Salford City College Eccles Centre AS Media Studies Foundation Portfolio

Masthead: - It is attractive to the eye as it is in

capital letters, in a bright colour which directs the

eye towards the magazine. Also the masthead is

placed in the primary optical focus area which is

where the eye is first drawn to, which the designers

would know hence the placement of the masthead.

Bright colour is used to stand out against the plain

background but also the small portion of Brandon’s

hair.

Main image: - The main image is of Brandon

Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, which then on

the reverse side is information about the killers and

tour dates. The main image is a close up shot of

Brandon Flowers ‘looking so concerned’.

Model credit:- The model credit is placed in the

primary optical area which allows the audience to

know exactly who they will be reading about as it is

placed underneath the masthead. ”THE KILLERS”are

also placed in the primary optical area, where as

Brandon Flowers’ name is placed further down

weak fallow area.

Coverlines:- Cover lines are the most important

stories featured within the magazine that are shown

on the front page. These are displayed in bold and

bright colours which work well against the blank

canvas of the background.

Main cover line:-The main coverline would be ‘THE

KILLERS’ or ‘KANYE WEST BLACK SABBOTH’. ‘THE

KILLERS’ is in a bright red, capitals and almost bold

font; it is also placed in the primary area which will

attract the eye of the reader with the use of colour

and the range of effects put on the text. ‘KANYE

WEST BLACK SABBOTH’ is a main coverline because

it is in bold, black capitals and is placed in the

primary focus area. Only ‘KANYE WEST’ is placed in

the primary focus area which will then lead the

reader to continue on to ‘BLACK SABBATH’.

Colour:-The colour is used to attract the eyes of

potential readers. The background colour is plain and

simple grey which contrasts with the colour of text

used and that is why the colour has a big impact on

the reader. Also, the colour of his shirt looks like it’s

been slightly altered and enhanced to attract

attention.

Typefaces:- Most text is in bold to stand out against

the plain background, until you reach the weak fallow

area where the text is normal but still attracts

attention .

Photography Lighting:-High key lighting has been

used to enhance the shadows on Brandon Flower’s

face. It also makes the artist recognisable to the

audience as his face isn’t hidden or obscured by the

lighting used. Also within the mise en scene the

physicality of Brandon’s hands and the size of it

connote his power within the music industry and his

stance within the genre of his music. The ring worn

on his ring finger is large and has been edited to

make it look as if the light or sun is bouncing off it,

this could hint that he attracts the attention of

essentially the audience. Despite the photo being a

close up, his stance off camera is sensed to be a

strong and powerful structure which then follows

through with just the shot of his face, which suggest

that his is a dominant feature within music but also

his band. This could then represent the male gender

to be over bearing and strong in anything they

involve themselves in.

Design Principles Used?:- The Guttenberg principle

has been considered when designing this magazine

front cover as the masthead has been placed in the

primary focus area along with other important details

about the magazine which shows the designers of

this front cover must be familiar with this principle.

The weak fallow area isn’t really occupied, as the

model is seen to be in front of the text almost as he is

shielding the full circle .

House Style:- The magazine cover is rather enlightened and enhances the musical features

as well as the physical features of Brandon Flowers. The main colour scheme is black and

red with a slight input of blue. Overall, the magazine uses an organised approach to the

cover as it seems up to date and current.

Comment on how the design of the magazine cover attracts the target audience:The bland

and plain background allows the colours used to have more of an impact on the audience

whereas against a colour background it wouldn’t have that effect.