Deconstructing Magazine Covers 1/3

MASTHEAD - The masthead is placed in the top-left of the magazine cover, which is a location typically  used in many publications. The reason behind it is that the top-left hand corner is generally the first thing a reader looks towards on a magazine cover. The masthead has been covered slightly by the main image. This is not a problem as the magazine is very well-known magazine, and unlike less popular publications, does not require the full masthead to be shown for publicity purposes. The masthead being formatted this way will appeal to the audience, as if a large, red square was located in the top-left of every issue, they may find it slightly off-putting and the publishers would not be able to include as much information if they were not to place anything else over the masthead, considering the size of it.

MAIN IMAGE - This magazine portrays a very interesting use of the body language and staging in the main image. The main image shows a band (presumably Kings of Leon, as the main sell line suggests) kicking and ‘breaking through’ a glass pane. This is linked to the main sell line, which states that ‘Kings of Leon Break Through’. The image would appeal to an audience who are interested as to how they or breaking through, or perhaps where they have ‘broken through’ to. The way they are framed in the main image is particularly interesting. It is a ‘head-on’ shot, giving the impression that they are heading straight for the reader. All of the men on the front cover are looking at the camera, giving the impression that whatever their story, they want you to read about it, and are directing the story at you, the reader.

SELL LINES - The three sell lines used (one main sell line and two regular sell lines) are used to provide information to the reader. The text, as mentioned earlier, is all written in block capitals, even the regular sell lines and the quote near the bottom of the page is written in capitals. The benefit of the text being entirely in capitals is the fact that this is far more likely to stand out to readers than if the cover was written entirely in lowercase.

COLOURS/FONTS - As for colours, there is not much variety. The general colour scheme appears to be comprised entirely of black, red and white (with occasional variations). These colours are used because they tend to be associated with rock music (the magazine’s genre). Because of this, I think the magazine’s colours are very effective at conveying the overall theme of the magazine and attracting the reader’s attention. The font for the main sell line of the magazine is fairly ordinary, and easy to read. It features no real difference to any other standard, typical font. The font is easy to read and stands out in block capitals. This links to the magazine’s logo, which is also in a regular font, and does not have any special effects applied to it. Because the main sell line/sell lines are also presented in this simplistic way, the reader gets a sense of similarity and familiarity with the magazine cover.

Here is a link to the planning sheet which was associated with this analysis: Link to Planning Sheet