Magazine Cover Analysis

Men's Magazine Example:

  

The target audience for GQ magazine is generally 21-35 year old males. The cover has attempted to appeal to them by using one of the most famous women in the world, Rihanna. They have done this as they think it will appeal to males in the public as she is considered extremely sexual and attractive, an attribute seen by the singer's appearance. Also, the singer is within the age range of the magazine's target audience which some men may find compelling to purchase. It uses very bold but sophisticated colours of red and black to create te sense of danger and love. The white background is used well to create a neutral tone and base for the striking colours against it. The magazine informs readers in regards to sex life, style, lifestyle and food, etc. The cover draws the viewer into the image by using 3D font that creates lots of depth to the magazine. The text is shown organized to the left and right of the image, again giving the impression it is a sophisticated publication. The text included uses the word "men" multiple times, suggesting it features masculine based topics within. The logo of the magazine is slightly hidden by the cover star, making the cover seem, again, more three dimensional and realistic. The cover uses men's terminology with words such as "Tech", "Sport", "Business" and "Politics", terms associated with masculinity. "One Man's Battle To Build The New World Trade Centre" is a good phrase used as it is again identified with men as feeling empowered and building, which is also related to the male niche.

Women's Magazine Example:

The target audience for Marie Claire magazine is generally 25-39 year old females. It is interesting to see how this women-based magazine has used Rihanna again for their cover, but have used other effects to create different outcomes. For example, the text used is much more feminine being pink and black, and also matching with the singer's outfit. Also, the colors used appear much softer to the eye compared to the men's magazine, which is very striking and harsh. The two covers both appear very simplistic. Like GQ, Marie Claire position the text to the left and right to appear organized. However, similar to GQ, it uses various fonts which juxtapose this opinion, making the magazine seem fun and modern at the same time. On the magazine's cover, the logo is this time positioned in front of the cover image, giving the impression that the women's magazine is more professional and cares about its name more than the men's. Claire uses typical women's terminology such as "Glamour", "Love", "Christmas In Style"and "Hottest Party Fashion, Sexy Make-up & Fabulous Hair". These words are thought to be more associated with women than men, so appeals to its target audience well. Other phrases also connect to femininity well. Rihanna's quote "I smile for real now" appears much more ladylike, being presumed it is about relationships and not just appearance and sex featured in GQ's main title. Also: "237 Xmas Gift Ideas" is used accurately, as it is a well known fact that women shop more than men, especially around the christmas times.