Analysis of a front cover

Analysis of a Front Cover

The purpose of a magazine front cover is to attract the reader into buying the magazine and also to publicised in a many number of ways such as the colours used, the pictures, strap lines, competitions etc...

The first thing to analyse about this Kerrang magazine is the trademark shown on the top which is the same in each issue of the magazine and is always incorporated with the house style which instantly tells the reader which magazine that they are purchasing, this is also the masthead of the magazine.

Secondly this issue of Kerrang displays its main article messily and in no order to make it seem more in with today’s ideals of what it should look like it also makes the magazine look more exciting and will in turn more often than not intrigue the reader into purchasing the issue of the magazine.

Furthermore the fact that the main image is a picture of Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong tells the reader that this issue is mainly focused around Green Day and that they may be part of the main article. The way that the main images character is acting suggests that the picture was taken from a live event, another reason that this image is used may be because of the title of the main article,”the ultimate guide to PUNK “the word punk is a connotation as it has numerous meanings and Green Day are a well known “American punk” band which sees the more than suitable to be shown as they have a vast fan base throughout the world which will intrigue more readers.

The top banner above the main image and masthead shows us what else/ what other stories are included in the magazine it also follows the house style as the same font/ size is used throughout each magazine.

The way the images are placed throughout the front cover may contribute to the overall wow factor that the magazine may produced as the placement should make it easier to find out who the main stories are about.

Another key feature is the colours used the colours black, pink, white and yellow all stand out next to each other  as they also contribute to the stories as they are quite bright and relate to the theme of punk rock and are quite funky, abnormal colours.

This front cover also uses pull quotes to make its stories more interest inducing and also gives an idea on what the story may be about “this is a risk”.

427 wds