Front Cover Analysis 5 - Research

This is a cover from Vintage Rock magazine, one that I will be researching into in detail as it is exactly the same genre as what I have chosen to produce, however this magazine focuses more on older rock artists, whereas I would like mine to have more of a younger audience and so I will be focusing on artists from around the late 60's, early 70's and the 80's eras.

On this cover there are three puffs, two of the same style just reversed and one of a different shape and colour.

The two yellow puffs are advertising a longer article from the magazine and the other what the special edition of the magazine is about. The third is advertising a different article, the type of which I would like to include in my own magazine, a review article. The bright colours of the puffs stand out from the background and the black and white image, therefore making them an eye catching feature on the cover.

The Vintage Rock masthead is placed in the upper third of the magazine, with Elvis's head slightly covering the masthead and sell line.

The same sans serif font is used throughout in different sizes and colours, the only different font is the masthead. It is simple and easy to read in both colours and allows the article contents to be read clearly. It also creates a synergy for the cover as all fonts, no matter what placement or colour are the same, including the sell line.

The central image is in black and white, which is linking to the Vintage in the masthead, it allows the theme of the old music to continue, and the main focus on music can be seen as the image is that of a live performance, it shows Elvis as a performer, mouth open and singing with his guitar as a prop. Dyer can be applied here as he says that "a star is an image". It is clear that Elvis would have had a life around music, and many other magazines and tabloids would have reported this, but the way this magazine has presented him is just as a musician and a performer.

The barcode has been set conventionally in the bottom right hand corner of the magazine. My magazine will also include this convention as it is a simple code that is easily kept for a magazine and alongside other aspects that may break convention, it will be a simple way to keep the magazine a classic.How has this research influenced my creativity and ideas?This magazine cover has told me that a black and white image could be useful in representing the vintage era, and that when advertising anything on the front cover, the best way to do so is to use brightly coloured puffs and banners.