Kerrang front cover analysis

My third front cover i am going to analyse is a magazine called Kerrange. It is a heavy metal music magazine with Green day on the cover.

Colour

The main colours used are black and white with elements of red, green and silver. The colours contrast eachother, this makes the images and words stand out.The elements of red make the whole front cover more interesting and viberant, the green obviously relates to the name of the band which is green day. With all the combining colours it creates a rock, young fell to it that would target the young harcore rock fans, and also fits in well with the genre of rock. The green pug gives us an indication that it must be important as it stands out from the rest of the imagery on the cover.

Design

On this magazine front cover the image stretches across the whole of the magazine cover, with lots of writing on top. Usually the image is smaller and the texts surround the image. There is sruffy hand written writing surrounding the image giving infomation about the band Greenday, by using this unusual style it makes it more interesting to read then just plain bold lettering. It also emphasises youth and the genre of rock its trying to portray. Even though the image and the text is black and white you can still clearly see the text over the image, mainly due to the contrast of colours. The masthead is in a metallic silver, this clearly states the name of the magazine and stands out the most as its the only silver writing on the cover. The masthead also has cracks in it as if someone has punched it, this gives it a young, edgy stlye to it and attracting their core audiance. They have this cracked style for all of their magazines so they are keeping to their theme, however they dont normally use the silver colour for the masthead, only for this special edition. The strapline at the bottom is different from the previous magazines i have analysed, the bold red and the small font tells the reader that its important to read, as the only other things that are red on the cover are 'special edition' and 'legends' which you can tell is important and interesting to read. The cover line is shown in a hand drawn affect which also relates back to the sribbles at the top and also sticks to the theme of this front cover. The rough and unique style reflects the whole genre of music and also the band Greenday.

Images

The main image is a mid shot of the rock band Greenday. Greenday have been around for about 20 so they would attract the older generation who like rock music, however they are very popular and as it indicates on the cover 'legends' and could be why they are the main feature for the special edition. They would also attract the young generation aswell as they are popular, and their style and music relates to their target audiance.

Pose, style hair, make-up

Out of the three members of Greenday Billie Joe Armstrong (middle) is seen to be infront of the other two members. This is because he is the lead singer of the band and the most famous. His pose makes it seem he is closer then the other two as he is leaning forward, this makes his face larger and creates an intimate feeling and also eyecatching towards Billie. He also stands out because of his jet black hair, dark make-up and pale white skin. This type of style relates back to the target audiance of hardcore rock, also the contrast of his hair and skin fit in well with the contrast of the colours on the cover. Billie Joes doesnt have alot of expression compared with the other two members, it gives off quite a mysterious fell to it and goes well with the whole theme, whereas if he had a happy smile it wouldnt fit well and attract the target audiance. However combining three different looks of Billie with his plain expression, Tre cool (right) with his seriousness and Mike Dirnt (left) with his quirky funnyness shows all the different sides to Greenday and makes an interesting front cover, also eyecathing for the audiance. All the band members are wearing black leather jackets which shows the hardcore rock side to it and again relates to the target audinace, it also makes them look cool and relaxed which would target the younger audiance, even though they have been around for a long time and would also relate to the older adiance aswell.

How are words used on the cover?

All over the cover there is only text and infomation based on Greenday, with no other bands or indication on whats inside like what other magazines or previous Kerrang magazines have done. This could of been a risk due to the fact that readers instantly want to know what eles is inside, however because Greenday are so well known and loved by rock fans they would find it interesting to read. Even though there is not a lot of text on the cover the text that is there is short, sweet and makes you want to read more, for example 'untold stories' this would instantly grab the readers attention and makes it more powerfull. The large bold text makes it more eyecatching and would definatly stand out on the shelves, the boldest apart from the masthead is Greenday, obviously this would be the boldest as they are the main feature and that is what they want the audiance to see the most. The text that is behind the band is the songs that Greenday have written, which is a good technique to use because the target audiance and fans would instantly know this, it also convinces and shows more evidence that this band is infact 'legends'. The plugs that are shown on the page stang out due to its vibrant colour and makes you eye move over to read it.

