Front Page Magazine Analysis
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Transcript of Front Page Magazine Analysis
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Audience – this magazine is very female dominated, it targets a small minority due to colour scheme and images used. I would say it targets a parental audience however more so the mothers out of the parents as it wouldn’t a=ract the male a=en>on especially due to the colours used, it would have been best to use a unisex colour e.g. blue, yellow, red, purple and so on. This would therefore a=ract both parents the contrast of pinks makes an a=rac>ve colour scheme, which would then a=ract the eye of females secluding the male audience.
Masthead – the range of sizes for the typeface helps emphasise the bigger words making them the most important in the audience eyes which helps establish the >tle of the magazine. You would normally see the >tle as the biggest text on the page and it’s normally at the top of the page as we as humans see things from the top and make our way down when we look at something or read something. Pug-‐ is there to catch the
reader’s eye, Pugs ae all shot yet vital parts of informa>on about the magazine. It’s placed in the top leG and right hand corner; the prices, logo and issue numbers are placed here. Applying the pug on the top leG hand side allows the readers would look first which of been well as the readers would have seen the important informa>on like prices and topics of the ar>cle inside.
Puffs – is an incen>ve which is placed on the cover too makes something stand out, usually by puKng text into a shape. Almost every magazine uses the puff to promote something inside the magazine. You will no>ce the informa>on in the puff is different to the rest of the detail on the magazine. As you can see the circle is filled with pink, applying a block background ensures wri>ng with the right colour in this case white, will stand out a lot more than the other pieces of text on the cover.
!Main image – This magazine has gone with the stereotypical cute school girl on the cover as it helps portray it’s a primary school magazine as you can tell it’s a young 4/5 year old. The use of direct address as the child looks straight at you involves the audience as the li=le girl is looking at them. The use of direct address creates that in>mate address with the audience a lot of comedy films do this when actors tells jokes to portray that in>mate feeling then making the joke more so funny as it feels the actor is talking to you rather than many many others.
Cover line – unlike the other cover lines this one has been made to stand out on purpose due to the change of colours used to help focused the readers view point onto it. Obviously this is an ar>cle that the school wants to show parents and children as it looks like an event that happened at the school that they are proud to promote to gain be=er views on the school. This cover line has taken a quarter of the cover page as it’s got a sub image to again emphasise the focus point on that cover line. It’s very clear to read as well with a bright and bold typeface for readers to clearly read. The cover line is very central on the page so the eyes will cross it even if the audience don’t scan the whole magazine.
Sub image -‐ this sub image is to support the cover line “Fool your fussy eaters”. Pictures help mo>vate the audience to read more into a cover line as some>mes words don’t intrigue the audience enough to want to read more of what it’s about therefore apply an image with text would catch the audience eye with more interest than it would without an image. As you can see they have made a white bored around the picture to make it a. stand out more and b. to give an instate of what the ar>cle will look inside as it looks like its collaged onto the front as its been scraped book. Which I quite like as I like the arty, scrape book feel as it makes it look more homely and family orientated which is good as it would meet the target audience of a family with young kids that go to school.
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Puff – like the secondary/ primary school use of puff this puff adver>ses an event in this case its “paintballing” as it filled with pink in the background it helps stand out to readers. Even though the background of the puff is out of colour it fits in as it adver>sing paintball and it looks like a paintball that’s been spla=ered at someone therefore making a great use of adver>sing as it cleverly related to the event instead of a same old circle.
Skyline Date line
Masthead – the masthead is called “college lifestyle”, it’s applied behind the main image on the magazine. Magazines like vogue do this to make the main image the selling point of the magazine this is because it makes that 3D effect making it quite real to the audience therefore making that in>mate bond with the target market as it’s more real to them. The Masthead is visual branding of the >tle and is oGen done in a specially designed typeface to be easily recognised and unique. The masthead -‐ also called a >tle -‐ is usually used on the contents page inside as well as the front cover, and as a logo for adver>sing and branding purposes.
Main Cover line – this is the main cover line as it’s the biggest cover line on the page. Not all areas of the spread are equal. Some have more importance, some have less. For example, when you go to the newsstand, you pick up some magazine, you grab the magazine by the spine with your left hand, and with your right hand you flip through the pages. The most visible area at that point is the outer part of the right page. Other example is if you put magazine on the table and start flipping the pages, the lighter (left part) of the magazine will be flipped and folded but the heavier (right part) will stay flat on the table, hence more exposed to the viewer’s eye. The process is reversed if someone is flipping magazine from the last page, than the outer left area of the page is the most visible one. In this case the cover line is on the left side as it’s more visible to readers.
Sell line /strapline – usually the selling line is a short sentence persuading audience on why you should read this magazine. In this case the selling line is about how hot and “exclusive” college magazine is as it’s got “hot gossip and events going on inside. The word “Exclusive” make it sound like there are “exclusive” events happening the word exclusive intrigue s the audience on what is exclusive as the students s don’t want to miss out and are force to read the magazine to see what is so “exclusive”
Barcode -‐ the barcode is normally on the front of the magazine instead of the back like most products, this is because the back page is the page that cost the most to print due to it being the best place to adver>se so it’s the most expensive to pay for adver>sing therefore they avoid puKng the barcode on the back as it’s the most expensive to print.
