Cover analysis

In this post I will be analysing three professional regional lifestyle magazines to try and find out their common codes and conventions. I will do this so when I come to making my own regional lifestyle magazine I will be able to make my magazine follow similar conventions to those made by professional publishers. I will analyse three magazines; Coast magazine, Cornwall Life magazine and finally Cornwall Today. I will analyse the front covers, contents pages and double page spreads. This may also give me idea about what sort of content to include in my magazine, as I can see what people find interesting in professional magazines of the lifestyle genre.

Front covers

Coast-

 The masthead for this magazine makes me think that this is aimed at a slightly younger target audience. I can connote this because the text used in the masthead is in all lowercase making it less formal, which stereotypically will appeal to a younger audience. The font also comes across as quite casual as it is nothing too fancy, which again suggests that this magazine is aimed at a younger audience. The colour of this masthead also supports the theory that this magazine is aimed at younger audience. This is because the colour is quite bright and fun, which again stereotypically appeals to a younger audience as Dick Hebdige said “youth as fun”.

The main image on this front cover may also be used to support my connotation about the magazine being aimed at a young audience. This is because the main image features a surfboard and a campervan. These are activities that would appeal to a young audience because as Stanley Hall said in 1904, “youth must have excitement.” These activities are seen to be fairly adventurous and exciting, and surfing classes as an extreme sport. The main image takes up the whole page with text and content layered on top of it. Again this could suggest that my theory about this magazine being aimed at young people because stereotypically young people do not like to read large amounts of text. This cover uses a large image to attract the audience and tries not to swamp the cover with too much information and text so the audience don’t get bored so they are more likely to purchase the magazine. The lighting of this image is also very bright, which again could be used to attract a young target audience, like Hedbige said “youth as fun” with the bright colours in the image be used to connote fun.

The colour pallet is probably one of the strongest ways of telling that this magazine is based at a younger target audience. This is because all of the colours used are bright in colour, which are stereotypically fun colours. One of the colours used is a shade of green. The colour green can connote stability and endurance, which are themes, which can relate to a young audience. The endurance connotation works well alongside the surfboard in the image. This is because the green can be used to represent the physical endurance needed for such a high impact sport. Another colour used on this magazines front cover is blue. The colour blue is often associated with the sea and sky, which links strongly to the regions, which this magazine is based upon. The name of this magazine is Coast which suggests that it is aimed around coastal areas like the south west., which links strongly to the colour blue. The colour blue also connotes confidence and intelligence. These are key themes for a young age group as they are trying to work their way into society so need to be confident in their own abilities and with what they do. Confidence can also link to surfing, as they need to be confident in their own ability to surf. The only other colour used on this cover is white. White can be used to connote perfection. They may have used this to suggest that this magazine is the perfect magazine for young people who live by the sea.

A large article on this cover is aimed at families which also ties into a young target audience. This will help them relate to the magazine as well as an older target audience because this article shows that the magazine should include something for everyone, thus limiting their target audience to a specific age through the choice of article to include on the magazine cover.

The typography used on this cover may also appeal to a younger target audience. This is because there is a mix of fonts used. This may appeal to young people as this may be seen as fun, and as Hebdige said, “youth as fun.” Another way in which the typography is made fun is by using symbols such as the heart used in the ‘we love campervans article.  

Cover 2- Cornwall Life

Unlike the first magazine cover which I analysed, the masthead suggests that this magazine is aimed at an older audience. I can connote this because it seems a lot more formal than the one featured on Coast magazine. Firstly, the whole masthead is in all caps. This suggests that this is aimed at an older audience because it is less fun than the one featured on Coast magazine, which suggests that it is not aimed at a young audience. The font also suggests that this is aimed at a more adult audience. This is because this font is more formal as it doesn’t appear to be fun as it would probably be more blocky as this is what stereotypically appeals to a younger audience. The colour of the masthead also supports my theory as it is not a fun colour unlike the one featured on Coast magazine, as it is plain white which suggests that again it is more formal. The masthead takes up approximately an eight of the page which follows the conventions set by most professional magazines.

