Front Cover Analysis 2

On the cover for Dazed & Confused features Beth Ditto who is from three piece indie- rock band The Gossip. She is acclaimed for her outrageous ways and often people forget there are 2 other people within the band, but then again this is why The Gossip are so popular. This front cover is amazing and definitely going to stand out on the shelves! The styling has been done with Andy Warhol like pop-art lips which look like they could have been taken from one of his paintings of Marilyn Monroe. Here she seems naked but only with wearing a wired necklace with these pop art Marilyn Monroe lips hung onto the end of them and one big one placed on top of Beth Ditto's lips, with a glsance look like they could be her own. Her 60's hair cut ties in really well wit the eera of Warhol's paintings, also because the cut is so edgy it creates a dramatic image, as well as her eye make up too.

The colour theme used is very minimal only using threecolours of red, white and black, I think when it is kept to a minimum it definitely creates a much more sophisticated look for the mag and not a commersial pop looking one. The Masthead is not covered behind Beth Ditto’s head but is not harshly covering hers either. This is achieved by having a gradient technique applied to make the bottom of the masthead slightly opaque. Other magazines would usually have the cover models head cover their mast head so this could be because it’s not as well-known and made for more the niche markets. This magazine is published for the people interested in all Fashion, Photography, Music, Arts and Culture.

But while getting inspiration from the magazines that I choose to read they are very much similar in the way of  them being set out from the front cover. This certaintly appeals to a smaller market but also to an ever growing current culture of being as individual as possible, I think this type of magazine would sell to a younger generation even if they are not so into arts/photography but purley because it would make the indiviual seem cooler to be seen reading this rather than a gossip magazine, and make the person reading it instantly appear more intelligent. I read these type of magazines not so much for their feature articles but for their photography, it's within these magazines where I get inspired from. When it comes to maing my own magazine photography will play a big part in it, as well as incorporating music and fashion.

Questionnair Results

We carried out a group questionnaire to ask 20 college students about a college magazine. Our results show that 65% of our questionees were Female and the other 35% were Male. There was an astonishing high number of 85% of students who don't read their current college magazine. Then we ask the students to list 3 things that they would like in a college magazine and our top 5 results were, Fashion, College Trips, Music, Events around College and Sport. 60% of our students said that they would benefit from a college magazine and another 60% said that they would like to receive the magazine Monthly. Surprisingly 45% students would be willing to pay for their college magazine and the other 55% said they wouldn't, and when asked how much they would be willing to pay the majority said 50p; so when creating the magazine it would be wise to have the first few issues free then put the maximum price tag of 50p on. 45% of our students also said that they would contribute to the magazine. When asked what would you like on the front cover, our top results came out for Images of Students, Bright Colours and Modern and when asked where they would like to receive it, top 3 answers were Tutor Time, Canteen and Library.

College Magazine Questionaire

College Magazine Analysis

Ideas for my Magazine- Bullet Points

Inspirations: i-D, Nylon, Vice, Dazed and Confused, Wonderland

Target Audience: Ideally my target audiecne would be middle class to upper class as the magazine would most probably be read by graduate or undergraduate Art and Design/Fashion Students. Being sereotypical this magazine would likely to be read by an intelletual and intelligent audience. This magazine would fall into the niche market and most probably be price at around £4.00- £5.00

Colours: I dont have many preferences for the colours that I will use for my magazine, I think it's going to depend on my front cover image. My cover will be quite minimal with the amout of texts used but this is why my chosen front cover image will have to make up for this and be even more eye catching from the shelves.

Fonts: I'm not sure on the fonts that I would liek to use yet, but again something quite something minimal. If it's clean, simple, easy to read and recognise then it will be perfect for my cover.

Advertisers: The advertisers to feature in my magazine would be top fashion designers or top end high street chains as the magazine would be heavily based on fashion, as well as culture and lifestyle.

Front Cover Analysis 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

i-D are renowned for their signature wink on all their front overs. On this one the model and actor Cate Blanchett is winking as you can see but compared to some of i-D’s previous covers they have been more subtle. But here, colour is everything as well as the saying less is more; As if there was lots of text on the cover it would ruin the cover and what i-D are about which is fashion, art and culture. I also think that sometimes not having much on the cover can also make the magazine more interesting to someone who has never heard of the magazine as curiosity overcomes them and makes the person wants to pick it up from the shelf and flick through in hope that they may purchase it. The fact that i-D have marketed their magazine over their logo [the wink] also makes you want to see what other new things they can do with their famous wink, so you wait till the next issue which is produced bimonthly.

 

The bar code here is on he top right hand side and it quite obvious and has not been made to look subtle. Especially as this cover is quite minimalistic.

 

There are 6 colours used on this front cover, which on a normal gossip magazine there would be way too much going on. But here it really works as the colours from the photo taken. All the text in i-D magazine are minimal but some have really quirky typography on the covers, this depends on the model on the front cover and what that issue is about.