Magazine Front Cover Analysis 02

(image taken from: http://www2.kedst.ac.uk/web/publications/king%20eds%200607/Front%20Cover.jpg )

• In this post I will be analysing the front cover of a College/University magazine front cover and I will talk about how this specific magazine uses the conventions in its own way for its own purposes and how the conventions are successful or even unsuccessful in what they do.

• The first thing I noticed when I looked at the front cover, was the striking colours and bold text of the masthead. This both draws attention to the magazine due to the boldness of the two different colours contrasting with each other and the fact that they are brighter colours also gives the magazine a more 'fun' and 'modern' feel, which I believe would help it attract the younger audience which it is aimed at, as younger audiences conventionally prefer brighter and more striking colours, when compared to a lot of magazines which do not appeal to younger people, which are mainly boring and less bold or individualistic.

• The front cover does not, however have a Bar Code. I believe this is because due to the nature of the magazine (created by a University and to be given to the students) it will have an incredibly narrow target market (i.e. only the students of the University) and it will therefore not be mass produced and therefore there will be no need for a bar code because it will not enter retail so a bar code would be obsolete. Also, due to the fact that the publication is made by the educational establishment and made for those who attend the establishment (a University, so in this case Students, who generally don't have the money to spend on magazines) chances are it will probably be free, which is another reason for there to be no bar code.

• The Main Cover Line says "Nick Love - British Film Director Interview". This is to advertise the main topic covered in the magazine. I believe that the specific nature of it (as it will only appeal to either fans of the director, or maybe people who are studying Film, or have an interest in British cinema) means that the magazine probably has some sort of an academic purpose. This means that it would include articles which help with people's studies (i.e. articles about a director for Film Studies students).

• Even the less important Cover Lines follow the theme of being aimed at people who're studying specific subject. For example: "Foreign Exchange" (for Language students) and "Visit To Auschwitz" (most likely aimed at History students.) This is a very good aspect for a college magazine to have, as it helps it sell easily to a thin target market, so i may try to incorporate something similar to this in my College Magazine. (e.g. subject related articles, i.e. "Wyke Climbing the Football League" (it would appeal to sport students and even those who do not study sport but have an interest in Sports/Football).

• The Main Image itself is also appealing to those at the University, as it shows two students who seem very happy and pleased in general (so people who see it will seem happier and associate the happiness with university life which the students are experiencing, and then feel better about it) and there is also no indication of what they're studying, so it puts across the message that 'Anybody can be happy at this university', which i believe helps the magazine put across a more positive image.