'Woman' magazine- Front cover analysis

‘Woman’ magazine front cover analysis

Layout and Design:

The main focus of the front cover is the main image which is a picture of a woman smiling. At the top, left and bottom of the main image there is text. At the top of the front cover there is the mast head as well as information about the price and when the magazine is released each week. The use of the mast head is to establish the brand’s identity, the name of the magazine clearly portrays the target audience and creates an image about what the magazine is about. To the left of the main image there is a name drop and pull quote (“British women have a special magic”) about one of the articles inside. This is to entice the audience in to buying the magazine so they can read the article inside. At the bottom of the front cover there is a banner style bar in which the text is placed upon. For example “seven star improvements for your kitchen” and “lingerie goes lively”. This is to, once again, give a small insight to the reader about the content of the articles inside. The use of the cover lines around the main image allows there to be a clear focus on the main image, the text acts as a ‘second thought’ when the audience has been enticed by the main image. Using the text to frame the main image adds to the impact of the photo and the importance of it in describing what the magazine is about.

Central image:

The central image on the front cover is a photo of a woman smiling. The woman is wearing minimal makeup, a floral dress and has a practical hair style. The magazine does not inform the audience of her name, implying that she is not a celebrity or someone well known which is quite atypical for magazine front covers. Celebrities are often used for magazine front covers as it opens the magazine up to a new audience and encourages more people to buy it. The use of her minimal makeup and practical hair links her very closely to 1960s house wives. This is important for selling the magazine as the woman on the front cover is portrayed and looks like the typical reader for the magazine. This is helpful in further enticing the audience to buy the magazine. Readers of the magazine will search for a magazine that relates to them and their daily life. Having a woman that is around a similar age and class will capture more readers when they spot the front cover. This communicates further the focus of the magazine and what the audience should expect the articles to focus on inside.

Typography and graphics ‘House Style’:

The mast head uses a very feminine but bold and clear font which implies to the reader the focus of the magazine whilst also appearing eye-catching. Repeatedly using the same front for the masthead creates a brand identity and sense of consistency throughout all the magazines, making it recognisable. The font for the cover lines is less feminine compared to the title. The cover lines and pull quotes use a font which is clear and bold, this could be because the mast head is used to create a brand identity and explain a little about the focus of the magazine whilst the purpose of the cover lines is to inform the audience. At the bottom of the magazine front cover there is a yellow banner style text box which hold the cover lines. The use of the yellow text box allows the cover lines to stand out and appear clear to the audience. They allow the reader to, once again, gain an understanding of the content of the magazine and try to persuade them to buy it.

Visual codes:

The magazine has conveyed information about their magazine through the facial expression of the woman in the central image. The woman is smiling and looks healthy and positive. This implies to the audience that by buying the magazine they will be able to learn how to also be positive and as happy as the woman on the front cover. The woman on the magazine is white with brown hair and is probably middle class. This links to the 1960s where woman were mostly expected to be housewives and stay at home. This magazine front cover portrays the preferred example of that ‘perfect house wife’. By using this woman of this class it conveys to society that this is what women should be and what they should be doing. This links to the struggle for Women’s rights at the time where women going to university and getting jobs had become more common. Women were starting to realise how they were being treated in comparison to men and how unfair it was, they began protesting and fighting for equal rights. This magazine cover implies to women that being a house wife is what they should be and discourages the Women’s rights movement.

Colour:

The magazine front cover uses soft and pastel colours. This links to the femininity of the woman on the front cover. It once again, further discourages the Women’s rights movement and suggests that women should stay at home to care for their husband and children. The colours links to the focus and theme of the magazine as the magazine itself is called ‘Woman’. In Frank Mahnke’s book ‘Colour, Environment, and the Human Response’ he conveys his opinion that pastel colours evoke openness and relaxation. This links to the purpose of the magazine which is to act as some ‘down time’ for house wives who are constantly working in the kitchen. The magazine allows the women to relax and take a break from their usually busy life. The subtle use of pink in the background links to the Roland Barthes Semiotics theory as the pink has connotations of love and romance. This relates to the life of a house wife and the want to impress your husband. This is further supported by the cover line “lingerie goes lively” which also links to the woman doing something to impress her husband, which once again diminishes the superiority and power of woman.

