Cover Analysis #2

Analysis of UNDER THE RADAR Cover

The second magazine I have chosen to analyse is 'Under the Radar'. I had not heard of this particular magazine before beginning my research, which means that is not one of the dominant Indie magazines on the market. Personally, I love the simplicity of which this magazine has been produced with, rather than the busy cover of NME. This Indie magazine is pitched primarily at white females, as there is a white female on the cover, who are 14-26 (social grade B-E) The elements of media language/genre conventions used have been based around attracting and representing the particular target audience chosen, which can bee seen once directly viewing it.

In my opinion, the masthead has an aesthetically pleasing professional appearance. It is, like the NME masthead, located in the sweet spot, in the top left to ensure it can be seen by the audience when it is on crowded shelves. The capital letters used connote excitement in a professional manner, though the imagery calms the overall appearance.
Though it is in capital letters, which is sometimes seen to be something of which is used in a stereotypical way towards men, this particular masthead looks as though the opacity is low, and is just a  bit lighter than the background, creating a soft, feminine impression. Each word of the masthead is on a separate line, this is to assist it into fitting in the sweet spot; it also has more of a professional appearance to it than it would it anchored her head, or if she was in front of it. This would mean that it would not be entirely visible to the viewers, which would lead to less people purchasing the magazine as it is not a dominant genre and therefore is not well known to a large number of people. The fact that the first letter of each word lines up with each other length ways hints at an abbreviation, and there is a stereotype that the youth culture like to use a lot of abbreviations due to an apparent 'laziness' and text talk. The masthead is not quite in the top 1/8 of the magazine, which is a generic convention of the majority of magazines; though returning readers will easily be able to recognise the masthead of which is iconic to this particular magazine. The title does stand out, though not as much as the cover line, suggesting that the story is more important in enticing readers than the magazine name itself.

In terms of graphology, the imagery is successful in portraying the genre of music and representing the target audience. The logo relates to the denotation of what the masthead says, and fills a potentially empty and unwanted gap between the masthead and the main image. The main image, a medium close up in profile, denotes a beautiful young female looking to the left, almost as though she is gazing upon the masthead, persuading the readers that they should purchase the magazine because the star vehicle used stares at it in wonder. It is simplistically beautiful. There is no need for a crowded image or an image which has an unnecessary amount going on within it, as this magazine shows the beauty of Indie music without making a fuss. though this image is not particularly revealing, I can easily relate it to, in a certain way, Laura Mulvey's theory 'The Male Gaze' (1975) that women are sexualised for the pleasure of men. In this case, I noticed that the model is sleeveless, baring her shoulder, which is seen as a somewhat sensual aspect of the body. You cannot see the rest of her body, but you can only just see the cleavage, connoting that the producers are attempting to tease the males into purchasing the magazine. Concerning lighting, the photograph looks almost as though natural lighting has been used, though I doubt it has not, as photographers tend to use artificial lighting to ensure they get exactly what they want, and artificial lighting is sometimes less harsh on the skin. The lighting is summery, warm and welcoming. Naturally, the summery vibes assist the audience in feeling good, therefore they will consider purchasing the product; they will also be drawn in by the friendly-feel of the cheerful lighting. The unusual aspect of this picture is that the model is not looking at the camera, therefore direct eye contact is not met between the audience and the picture, something of which is a generic convention of magazines because it succeeds in making the magazine feel personal to the reader. Though, it does look as though she is gazing upon something greater, which could potentially draw the target audience in as they feel obliged to gain knowledge of what it is that she is gazing upon. No other image is used, which suggests to me that multiple images on the cover of an Indie magazine is not entirely necessary.

Reflecting and representing the target audience in a stereotypical fashion, the typography has been create using a font that is considered to be particularly 'girly' and feminine, attracting predominantly females, and perhaps also stereotypical homosexual males, and deters males. This contradicts my earlier statement of Mulvey's theory being present within this text; if males do not wish to purchase this magazine, then they will not be drawn in by sexualisation of women. Though, this could be because it makes females see her as an attractive and youthful woman, therefore believe that by purchasing this magazine, they will learn the secrets to her successful beauty and could become beautiful themselves. Anyway, the feminine font is used only for the cover lines and the tag line, due to magazines requiring a mixture of different fonts to ensure some sections are more dominant than others, and so it does not look like a section of writing. The reasoning for it being used on the cover lines, rather than the likes of the text underneath the cover lines is because the cover lines are larger and must stand out more, and they also need to attract the target audience. The header also uses this font, as it is above a relatively standard font, and so must appear different to the masthead, as this is the icon of the magazine. The font used reminds me of 'Wilderness Festival', which is Indie and represents the crowd correctly; this tells me that the producers might be attempting to associate the magazine with this festival and style so it is apparent to the customer, and it will draw in the correct target audience.

The colour palette successfully reflects the target audience in an optimistic way. The browns colouring of the font and slightly on the hair is a common colour connected with the likes of people who are involved in Indie music, as it is not bright or bold, but is calm and collected in a fun sense. The feature cover line/headline is brown, and stands out against the rest of the text and the grey background as it is the most important article in the magazine. They greys and creams are, as well as the brown, neutral colours, which connote a lifestyle which is fun in a sort of country-like way.

In terms of layout, I find it odd how there is no anchorage on the cover, though I do understand because as I stated before, the magazine is simplistic, and this is a feature which is present in bust magazines. The main cover line is directly to the left of the models face, connoting that she approves of it and welcomes it into the magazine. The audience then believe that it is desirable enough to read and purchase the magazine. The barcode, placing itself in a location of which is generic, is horizontal in the bottom right hand corner. This ensures a smooth process whence purchasing the magazine. Another generic convention found within this particular cover is the masthead located in the sweet spot (top left) of the cover; this makes sure that even on a crowded shelf, the magazine can be seen and apparent to the readers that it is there. There are a considerable amount of gaps in comparison to popular magazines, but this is, again, due to the simplistic layout and theme circling 'Under the Radar'. The header is situated where a header should be, at the top of the page. This particular header has names of bands across it, conveying to the audience clearly that it is a music magazine.

In conclusion, I feel as though this magazine is much better than the previous to use as a style model. I would rather the simplistic layout which is clear to the readers and assists them in understanding the product, rather than being bombarded with a busy page. This analysis has taught me to ensure the lighting is warm and friendly, and that the font should reflect the specific gender and age group of my target audience. Overall, this magazine is successful in using generic conventions in a minimalistic fashion.