Analysis of magazine covers

Analysis of Billboard Magazine

 Billboard is a US music magazine featuring the most popular of musicians. This issue of Billboard features two of music’s current stars, Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas. They are posed in a romantic/alluring position as Joe sits closely next to a standing Demi. This image is placed slightly to the right of the center to allow for space of for the masthead. This is a vibrant red colour in a simple, all lower-case font, which immediately catches a reader’s eye. Every edition of Billboard adopts the same style of masthead just varying in colour each time. This edition of Billboard follows a dark, mysterious colour scheme of dark purple and black which creates a sensual vibe which is confirmed by the style of photo posed by the singers. The large red title adds brightness to the cover and makes readers more likely to pick up the magazine. Overlapping the main image is the main cover line; this is a smaller, white font with a sophisticated font. The content of the cover lines relates to the photo and interest its audiences. The aesthetic appeal of the magazine creates a primary target audience of young adults who are interested in current and alternative music and a secondary audience of professionals who want to scope out other celebrities and gather information about current music. There is only one other cover line on the cover which makes the appeal of the magazine more simplistic yet effective.

Analysis of Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is a British magazine featuring the latest news and gossip from the world of entertainment. This edition features the main cast of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the masthead adopts the style of the shows opening credit title. The vibrant red masthead draws the audience’s attention to the magazine. It also follows the colour scheme of the show’s opening credits with the main cover line being in a large, white, sophisticated font which matches that of the show’s iconic font. The dark background allows the writing to stand out as it overlaps the main image of the cast. The actors are cleverly placed to allow the smaller text to be seen over their outfits. The magazine has a primary audience of adults who enjoy entertainment news and follow the lives of celebrities, however, this specific edition would target younger people with an interest in the show and want to find the inside scoop. The cover lines follow a formal, yet eery theme to match the show’s branding. All the EW magazines feature a large masthead at the top of the cover, with the colour and style varying from edition to edition.

Analysis of Inside Soap Magazine

Inside Soap is a British magazine focusing on the latest soap opera drama and features celebrity interviews. This masthead is a large, bright red, simple font and is central at the top of the page, this does not change across editions as it is a staple component of the magazine’s dramatic appeal. There is not a set colour scheme as it focuses on many different stories across soap operas, however, red, white and yellow feature heavily on the cover. Red is an attractive colour that is proven to attract an audience. The primary audience for his magazine would be mainly adults or older people who enjoy watching soap operas and want to find out the latest news and gossip from their favourite show. A secondary audience would include younger teens who have began to watch the show as soaps such as Emmerdale have begun to attract a younger, female audience as the show becomes more diverse and dramatic. There are three main images in the center of the page which connote the main stories of this week’s episodes, with many surrounding images focusing on other stories. This is supported by the sky boxes at the top of the page which focus on stories that are believed to attract a wider audience. Each image has a supporting cover-line that is dramatized to attract buyers. This magazine has a cover line that is very dramatic: ‘EVERY STORY! EVERY SECRET! EVERY WEEK!’; This is trying to get readers to purchase their magazine.

Analysis of Wonderland

 Wonderland is an entertainment magazine that follows a simple and stylish theme. The masthead is a simple font that colour coordinates with the image. The photo appears both candid and posed which emphasizes the simplicity of this magazine. There is one main cover line which is just the name of the celebrity on the front. This is then followed by multiple names of other celebrities in a small white font. This style appeals to those who admire style and follow a chic lifestyle.