Q Magazine Front Cover Evaluation

• For Q magazine the masthead is very large taking up a large space of the front cover of the magazine, which is always positioned and flushed left in the top left hand corner. This is so it makes it easier for the audience and customers to know that they are buying the right magazine that is branded as Q. it is a plain red square with a giant white capital Q which distinguishes the brand of the magazine.
• The headline is the main feature article with a 20 page spread that is advertised and presented on the front cover. This headline is “Oasis” as they are the main overall theme of this, magazine. The headline is placed slightly behind the feature article photo so the picture of one of the band members is presented as important in his time as a legend in music.
• Like most music magazines the feature article photo is a mid-shot placed in the centre of the front cover. The brand Q uses many famous icons on their front cover, such as Oasis have been used in this issue. The chosen camera angle of the shot is straight forward head on shot as he is level with the camera. His eyes in the image are looking directly at us but are squinting so we can only see one eye, creating some form of barrier between us and the person in the image, making the feature article photo look like it is on a slight tilt.
• The mise-en-scene of the photo is Noel Gallagher of one of the brothers from the Oasis band, staring directly at you with a slight squint, in a black and white image. This connotes the age and wisdom of the man giving the black and white image a feel of age. This could lead the target audience of both mixed gender, from teenagers upwards to middle aged people. The black and white image for the feature article photo also links in with the conventions of the 3 colour scheme of black red and white. For the conventions they use 3 main colours red, black and white. This also helps associate the colours with the magazine brand. In every issue they use these colours to identify their brand. The typography on the front cover has two types of font. This sticks to the conventions of a magazine, as most magazines don’t have more than 2 or 3 types of font. In the issues of Q they always use the same fonts so people can associate the fonts with the magazine.
• The mode of address gives an informal tone about the magazine. This is through the topics in the magazine and the feature article photo on the front cover through what he is wearing. The facial expression on Noel Gallagher’s face is quite informal as he is squinting in a way that makes him look as if he is scowling.  This gives the overall tone a serious feel about the magazine as his scowl on his face shows he is serious. The feature article photo links with the main feature article of the interview with Oasis in the magazine, as it has a pull-out quote on the front cover from this interview. This gives the reader a brief insight into what the interview is about. The pull-out quote also links to the seriousness of the feature article photo as it says “there was a lot of trauma”. This may suggest the scowl and the squint of the seriousness on his face.
• On the front cover there are plugs that are flushed right. The use of making the text flush right is so it gives a sense of organisation. We as people are very set on organisation and this justification interest us more as we can clearly see that layout of the text. The text flushed right has been placed on the white background so it is easier to read the plugs. It is also placed around the image so it does not overlap or be pushed back underneath it. This is so the face of Noel is undisturbed by the text and is standing out so the picture draws in the reader’s attention. This justification of the text gives a clear tone of seriousness and organisation for not only a younger age group but appeals to an older age group as well.
• From the layout and the form of the magazine front cover, the demographics of the magazine are aimed at both a wide range from teenagers upwards to middle aged people. For the layout and form, the magazine is much organised which intrigues a large age range but mainly older people as well as they like organisation and a clean layout. The celebrities and artists advertised and shown in the article is a mixture and a range of people of different genres and age groups, this appeals to a mixed gender, so this appeals to a wider range of people. The price range of the magazine is cheap for a well-known and successful brand. This would mean that it is aimed at any social class in society, as many people would be able to afford this brand magazine.
• In the feature article photo there is a sense of noise being created through the pixilation of the image. This links with the black and white colour of the photo giving an aged look to it. The image is an old image so it shows that the band Oasis have been around for a long time. The effect of using this image that has been taken some time ago could indicate that this was when the band was at their prime time in the music industry. This could appeal to an older audience as they could remember to when Oasis were the most popular, interesting them to buy the magazine.
• The front cover includes a puff to boost its status calling itself “the world’s greatest music magazine”. This is effective as it helps boost their status, and through the justification of where the puff is placed, it is on the masthead where it is more noticeable for people to read the puff as it is next to the most looked item on the page.
• Fillers have been used on the front cover to fill extra space. The fillers used were a barcode with the price of the magazine and a circular advertisement on the front cover advertising that there are two front covers with a 20 page spread of the featured band on the feature article photo. This can advertise the success of the band and the magazine as they have offered this 20 page spread to them so they must be something good to read about. This would interest people and want people to buy the magazine.
• The denotation of the magazine is of a man in a black and white image being presented in a straight on mid shot and head shot, with the image slightly pixelated giving it an aged feel.  This connotation tells the reader that as the image is quite close up it could mean that the article about the band and the individual member is a personal interview and story about them. This does link with one of the fillers as it says that there is a 20 page spread about Oasis.