Research

Media Studies
By Simone

FRO N T CO VERS
AN ALYSIS

Front Cover Choice N o.1

Masthead

The masthead is placed at the top of the front

cover The letter G in Vogue is placed behind
the face of the iconic figure or even not displayed
at all whereas the rest of the masthead is to be
found in the foreground, which evidently shows
that the magazine is popular and established
enough for the audience to recognize and identify
the name of the magazine or even the magazine
itself without displaying the whole masthead. The
header is placed right on the top of the front
page, suggesting the importance of it since it
allows the audience to recognise the magazine
very easily as it is the first thing to be seen. The
magazine uses a bright pink colour for the
masthead which also matches with the colour of
theme and fonts of the stories used on the rest of
the front cover of this magazine, creating an eye
appealing contrast. Colour pink is a very
girly/feminine colour, which applies to the
audience of this magazine utterly. The font used
for the masthead is rather basic than fancy,
avoiding confusion and distraction from the

Iconic Figure

For this front cover, Vogue used Lana Del Rey as

the Iconic Figure. Lana is very popular within
young girls and women, considering her famous
and well presented appearance inside the fashion
world. This is a great way to convince majority of
Lanas fans to purchase this magazine. Lana
applies to the genre and purpose of this magazine
quite well since she is a beauty icon of many
women.The model's green dress creates a lovely
and eye appealing contrast with the pink
background. The clothing worn by the model as
well as her hairstyle and make-up are very
feminine, considering the use of soft colors and
lovely floral patterns or floral hair clips. This helps
to catch the reader's eye as the aim of the central
image is to be noticed by the reader before the
text. The iconic figure is related to the feature
article, which is about Lana Del Rey giving the
reader a clear understanding of the main topic.

Use of Color
On this specific front cover of Vogue, the
magazine focuses on three main
colours(pink, black and white) which it then
uses throughout masthead, theme and fonts.
Using only three main colour works well for
attracting the readers attention since its
easier to focus on fewer colors than more.
The colors black and white contrast, which
catches the onlookers eyes whereas the
colour pink is known to be a feminine or a
girly colour, being the reason for the use of
this colour for a magazine targeted for an
audience of teenage girls and women. The
colors for the heading change within the
heading itself showing the importance of
specific words or phrases, which will draw
the readers attention even more.

Headings
Several adjectives such as Essential, Easy,
Fabulous, Fascinating, Silver and Pretty interest
the addressees of this magazine. It gives the
impression of importance and necessity, forming an
interest. They appeal to the audiences interests and
prospects. The adjective International stands for
something enormous and appeals to the target
audience perfectly. Nouns like Fashion, Florist,
Hair, Princess, Dresses and Shoes are famous for
matching young girls and womens fragile and
feminine personalities, therefore these words are
moderately reasonable for this specific magazine in
order to appeal to the aimed audience. Right below
the masthead, Vogue uses the adjective fascinating
which appeals the target audience, especially her
fans. Lanas beautiful hair, even in the picture use for
the front cover goes very well with the sub story Its
time to play DRESS-UP with you HAIR. The sub
stories Easy ways to mix prints , Fashions most
FABULOUS FLORIST and Treat Yourself PRINCESS
DRESSES AND SILVER SHOES match the iconic
figures green floral dress. The dress is also very
feminine, so its easily said who the magazine is
targeted at.

 The fonts for the main stories as well as

the sub stories is rather basic than fancy.
This displays simplicity. The
words/phrases such as Essential,
Pretty, Fascinating or Treat Yourself
are in different fonts. This type style is
reasonably fancy, matching the words or
phrases itself. The difference in the
writing shows importance and draws the
readers attention more to these words.

Front Cover Choice N o.2

The masthead uses the acronyms GQ

which stands for Gentlemen's formerly
which is an evidence that this magazine
is aimed at men. The font style used is
the biggest, ensuring that the masthead
is the first thing the reader sees,
attracting mainly the target
audience(men). The colors of the font are
Masthead
red
and grey, juxtaposing with the bright
white background. This allows the
masthead to appeal clearer and stand
out. The tagline 'Look sharp - Live smart'
placed right underneath the masthead
shows the magazine's purpose and aim,
which in this case is men's fashion and
lifestyle. As a consequence of this, more
men are intrigued enough by this to
purchase the magazine.