Language

At the bottom of the cover the strapline clearly indicates that reader can ' win a Greenday platinum disc', the language is easy to understand and doesnt go on, its short and would definatly catch the eye of the readers. There is not a lot of words used, however there is no need as this special edition is all about Greenday so the target audiance dont want to have lots of text to read, but just simple powerful words. The puff in the top left corner tell the readers that it is a special edition, so seeing the text 'Greenday' they would know the contents of the magazine.

Overall impression

I think that the overall impression is that its very effective. With all the colours, text and image creates a loud and powerfull impression. I think they have achieved in trying to attract the core audiance older teenagers, and adults who like Greenday as they have been around for so long. Greenday were the perfect band to use on a special edition as they go well with the whole theme of the magazine special, and attract the main audiance. Overall this front cover creates a unique, intersting impression and every little detail fits in well to have a one of a kind outcome.

MixMag front cover analysis

My second magazine front cover i am going to analyse is a magazine called Mixmag. I wanted to analyse different genre of magazines, so for my second analyses i decided to look at magazine based around club and dance music.



Colour

The colours used are very bright and colourful, which is very different to the other front cover magazines i have analysed with the genre of rock using dark colours. The four main colours used are pink, blue, white and yellow. The bright colours give off a bright and happy mood, for example the bright blue sky and the bright pink and yellow could be associated with happyness. The genre of this magazine is dance, this fits in well with the colours, it also fits in well with the core audiance which is mainly older teenagers who listen to current house/dance music. The blue seems to be the base colour for this cover and gives a soft fell to it as its light blue. If it was too over powering then the pink and yellow wouldnt stand out as much. The white serprisingly stands out, mainly because there are a lot of bright colours, so with the white against it you can clearly see it. If there was another bright colour used for the title then it would be too overpowering and less sofisticated, also it wouldnt stand out as much because it would blend it with the other bright colours and seem less important, but it is important as its the title of the magazine. The hot pink stands out the most and has a scence of sexyness which gives it an edge to the cover. It also makes the girl stand out as she is all in pink, this makes it eye cathing. However most of the writing on the sides are also hot pink and bold, this could take the audiances eye away from her and onto the writing. The only yellow colour on this cover is the bold word 'IBIZA O8', this makes it stand out as its the only time the colour yellow is used. you can tell its important as its the brightest and this issue is about ibiza.


Design

On this magazine front cover the image is near enough in the centre, with the text surrounding the image. The titals surrounding the images are much bolder and brighter then what is writen underneath it, for example 'festival carnage' in bold and pink when right under it is '50 best UK and overseas events' which is in a smaller font and its white. This shows that the writing in pink is more important, and they want it to stand out. The way the writing is slanted makes it more interesting and gives a lighting style effect to it, just like strobe lighting in clubs. This adds more personality to the magazine and seems like a good technique for this type of magazine. The mast head also stands out in contrast of the bright white and blue. making the magazine name clear and attract the audiances attention.The image fits in well the whole theme as she is in a bikini and dressed for a holiday in the summer. The aeroplane also fits in well and looks good as it gives an edge to the cover, it also makes you feel more on holiday. By having the coverline in an unusual style it gives the cover more funkyness and more of an edge which is what ibiza is like.



Image

The image is of a blond skinny girl, who is dressed in a bikini with sun glasses. This portrays well with the magazine as the magazine is about Ibiza in the sun. Her bright bikini, lips and sunglasses also portrays the night club scene, as ibiza clubs are decorated with bright colours inside and outside. This girl can also be seen as a sex symbol which would appeal to the male audiance, as she is only wearing a bikini. So apart from the target audiance being club and dance listeners, it would also target the young males because of the young girl posing on the cover.


