Analysis of Q magazine

This is an issue of Q magazine, from January 2010. On the front cover of this issue, Cheryl Cole can be seen looking slightly different to the way she would normally be seen.

Colour --

The colours used on the front cover of this issue is mainly red, black and white. The contrast between the black and white bounce off of each other and make the magazine extremely eye catching, whilst the red stands alone but the boldness of it allows the cover to stand out a lot more than most. The black creates an almost gothic feel to the magazine; this creates contrast with how Cheryl Cole is normally perceived as a person and also clashes well with the white rain. Red is a slightly sensual colour; it can indicate love, passion or anger and this can relate to the emotions that Cheryl Cole has been feeling through throughout her career.

Design ---

Keeping it's normally used design, just like most magazines usually do, the editors of Q have decided to keep everything on the front cover in it's normal position. This can sometimes be a good idea with magazine covers as there is less of a chance that readers will get confused with what magazine they want to buy when looking for it.

The masthead is in the same place is always is, with the bar code and price easily seen underneath it and the designers of the magazine have chosen to put the more important details and words in slightly bigger and different fonts to highlight the key point of interest within the magazine; this allows the audience to get a much better idea of what they will be reading about inside. Important details of what is going to be read and seen inside have also been highlighted in red or white to make them stand out a lot more.

Images ---

The image on the front cover is a major close up picture of Cheryl Cole on her own. The fact that the picture is of her on her own illustrates contrast, as she is normally seen with her band members and not by herself. Also, the fact that Cheryl Cole is such a well known and admired celebrity will attract more consumers, male or female.

When looking at this picture of her, she looks fairly different to how she is normally seen. Sporting a more rebellious fashion in contrast to her stereotypical girly self. Her change would also be another reason for people to want to buy the magazine.

Cheryl's makeup as been vamped up and her hair is soaking wet as if she does not care what she looks like. Her black eyes go well with the colour of her hair and the red lipstick makes it stand out a lot more. Her tongue has been edited to almost match the colour of the lipstick and this clashes well with the her extremely white teeth.

The fact that Cheryl's picture is the only one to be seen on the front cover indicates that the magazine is obviously mostly about her.

Pose ---

Cheryl's pose on the front of this magazine is slightly sultry and rebellious, and this could be seen as attractive to some people. Her pose shows contrast to how she is normally perceived in the public eye as she looks quite dangerous and mysterious; this could attract a male audience as well as a female audience and makes the magazine more known. Connoting that she is not shy at all, is the fact that she has her tongue out in quite a mischievous fashion; again, this could attract the attention of a male audiences that admire Cheryl.

Words ---

The masthead is a bold white on a bright red background, and the fact that it is just the one letter "Q" makes it stand out just that little bit more and the boldness of the font and the capital letters highlight the title and make it a lot more eye catching than it would be if it was in a smaller size.

Above the masthead the words "The UK's biggest magazine" can be seen, and although it is written in a smaller font it is still easy to read and see. The fact that this is written on the front of the magazine and has been given permission to have it illustrates that the magazine is obviously very popular and that it might actually be true. This comment could make people want to buy it even more, because everybody else is buying it and it must not be missed.

The strapline can be seen underneath the image of Cheryl Cole, reading "3 words; Cheryl Cole Rocks!" This is a pun, as '3 words' is the name of her new album and this could also be seen as advertising and the word 'rocks' is indicating that Cheryl is cool. Cheryl's name is written in bold and in a large font. This makes it extremely eye catching, and her admirers will see her name and most likely want to buy the magazine.

Everything else that is included inside the magazine is advertised on the front cover. Some words are highlighted, some are in bold and some are just in different colours to make them more eye catching and they all suggest a wide variety of subjects that will appeal to different kinds of buyers. This can also create a larger fan base and make the magazine more popular.

Language ---

The language used on the front cover of this magazine is a mix between formal and informal. The slight fact that they have chosen to use the word "rocks" to describe Cheryl Cole makes the magazine sound quite friendly. Also, young readers can relate to the language used.

The rest of the words used on the front cover are quite formal and simple, as they are describing what else can be read inside the magazine, so they have to be easy to read and understand.

The block capital technique of highlight certain words to make them more eye catching has been used on certain words just like it is normally used in other magazines.