Magazine Analysis - Q (Cover)

The title of this magazine is Q, it is located on the top left of the page, with a red background and white sans serif font, the font may have been used to give the magazine a formal and mature look. The strap line used on this cover is "The UK's biggest music magazine", the font is in BLOCK CAPITALS, this is because it stands out and therefore will attract the audience to buy it to find out if they agree with the strap line. The main image is of Cheryl Cole, she has a persuasive facial expression, whilst gazing straight towards the reader, this may have been done to entice the target audience to buy it. The red lipstick she is wearing matches the theme of the front cover, as it contrasts with the black, gray and white. This image may also attract the target audience as Cheryl Cole is many girls role model, therefore it is effective as she is the main focus of the cover.

There are not many other images used on the cover, the only other image is the circle graphic, which includes information on John Lennon, they may have used the circle to separate that piece of text from the others, as it may be more important. I believe there are not many images used as the publishers want to keep the focus on Cheryl Cole, therefore she is the only image on the cover.

The cover lines show what else the magazine has to offer, they show that within the magazine the reader can find out about Snow Patrol, 50 Cent, U2 and Paul Weller. The cover lines are effective as they show the magazine has more than Cheryl Cole inside, meaning the reader can find out a large amount on a variety of artists.

The cover uses two fonts, this has been done to separate the text and to break it up. They have also used different colours for each part, this may have been done to make the cover look more attractive, it also shows a colour theme has been selected and used well. They have also used white and red backgrounds behind the text on the left to make it stand it out clearly, without changing the colour scheme.

The cover uses language techniques to entice the audience into reading it, or buying it. This has been done by emphasizing the main points with large text in BLOCK CAPITALS, for example "The 10 best new acts", they have done this so it stands out and makes the target audience want to find out who are the 10 best new acts. They also use three types of font and different colour for "three words... Cheryl Cole ROCKS", this shows that the text is the main focus as it stands out clearly from the rest of the cover.

The cover for this magazine is similar to others, as it uses a close up of someone famous and popular, many magazines do this to attract readers to their magazine. The unique selling point for Q here is Cheryl Cole, as she is very popular and a role model for many, therefore the target audience will buy it as they want to know more about her.