Analysis of magazine front covers

By Jessica Olds

Codes and conventionsof a music magazine front cover!

The Header

Cover lines

Cover lines

Website

Relative storylines

Main image

Interview quotes

Masthead

Barcode

Colour schemes

The magazine ahs chosen a black red and grey colour scheme which appeals mainly to men but the red makes the product also appeal to women. The red is a bold and bright colour which stands out, the good use of the colour scheme means that the magazine looks a lot more sophisticated and clean.

The font style and size

The range of font sizes helps add depth to the magazine front cover making it seem more full than it actually is with the large font mainly at the top and covered with Eminem's head makes it seem like your getting a lot of story's when you buy the magazine which is a cleaver trick that the makers have used. The fonts are also bigger on more well known artists in the industry like lil Wayne jay-z…!

The main image

The main image is of the icon Eminem who is extremely well known in the music industry and outside and has a huge fan base who would buy the magazine purely because he's on the cover. The pose is a hard man pose and we get the impression that he wants us to think that he “is the man”. The tattoos also give of a gangster vibe along with the cross this shows belief.

The masthead

“VIBE” clearly stands out at the top of the page- it takes up almost a fifth of the page and uses a bold font style with a red to black fade making it seems seductive and adds an element of danger. It stands out and attracts attention to the main story also which is in red.

The header

The header summarises a few of the things that will feature in the magazine on this specific masthead it asked a rhetorical question and in smaller font a few of the rappers relating to that question and who could possibly be in the magazine.

The main sell line anchors the main image so that anyone can see who the man is. Also the font is big and bold with “Eminem” in red and the largest font this also has a smaller black quote line “I literally almost died” this draws in attention specifically on that story there are also a couple of other sell lines on the bottom left and along the sides around the image all using same font and similar range of sizes and the colour theme.

The masthead

The masthead “rolling stones” is hidden by pink who is the main image on the front cover, this shows that they are confident that the fact that pink is on the cover the magazine will sell more that it would just because it’s “rolling stones” it is a traditional font in a red block effect with grey 3D effect outlining giving the magazine dept and a 2 dimensional feel.

Colour scheme

The colour scheme is mainly red, black, grey and white which are effectively dull colours except the red which stands out and the white that contrasts against the black background. The clothing pink is wearing also ties in with the colour scheme as she is also wearing black leather and a white and red neck scarf. The only exception on the cover is the yellow box on the right

side which contains a “special report” with the yellow trying to highlight the fact the story isn't just like the rest its “special". overall the colour scheme all ties in together

and works well together

Cover lines

The cover lines are in a grey medium size font and only take up a small amount on the page in the bottom left hand side and the only other cover lines being the main one which is the story of pink “the dark side of pink” with a quote form the interview in smaller font than the main article font size

The header The header is simple and is only text across the top of the image advertising the type of artists you would find in the magazine its in a simple white medium size font.

The main image

The main and only image is off pink who is a female pop/rock star who is famous for her music and her grungy attitude she is atypical artist that readers of this magazine are interested in her stance is in some ways provocative as she is pulling down her jacket she also has a rebellious look on her face which represents her personality she is dressed in black and the background is black meaning her face mainly stands out with her short

choppy hair.

Font style and size

The fonts and styles of the cover lines and header are quite simple and are shaped around the main image apart from the masthead which is covered and the header which covers it.

The masthead The masthead is again simple and is a red box in the top left hand corner with “Q” in white which is the name of the magazine the white and red contrast against each other causing each to stand out and attracting attention from the target audience.

The header

The header is only a small white blocked out part of the main image and is advertising the “50 best albums” this is it two types of colours orange and black both of which contrast each other and make each other stand out.

The main image

The main image is off kings of Leon themselves an instead of the typical band pose the image is a crazy glass breaking stance of them “breaking through” linking the image with the main cover line this Is a clever link as in entices the reader making them more interested.

Cover lines

The cover lines that feature on this particular from cover are not many as the main story is the main attraction, there is a small list of featured artists in small white font and a medium font size cover line “play time for ..” blocked out in white so its more visible with the main cover line being “kings of Leon” in the largest and most visible font making the magazine appeal largely to kings of Leon fans.

Font style and size

Colour scheme

The colour scheme is also simple with red/orange, black and white being the main colours other than the one line in light pink which Is the main cover line making it stand out more that the others the contrast between red and black and white and black is clever as the words stand out more are more bold against the

main image. There is a small amount of font on this front cover as the main image is the main part there is a small list of some of the artists that are featuring in the magazine in a small and white font the other cover lines are in medium font and the ain article “kings of leon” in the largest font.