500 Word Analysis Of Vogue Front Cover

The magazine Vogue is aimed at a target audience of young women  (perhaps 18-30 year olds) who take a keen interest in fashion. However, it could be said that Vogue appeals to a wider audience as it solely depends on the extent of an individual’s interest in the world of fashion rather than their age, and also what stories are being covered in each issue. For instance, in this particular issue, the main feature is focused upon Emma Watson and her “Life After Harry Potter” which would naturally attract a slightly younger audience than, say, a story on Kate Winslet. To further enhance the variety of the magazine’s audience, this copy also includes a feature on “Reversing The Body’s Signs Of Aging” which would appeal to a somewhat older reader.

The fact that the price of a copy of Vogue is £4.10 (which is relatively expensive compared to something like Look or More) implies a certain class of people are likely to read it, as some may not be able to afford to pay out £4.10 on a magazine.  This defines the target audience a little more, as although the coverlines may appeal to a wide audience, the price may restrict the purchase of Vogue to a reader of a slightly higher class.

The cover of this issue of Vogue has attempted to appeal to a target audience of young women through the colour scheme of pinks and deep plum shades which are seen as ‘girly’ colours. Furthermore, popular music artists’ names are featured in some of the coverlines e.g. “J.LO, Beyoncé, Rihanna” which will instantly draw the attention of young women as they are familiar with these celebrities and take an interest in stories involving them.

On this cover, many conventions of cover design are evident.  The most key one, however, is the masthead which is, in itself, the most iconic element of the magazine. The lettering of “VOGUE” stretches right across the three thirds of the front cover, and immediately grabs the reader’s  attention due to the recognisable text and the bold colouring. Also, although it may not be seen as a plug in the direct sense of the word, the coverline reading “Reversing The Body’s Signs Of Aging” and phrases such as “must have” draw the reader in and allows the reader to believe that they will be getting something out of the magazine aside from the physical content. 

Other conventions of cover design that can be seen on the cover of Vogue include: the dateline (situated to the right-hand-side underneath the masthead), the main coverline (“Emma Watson, Life After Harry Potter”),  and capitalised and enlarged font so as to draw the eye to each individual coverline.

Finally, even though they cannot be seen on this particular image, a barcode and the price would exist on the front cover of Vogue in real life- usually with the barcode in the bottom hand corner and the price located in the top left hand corner next to the masthead.