The main image again suggests that it is aimed at an older audience than Coast magazine. This is because the image features a tranquil village set in a stunning location. This stereotypically appeals to an older audience because they generally like to look at places like the one shown in the image. Like Coast magazine this image takes up the whole page with text layered on top.

The layout of this magazine is a lot more busy than the one on coast and features more images than just the main image. This layout also includes a lot of text which would not stereotypically appeal to a younger audience as they will often get bored with a lot of text. The only  part of this magazine that may attract a younger audience is the feature article about the Looe Festival. As Hebdige said ‘youth as fun’ which means this sort of entertainment should appeal to them.

The colour pallet used on this cover is a lot more simple than the one used on Coast magazine which again gives me the impression that this magazine is not aimed at a young audience. The only colour used in large quantities is the colour white. The colour white is used to connote perfection. They may have chosen to use this colour to suggest that this is the perfect magazine for people living in Cornwall.

The articles on this page could appeal to a variety of audiences. It could appeal to a number of different ages and too both genders. These are because once again there are articles which would stereotypically appeal to everyone, which again doesn't seem to limit their target audience. 

The typography is a lot more formal on this cover as only one font is used. This suggests that this is aimed at an older audience unlike the typography used on Coast magazine.

Cover 3- Cornwall Today

Unlike the other covers I have analysed this cover could be aimed at both a younger and an older audience. I can connote this from the masthead. The first thing about the masthead that makes me come to this conclusion is that it uses a combination of full caps and all lowercase. This makes it seem fun yet formal, white shall appeal to both an older audience and a younger audience. As Hebdige said “youth as fun”, which explains why a fun fonts will appeal to a young audience. The second thing about the masthead which suggests that this magazine is aimed at both a young and old audience, is the choice of colour. The colour is not too bright but it is not too plain as they have used a cream colour instead of plain white. Using bright colours may appeal to a young audience because it may come across as fun but may put of an older audience as they don’t stereotypically like too bright colours. However, plain white may appeal to an older audience but may not appeal to a younger audience as it is not fun enough. Cream is a fairly neutral colour which may appeal to both sets of people, which doesn’t limit their target audience. The fonts used in the mastheads may also appeal to both sets of people. One of the fonts is fairly plain and formal, which will stereotypically appeal to an old audience. The other font used is much less formal and can be seen as fun. This will appeal to a young audience.

Just like the other two covers which I have analysed the main image takes up the whole page with all over content layered on top. Again the main image is also fairly neutral. This is because it doesn’t feature anything that would appeal to a set group of people, meaning there is no reason that it shouldn’t appeal to everyone or at least not deter people from reading the magazine. The image features an image of a sunset off the coast of Cornwall. This means that the magazine should appeal to people living in the area, people wanting to learn about the area or people who like the idea of living in an area by the sea. The lighting in the image doesn’t give much away about the sorts of people they are trying to attract. However, this may appeal to an older audience more than it would a younger audience, because the colours aren’t too bright, which would stereotypically attract a young audience to a magazine.

The colour of the magazine suggests that they are not really looking to attract a young audience to the magazine. This is because the colours are all quite dark. This will not stereotypically appeal to a young audience, because bright colours are portrayed as fun and as Hebdige said ‘youth as fun’. One of the most dominant colours on this cover is the colour brown. The colour brown connotes seriousness. This may be used to suggest that this magazine is aimed at a more adult audience because they are stereotypically more likely to prefer a magazine that includes serious content rather than ‘fun and games’, which would appeal more to a young audience. Another colour that features a lot on this cover is a sort of beige and cream. The colour beige connotes dependability and conservativeness. Adults can often be seen as conservative as a lot of them are hesitant to change their ways, which allows them to relate to this magazine through the colour beige. Another colour used is a light yellow. This can be used to connote intellect. This can help them relate to the magazine, as they see themselves as wiser and more intelligent as they have grown in age.

The typography is less formal than the previous cover from Cornwall Life Magazine. This is because there is a couple of different fonts used. The first font is fairly blocky and comes across as quite fun. This may be sued to appeal to a young audience but would not put of an older audience which doesn’t limit their target audience. The second font also comes across as quite fun and informal because it is a font which represents handwriting. This should appeal to all audiences because it fits in with the overall design of the page.