Print technical codes:

The central image uses a medium close up shot which allows the audience to gain an understanding of the woman’s body type and what she’s wearing as well as her facial expression. By including her body type and what she is wearing the stereotype for the perfect ‘house wife’ is able to grow further, adding restrictions and preferences to more aspects of women. The medium close up shot shows a clear focus on the women’s neck and jutting collar bones which subtly hints to the audience the ideal body type of a wife whilst keeping attention on the woman’s facial expression. The lighting is bright on the woman’s face which clearly shows all her facial features and her makeup. This once again, allows the audience to further create the stereotype for women by looking at what this woman looks like on the magazine. For example, it suggests that women should have simple and minimal makeup.

Language and mode of address:

Firstly, the magazine front cover uses sibilance to intrigue the reader, for example, “seven star improvements for your kitchen”. The use of the sibilance draws the reader’s attention to the cover line encouraging them to read about what is inside the magazine and make them want to buy it. The word “star” creates the idea that this magazine has the best content compared to other magazines, which once again encourages the reader to buy it.  The magazine front cover also uses a rhetorical question to intrigue the reader, for example, “Are you an A-level beauty?” The use of a question makes the reader feel connected to the magazine and offers a more personal connection, it makes them feel inclusive in what the magazine is talking about. The word “beauty” once again highlights what the magazine focuses on and what their articles are about. Furthermore, the front cover also uses a pull quote to draw in the reader to the magazine, for example, “Alfred Hitchcock “British women have a special magic”. Alfred Hitchcock was a famous film director and producer, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential film makers in the history of cinema. The use of his name would intrigue the usual readers of the magazine but also any fans of Alfred Hitchcock who may be curious about what he says. The phrase “British women” in his quote makes the audience feel a more personal connection to the magazine, as if they are being addressed which will, once again, encourage them to buy it. Moreover, the front cover also uses alliteration in the strapline, for example, “World’s greatest weekly for women”. The use of the alliteration of the “w” creates a catchier phrase, making it something more likely for the reader to remember. The words that use the “w” are also the most important words in the strapline at highlighting what the magazine is about. It tells the audience that the magazine is the best, when it comes out and what it is about.

Attitude and beliefs:

Through the use of language and the central image the magazine creates a clear stereotype of the ‘perfect’ housewife. The woman on the front cover has minimal makeup on, a practical haircut and a very feminine dress. This implies to the audience how house wives should dress and look. The cover lines also add to the stereotype created by the magazine front cover. For example, they discuss women’s “lingerie going lively” which creates the idea that women need to impress their husbands. They also discuss beauty which further emphasises that women should wear makeup. Finally, they also discuss ways for women to improve their kitchen which solidifies the idea that women belong in the kitchen rather out working.

Representation:

The bell hooks theory can be applied to this magazine cover as it only shows a white woman who appears to be middle class. The cover has no representation of other ethnicities and classes which further adds to the stereotype that a white middle class woman is the ‘perfect’ woman and all others are inferior. This links to the 1960s when equality between all women was not seen in the way it is today and white woman were seen as more important than women of other classes and ethnicities. Liesbet van Zoonen’s theory that women’s bodies as displayed as objects cannot be applied here as the woman in the central image is covered up and looks practical. The theory also discusses that women’s bodies are presented using different narrative codes to men’s, we cannot discuss this area of the theory as the magazine front cover doesn’t have any pictures/ information about men. Moreover, the Laura Mulvey 1975 Male Gaze theory can also not be applied here as the woman looks practical and presented as the ‘normal’ housewife, it appears that the use of the model is not to provide erotic pleasure for the male viewer.