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.