Prelim Task 1 Magazine analysis

Magazine cover 1: Vogue Fashion Mag

                              

This is vogue fashion magazine, it includes feminine colours such as different shades of pinks which suggests the target audience is aimed at females, it also includes a image of a young female. The young female is standing in an elegant pose which gives the magazine a professional look. The colour of women's dress is light yellow, the pastel yellows and pinks gives a spring theme to it, this could have been done to promote a new collection of clothing for a new season, as it also says it came out in March. 

Vogue is an expensive magazine (priced at £4) compared to other fashion magazines but is successful because it promotes high end fashion and tells the reader that a lot of effort has been put into the magazine and the price is worth the quality.  In addition the language on top of the cover reassures the reader that the magazine isn't very expensive as it says ' MORE DASH THAN CASH', telling the readers that fashion (dash) is more important than money (cash), so is practically telling the readers to forget about the cost because fashion is well worth the money.

There is a contrast between black curly italic font and pink bold straight font, they are used in alternative order, the curly black font is always placed on top of the pink bold font, this makes each of the fonts stand out. The black text breaks up the camouflage between the pink texts therefore makes it more noticeable to the audience. The hyperbolic words are in black text such as 'essential' and 'fantastic' which catches the readers attention further, these hyperbolic words over optimistically describes the magazine for the readers and makes it seem better than it actually is. 

The image of the lady is a celebrity called Lana Del Ray we know she is the focal point as the text is centred around her to make her stand out, she is used on the front cover to attract her fans to read the magazine so more people would buy the magazine. We know that Lana Del Ray sings 60's retro pop so they might of used to her to create a retro style or to help sell their retro image that they are trying to create. The magazine cover called her 'fascinating' which also attracts people who don't know her, to want to get to find out more about her. It doesn't include any other photos because it wants to keep the attention on Lana Del Ray which also makes her seem like an important person, like someone who matters ,this will evoke readers to see her as an important person as well and they may feel like they need to know about this person which persuades them to buy the magazine.

The title of the magazine is vogue, it is missing a 'g' from the title to give it more recognition because it is already very well known internationally therefore many people can recognise the logo without the 'g', furthermore the masthead makes the celebrity stand out instead of overwriting her face. The masthead colour changes depending on which magazine you purchase ,probably to make it more interesting for the readers, changing the colours and themes of the magazine excite the readers as it is different every time so they don't know what to expect next. 

It says 'Oh so pretty!' on the bottom of the cover in really large text to show the readers that the magazine includes pretty clothing, but exaggerates how beautiful they are by using the words 'Oh' ; this word is used when someone is wowed by something ,and also uses the word 'so' which in context is used for exaggeration and therefore enhances the beauty of their fashion magazine. An exclamation mark is added on the end of the sentence to share enthusiasm for clothes/fashion with the audience.

The language on the cover speaks directly to the reader 'treat yourself' and 'it's time to play dress up with your hair', this use of language makes the magazine personal to the reader which persuades the reader to want to read on as it makes them feel special.

Magazine Cover 2: Ideal Home, Home Mag

             



The masthead of this magazine is called 'Ideal Home' which instantly tells you that the magazine is home related. The masthead draws people in as it uses the word 'ideal' suggesting the magazine includes perfect items for your home, it has a bright pink background which makes the white text stand out and clear to read. It is underlined by a white border to create a clear separation of the picture and masthead ,therefore creates a bolder title.

The pink colours and flowery imagery suggests the target audience is female orientated. The title is matched to the picture to show colour coordination within the home which tells readers that the magazine as a whole includes nice colour coordinated furniture . The magazine uses font colours that will stand out against the background colour, for example white text against the dark fireplace, black text against the light colour reflection of the mirror and bright colours against the light coloured sofa; this shows that the magazine intends to be very eye-catching and bold.

It directly engages with the audience as it says 'They did it - so can you ' this use of second person makes magazine feel personal to the audience, it is also giving them aspiration telling them that they can do something by buying the magazine.

Also it uses hyperbolic words it calls itself, refreshing, stylish and inspirational these words over exaggerate the content of the magazine which persuades people to buy it, furthermore defines the magazine in only a few words which are easily memorable. In addition it says 'give your home a colour boost' which makes the homes they do have sounds boring and dull and suggests they could add more colour to it, it also tells them that the image on the front cover is what their home should look like for it to be 'refreshing' and 'stylish'; they highlight this by putting the words colour boost in bright colours and matching the theme of the living room image.






Magazine Cover 3: Atlanta school guide

              


           
This is Atlanta school guide, firstly the title is extremely bold and dominates most of the front cover. It is used in orange font and is slightly overwritten by white text which is slanted this gives a modern and youthful feeling to it as everything isn't organically lined. It include pictures of students all lined up which suggests it is a magazine associated with students or for students. It also tells us that it could be an informal magazine as everyone is dressed casually/ informal, furthermore the magazine reflects a positive image everyone is smiling and cheery this positivity could be passed on to the audience. Their faces are over enthusiastic and excited this portrays the front cover as exciting and fun. It aslo shows they are all apart of a community which persuades students to visit these schools as they could too be apart of the happy community.

