Vogue
Vogue is a fashion magazine targeted at women. the cover uses a variety of codes which help show what audience it is for.
the central image is keira knightly, which is a medium shot that shows what she is wearing on the top half of her, emphasising the top she is wearing and necklace around her neck, because it is a fashion magazine, therefore they have to put fashionable clothing on the cover so it can be recognised as that genre of magazine. this will appeal to women of a young age because they are people who are into fashion because they are very image conscious and want to be in fashion like everyone else.
her body language is very dominant and confident looking suggesting she is quite independent and powerful because she is looking down on the reader , she is making eye contact with the reader therefore engaging them and makes them look at the magazine. there is a pink colour theme on the cover of the magazine which connotes feminism, stylish and girly, even though the magazine is for women we understand this through the colour scheme pink because it is always associated with women. the colour black is also used which contrasts the baby feminine pink, as black is associated with elegance which goes with the genre of this magazine because women like to look elegant, it is also associated with power, this is similar to the way that keira knightly is posing as the camera is looking up at her suggesting that she is more dominant and more powerful.
the image of her looks quite seductive, her eyes are pointed down towards the camera lens, whilst still looking i the lens suggesting that she is Superior, her mouth is slightly open also suggesting she is being seductive.
'Vogue' is the central text, this is the name of the magazine therefore it has to draw the readers eye, the title is in pink connoting feminism as this is a woman's magazine, it is also the same colour as what keira knightly is wearing, therefore basing the colours around that. in a bigger font than the rest of the other text on the cover is 'starlet style' therefore suggesting that they can get the latest style in this magazine vogue, and that it will make you look better than any other magazine can.
the text is quite bold therefore suggesting that the clothes are bold and it stands out more on the page, drawing the readers eye in and concentrating on what is in the magazine.
The Elle magazine carry a variety of codes, such as Technical, Symbolic and written, which help to produce a well rounded magazine. The technical code in this case is the camera angles used. The central celebrity is Kristen Stewart and shoes a long shot, which could be because they want to show what she is wearing as it may be the latest fashion. Moreover there is only one image, which is her, which suggests that the magazine is just focusing mainly on her. Also the idea of the long shot could also be to show the hair, which maybe be referred back to in the magazine. The long shot also helps the reader determine her body shape as well (slim/curvy).
The symbolic code of the magazine cover is that her expression firstly is quite neutral with a quaint smile, suggesting she may know a secret, and that if you purchase the magazine she may reveal it. Also her eyebrow is slightly raised suggesting that she may be questioning something in her life etc. Her body language suggests her to be an independent woman, and to have a dominant persona, as her hands behind her back, which may connote she doesn’t need a helping hand from anyone.
Her body language seems kind of closed up, as only the other half is displayed ,connoting that her other half of her personality may be hidden ,but about to be revealed. Her clothes are very formal, suggesting that her life may be very busy and business based, as her clothes ideal for work. The colour of her clothes are very neutral, white and dull brown suggesting to been seen in a positive light and that she is pure/innocent, but can get "dirty" (as in she can get involved in something which may be frowned upon) if she wants to with the notion of wearing brown. Her makeup is also very light meaning she may be natural, however the bracelet and jewellery that she is wearing all have a background colour ofggesting she is to been seen as important (royalty).The gaze of Kristen Stewart is right on the readers gaze, which is eye-catching to readers.
The written codes of this magazine cover involve the text shown. The main masthead "Elle" is in the colour pink, suggesting that the edition is likely to be girly and feminine .Also it adds a contrast to the colour Kristen Stewart is wearing, grabbing the reader’s attention. Moreover it seems that the words which are likely to appeal to women such as "body issues" and "hey sexy" are in pink, which appeals to the target audience. The rest of the words are shown in black, maybe in relation to the cover girl, Kristen Stewart. The colour used could be to offset her persona. The black could represent her rock chick/Goth side and the pink her girly side. In addition the text holds a variety of bold/thin formatting indicating the most important headings in correlation to the other
You have deconstructed the Vogue cover in a way that shows a good understanding of the media language. Now consider the relationship between the celebrity on the cover and the target audience. Does the audience aspire to be like of emulate the celebrity? What is the age range and socio-economic grouping of the target audience. Which psychographic group(s) does it target?
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