The gold button on the side of the front cover has connotations of success. The text ‘The 300th Issue” highlights that they are well known and have a dedicated fan base (maybe music enthusiasts) that may purchase each and every issue, they may even be subscribed. This instantly adds price to the magazine as its almost a trophy for ‘Q’’s long term fame. As this is the most eye catching colour on the page it draws in attention portraying how proud they are as a company of their achievement.

Q’s masthead is extremely simple yet effective. The name that they have used would only be understood by traditional vinyl users. This Is because the process of placing the disk onto the machine is called Q… The fact that the masthead never changes creates a sense of continuation. The name is the only element that stays the same throughout every issue and so it tends to be the face of the magazine. As the designers have used such a simple design it highlights how they do not need to grab the attention of their target audience as they are loyal and recognise the brand image of the company.

The main image is very intense. The direct eye contact with Adele highlights how confident she is, this portrays that her approach upon her career is extremely serious. Her facial expression is very relaxed and calm, however her blow is blowing. This could be a metaphorical to how her success is all coming at once yet it is not over whelming her. Adele’s face is pale, it always blends into the background. This tells me that she has had to put so much time and effort into her career that her private life has almost blended in.The idea connected to her hair is reiterated through one of the main sell lines ‘Blows us away’. Adele’s extraordinary talent amazes so many people that it almost is not realistic. As she has been chosen to represent Q’s 300th issue it identifies how large her audience is as Q wants to attract as many audience as they can to this particular issue.

The main cover line ‘Adele’ highlights the meaning of the image being about her and connects them, emphasising that they are related. This cover line stands out boldly from the rest of the text on the front cover, however not as much as the masthead as that has a vibrant red background. The fact that it is written in large capital letter it makes it catch the readers attention even more. Above and below the main sell line are two smaller captions related to Adele, again as the majority of the large text is connected to Adele, highlighting how big she is in the industry at this time as such a big, well known magazine has dedicated so much space just to promote her. These smaller cover lines give away more information on the artist and what the article Is most likely to be about.The majority of cover lines are distributed on the left hand side of the front cover, to ensure that the right side does not look as cluttered, and also does not distract the readers eye from the main image. There is a continuous use of the same font throughout the front cover, as well as a colour scheme. The cover lines also fit into this criteria. However the sizes of the sell lines vary depending on the importance of the article that it is related to. They inform us about what the articles are focused on, purely because it intrigues the target audience, and makes them want to know more and thus buy the magazine.

In this issue of Q they follow the conventions off all music magazines, this is portrayed through the main image being a full bleed. This emphasises the importance of the Cheryl Coles presence through there being no blank space on the front cover. The background of the image is extremely dark and gloomy unlike the foreground. The feeling of intensity is further created through the close up of the models face, the direct eye contact with the reader, and the lack of friendliness created by her facial expression, highlights the idea that she personally is attempting to connect with the audience. Almost as if she wants them to hold sympathy towards her. The only colour visible on the models face is the red lipstick. This has connotations of love, similarly the fact her mouth is open – with her tongue out portrays her as a type of sex symbol. In addition this highlights that the magazine is aimed at young men who would find her attractive. Her clothing is dark – black again reiterating that she is a mysterious character, this tends to entices the readers, making them want to know more about her. The only accessory that Cheryl Cole is wearing is a sharp ring, this is almost hooked onto her lip conveying that she is dangerous and ‘feisty’ character that is able to cause trouble.

The banner at the top of the front cover ‘the UK’s biggest music magazine’ highlights how arrogant the entire Q company is. They are confident within themselves that they are successful and that they will not be judged by their target audience, purely because they will also agree with the statement. Furthermore the fact that it is not proven and is just an opinion, emphasises how well respected they are by their target audience. The background of the banner is a solid black – the darkest colour upon the page, making the text stand out and catch the readers attention.The colour scheme throughout the front page is black, white and red, they have only used one bright colour to ensure that the page looks professional, and not messy nor cluttered. I believe that they purposely chose red as it is metaphorically imprinted into the models personality. I gain this insight as she is also wearing red lipstick.Q’s masthead is extremely simple yet effective. The name that they have used would only be understood by traditional vinyl users. This Is because the process of placing the disk onto the machine is called Q… The fact that the masthead never changes creates a sense of continuation. The name is the only element that stays the same throughout every issue and so it tends to be the face of the magazine. As the designers have used such a simple design it highlights how they do not need to grab the attention of their target audience as they are loyal and recognise the brand image of the company. There is no administrative information details displayed upon the front page. This is unconventional for any music magazine to do. No price, no barcode, nor date. As Q is an extremely successful magazine, and has a large loyal fan base, it means that this particular music magazine is price insensitive. Meaning that no matter the price, the target audience will always purchase it as it meets their needs so well. Therefore they are satisfied with their buy, and feel as if they are getting good value for their money.On the right hand side there is a grey button, this informs the reader that there is an untold story inside. The fact that there is no preview image of the celebrity involved, highlights that they are already well know with a large fan base, this is portrayed as if there is no image visible yet Q still believe that it will bring in potential sales. In addition conveying that their name ‘John Lennon’ is enough to gain attention from his fans, and persuade them to buy the magazine.The sell line ‘3 words’, s almost used as a private slogan for Cheryl Coles fans, as they would know that she has a song called this, however for someone who wasn’t not as interested in Cheryl Cole and her style of music would just believe that they mean ‘Cheryl Cole Rocks’. This creates a personal connection between the magazine and the fans.