Comparing 3 different magazine covers.

I am going to compare three magazines which are all very different. The ones that I am going to compare are 'Teen Vogue' which is a fashion magazine 'Heat' which is a gossip magazine and 'NME' which is a music magazine.

The first magazine I am going write about is Teen Vogue which is a fashion magazine.
The language of this magazine is very compact; it isn't just a simple front cover there is a lot going on in it. This will pull the reader in because they will see that there is a lot for them to read about and each bit is something different. The way the cover shows this is by the way that each title for a different story is written in a different way even if it is just a different colour or a different font, it still shows that it is an different individual story.

The audience for this magazine would be teenage girls rather than boys the way that it shows this is by having a girl on the front cover and wearing pink with is the stereotypical girl colour. Also because the colours of the fonts and the colour of the actual title magazine is in pink and orange with are more girl colours rather than boys.

The title of this magazine has also been put on top of the picture rather than sometimes they are put underneath. However even though it has been put on top it has been put so that it doesn't block any of the picture out or any of the writing out and makes it very clear. This could show that the magazine is clear on what they are talking about.


The next magazine that i am going to write about is NME this is a music magazine aimed at teenagers both girls and boys.

The language of this is also very compact and has a lot going on. This magazine has more going on than the Teen Vogue one and when you look at it; it could confuse the reader as there are stories everywhere. However it could also pull the reader in because the audience will obvious be interested in music so they will want to know everything that is going on. This front cover shows that it does know a lot of what is going on because of the amount of stories that it is showing us that it knows, also more stories are inside than that are just on the cover so it shows that there will be a lot to read about.

The way that the magazine shows it is for boys and girls rather than just one or the other is by having both a boy and a girl on the front cover together and using both blue and pink texts. This shows that there is something for girls and something for boys included in the magazine which widens the audience.

However the title in this magazine is covered by the picture, not all of just the E where as the teen vogue one wasn't. As they have covered the E in the title they have put the title again next to it not as another title but as part of a title for a story inside but this makes it clear to readers that may not buy the magazine the name of it in case that they didn't know it.


The final magazine i am going to write about is Heat which is a magazine all about gossip usually to do with celebrities. This magazine is aimed at teenagers, more likely girls that will buy it because they are more interested in what is going on but boys could buy it as well.

The language of this magazine is also very compact which i obviously the same with all magazines to show that there is a lot going on for the reader to read about. This magazine shows the stories more with pictures as well rather than just text which could be a good way to pull readers in to show them who the story is actually about rather than just a title of it.

The title of this magazine has been partly covered by the picture but just the A and it is almost like his head is replacing the A because an A is a round shape and so is somebody's head.

On the magazine front cover both blue and pink is used showing that it is for girls and boys. The colours are used as a background colour behind two stories; this could indicate which story is more aimed at boys and which story is more aimed at girls.

Overall i have found that each magazine has similar ways of displaying there front covers, such as all three of them are very crowded front covers showing that the magazine is full of different stories. Also each magazine has something different about it, e.g. some are just for girls, some are just for boys and some are for both girls and boys.

Secondary teachers magazine cover.

This magazine cover is from a magazine with the audience of secondary school and college teachers.
The magazine is designed so that when you open the front and back cover they are both like front cover, half for girls and half for boys. This is because the aim of the magazine is to figure out if boys and girls learn differently. They have done the front covers like this because it shows that the magazine is equally aimed half at girls and half at boys not more on one than the other.

The language of this magazine is chosen carefully for both the boys and the girls. On each of the covers it says 'do boys and girls learn differently?' next to the main picture. However the writing on the side for the boys is in blue and the writing on the side for the girls is in pink. This shows that there is a difference between boys and girls and that they could learn differently just by the colours that they have chosen to use. They have chosen to use these colours because they are the stereotypical colours that people think of for both girls and boys. However also on the front cover it says plus free student cookbook. What they have done on this is where is says 'plus' they have put it in pink on the boys side and in blue on the girls side, this indicates that there is also a chance that boys and girls are the same and could learn the same rather than differently.

The title of the magazine cover is secondary teachers and it is the same on each side of the cover which could also be an indication that they are both the same. On the side of the cover which is for boys the boy has his hand in the air as if he is going to answer a question. Whilst his hand is in the air it is covering the C in the word secondary. As his hand is covering his arm is shaped in curve like a C so it is almost like his arm is replacing the C which involves him more in the cover because he has also become part of the title.

As the boy is answering the question he looks enthusiastic about answering and the girl is looking over at him which a smirk on her face. This connects both of the covers together so that the audience knows that it is both the same story not two different ones even though half is on the front of the magazine and half is on the back of the magazine.

Even though there are many things different about the magazine covers indicating a difference there are also things that are the same. However they are things that aren't as noticeable to the audience if they are just scanning at the covers such as the writing at the top which tells you about other things in the magazine. The main focus that catches the audience's eye on a front cover is usually the title and the picture, but the other stuff they do notice as well even if they don't particularly take it in, this shows that even though there is obvious differences there are also some things that are the same between girls and boys.

Producing a college magazine front cover and contents page.

As this is the beginning of the foundation portfolio preliminary task we look at how the media key concepts could be applied to produce a college magazine. I used the acronym LIIAR; language, institution, ideology, audience and representation.

L - language. The language is what gets the reader to read on, such as the print layout. This is important in a magazine cover because if the cover doesn't impress the reader then they are less likely to buy the magazine. The font and text are part of the language and for a magazine cover the font and text is chosen carefully to catch the eye of the reader. The aim of the language on a front cover is to give a particular impression to the reader of what type of magazine they are going to buy.

I - institution. The institution is what controls the production process and how it affects the final product. As this is a collage magazine it will be aimed at the staff working for the college. Therefore it will have a more mature approach on how it is written and design as the cover will have to appeal to adults.

I- ideology. Ideology is a dominant set of ideas presenting itself as common sense or truth. The ideology is what values are explicit or implicit. It is the set of shared values by groups within society. The implicit ideology is the way that the magazine front cover tells you a lot about the main focus of the magazine and what will be inside of it.

A- audience. The audience is who the magazine is aimed at. The audience is a really important part of the process of making a magazine because if the audience eye isn't caught by the front cover then it is more likely for them not to buy it. The audience of a college magazine would be teachers or even students which would be aged 16-19 years. The magazine is aimed at more middle class people.

R- representation. The representation is who appears on it, what is excluded and how there portrayed. On a college magazine teachers or students normally appear on the front cover or something to do with the college its self. What is on the front cover can range on anything that is to do with the college e.g. it can be something such as cooking up to something to do with sport.