Front Cover Analysis – Q Magazine

The most outstanding feature on this front cover of Q, is the masthead because it is red and bold. It is a house style masthead, because it remains repeated throughout every edition. The red of the box-out is symbolic and could represent danger, fear, anger or stop, or it could be love, romance or hearts. The red of the masthead also compliments the hair colour of Florence.

The masthead is located in the top left hand corner of the front corner, and is easy for the audience to spot.The font that is used for the masthead is serif, because it has bars on the end, and this font suits a variety of genres and appeals to a variety of ages too. It looks more formal as well which shows it will be a reasonably good quality magazine and not full of typical teenage gossip.

On the front cover there are 6 stories altogether, which shows that the magazine will be filled with good quality content. The font of the different stories differ in size and this may be due to importance or relevance. There is some text on the front cover which have banners behind them, and this makes them more eye catchy and brings colour to the front cover of the magazine. The font for the stories and for the rest of the magazine cover, is san serif, and this makes the text easier to read and more clear to the audience. It is also more modern which may appeal to readers.

There is use of both serif and san serif on the front cover, which shows that Q magazines are trying to widen their audience and get more readers. There are a few pugs on the magazine front cover, but mainly the typical ones like barcodes and prices, which are important to the readers and need to be visible. There are also puffs where some of the writing is behind coloured boxes, which make the cover creative and colourful.The magazine doesn’t have a slogan or a sell line but it is clear with it’s headlines and stories.

The front cover of the magazine has a colour scheme of orange, white and blue, with the red of the masthead. The orange, white and blue work well together and compliment each other. They make the cover quirky and bold, which will catch the audiences eye. The text is clear in the white font, and easy to read. The photograph of Florence takes up the whole front cover, and there are no images of anyone else on the cover. This links into the headline where it says “I feel so alone”. This meaning is portrayed by the fact there is no one else in the shot, and I feel this links the two together.

I feel like this magazine is slightly more represented for females, however both genders can enjoy Florence and the Machine and be appealed by the cover. Laura Mulvey believed that women did things to please men, however this cover goes against this theory, because I see this as more suited to females.

I also think that Richard Dyer’s theory of representation links to this front cover. Most singers and artists are stereotyped as having a lot of confidence and belief since they’re used to a pressured environment through performing and concerts, however, the headline says “I feel so alone” which may portray she has a few issues, and lacks in confidence. She may be a shy person, hidden by the characteristics of a performer.

The photograph is of Florence and she’s looking directly into the camera, which shows a direct meaning, and she is posing and covering her face. This links to the headline, “I feel so alone” which may portray she is shy and wants to hide.The photograph is sharp, and focused, most likely airbrushed, and the makeup and hair is appealing. The orange of her hair works with the red of the masthead, and the blue of her makeup links into features on the front cover.

Specific elements of the magazine that I typically like are the links between her makeup and the banners. The repetition of colour is effective, and makes the whole front cover work together, and not seem all over the place.

Banners and puffs across the front cover are the same blue, which shows there are significant links to the image and the cover. Also, blue may have symbolic semiotics of being cool, or fresh, which may display that she has some fresh stories, music or gossip. There is no background to the photograph because her hair and face takes up the whole page. This is a close up shot, and is effective because it brings variety to the cover, in comparison to others.