Analysis of three front covers.

KERRANG front coverMasthead: The masthead KERRANG is one of the most recognisable headlines today. It’s bold but distorted font is what makes it so recognisable in the magazine world, and on this front cover it is no different. KERRANG connotes the sound of loud music or even a guitar chord, which is very relevant as this is a rock magazine.

Main image: The main image of this particular front cover is of band Green Day’s main singer, Billie Joe. The reason why KERRANG have only included him is because he is easily the most recognisable person in the band, therefore he can be recognise throughout the music industry. The main image shows him posing with his guitar indicating that it’s time for them to tour again. The light that is shining down on him could indicate that is a leading figure in the rock industry and that the KERRANG magazine do recognise him as that and that’s why they have done it.

Cover lines: Each one of the cover lines are contained in different coloured boxes with large titles for each one; such as “WTF” and “New albums”, these headings would be very eye catching for the reader.

Main cover line: “Green Day” is written in a very distorted and decayed font, much like the masthead itself, and this distortion portrays the element of rock.

Header and footer: There’s a header at the top of the page which normally will tell the reader an insight as to what else is in the magazine, and it is shown on this front cover too. There is also a footer which again, will feature some information about articles however on this particular cover, it tells the user what else is in this issue of KERRANG.

Q front coverMasthead: The masthead for this particular magazine is actually the magazine’s own logo. Q’s logo is instantly recognisable, so using it as a masthead is very effective. It is effective because of it’s big bold red colour which is extremely eye catching, and it is also a very large logo too, taking up quite a bit of the page.

Cover lines: Each of the cover lines are actually in a sort-of banner at the bottom of the page. Noticeably, the middle cover line is highlighted in red, making it as though Q want you to notice that one in particular.

Main image: The main image of the front cover is of the band Kings of Leon, and unlike other magazines where they would normally only show the most recognisable member of the band, Q have decided to show the entire band. Looking at all of their faces it seems like they are trying to portray that Kings of Leon are glad to have “the comeback story of a lifetime”.

Main Cover Line: The main cover line of this front cover is that of a quote made by one of the band members from Kings of Leon. Quotes work particularly well when used on front covers as they are a really good way at grabbing a passer-by’s attention.

NME front coverMasthead: The masthead on this magazine takes up the majority of the top area of the cover, making it a quite large masthead. The bold red colour of the “NME” contrasts with the light, calm blue behind of it, making it stand out even more.

Cover lines: Unlike most magazines, there are not a lot of cover lines on this front cover, apart from the single one at the very top right. I feel that NME have done this because they want to focus that entire issue on the Arctic Monkeys.

Main image: The main image on this cover also acts as a background too. It features the entire Arctic Monkeys band. From this picture I can denote that they are an indie-rock band purely from the way they are dressed, normally, main stream fashion doesn’t include slicked back hair so this is an obvious give away. The band are also easily recognisable, especially Alex Turner, the front man as he is the main vocalist of the group, and because of his recognisable face it makes this cover very effective at grabbing peoples attention.