Cosmopolitan Feature Analysis

Cosmopolitan's feature article spreads across two double pages, as the star vehicle is important and requires a lot of attention to make it worth while for her. The graphology has been used in such a way that Cosmo is able to ensure it appeals to the specific target audience chosen and sell an abundance of magazine. Kelly Osbourne is a fashion icon, and therefore suitable to be featured in the magazine; although the article is not really about fashion, it doesn't need to be. The audience want to know about her life, they want to know the secrets to success and what she has been through in order to overcome any bumps in the road, they want to relate to these aspects of her life and allow themselves to become like her. The purpose of this text is to inform the reader of Osbourne's life, and entertain them. Though the primary target audience is females from the ages of 18-34, the audience widens up to welcome in the fan base of Kelly Osbourne, no matter what age or gender, as they would be interested in purchasing the magazine if she is in it. 

Some of the headline has been typed in capitals, which is a feature of the majority of articles, 'Be YOURSELF, YOU CAN'T BE anyone else.' The capitals are to emphasize particular words, and to emphasize a point to the reader, and though they are trying to fit in and act as though they are the star vehicle, Osbourne is trying to convince them to appreciate who they are and not to make attempts to imitate other beings, as they cannot truly change who they are. This direct address to the reader makes them feel as though it is personal, that Kelly is speaking to them and only them, no one else. It also makes the audience feel as though she understands each individual, caring about how they live their lives. The capitals also excite the readers, especially if they are big fans of the star vehicle. Personally, I really like the use of large quotation marks, as they have made it quite obvious to the audience that Kelly, the star, has said this, and they are saying 'look, these words have come from her mouth, not ours, because we know that you will listen to her'. They are in pink, correlating with the background behind Osbourne, and acting feminine with the purple from the telephone and her hair. Naturally, they have thought to use feminine colours to represent a feminine woman, and appeal to the feminine audience of which they have targeted, as they must appeal to the people. Three different fonts have been used within the headline, one reason is because different parts of it needed to be separated, to stand out more. The capitalized lexis is not as big as the normal lexis, as they are in a way trying to balance out the differences, yet still ensure that they are obvious. Linking back to the colour palette, the font included is very feminine, suggesting that Cosmopolitan either want to reinforce stereotypes that fall upon women, such as them enjoying elegant, feminine colours and fonts, or these truly to attract women and make them purchase magazines. Either way, they sell an abundance of magazines, so they are clearly doing it right. 

'Finally beating my addiction' suggests that Osgerby's 1998 theory applies to this particular article, even if this is not conceived as a negative representation by the youth culture. He says “We do not have to search too hard to find negative representations of youth in postwar Britain. Crime, violence and sexual license have been recurring themes in the media’s treatment of youth culture, the degeneracy of the youth depiction as indicative of a steady disintegration of the UK’s social fabric”. Kelly Osbourne suffered with a drug addiction, and though it makes an interesting read, it is a negative representation of her when she was youthful. 

In terms of typography, the main body of the text is jet black, harshly contrasting with the pure white background. The reasoning for this is to ensure that each of their customers are able to read the text with ease and not find it troubling to do so, as if they were unable to read a magazine they had purchased, it would be a waste of both their time and money, and they would not purchase the magazine again. A lot of ladies in the target audience, particularly the older ones, would need to wear glasses; as age progresses their eyesight worsens. Directly at the beginning of the article is the 'I', typed in the exact same font of the headline and is the same size. This is a typical feature of articles, and can be found in almost every one. It draws attention to the start of the article, enticing the audience into reading it. The 'I' also guide the reader directly to the beginning of the article, allowing them to easily navigate the magazine, ensuring ease and no confusion. The subheading are in bold, numbered and in pink, again allowing easily navigation, and breaking up the text so that it does not look as daunting to the reader; it is unlikely that they would find a block of text purely made up of words and no thought on layout appealing, as that would be the sort of layout of a book, and people who read magazines are stereotyped not to read literature. 

The main image is a common convention of every article. This allows focus of the subject and purpose of the article, through the use of star vehicles. It is beside the article itself, for the purpose of presenting WHO the article is about, Kelly Osbourne, before presenting WHAT the article is about, her comeback. This allows recognition for the star, and anyone who recognises her and enjoys her as a person will automatically feel an obligation to read the article. There is a slight comical element to the central image, as she is making a face which would not be suitable for a solemn photograph, implying to the audience that Kelly is not only entertaining, but a comical person herself. The mid shot of Osbourne has an atmosphere that reminds me of the filters on instagram, an implication that the magazine is in touch with technology, familiar with it and are very aware that their audience are too. They want to reach out to their audience with familiarity. They have used a warm colour palette, as to imitate positive emotions due to the nature of the article and how she has overcome many things. As Cosmo is predominantly a fashion magazine, fashion has inevitably been incorporated into this page in the form of Kelly's new style. They are conveying how she is now a fashion icon, and outfits that, effectively, they approve of. Thus, persuading the readers to go out and buy items of clothing that are similar to her own style, especially seeing as they have included the pricing of each outfit and where it is from. A family picture is there as a reminder that she comes from a very famous family and had to grow up in the spotlight, almost as to compensate for her drug use, giving a reason as to why she needed help. Columns, as a typical aspect of articles, are present to ensure the article does  not look like a daunting string of words, but rather easy to read, which would widen their audience, as people who, perhaps, are not particularly good at reading will not feel as intimidated by the text. There is a clear gap between each paragraph, through the use of headings, which breaks the text up. 

As I have decided upon a vintage theme for my own article, this particular article would probably not be appropriate int arms of style, as it is very fun and bold. I do, however, really enjoy the use of quotation marks and the way in which the producers of the text have sized them, so that is definitely an aspect I can think about incorporating into my own feature article.