Deconstructing Magazine Covers 2/3

MASTHEAD - Much like the previous magazine cover, this masthead has been covered up partially by the main image. This is for the same reason as mentioned previously, the magazine is a particularly famous magazine, and the name is no longer completely 100% necessary, as many readers will see the letters 'NM' and automatically associate it with 'NME'. For this reason, this is an equally effective magazine cover.

MAIN IMAGE - The main image for this particular cover is interesting, as it does not stand out like the previous cover's image did, and is simply a photograph of Lily Allen. She is not doing anything of any particular interest, which may not be enough to entice the reader to buy the magazine, however she does look very serious in her facial expression, which links to the main sell line 'Lily Allen Takes on the World'.

EXTRA IMAGES - There are very few extra images, with the only ones being at the top of the cover. They link with the small sections of text usually adjacent to them, which usually informs the reader of additional stories, involving the featured person in the image. These are used effectively, as if a reader sees a musician they admire or are interested in, they will stop and look at the magazine in greater detail, possibly purchasing it.

SELL LINES - The sell lines for this magazine are in bubbles/boxes (shapes) rather than simply on the page with a coloured background. The shapes are used instead to highlight the stories, and draw attention to the stories featured in these shapes. The main sell line, unlike the previous publication, is a much larger font size, and covers the majority of the left hand side of the page, whereas the three much smaller sell lines are relegated to the right-hand-side. This would be effective when the main sell line is of particular interest.

COLOURS/FONTS - The colours used in this magazine cover are generally either red, yellow or black. These colours are typical of what you'd find in a rock magazine (excluding yellow). The colours match the main image, which features Lily Allen wearing a red shirt, with black hair, linking with the black and red colour scheme. The yellow is there to enlighten the image as a whole, which would otherwise be very dark considering the black/red colour scheme. The font is slightly jagged, relating to the 'who cares?' attitude of Lily Allen, and links to the subheading of 'doing my head in', the jagged text relating to her 'confusion'.

SUBHEADINGS - The only subheading on this cover is the speech from Lily Allen  ("I can't keep on living like this, it's doing my head in"). This is a very clever use of subheading, as it is a piece of speech, presumably from the story, and most certainly from Lily Allen herself, who is the main subject of this magazine story. This will cause the reader to wonder about the precise root of her problems, and purchase the magazine to wonder why she feels this way.