Elle Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Media Summer Assignment (Front Cover)

Kerrang! Magazine Front Cover Analysis

A magazine’s front cover is designed to be attractive and enticing to the reader, encouraging them to buy and read the magazine, therefore, it must reach certain criteria. Typical magazine covers follow a 2/3rd image page rule, with a large heading and catchy sell-lines. In my magazine, Kerrang!, the front cover consists of an image covering 2/3rds of the page, and large headings and catchy sell-lines, therefore following the typical magazine front cover format. Dark colours are used on the front cover, which is a slight indication of the type of music in this magazine. You can tell this is a music magazine as the celebrity on the cover is fairly well known rock star, from the band Greenday. He is also seen to be performing, holding an electric guitar which is another indication that this is a music magazine. The artist appears slightly silhouetted against the stage lighting on the front cover, which makes him stand out and makes the cover pleasing for the eye. On this front cover, there are no tag-lines. I feel this could possibly help in the selling of the magazine, as tag-lines are used as a catchy saying or quirky statement, aimed to stay in people’s heads.
The language used on Kerrang! Magazine’s front cover is informal. This is a suggestion to the type of people this magazine is aimed at. For example, there is a large sell line saying ‘WTF?! Harry Potter Joins Gallows!’. The use of the word ‘WTF’ is informal swearing, which could be a connotation as to the target audience, i.e teenagers, or people accustomed to this terminology. Also, the use of punctuation throughout the sell-lines, and even the title of the magazine itself suggests liveliness and possibly loudness. For example the repeated use of exclamation marks is emphasis on what the magazine feels are key and appealing points, and could give a separate meaning, as if to play music loud. The copy relates to the images on the front cover. The magazine gives a statement, for example ‘Slipknot storm memory lane’, and this is supported by an image of the band Slipknot. This is a continual idea throughout, where the copy is supported by images, which enables the reader to get a clear idea as to what the inside of the magazine contains through the detail given on it’s front cover. The target audience for the magazine is musicians, people who enjoy music and fans of Greenday (Billie Joe Armstrong). It could also be aimed at people who enjoy festivals, as the magazine says at the top it gives the latest news about the Reading and Leeds festivals.
In conclusion, I feel Kerrang! Magazine’s front cover is very successful in enticing it’s audience, and the cover is attractive and contains the relevant information that readers will look for. The magazine could improve by possibly decreasing the size of the font, and therefore including a little more information as to what the magazine contains, as it is slightly vague, and this could benefit the sales.

First post.

I'm Nikki, and this is my media studies portfolio. I will soon be using blog spot to showcase the work I have produced for my AS, hoping for a good grade. :)