MastheadThe masthead is located at the top of the page and stretches across the top, which is a typical layout for a mainstream magazine. The text colour is white, which effectively contrasts with pink background and certain spaces within the masthead have been filled with vibrant colours, including red, blue and yellow. This adds a very unique touch to the masthead, as it is unlike most others, which is effective as it is instantly recognisable by the reader. It also creates an informal look, therefore attracting a younger audience.

Main imageThe main image is a long shot of the artist being featured, Beyonce, the artist is very easily recognisable in the image, so that people will instantly be drawn into it and therefore buy it. Also, she is wearing quite a revealing outfit, which is also very eye catching and it matches the pink background used on the cover. In addition she is wearing quite a bold lip colour, which also stands out on the page. These elements would be effective in attracting a male demographic as it portrays women in a provocative, sexual way.

Model credit

The model credit has been incorporated with the main cover line, in order to emphasise the fact that such a mainstream artist is on the cover and this will automatically attract a very wide audience and many people know of Beyonce and are fans of her music and will therefore buy the magazine just for this reason.

Cover linesThe cover lines used on this magazine are all focused on one thing, The Billboard Music Awards, which we assume are an upcoming event hosted by the magazine. The fact that the cover is focused on this event may attract a wider audience as many people will be interested in it, as it will involve lots of different mainstream artists. One cover line points out that this is a ‘special edition’ of the magazine, which may attract younger readers.

Main cover lineThe main cover line is located in the middle of the cover, towards the left hand side, which means it is one of the first things the reader will see. It clearly states who is on the cover, which would instantly attract many people, due to Beyonce being an international artist. The main cover line also includes a short quote from Beyonce, which is likely to be inside the magazine, this is effective because it adds a personal quality to the cover. The quote has been made to stand out as it is in italics, unlike the other text used on the cover.

Colour

The main colour scheme used within this cover is pink, white and yellow. All of these colours give the image quite a feminine look; therefore this would attract a female demographic. However, the main colour used is pink, which effectively emphasises the passionate sensual look created by the main image. This has been done to attract a male demographic. The use of the white and yellow for the majority of the text is effective as it creates a clear contrast and it stands out well against the pink background, meaning all the text is highly visible.

Typefaces

The font used within this cover has been kept consistent throughout, apart from the main cover line, as this is in italics, in order to make it stand out to the readers. A simplistic, bold font has been used which gives the cover a formal look, possibly to attract older readers.

Photography Lighting

The lighting used within this cover is quite low key and dark in order to emphasise the intimate, feminine look created by the image itself. The centre of the image has been illuminated slightly in order to draw the reader’s attention to the centre of the page and to the artists face.

Design Principles Used

The Guttenberg design principle has been effectively applied to this cover as the cover line ‘Special Edition’ is positioned in the primary optical area, meaning it’s the first thing the reader will see, this has been done to attract readers as ‘special edition’ suggests there is something new and special about this issue of the magazine.

House Style

The majority of the text used within the cover has been capitalised, this is to make it stand out to the reader and it makes the text much easier to understand. This bold look may be effective in targeting a younger demographic, as it is the type of thing they will want when buying a magazine, something that will stand out to them.

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