Magazine Cover Analysis 2

This is the cover for the March 2012 edition of NME, a young man’s popular music magazine.

The main image is very aggressive, the cigarette and the hand gesture are symbols that society would consider as being wrong or even offensive, suggesting that Plan B is very rebellious and anti-establishment. This makes the reader want to read the magazine to see why these images are allowed to be put on the cover of a respected magazine. The close up of Plan B’s face combined with the wire fence close in the background make you feel as if he is trapping you, forcing you to read the magazine he is featured in.

The main cover line “David Cameron… Be very afraid” reassures the reader that it shouldn’t be you that’s afraid, after observing the image. It is also, along with the masthead, the largest piece of text on the cover, so it is easy to suggest that it is the cover line that goes with the image.

The cover lines on the left alternate between yellow and white. This makes it easier to read, and the yellow attracts attention more than the white so is used for the cover line titles. There are two fonts used for the cover lines, one for the titles and one for the main text, this puts more emphasis on the titles, so the reader knows they only need to read them to see if they will be interested in the article in the magazine.  The cover lines are also in an ‘L’ shape, to fit around the picture. The main subject’s face is never covered up on a magazine, so the text needs to be organised so that it fits around the face and not over the top of it.

As a result of the image, there is very little ‘dead space’ on the cover, as the image needs to be clear. The positioning of the main cover line, as well as the inclusion of the ellipsis, also gets rid of any dead space on this cover. The fonts are also quite large, there’s nothing on the cover that you’d need to actually pick up the magazine in order to read. This is probably to fill up dead space, as normally NME have a fair amount of text on their covers.

Judging by the image, I think the target audience would be a bit older and more mature, but the fonts and colours used would suggest perhaps a slightly younger target audience. For these reasons I think the target audience is around 18 – 30 years old. I think the audience is prominently male because of the items included on the cover and the colours and fonts used. A mass market I think would be the target as the magazine is for pop music.