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The masthead of the magazine is presented in large, capitalized red font, which makes it very eye-catching against

the pale blue and black background. This masthead is recognisable, many people as it is used on every single Empire front cover and uses the iconic Empire bold redcolour. Empire

is so wellestablished that they don’t need todisplay the full title, like the imageto the left, as people know themagazine

and it’s title even withthe ‘P’ missing.

The feature photograph on the front cover is also covering up some letters of the masthead, suggesting

that the publishers are confident that the magazine's popularity will

overcome this.

The headline for the main article within the magazine is situated over the top of the feature photograph and in the centre of the page where is will be most likely to capture the audience's attention.

The title of the featured film "Sherlock Holmes" has been capitalized, again making it more eye-catching. The name of the actor playing this starring role (Robert Downey Jr) is located above this main headline. If the audience are fans of this particular actor, this line plus the feature photograph will persuade them to buy the magazine.

Another conventional feature of this magazine front cover is the use of plugs to give the audience an insight into what other articles can be found within the magazine. These snippets will persuade the audience to buy the magazine to find out more about these other articles. The plugs are also laid out conventionally around the edge of the page so they do not obstruct the feature photograph. The sub-headings accompanying these plugs have been backed onto a plain white background so that they deliver maximum impact against the darker background.

Exclamatory will create excitement amongst the audience and convince them that they should buy this magazine because it is 'the best'. The dark blacks and blues create a sense of suspense and mystery. The bright red connotes action and blood, whilst the metallic silvers can be linked to weaponry. Therefore this issue will be particularly attractive to audience's who enjoy films of this genre.

The magazines strap line "Best Preview Issue Ever!" has been placed just above the magazines masthead and the font of the strap line is also eye-catching as it is in pale silver, making it standout against the dark background. However it also does not draw too much attention away from the bright red masthead situated below.

The colours used within the front cover are also iconic of the feature films action genre.

The ages of most of Empire’s readers are between the ages of 15-44 and most of them are male with 76%. So the target audience is people from the age of 15 – 44 and should have texts, imagery and colours that appeals to the male stereotypes.