A sans serif font has been used to enhance the boldness of

the magazine name. Clash magazine is not a mainstream

magazine and isnt very popular so it is important that the
name stands out and is obvious as they want popularity to
be successful.
The colour scheme is rather monochromatic. Healy (the
singer in the photo) is seen wearing a black blazer and
white shirt; black and white are monochrome.
Furthermore, the title is in white as are the cover lines. The
background is also grey which is a neutral between the
black and white. This contrasts with the typical colour
scheme as magazines often tend to use bright colours like
red to help the magazine stand out. Im not completely
confident that this would stand out to me if on a shelf next
to colourful opponents.
The 1975 is written in a 3D font to help it stand out. It is
important that this is bold and attractive as this is the main
feature that is bringing in the customers. It also helps
people identify who the man on the cover is as often the
name of the artist/band is more recognisable than the
people in it.

Above the name of the magazine, it says music, fashion, film

which helps us understand what the magazine is about and helps
us decode the genre of the magazine.
The cover lines are placed on the far right of the cover which in
my opinion was a rather odd place to put them. There is a huge
amount of free space in the bottom left corner which would have
been an ideal place to place them to avoid large areas of blank
space, however, they have chosen to superimpose them over the
main image. The cover lines are written in capital letters, helping
them stand out, and in a sans serif font. This makes it informal
but doesnt establish that the magazine has a good reputation
nor does it convey positive things about the magazine..
The title working on a dream suggests that Healy considers
success for his band a dream and this makes us feel hopeful for
their success.

The main image shows the lead singer of the band The
1975, glaring into the distance. He is the only member on
the front cover as he is the most recognisable thus
represents the band as a whole. He is looking up suggesting
that he is being optimistic and positive for the future which
could link to how he is hopeful that his band will be
successful and continue to do well. It could also suggest
that he is grateful. Furthermore, if analysed to an extent, it
could be seen as religious symbolism as in a lot of Christian
art, Jesus is seen gazing up. We can see the top of his shirt
and blazer; this is considered a smart and formal attire
suggesting that the band/magazine is sophisticated and of a
high reputation.

The barcode, issue number and price is placed in the bottom left
hand corner which is the conventional place to put this. This is called
a pug. There is a price in dollars and pounds suggesting that the
magazine is popular in both England and America encouraging us to
believe that this is a successful, established magazine and causing us
to trust and believe what the magazine tells us.

Despite the featured artist being a band, the main image only has the lead
singer on the front as he is the most famous. Alex Turner is known even by
people who dont like either of his bands (Arctic Monkeys or The Last Shadow
Puppets), therefore, he attracts more attention than perhaps the drummer of
Arctic Monkeys would.
Turner is making eye contact with the audience alluring their attention and
drawing the reader in. Furthermore, this creates a connection between
magazine and reader.
The singer is wearing dark clothing with a red rose on a minority of his shirt.
This creates a colour scheme as the vinyl and the text match this. Roses are
symbolic of royalty as Tudors used the flower as an iconic symbol of their reign.
This links to Arctic Monkeys as they are also considered royalty of
alternative/indie/rock due to their major success and popularity. Turner is also
wearing a bulky golden ring which suggests wealth and shows that the band is
financially successful. Wealth is often an important topic in music and is
sometimes even a main focus as money conveys the amount of power the artist
has.
He is superimposing the name masthead emphasising that the magazine is
already established as people dont need to see the entirety of the title to know
the name of it. Plus, to the magazine it is more important that the main image is
visible as this is what is selling copies. The image is also an example of leading
lines as shown in my yellow annotation of the cover. The lines keep us focused
on his face which is the main attraction of the front cover as in theory, people
are buying the magazine because of him so he is the main selling point,
therefore, the magazine wants us to be focused on him.
The vinyl in his hand makes us inquisitive as we cant read what the record is,
linking with the main head-line, the record that changed my life, implying
that he is holding the record. It is bright red emphasising its importance and
perhaps even influence on his work. The headline is rather vague encouraging
people to buy the magazine so they can find out what the record is. This is also
anchoring as records are obviously linked with music and this is a music
magazine plus the main image is of a music artist.
The artist appears to have his arms crossed semi-leaning on his forearm to hold
up the vinyl. This is quite a casual informal pose implying that the magazine is
friendly rather than formal.

