Analysis Of A Real Magazine: Entertainment Weekly

The masthead of the magazine is placed behind the key image which is quite conventional for a magazine. Due to the magazine being Entertainment Weekly they most likely already have an established group of people that never miss an issue so they will still be able to recognise the brand even if it’s somewhat covered. Moreover, even consumers which are not as familiar with the brand I believe that they are still able to work out the name of the magazine. The masthead is spread across the whole width of the magazine which reinforces its important. Furthermore, to make it stand out more the colour of the masthead is orange which adds a pop of colour and contrast nicely on the green background. The use of orange was planned out as it relates to some of the clothing and accessories the actress in the main image is wearing e.g. the sentimental mocking jay pin. Also it is used to highlight important text.

Above the masthead is the date of the magazine and the issue number. Due to it being written in white you can’t really see it which connotes that it may not be as important as other aspects of the cover.  The date displayed is May 27^th. This reinforces the idea that the magazine is published weekly.

Underneath the masthead is a minor cover line. This is the smallest font size visible on the front cover (except for the date). The font of the cover line is sans-serif which makes it a bit easier to read. Furthermore the colour of the text is white which is effective as it stands out on the dark green background. The cover line just explains who the actress is for individuals who wouldn’t know as they may not be interested in this genre of film, also it states that the film ‘The Hunger Games’ is based on a trilogy of books which some people  may not be aware of.

The key image takes up most of the front cover. The key image consists of the main actress of the film featured: Jennifer Lawrence portrayed in the character that she plays Katniss Everdeen. The image is quite effective as she is facing forward resulting in making eye contact with the audience. This will draw in some individuals as they will become intrigued with the cover. Furthermore props like the bow and arrow and mocking jay pin are seen to be emphasized through looking a bit lighter than the image. These two aspects are probably the most recognisable features of the character so  that is why the magazine smarty emphasised these recognisable features.

In the bottom right corner is the main cover line of the magazine. The largest font visible is the title of the film featured ‘The Hunger Games’. The font is white which contrasts well with the black background of the characters clothing. Furthermore the text is very round which adds an element of fun and clearness. Right below there is a bold text stating ‘Exclusive!’ This is put in bold to emphasis the fact that what’s inside the magazine may be seen as limited to the reader. This will cause them to be more intrigued in the magazine and what’s inside. After that there is text explaining what the exclusive features are. The rest of the text is also in white but it is much thinner. This shows that it is less important than the exclusive tag however it is still considered as important information for the reader as the size of it reinforces that. Jennifer Lawrence’s name is emphasised s it is coloured in orange which link to the masthead and key image.