Research into Student Magazines

Analysis of Front Cover/Contents Page

 

The masthead is the largest text on the page, emphasizing the importance of brand identity. The connotations of the name ‘VERGE’ suggest that this magazine is breaking new boundaries, that it is new and revolutionary. The tagline of ‘Careers .  Music . Lifestyle’ suggests that these are the key themes of the magazine. These themes are also ones that would interest college students, making the content relevant to the audience. The font of the masthead makes the magazine seem cool as it involves the use of both upper and lower case letters, suggesting a laid-back informality about the piece. The central image of pop singer Ke$ha is also likely to interest young people who are interested in her music. The dark background helps to emphasise the psychedelic fonts that draw the reader’s attention to these various lures. These lures are of different fonts and sizes, which make the magazine seem wild and fresh. It also means that the reader’s attention will be drawn to some lures earlier than others, especially the main lure below the central image.  The magazine does not show the price or the issue number, however it does show the link to the online website.

The masthead is again the largest text on the page, emphasing the importance of brand identity. The connotations of the name ‘24 7.’ suggest that this magazine never stops, that it is always up-to-date. The central image is not of a person, which is unusual for a magazine. The line under the central image uses the colloquial phrase ‘yep’, showing the informality of the piece. This shows that the target audience is students as these are the sort of people who use this type of lexis. The lures for this magazine are posted in the centre of the page, which is unusual for a magazine. For most magazines, such as ‘VERGE’, the lures are posted around the outside and along the bottom of the page. This makes the front cover seem like more of a poster than a cover. The price of this magazine is free, showing that its main aim is to provide information for the benefit of the audience rather than to make a profit.

The contents page moves away from the colours used on the contents page and instead uses a blue colour scheme.  The darker blue background is mixed with the writing being a lighter blue so that it sounds out. The writers and editors names are positioned down the left hand side with the contents page being listed down the right. This is a common theme in magazines. The ‘Features’ section is larger as this is what separates this issue from any other, and is the most important feature in drawing in customers.