Bright colours are used such as orange, pinks and yellows this shows that that target audience is aimed at a younger age group and represents the magazine as fun and exciting. In addition is eye catching to viewers especially how it is contrasted against  the darker background image.

The use of words are persuasive it uses the plus sign (+) to make readers think they are only gaining from the magazine it is in bright yellow to make this point clearer, in addition gives a simplistic and modern feeling to it instead of writing 'and'. Most younger people shorten their words , the plus sign is commonly used among the youth this also engages with the younger audience. In addition to adding value to the magazine it highlights the word 'plus' in yellow, they try to make it clearer because they want to show that the magazine offers a large quantity.




Magazine Cover 4: School Mag

This is CHS school magazine, the masthead is white which stands out from the background image, it is used in a different font to identify it as the masthead. 
The magazine includes a picture of a school girl, we know this because she is dressed in a school uniform this immediately suggests that it is school magazine. The magazine focuses on the school student by blurring the rest of the background, also by blurring the rest of the image makes it easier to make the text stand out; this allows the masthead stand out as the bold clear text is contrasted with an unclear background.

Bright colours are used which intend to catch the readers attention, some of the text is placed on top of colourful boxes so it stands out very clearly. The colours are subtle and are slightly faded to a low opacity to make the magazine look calm and not overwhelming; the use of subtlety is more inviting to readers, it also is a contrast to where it says 'teenage stress' to show that the magazine is relaxing and can relieve you from teenage stress.
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The magazine cover uses different fonts and different sizes to add interest to the cover, it looks much more fun and exciting on a cover if different fonts are used and creates a sense of informality; furthermore this shows that it can engage with students as it is informal.

The use of text makes readers feel like they are apart of a community as it says ' Why we're the best', this use of 'we're' personally engages with the reader. The cover doesn't include much text which shows simplicity and modernity this connects with the youth. 

It includes a small banner in the top corner which says ' free 10 page' in bold this encourages the audience to buy the magazine as they feel they are getting more for their money.




Magazine analysis 5 : School magazine

This is 'Harlow High' school magazine, the magazine cover uses colours of their school logo. The magazine seems to be a formal magazine as it uses formal colours such as black and grey's also the people in the photo have quite serious faces. Although the magazine is blacks and greys it gives the cover vibrancy when it is contrasted with the bright yellow and stands out well.

The image shows someone helping another student with their studies this portrays the magazine as educationally helpful.

It uses a short quote at the bottom which says 'The key to success, opens many doors' this tells readers that the magazine is inspirational and shows that the magazine could help them to become successful. It also tells us that the content is focused on education and school successfulness. 

Conclusion:

From my analysis I have gathered that most magazines have a picture as the background image as it looks more professional instead of having a block colour background. They have bold and exciting mastheads which give interest to the magazine, most of these magazines have white mastheads, this must be because white is a very bold colour and stands out best compared to the other colours. The masthead has dominance over the magazine cover and should be one of the major focal points as it defines your magazine and content. 
The picture should try and sell your magazine the best it can and should match the genre of the magazine, for example analysis 4 is a school magazine and includes a happy student e.t.c. 
All magazines use persuasive words to attract readers and some write in second or third person such as 'we', 'us', 'you',to engage with readers. Some use hyperbolic words which over exaggerate the content of the magazine such as 'fantastic' an 'amazing'; this sells your magazine as better than it is.

Contents page analysis:

1.

This is the contents page of a school magazine, the title stands out against the brick wall which catches the readers attention. The font colours are coordinated with the boys uniform. The editor tries to contrast the white text against his black uniform however although the cover intends to be eye-catching it is quite dull looking. The subtitles are underlined to make them look definitive. The black text at the bottom doesn't stand out very well and becomes unnoticeable as it camouflages with the boys uniform. His facial expression is rather serious this shows how serious they are about school and suggests that the magazine is educationally focused. However for a magazine contents is quite unwelcoming to the audience, furthermore he is a closed position which closes off the audience.




2.                                          
                                                 

This is a school magazine contents page it is better structured than the other contents page as their are less blank spaces and gives it a fuller looking page. The texts are ordered in columns which looks more organised. It includes pictures of students which is inviting on the page but also a pictures of an 'a*' to show that it includes the importance of school. Like the other magazine it seems very formal, however teenagers tend to engage with pages which are more modern and both content pages lack modernity. The colours of the page looks quite dated- faded blue and white and the white background seems much more boring than a pictured background this will disengage the audience as they would lose interest quickly. There's nothing exciting or eye-catching on the page which will make them want to look further into the magazine.
Although the font is much more bolder than the italic font in the previous contents page, this also makes it look more professional in comparison. Also the way the text is ordered with the numbers first is more clear and memorable however the previous page's text is less clear and memorable event though it includes less text.

From these contents page I discovered that the contents page should include a picture background instead of block colours this gives more interest to the page and adds professionalism. In addition should be clear, bold and organised. But mostly should match the magazine cover this gives a clear theme throughout the magazine and creates a distinctive style of the magazine furthermore flows through the magazine.