Cover line – the cover lines used are basically page fillers they are headlines for the ar>cles in the magazine. The cover lines are supposed to intrigue the audience with short snippets of the ar>cles that are wri=en in the magazine which would then persuade them to open up the magazine and look for the ar>cle as it given the audience an interest in the magazine.
Main Image – the model has posed as confident and happy therefore an>cipa>ng college at an enjoyable place to study. This image also represents mul>-‐culture in the college due to the art book and law book the model is holding which would then widen the target market as of who would be interested in this college.
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Masthead – the >tle has been separated from the picture as it doesn’t overlap the image like other magazines normally do. Instead the background has been filled with black emphasising the “The College Life” >tle therefore standing out from the rest of the magazine. However it doesn’t fit in with a colour scheme looking unprofessional in my eyes.
Audience -‐ The target audience of the magazine are college students because the main image is a college student. Also the sell lines on the magazine suggest that the target audience is college students, this is because all lines suggest ways that college students can benefit, revealing the target audience. The use of colours used help a=ract both genders as it doesn’t too many feminine colour nor masculine colours which broadens the target market even more so.
Representa>on: The main image of the magazine represents that college is a happy place to be, this is because the girl is smiling. Also the background of the image, a library, represents it supports for people in their college as well. Moreover the library represents a place for students to go when needing to do work, therefore sugges>ng the college has the right facili>es for their students. In the main image the books that the girl is leaning on represent that educa>on is a key aspect of college life. This is because the books show that she is learning but she is also happy to learn which backs up the point of it being a happy environment to work in. the magazines trying to promote the college as best as it can with adver>sing the college in the back ground showing off one of its facili>es
Puff -‐ this is a puff because it’s has a shape put behind a text to make it stand out more to the audience. A puff usually looks like a s>cker that’s been stuck on the magazine, the magazine has portrayed that nicely however it doesn’t excite me as much as other puffs have I think it’s because they haven’t taken advantage of the range of sizes that would make the words shout at you for a=en>on, I would of love to see some text that had a use of play on words or something that is catchy for the readers to be intrigue although it does have the word “WIN!” which immediately shows there is a prize or reward that always interests audiences as people love free things.
Barcode – the barcode is used by magazines retailers so the magazine can be purchased at stores and can be immediately registered. A barcode is a typical conven>on of a magazine.
Strapline – normally a strapline is posi>on on the top of the magazine just above the masthead the language used in a strap line makes the reader want to open the magazine and find out more on the story.
Main Image-‐ the main image is central with the model looking at you which has direct address to the audience, however the image as a whole looks too busy therefore drawing away a=en>on from the cover lines and tag lines which adver>se and promote the college. It would have been a lot be=er if they blurred the library seKng and then only focusing the model which would then guide the reader’s eyes a lot more because at the moment you don’t know where to look. And maybe adjus>ng the ligh>ng of the library seKng which would then calm the image down a lot more as well because it’s over powered by the natural light in this image excluding a more so visible focus point. However overall the image is relatable to the magazine and does create an in>mate feeling with the audience due to direct address.
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Cover line – the cover lines are used to en>ce the audience with relatable subjects that students can grasp an interest on. For example you have “smoking Salvia?” which will en>ce smokers wan>ng to quit to encourage a healthy lifestyle in college life. You also have cover lines that seem as gossip but really is life advice on your years on educa>on it says; “she’s 15 & pregnant, this might be gossips but it will be an ar>cle that encourages protec>on. These cover lines are to intrigue consumers to pick up the magazine and read the ar>cles as they are filled with beneficial informa>on for young adults and teens.
Main image – the image is a median shot of a girl and due to a natural colour scheme the girl is wearing a red top which >es in with the colour scheme, matching up with the magazine >tle. She is wearing a red college shirt which can represent enthusiasm towards the college. The girl is in front of the masthead which is what a lot of well-‐known magazine companies do, like vogue and GQ they like to do that a lot with their models on the magazine cover, pulling them in front of the masthead. It shows her smiling and being happy which can represent the college as a heathy working environment
Masthead -‐ the masthead is big and bold and is the first thing you no>ce when you look at the magazine. This is the main aim of the masthead. The masthead is very mature and elegant which shows the sense of adulthood, which the audience must go thought to enter this college as it’s where the educa>on is important here and if you’re not there to study then you’re not there at all. The masthead is bold and red in capitals to really grab the a=en>on of a consumer. The font is strong in keeping up with the magazine genre and colour scheme.
Issue date – month and year of publica>on of the magazine, the magazine would usually hit stands a month before cover date. The date and issue informa>on doesn’t normally stand out too much. This connotes that it doesn’t a=ract the readers too much as you want the audience to focus their a=en>on more so on the masthead and the cover page.
Audience -‐ due to the neutral colours used this magazine can a=ract male and female audiences however can also a=ract males to an a=ract blonde girl being on the colours she looks like she’s some sort of sportsman like a cheerleader or runner due to sport looking top and the short shorts would also help a=ract the male a=en>on as well. Her top is red and red can interpret a seduc>ve outlook on this. She meets the stereotypical “hot” girl blonde sports girl wearing red uniform etc. Although it can a=ract to a female as well due to it being a girl on the cover it can help the female audience feel relatable and again because it’s an a=rac>ve woman, other woman may want to look like this therefore pick up the magazine due to aspira>ons and jealousy towards the cover girl.
Barcode – like all magazines the bar code is found on the front, for this magazine it’s on the bo=om right hand corner, usually joined by a price.