Iconic Figure
The central image uses Leonardo Dicaprio as the
iconic figure, which relates to the feature article. The
model is a male, which is strongly relevant to the
target audience. The model's head is placed in front
of the masthead suggesting the significance of the
image and the article it links with. This is a way of
making the reader notice the central image even
before the text, which is the aim of the central
image.The model's clothing is mainly dark, creating
an eye appealing contrast with the white
background of the front cover, making it stand out
and appear somewhat clearer.The rather
fashionable clothing suggests that the image is
eventually relevant to the magazine's purpose and
audience. The model uses a somewhat intimidating
pose and facial expressions, which appeal to the
audience's dangerous personalities. His hair is
styled very nicely, which may attract the
competitive and all-wanting men. Leo's upper body
is not fully shown, leaving space for the text.

U se of Color
The color scheme for this front cover
consist of the colors red, black and grey.
These dark colors apply to the dark and
cold personalities of men, attracting
more audience. The color red is used to
create an eye catchy contrast between
the colors, and is also used to stand out.
The color black coordinates with the
central image, more specifically the
model's clothing. I would argue that the
model's eyes are somewhat matching the
light grey colour used for some of the
fonts as well as the background in the
puff of air.

The use of the word 'man' or a 'guy' in

several cover lines, including the main
headline strongly suggests that this
magazine is aimed at males. The heading
\What the sharp-dressed man will be
wearing this fall' is related to the tagline
'Look sharp - live smart' and is supposed
to intrigue the target audience enough to
Headings
purchase
the magazine in order to read
the article including guidance and ideas.
The text in the puff of air uses a
rhetorical question, with a simple solution
including a page number as a guidance
for the reader to read this article. The
magazine also includes some slang
words such as 'a.k.a.' or 'butt-head' on
the front cover, showing that it is aimed
mainly at young, 'cool' men. Words such
as 'Incredible', 'Double', 'biggest' or 'only'

Fonts
The fonts for this magazine are very
basic. The key contents are displayed in
a bolder font, showing their significance.
GQ seems to focus on one font, which it
is consistent with throughout the front
cover. The simplicity of the font styles
used appear to be relevant to the target
audience as unlike women, men dislike
the idea of fancy and pretty font. The
basic and simple font is easy to read and
avoids confusion and any distraction.

Front Cover Choice N o.3

M asthead
The masthead of this magazine almost
covers 1/3 of the front cover, which fulfils
the aim of the masthead itself, which is
to ensure that it is the first thing the
reader notices in order to recognize the
magazine easily. The color dark
blue/black are used to juxtapose with the
white background, making the masthead
stand out even more. Parts of the
masthead are hidden behind the model's
head, suggesting the significance and
establishment of the magazine. The
masthead is eventually a woman's name,
appealing to the audience even more
and suggesting that this is a magazine
aimed at women. Consequently, it is
easier to recognize the target audience

Iconic Figure
The magazine uses a very thin model for the
central image. This appeals to women, as the
target audience, as women this size are know to
be the 'perfect' size within the society. The
model is slightly underdressed and shows a large
amount of skin in order for the reader's focus to
be mainly on the model's body. The clothes the
model is wearing are red, which is known to be a
very feminine color, attracting the target
audience. She also wears a very feminine lipstick
and is stood in a very seductive and captivating
pose, showing the desirable side of women's
personalities. The rather penetrating look the
model give the reader convinces the audience to
purchase the magazine. Her perfectly edited skin
and great looks such as beautiful hair and bright
blue eyes are relevant to some cover lines as
well. Since women are know to love jewelry,
sparkly thing and diamonds, the several jewelry
worn by this model as well as the diamonds on
her clothes will attract the target audience even
more.

U se of Color
The color scheme Elle uses for the
front cover of this particular issue
coordinates with the central image,
especially the model's make-up and
clothing. Since the color red is used
mostly in the central image, it is used
very little in the cover lines, making it
great for highlighting key features that
will appeal to the target audience the
most. The color red is known to be very
feminine and therefore creates a good
reason for the reader to purchase the
magazine. Since the background is
plain and white, the dark colors such
as black/dark blue really juxtapose with
it and create an eye appealing
contrast.