Pose, style hair and make up

The way she is posing is very sexy, this shows a suductive side to the magazine and the front cover. This is appealing to the male readers and showing us the genre of the magazine. The way she is pouting her lips also shows she sexy side. Her long blond straight hair resembles the stereotypical girl who would appear in the genre of musics videos. It is also the type of girl that the male audiance would want to see on the cover and in Ibiza. She doesnt have alot of make up on, which could be a good thing as it would take away the attention from the rest of the cover and her body. The sunglasses hide her eyes so you dont know if she has smokey eyes, however this makes her lips stand out much more and her eyes less important. Whereas if she had dark smokey eyes like cherly cole on the cover of Q you find the bright pink lips that interesting, as it wouldnt stand out as much.


How are words used on the cover?

The strapline is situated at the top of the cover, this tells us that they want the readers to see it instantly. Straight away it tell the audiance that you get a free 'Tiefschwarz CD', its not that bold but it is in bright pink so it is visible. By making the this visible it could attract more of the target audiance as they would want the free CD with club/dance music. Also by making the number '1,233' bright pink and not the rest of the sentence on the stapline makes it more interesting and draws your attention to it. The coverline is located on the left hand side to the girl and is fully visible to the audiance. By looking straight at this coverline the reader would instantly know what the magazine will contain, also by having such a unique style of writing and it being a big font would definatly catch the core audiances attention. The headings are also eyecathing as it is pink and bold, and they aslo give the reader an indication of what the magazine is about and shows that it is in the same category as the genre of the magazine.


Language

The language used is not formal at all, for example 'grab your sunnies', by the language not being formal tells us that their core audiance is definatly young adults as they would understand and like this unformal language. This continues as under this is 'Ibiza is go', its easy to understand and doesnt go on, this makes it short and sweet and very catchy. Overall the language used has fun, playfull words that would attract their core audiance.


Overall impression

My overall impression is that the strapline, coverline and headings give a good indication of whats inside, this definatly helps to create an effective overall cover. I think that the colours, images and language combine to create on overall effective and powerfull impression, and every little detail works well for a excellent outcome. I also think that using a girl in a bikini was a good idea, as it resembles the true side to ibiza, also it would attract more readers like male readers, and not just club/dance listeners, so i feel that they have achieved in attracting the core audiance. And lastly i think that this magazine would stand out on the shelf mainly for its bright colours, image, free CD and there playfull words.

Q front cover analysis

colour The first magazine i am going to analyse is a magazine called Q. The colours on the magazine cover are very simple, it has three main colours that consist of red,white and black. The genre of this magazine is rock, with a slight gothic twist so it fits well with the colours, it also fits in well with the core audiance which is mainly older teenagers and young adults, who listen to current rock/indie music. The black links most to the rock theme, and seems to be the base colour for the front cover. The red stands out the most and has a scence of passion which gives it an edge to the cover of the magazine. The red also makes Cheryl Coles lips stand out more, which makes it eye catching. The white on the otherhand tones down the magazine and goes well with the red and black, and fits in well with the genre of rock. This makes it more sofisticated, whereas if there was a bright colour like yellow on the cover that would take your eyes away from the big 'Q 'at the top and the bold 'ROCKS' at the bottom of the page and also her red lips, it also wouldnt go well with the theme of the cover and look less attractive to the audiance. The white is also the complete contrast to black, so it stands out more. The three colours fit well together to create an overall mood which is dark, myterious and sexy. Overall this will attract the target audiance and genre.

Design The words and images link very well together on this front cover, as Cheryl Cole is portraying a rock theme and there is a bold red 'rocks' at the bottom of the page which is the coverline. The front cover doesnt just have a simple regular coverline, it has a unique design to it. It's unique because the font and colour is different, the words get bigger the further down the line giving more of a sopisticated look to it. It also has different colours separating them making it more interesting and eyecatching to the audiance. The writing on the right side is smaller and not as bold, however you can still read it as clearly. The colours of the smaller writing is using the same unique design as the coverline, it's font gets smaller as it goes down the page and the colours are alternating from red to white, just as the coverline. However on the left side the writing is black with a white background around the writing and it is all the same size font, this may be to make it stand out more vividly. The title is very bold and eyecatching, it is the biggest font size on the cover and takes up 1/3 of width of the cover.