Exclusive makes the reader feel as though this is the

only magazine they can get this from encouraging them
to want to buy the magazine. It is black on a light
background helping this stand out. Furthermore, the
font is sans serif and bold which is rather informal.
The tagline is located under the mast-head. New
makes the magazine seem modern and up to date with
new music trends. Musical is also relevant as it helps
people know that this is a music magazine. This is written
in a serif which contrasts with all the other text on the
cover.
Cover lines are written in an italic, sans serif, bold font.
They alternate between blue and white which is
anomalous compared to the rest of the colour scheme.
These particular cover lines list names of musical artists
who appear in the magazine. This helps the audience
decide whether they want to buy the magazine as they
will know who is mentioned in the it. All the artists seem
to be of the indie/rock genre as is the Arctic Monkeys so
this issue might only cover those genres.
Arctic Monkeys is written in a bold sans serif font. Its
coloured red which helps it stand out further on the
contrasting background. This helps the audience realise
where the main artist featured in the photo is from.
The record that changed my life- this creates a personal
connection with the audience as it has the personal
pronoun my. This is further emphasised by the font this
is written in. It looks like hand-writing making the
headline even more informal, friendly and personal. This
makes us view the magazine positively and could even
help boost the reputation of the Arctic Monkeys as
positive.
This is a rhetorical question which helps include the
audience. The whats yours part is in a bold red font to
help it stand out to the audience.

In my opinion, I quite like this magazine cover as the colours stand out and if
I was to see this on a shelf, against competitors this would stand out as I feel
included due to the eye contact made by Turner and the colour scheme, reds
and blacks, stand out. However, the blue cover lines and text seem to be a
bit out of place.

Pug- barcode, price, issue date, website.

These are placed in the conventional
place, the corner, as they need to be out
of the way as obviously these are not
selling points so dont need to be seen
by the audience.

The mast head is located in a rather unconventional

place as it only takes up the upper left third of the
page despite it usually taking up the entirety of the
upper quarter of the cover. I quite like this as it gives
more room for cover lines and the main image. The
tagline is also included in this area. It has almost been
placed out of the way which is rather interesting as Q
is quite a well-established magazine and people are
likely to purchase it just because its Q Magazine so
you would think that they would want it to be obvious
that its this magazine.

The puff is located under the title of the magazine. It

has been placed in a black shape with contrasting in
colour text consisting of bright pinks and whites. This
helps it stand out. Furthermore, they use the word
special to make the magazine seem excusive,
encouraging people to want to buy the magazine.

The cover lines are placed in the black space in the

photo in attempt to avoid having plain areas. The
cover lines dont reveal much about what the articles
are actually about, only who is featured in it, which
could intrigue the reader to want to purchase the
magazine. The artists listed are of similar genre to the
main band, The Smiths, so helps attract the target
audience as they are likely to like artists of the same
genre. The colours alternate between pink and black
fitting in with the colour scheme. They are written in a
bold sans serif font which help them stand out.
The pug is located in the conventional location, at the
bottom, out of the way. It includes useless information
to the buyer so is out of sight. It included the barcode,
issue number and price. This issue was only 1.99 which
is cheap for a music magazine so I'm surprised they
didnt draw more attention to the cheap purchase price
as customers may be more inclined to buy the magazine
opposed to competitors if its cheaper.

The Smiths are featured on the front of this magazine cover.

They are a classic indie band and iconic for this genre of music.
The two members take up the whole of the middle and far
right of the cover. The middle member, Morrissey, is making
direct eye-contact with the audience which creates a
connection between audience and magazine. Furthermore, this
attracts the audiences attention as we are likely to look if we
notice something making eye contact with us. Moreover, as he
is present in the centre of the cover, he is the main attraction
thus the biggest selling point of the magazine. He also appears
bigger than the man standing next to him showing his
dominance and importance on the cover. It could also signify
that he is the most important member of the band as he is
most recognisable and successful as people who dont know
The Smiths are likely to recognise him plus he is the most well
known member of the band. The man on the far right is
hugging the right side of Morrissey. This is a positive
connotation of friendship and suggests that eh members of the
band get along well. The image is black and white suggesting
that the band has been around for a long time. The effect also
makes the text stand out more. The middle man is holding a
bunch of flowers. Flowers are symbolic of a lot of things, many
of which contrast so the presence of them in this image is
rather ambiguous. They represent life, which could link to the
band being successful and growing in popularity, on the
contrary, they also represent death so could represent the
opposite. However, it is likely that the magazine are trying to
promote the band positively thus these are probably meant to
have positive connotations.

The name of the artist is the largest text on the cover. This
suggests that its the most important piece of information
and it is, as people are likely to buy the magazine to read
about the main article which is about The Smiths. It is in a
bright pink which alone stands out but on a black and
white background it is very attractive and bold. Pink is
symbolic of females which could link to the affection
shown in the main image and the presence of the flowers.
This could connote that The Smiths are trying to express
their feminine side.