Target Audience- The target audience for Under the Radar would be both genders aged at around 17-25 as this is the young generation who are most likely to get involved in up and coming sounds. The majority of target audience members would fall in the demographic band of C1-E.
Masthead- The masthead that is used here is very subtle but still effective because it's larger and bold than the rest of the text meaning that is stands out the most. This masthead is subtle because it isn't a bold colour like red in the previous magazines I analysed but this can still work well as it makes it less in the readers face. As there isn't much text on this front cover that works well to ensure that the masthead is the largest text on the page as they want the reader to recognise the magazine's masthead. As the masthead is longer than just one word because of the name of the magazine the fact that is takes up the whole top left corner works well with the structure of the magazine and sticks to the genre convention of taking up an 1/8 of the page. This masthead links to the target audience because they are young they are constantly looking for new things and don't want everything to look the same. This masthead sticks to this because it doesn't fit any generics and is a very different style of masthead.
Layout- The layout on this front cover works well as they have used an image that takes up the majority of the page they have managed to make the text work effectively round this. By layering text onto the image and only having a slight bit in the blank space this makes it look like there is less of the text and means that the cover doesn't look overpowered with text. As there is the use of one main medium shot image this sticks to conventions of a magazine and gives the interest to the reader as the image is what will make them pick up the magazine. The fact that the text is spaced around in different areas not only makes sure it doesn't look too busy but also gives different areas of interest for the reader to look at. This layout links to the target audience because they are a young generation so they want an image that interests them without loads of writing taking away from this.
Colour- This front cover has an interesting use of colour the main part being the background colour being green instead of the usual white or black as this makes it look more vibrant and appealing. This vibrancy will attract the readers attention a lot more than just a plain boring colour would. The rest of the colour scheme is rather simple with the text being white and blue making this stand relatively clearly against the background. Although not so clear that the writing looks too in your face. The other colour details are done through the fashion elements on the cover models clothes as these create an added interest of different colours. I think these more vibrant colour uses link back to the young target audience as it presents them with something new that is more refreshing than the overused generic ideas.
Images- The image used on this page is a medium shot which sticks to the common convention of using a medium or close-up shot for the cover. As well as this it sticks to the common convention of only using one main image on the cover as to give a clear focus for the reader and making it look more professional by not being over busy. This image uses a mix of models with male and female models making it appeal to both sexes rather than just one. This also disrupts Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze because this photo shows the males and females portrayed in the same way as the females pose is not anymore sexual than the males. This presents this magazine showing an equal side to male and female. This links back to the target audience both being male and female because a female audience member won't just want a sexual female on the front because it might not necessarily appeal to the same, and the same goes for the males.
Typography- The most effective piece of typography on this cover is the use of the word 'Decade' being in a capitals as well as a large bold font because this makes it stand out as a main story and attracts the reader towards this information. Another part of the typography that is effective is the way it is spaced out in different areas on the page as this makes it look like there isn't loads of it therefore it isn't over powering for the reader to look at. Although this cover also doesn't have that much writing because a lot of writing wouldn't really fit into the style of the magazine. As well as these reasons a more simple reason for the typography looking effective is the fact that it only uses two colours this makes all the writing link together and gives more of a structure to it. All of these uses of typography link back to the audience member being young so therefore they are typically not going to want to have lots to read as they will be more interested in the use of images.
Conclusion- Overall I think that this front cover meets the needs of the target audience well through the use of masthead, layout and imagery to name just a few. I think that through all of these things it's creating an identity for the magazine that breaks away from generic magazines and creates an individual magazine that is perfectly aimed at their target audience.
Excellent research into similar products.
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