Case study part 2: Analysing the Front Cover of a Magazine.

Image:	The main image is mid-shot of Amy Adams. She is a well-known Hollywood actress and singer. The image is placed in the centre of the magazine and takes up the whole page which instantly captures attention and signifies its significance. In addition, the fact that the image overlaps the title ‘Elle’ signals that Amy Adams is more important. Adams is portrayed as elegant through her warm and welcoming smile and the neutral colours within her dress-code. Her strawberry blonde hair also gives a sense of elegance and beauty. Amy’s hand is positioned near her chin with the sleeves of her top stretching all the way to her knuckles; this allows for Amy Adams to be viewed as delicate and gentle in comparison to her soft smile which makes her look friendly enough to invite the reader. It’s as if Amy’s warm and soft smile is welcoming and inviting the reader into the magazine. Her perfect white teeth and beautiful silky and long hair makes her an aspirational figure; women want to look like her and be as successful and famous as her, whereas men would be attracted to her.
Title:	The title ‘Elle’ is a French for the word ‘she/her’ perhaps suggesting that this magazine is targeted to females. ‘Elle’ is a worldwide lifestyle magazine with a French origin, focusing on categories associated with fashion, beauty, entertainment and health – all topics appealing to a majority of women. The main image overlaps the title, suggesting that Amy Adams is better known than the magazine itself: she’s so famous that she can be recognised through appearance more than her own name. However, it could be the case that the image overlaps the title because the title is already famous and well-known internationally so, there is no need in showing the whole title seeing as a lot of people know it already. The title is written in a very light, almost transparent/clear kind of shade indicating that the content of the magazine is more than its name, hence why all other writing is bold and clearly visible.
Subtitles/ Coverlines + Language:	The main coverline states that there are ’75 coats to buy now…’ this is written in bold white writing in order to outshine the other coverlines; this is one of the main coverlines and Amy Adams is promoting this with her noticeable beige trench coat. The other coverlines mention physical appearance such as ‘skin’. Finally, the last coverline says ‘Amy Adams the modern gentlewomen. These coverlines follow the topics of fashion, health and lifestyle, which is appealing to the target audience of women. ‘Skin rehab… the radical change you can make’ the language within this coverline is direct for example the word ‘you’ directly addresses the reader which grabs their attention and engages them and makes them feel involved. It also makes the magazine sound exciting,
Price:	The issue was published in November 2016 and below the date, we see the price of the magazine: the cost of it is £4.10 which is quite a lot for just a magazine. This further suggests that the target audience is women over 18+ because they’re old enough and can most likely afford to pay for this magazine considering that they are old enough for a job.