Salford City CollegeEccles CentreAS Media StudiesFoundation Portfolio

MastheadThe masthead is positioned at the top of the page; it is in a bold font and large letters, this makes it attention grabbing for the target audience. The text is in black and stands out well against the pale background. Doing this makes the magazine recognisable for the audience. The name ‘The Fly’ gives connotations that suggest this is an informative magazine as the word ‘fly’ is associated with the saying ‘fly on the wall’ meaning that a person has a lot of knowledge about something.

Main imageThe main image is of the two band members using direct address, this will appeal to the target audience as it will make the reader feel intimacy between them and the band. Intersexuality is used in this image due to the equipment the man is holding in his arm as this shows the audience the genre of music the band make.

Model credit‘The vivid vison of’ implies that the band have a clear idea of what music they intent to create. Audience familiarity is used because the music they create is very image driven this will appeal to the target audience. ‘Niki and the Dove’ is the name of the band and it has been placed in the centre underneath the band image in a large size to grab attention.

CoverlinesThe cover lines are scattered around the outside of the cover. Each one names a band name that is featured within this month’s magazine. This will appeal to the target audience as they may be a fan of one of these bands and want to purchase the magazine to find out more information about them.

Main cover lineThe main cover line reads ‘Niki and the Dove’ half way down the image of them, the text is in white contrasting against the bright pink box behind it. This will grab the audience’s attentions.

ColourThe colour used in the main image is bright with mainly pink, purple and yellow. Black is used on the masthead to draw attention to it. Pink text boxes are used for the cover lines and main cover lines with a contrasting white text to make

TypefacesThe text used is in a simple and easily read font. The font style used for the cover lines is informal and therefore suggests the magazine is targeted at a younger audience that are probably students ths would relate to the fact ‘The Fly’ is a free magazines and would appeal to students more than an older audience who would easily be able to afford buying magazines often.

Photography L ighting The lighting used in the photography is high key to emphasise the band on the cover and draw the readers attention to them. The lighting used is used in purple, red and yellow to fit in with the bands image. This lighting creates shadows on the bands faces and contributes to their quirky style.

Design Principles Used?In terms of the Guttenberg design principle the circle with ‘free’ inside has been places on the top right corner, in the strong fallow area meaning that this is the section that gains the most attention from the reader. The designers have placed the word here so that it will grab the attention of the student demographic they are targeting and will appeal to them. The mans face is in the primary optical area so that the reader will instantly look at the cover band and want to buy it if they are interested in the band. The cover line ‘PLUS: The Essential Festival Guide’ is in the terminal area because it isn’t the main feature in the magazine and is just an add on, this mean that it will be the last thing the reader sees and may convince them into buying the magazine.

House StyleThe house style contributes to an overall informal look that would appeal to a young audience. The colour palette used is mostly purple, pink and white, this range of bright colours are associated with this band and will be instantly recognisable to a reader of the magazine who is a fan of the band.

Comment on how the design of the magazine cover attracts the target audience:

Salford City CollegeEccles CentreAS Media StudiesFoundation Portfolio