Image The image on the front cover is of the celebrity Cheryl Cole, it is a front close up of her face as she poses in a rock theme way. This portrays the genre of music and attracts typical rock music listeners. However Cheryl Cole is a pop/r'n'b singer and wouldnt normally model for this type of magazine when she was in girls aloud, but on this cover she looks like a rock chick so would appeal to Qs normal target audinace. However as Cheryl Cole is a pop/r'n'b singer she may attract different readers, therefore broaden Qs audiance.

pose, style hair and make-up
The way Cheryl Cole is posing gives her a suductive edge and lets you see her in a different light. The way she is licking her ring and looking straight on at the reader gives of the impression she wants to be seen as sexual and appeal to the target audiance. Cheryl Coles wet hair seems unique and gives the cover more of an edgier style, and the rain falling on her is unusual and helps to create the effect of her outside in the rain. Cheryl Coles dark smokey eyes makes them more piercing and eyecatching, and the red lipstick goes well with the dark eyes to give her a rocky stlye. The red lips and dark eyes matches the colour scheme of the front cover and gives off more of an edge, also the pure white teeth fits well with the colous scheme. Overall this gives the impression that they want the reader to look at her main features on her face, as they have toned down her hair which is normally full of volume, and concontrated on making her eyes and lips the most eyecatching feature on her face. This represents more of a sexy, rock style which appeals well to the core audiance.

How are words used on the cover?

The strapline is situated at the very top and runs across the whole width of the magazine cover. By having the strapline at the top it makes certain that the audiance can see it, as its very visible at the top. The strapline informs the reader that Q are 'The UK's biggest music magazine', this makes the magazine more attractive and more interesting to read. The coverlines are located at the bottom covering part of Cheryl Coles neck. The word that is the boldest and stands out the most is 'ROCKS', which is in large red font and relates to the genre of the magazine. It also tells the reader what they can find inside, this instantly attracts the core audiance. The headings on the side tells you what bands you will find inside. The bands fit well together, and are in the same category that appeals to Qs core audiance. By locating the bands on the side of the front cover it will catch the eye of the reader, and make them more interested in whats inside the magazine. By looking at the front cover you instantly know what the contents of the magazine will include, as Cheryl Cole is on the cover you know that there is a feature on her, which will interest the reader. Also by situating the bands on the side of the cover readers will know that the bands will be inside, and with the words 'and many more' under the list of bands the reader will know that there are more bands that are in the same category as biffy clyro for example, which will attract the target audiance and interest them more by wanting to know what other bands are inside. The size and layout will stand out extreamly as the font if big and eyecatching as its red, also with Cheryl Cole on the cover people will instantly know who she is and will want to read about her.

Language

On the coverlne there is a very clever pun used. The words used are 'Three words' which is the name of Cheryl Coles album, and there is actually three words 'Cheryl Cole rocks'. This is easy to identify as Cheryl Cole is very famous, and you will instantly know the name of her ablbum even if you dont listen to her music like i dont listen to her music. The word 'rocks' is cleverly used aswell, as Q is a rock magazine, this will catch the eye of the audinace. The words are also short and easy to understand, so the reader doesnt put their full attention on the coverline and less on Cheryl Cole. They are also bold and red, which grabs the readers attention, but also straight forwad as the audiance is more interested in the music then the coverline.

Overall impression-how effective is the front cover?

The front cover gives a good indication of whats inside, as it gives plenty of information on the sides of the cover, also with Cheryl Cole on the cover the reader will know that she is featured inside. This is designed to appeal to the core audinace which is older teenagers and young adults who listen to rock/indie music. However it also appeals to Cheryl Cole fans as she is on the cover. This will interest Cheryl Cole fans because they would want to read about her, especially as she is seen in a new light and would like to read about her new look. People who listen to pop/r'n'b music and who are not a fan of Cheryl Cole wouldnt want to buy this magazine, mainly due to the fact that they dont like the bands and genre of music inside, also they dont want to read about Cheryl Cole.