H eadings
The cover lines have been chosen appropriately
to suit the target audience(women). Language
such as 'Shop', 'Hair', 'Fix it', 'Sex', 'Love' and
'Skin' is known to suit women's needs and
interests. Highlighting these key features in a
different color to the rest of the text makes
them stand out, convincing the reader to
purchase the magazine due to the appropriate
articles inside. Since the genre and purpose of
this magazine is mostly fashion an beauty, the
use of language like 'Change', 'Perfect', 'Better',
'Hair' or 'Skin' shows the focus on the genre of
the magazine. Due to the lack of space, the
magazine uses the spare space between the
masthead for more cover lines. Including
quotes gives the reader a further insight into
the article inside of the magazine, intriguing
them enough to buy the magazine. The rule of
three acts effectively in drawing the reader's
attention to the main heading.

Fonts
Elle uses only 1 font in different various
styles, from bold to thin. The font style
used for the masthead seems to be the
same as the rest of the font styles used
on the front cover, just bold and bigger.
Unlike other magazines, the font looks
rather fancy and curly, very feminine
like which clearly shows who the
magazine is aimed at.

CO N TEN TS PAG ES AN ALYSIS

Contents Page Choice N o.1

Unlike on the front cover, the title is displayed in

lower case, showing the difference between the
front cover and the contents page of Vogue.
However, the masthead is still using the biggest
font, ensuring that it is the first thing the reader
sees in order to remind them the magazine's
name and purpose. The image covers more than
50% of the contents page, suggesting its
importance as well as it catches the reader's
attention before text. The model's model like
pose relates to the genre and purpose of Vogue.
Displaying the cover stories on the central image
helps to draw the audience's attention to them,
suggesting their significance. The rest of the
contents are divided into separate sections
related to the purpose of this magazine, such as
Fashion and Special Features. Special Features
draw the reader's attention due to the use of the
word 'special', suggesting uniqueness and
exclusivity. The font of the page numbers is rather
fancy, connecting with the magazine's purpose
and relating to its audience. Vogue also gives the
reader the choice of subscription, allowing them
to save money and also convincing them to

Contents Page Choice N o.2

The magazine uses the same masthead as on the

front cover, showing pride and allowing the
reader to recognize the magazine. The model's
head covering the masthead suggests the
importance of the iconic figure and that it
,perhaps, links to the feature article. This also
ensures, that it is to be noticed before the text.
The page number on the iconic figure's clothing
suggests that it is related. Since it is the main
article of this issue, the font of this page number
is the biggest in comparison with other page
numbers. The contents of the magazine are
separated into two sections with the headings
'On the cover' and 'Your Look'. The 'on the cover'
heading and the page number are displayed in a
very fancy font style, relating to the magazine's
genre and purpose. It is shown as the first thing
to be read by the reader, since they are already
familiar with it and have probably purchased it
because of the content in this section, primarily.
The section 'Your Look' uses a second person as a
direct mode of address, appealing to the reader
and making them feel somewhat special. It also
convinces them to read the articles mentioned in

Contents Page Choice N o.3

Glamour uses a very colorful scheme for this

particular contents page, showing the funky side
of this magazine. This color scheme is supposed
to attract the target audience. the headline is
displayed in the biggest font in order to stand out
and remind the reader of the name of the
magazine. The issue number is also quite large,
making it clear what edition it is. The use of
language such as 'Style', 'Stylish', 'Dressed' or
'Looks' applies to the target audience (women)
utterly, intriguing them enough to read the
articles. the iconic figure is relevant to the
magazine's purpose as well as the main article.
The model's clothing matches the font and
background color, showing connection. Her
somewhat seductive pose acts is also very
feminine, applying to the target audience. The
color of the page numbers are highlighted in
different colors to the rest of the text, making
them stand out and convincing the reader to read
the articles. The name of the articles are
highlighted in a bold font, making it stand out
very easily and catching the reader's eyes. The
rhetorical question 'What's Emma's style secret?'
is placed on the one and only image, showing the