In our media lessons this week, we have also been annotating magazine front covers and learning the terminology of the key features of the front cover of a magazine. We have been discussing the effect of certain front covers and how the editor uses the features of a front cover to appeal to the magazines target audience. I have been annotating two different front covers to enhance my understanding of a front cover of a magazine. I will be taking all this new information into account as I start to make my own front cover for my own magazine. The two magazine covers I annotated were "Seventeen" and "Teen Now". Both had different ways of appealing to their target audiences and both are part of two very well know brands. I have attached my annotations to this post. Annotating these magazine front covers will help me to make a magazine that will appeal to my target audience.
Teen Now
Masthead- “Teen Now”. The word “Now” in the Masthead connotes the magazine is up-to-date and provides the reader with the latest gossip. The word “Teen” shows us that themagazineis directed at teenagers. The bold font helps the text to stand out and could suggest the magazine is easy to read as it is quite a simple font. The fact that the word “Teen” is in the colour pink tells us a bit more about the target audience. Pink is the colour usually associated with girls; therefore, we can see that this magazine is targeted at teenage girls. The fact that the word “Now” is in a different colour- blue- is significant because “Now” is a popular brand of magazine; “Teen” is only added to the Masthead to target it at a younger generation.
Puff- On the front cover there are 3 puffs. All these free things attract readers as it makes them feel they are getting their money’s worth so they buy the magazine.
Tagline- Above the Masthead it says “Now Special Series”; this is emphasising that it is part of the “Now” trade and as that is a well branded magazine, it may bring more of an audience. The word “Special” could make the readers feel important as this series is especially for them so could be classed as direct mode of address.
Coverlines- In total, there are about 9 coverlines on the front cover showing a variety of content so there is something for everyone. The main colours used are pinks and yellows. The pink is used to attract female readers and the yellow is a bright colour used to catch potential readers eyes. The editor has used colloquial terms to help stick to the teenage image.
Central image and cover model- On this front cover there are 3 cover models- Harry Styles, Brad from the Vamps and Jake from Rixton. All the images are separate but are added into one. The editor used these 3 people as they were popular amongst teenage girls at the time it was published; therefore, their faces will attract more readers. All 3 images are anchored by their own quotes from articles; however, they are all under one coverline: “Spooks and Snogging- Shock Halloween Confessions!”. This links to the post- Halloween theme of the magazine as it is a November issue. The image of Harry Styles ties in to the coverline that anchors it as the shocked expression on his face matches the “Ghosts? He would scream like a girl” quote. It also ties in with the “shock Halloween confessions”. These may be the main selling point for the magazine, however, there are many other secondary images showing that they aren’t the only options so there is something for everyone. There is no particular colour scheme with the 3 cover models showing that they are all separate articles. The quotes as coverlines attracts readers as it shows there will be gossip- an attractive feature to readers.
Direct Mode of Address- Many of the models in the images are looking directly at the camera which makes the reader feel they are looking at them. Also, two of the coverlines are “My perfect woman revealed” and “British girls kiss better”. Readers could think “I could be this “perfect woman””. This will make them want to buy the magazine and read the gossip. This magazine is a British magazine so the fact that it says “British girls kiss better” could make readers feel it is directed at them and want to read more. Another coverline with a mode of address is “Steal Kendall and Kylie’s Style”; this is telling the reader to look at their style so they are compelled to buy the magazine.
Buzz words- The main buzz word is “free”. People love free things so repeating the word gets people buying the magazine for the free things.
Barcode, Edition, Price, Date- All are placed out of the way so as not to attract the main focus away from the articles.
Pug- There are 2 pugs. Both are advertisements for stuff that can be found in the magazine and both are used to attract people to read the magazine.
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