Textual Analysis of a Magazine Cover #2 - Q Magazine

Textual Analysis of a Magazine Cover #1 - EMPIRE Magazine

My Initial Ideas

    My intention for my AS Media coursework is to make an indie music/fashion magazine in a sort of combination of Q Magazine and fashion magazines such as Lone Wolf.

    I like to colours and composition of Q Magazine, as I think the simple image makes it look more 'classy' than other music/lifestyle magazines. The red, white and black colour scheme stands out against other magazines on the stand. I also really like the feminine yet simple style of Lone Wolf, and I think a combination of the two would look really interesting.

    For my magazine, I want it to look similar to Lone Wolf and Q in regards to composition and colour, as I think it's very effective for the independent music and fashion genres. The magazine's mastehead will be short, maybe even an abbreviation, in the upper left corner as I've noticed this style repeated in the magazines I've looked at.
    However, while Q and NME are aimed towards men aged about 20-40, I want my magazine to be aimed the specific market of women aged about 20-30 who are interested in indie music and fashion.

Construction Schedule

My College Magazine Contents Page

My College Magazine Cover

Original Photo

I did a mid-shot of a student for my front cover to show his body language as well as his facial expression. The books in the background are to show the school environment.

Typography

Before I mocked up my magazine cover, I decided to do a mood board of typography to see which one would be best for my cover. My target audience is general students in the college who would read the magazine for entertainment, so I think a simple font would help portray this. I think a font such as "Freestyle Font Regular" would be quite fun yet simple.

Magazine Cover Analysis

Questionnaire Analysis

    We made up a questionnaire to ask students around the college to help us create our college magazine covers. Only a third of the people we asked were male, so the results we've collected are probably more female orientated. Two thirds of the people we asked said that they would buy a college magazine. Everyone we asked said they would either pay nothing or 50p for a college magazine, so the magazine would have to be quite cheaply made. Half of the people we asked said that they would buy a monthly college magazine, and slightly less than half said they would buy a fortnightly magazine, suggesting that the magazine should be published in quite spaced out intervals. The most popular subjects for the magazine were food, gaming and music, which tells us how to cater specifically to our target audience.
    The three most popular colours that would attract students to the magazine were red, white and black, which would stand out and not exclude any of our audience. Most of the students asked said that freebies such as vouchers and offers would encourage them to buy the magazine.When asked what kind of offers they'd like, the majority of the people said food, which links in with the interests of the students.
    Almost a third of the students said that they'd be interested in an e-mag, however less than a quarter said that they would want email updates on the magazine. About three quarters of the students asked said that they wouldn't like to contribute to a college magazine.