Magazine Research: Q

 

Q magazine ideally appeals to young adults and both genders male and female. The use of the colour scheme – red, black and white appeals to the target audience and makes the magazine appropriate for mixed gender. From first looking at the magazine we are welcomed by the big bright company logo ‘Q’ this immediately brings the reader’s attention and would make the magazine stand out from the others when displayed on a magazine rack.  The magazine is followed by a well organised and sophisticated layout; this makes the product much easier to read and gives the idea of a professional look. The colour scheme – red, black and white is repeated through a series of Q magazines and makes the reader aware this is a product made by Q.  Furthermore, we are introduced to a main image of a popular music artist, the artist is portrayed to have a serious look and has been not been captured smiling.

The popular music artist Cheryl Cole displayed on the front cover is viewed by many girls to be their ‘role model’ and is depicted by young guys to be a ‘sexual icon’ therefore her presence within the magazine is suited to the dual gender target audience. The image portrays Cheryl Cole to be classy and elegant through the use of her body language. Her facial expressions convey her to not be smiling emphasising her seductive image for men. The use of her red lipstick reinforces this idea and contrasts with the red coloured masthead and sell lines pictured around the around cover of the page. The colour red is a key element of the image as red has strong connotations of love, romance and passion as well as wealth, superiority and importance. The use of this colour indicates her dominance and suggests her popularity within the music industry. She is presented to be standing in the rain against a black all and is captured from a front angle to emphasise her beauty. Her chest is shown to be partly bare as her jacket separates from the front– this again reinforces the idea of her being a sex symbol for the male audience.  Overall, I believe looking at this particular front cover has helped me to develop my ideas in the design of my magazine.