlespromotedinthe sell linesastheyare gossipfilled
and embarrassingstoriesspilledoutbytheirfavouritecelebrities.Theycouldbe able torelate to
these storiesforexamplethe cringe worthy‘crimboconfessions’saidbyTomDaley.The ideaof
relatingtohimlinkstoBlumlerandKatz five benefits,thisone beingidentifyingwithothers.
Furthermore,the friendship‘secrets’revealedbyUnionJwouldbe interestingforthe target
audience astheywouldfeel UnionJare tellingthempersonallytheirsecrets,linkingtothe ideaof
the target audience feelingclosertotheirfavourite celebritieslikethey’re afriend.
At the bottomof the frontcover,we are presentedwithastripof images,containinghintsasto
whatcelebritiesare inside.Some of the imagesare Little Mix,Max fromThe Wanted,ArianaGrande,
Demi Lavato,NickGrimshawand AustinMahone.All of these wouldappealtothe targetaudience as
theyare all young,funcelebritieswhichare well knownbyateenage girl targetaudience,they
wouldbe fansof these celebritiesmakingthemwanttobuythe magazine sotheycan readabout
themand find outultimate gossip,makingthe targetaudience feel theyknow these celebritieslike
they’re aclose friend.Above the imagesstates‘Plusall thesestarsandmore!’Thisiseffectivefor
luringinthe target audience asbyshowingalistof several of theirfavouritecelebritiesitcreates
excitementthattheresevenmore!Highlightinghow the fun-filledbrandidentityof the magazine is
met. The word ‘plus’iswritteninboldfontcomparedtothe restof the text,the word‘plus’acts
as a buzz word,drawingthe targetaudience intoreadingmore.The word‘plus’emphasisesthe
amountof funwhichispresentedjustonthe frontof the magazine andhow itwantsthe target
audience tosee howmuchgossipTop Of The Popshasto offer.
Mode Of Address:
The mode of addressthroughoutthe frontcoverof Top Of The Popsis chattyand fun,thisis shown
throughthe use of language usedtoaddressitstargetaudience forexample wordslike ‘super-cute’
and ‘festivefitties’are usedtogive afriendlyandlightheartedtone tothe frontcoversothat young
girlscan relate tothe frontcoverand feel like theycanunderstandthe magazinelikeafriend.The
alliterationgivesacheekyandinterestingfeeltothe magazine toosothat the targetaudience are
alwaysinterestedtoreadthe magazine,ratherthanjustlookat the pictures.Notice alsothatthey
referto AstonMerrygoldandTom Daleybytheirfirstnamesand One Directionisshortenedto1D.
Thisagain linkstothe friendlyfeel of the magazine asthe readerwouldfeel like theyknow these
celebrities.
Font:
The mastheadappearsinbold,displayfontwithatouch of scriptas the ‘s’is curledtogive a
delicate,girlyfeel linkingtothe targetaudience.Italsodecoratesthe mastheadtogive ita touchof
style andexcitement,relatingtothe funbrandidentityof boththe magazine andthe popgenre.
Similarfonthasbeenusedforotherareasof the magazine butlessboldandmuch smaller,thisisto
create continuityandto make sure the magazine appearsprofessional.

5. The main sell line iswritteninabold eye catchingfontso that the targetaudience are aware thisis
the mainsell line,astheywanteveryone toreadaboutit.‘1D’ iswritteninside apuff ina simple
sans serif,thisisbecause the puff isenoughdecorationandiseye catchingenough,therefore there
isno needfora fancyfont.The word ‘christmas’iswritteninaboldscriptfont,the textis a lotlarger
than the restof the masthead,thisisto highlightthe maintheme runningthroughthe magazine.As
the target audience are of a young female age theywouldbe excitedstillbythe ideaof christmas,so
by the word‘christmas’beingboldercomparedtothe otherelementsof the mastheaditwould
create a sense of festivefun.
Layout:
In thisparticularissue of ‘TopOf The Pops’magazine, layoutconventionshave beenmetsimilarly.A
skyline sitsrightatthe top of the front cover,to addcolour andextrabits of information.
Underneathsitsthe masthead,itiscommonfor the mastheadtoappearunderneaththe skyline,yet
the skyline does notoverpowerit.Itisalsoplacedbehindthe headsof One Direction,thisisa
commonconventionof popmagazinesasloyal membersof the targetaudience wouldbe familiarto
the magazinesbrandidentitytherefore,wouldstillbe able tospotiton the shelf.Itisalso placed
here to ensure the mainartistfeaturedhasall the attentiononthemtoattract theirtargetaudience
and increase sales.
The image fillsthe frame toensure itisfilledwithcolourandexcitement.The lefthandthirdis
where othersell linesfeatureusuallyinpopmagazines,thisisthe case in thisissue too,highlighting
howtheyhave followedlayoutconventions.The lefthandthirdiswhere the westerneye goesfirst
therefore itiscrucial forsell linestofeature here.Feature article photographsalsoappearhere to
grab the attentionof the target audience evenmore andagain,addscolourto the front cover.
In comparisontoall the layoutconventionsbeingmetbythisissue of ‘TopOf The Pops’,one
conventionwhichisexcludedisthatthe pugisfeaturedinthe middle of the frame,ratherthanthe
commonplace of the bottomrightcorner.It is usuallyplacedthere asitisthe leastimportant
feature andit iswhattheywant the audience tosee last,sothat theyare intriguedbyall of the
exciting,exclusiveandamazinginformationbefore findingoutthe price.