Magazine analysis

Denotation: This is a Billboard magazine which is based on charts music. The masthead is bold in black with added red, blue and yellow, it is positioned at the top of the page and starts on the left hand side. The background is pink with black, yellow and white font. There are five cover lines down the left hand side of this cover page and there is a puff positioned toward the bottom right corner and is slightly overlapping Katy Perry's dress. Katy Perry is in the middle of the magazine but her body is curved round slightly to the right. She is wearing a flowery black and pink dress and she is draped in large yellow, red and pink flowers. Her makeup blends in with the rest of the front page; her lipstick is bright vibrant pink. Connotation: The photo of Katy Perry is a medium long shot, direct mode of address as well as high key lighting. The masthead is black along with its standard colours red, blue and yellow which looks professional and it also stands out and contrasts against the pale pink background. This makes it clear to see that this is a charts magazine which mainly consists of pop music which appeals to the female target audience. The main cover line is in a serif font type which makes it stand out along with the relevant image. The subheadings have all got the same layout, they consist of two sections the top line uses yellow font so even though it is smaller the colour makes it stand out against the pink background, whereas the last three lines are slightly large and black. The flowers on Katy Perry’s dress and the larger flowers draped over her head and wrapped around her gives the magazine a feminine pop theme, although the main target audience is not normally just females a large majority of readers are males, so the use of Katy Perry being featured on the front page may encourage not only females but also males because they may find her attractive. Katy’s dress consists of black, pink and white; this is repeated in the whole of the front covers theme. Her makeup also blends in with the theme; she is wearing a bright pink colour lipstick and a light pink blusher making her look young and vibrant, the eye makeup makes her eyes look kind and soft but they also stand out as well which suggests that she is pretty and fresh like the flowers surrounding her. The puff which consists of a pale red circle and in the centre yellow and white font stand out, which adds an extra effect to this front cover and makes it stand out.