The purpose of all magazine front covers is to draw the audience into buying that specific edition, in competition to other magazine sellers. The magazine front cover sets the tone of the magazine as it portrays additional stories included in the magazine, and the picture on the front cover tends to be the main article of the magazine to persuade readers to buy it. A popular teenage magazine is Teen vogue. The magazine is most aimed at girls as the front cover conveys a very girly image and would appeal to teenage girls who love fashion and celebrities. Unlike many gossip magazines, Teen vogue tends to present interviews as conversations rather than for gossip purposes.
The magazines front cover is bright - pinks, yellows, white and blues, the colours match the age range of teenagers between the ages of 12-19. This is a typical colour pallet of the teen vogue magazines so it is familiar to teens who already buy it and it is eye catching for those who do not.
The masthead for Teen Vogue is always at the top (like most magazines) the main image sometimes covers some of the letters but not on this magazine cover. The image has been sent behind the name; thus the masthead shows its dominance of the magazine and makes it recognisable to regular buyers when they are trying to look for the magazine. The ‘teen’ part in the masthead is in a different font to the ‘vogue’ – this is because a typical Vogue magazine looks posh and high class; but the fun and young font chosen for the word ‘teen’ makes the magazines more funkier and gives a different feel to the Vogue magazines which are aimed at older generations who are interested in the same things. Additionally, the masthead has 2 different colours – ‘teen’ is in pink and the word ‘vogue’ is in blue; the block colours make the feel of the magazine more young and hip – which would relate better to teens as the colours are fun and stand out to attract the target audience.
The main image of the magazine is the main article of this specific edition of the magazine which is of Emma Watson. She is positioned in the centre of the cover, taking up pretty much the whole cover and really makes an impact on the reader as it shows her importance in the magazine. Emma Watson is an actress who stars in Harry Potter as this is August edition she would be promoting the release of the film Harry Potter and therefore, many fan would want to buy that particular copy. She would be appealing to young girls because they would look up to her and everything she has accomplished in her film. Teen Vogue always has very famous and popular people on the front of the magazine and this in turn would help the sales of the magazine because it would become known for having well-known names constantly inside it. Some Emma’s face on the front cover crosses into the left third of the page so when it’s on a shelf, people passing by can still see the celebrities face so they may be more likely to buy it. The image of Emma is posed in a mid-shot. The colours of her clothing is rich and very dressed up, as it is a fashion magazine specific details to jewellery and make up is paid close attention to in this image. Also, as the tagline introduces Emma as ‘glam girl’ shows that she is living up to her expectations of being glamorous and attractive.
Around the outside of the main image, there are many taglines and flashes – the purpose of this is to give the audience a sneak peek into what the magazine has to offer. They also use the front cover for advertising such as the last flash ‘Win it’. Teen vogue is specifically a magazine which advertises the latest fashion with some interviews of celebrities and what they are doing ‘Emma Watson, the next chapter.’ A large proportion of the magazine has the new styles an outfits for that month; this would appeal to the target audience of the magazine because teenage girls are most concerned about their image and appearance – what they wear and what they look like.
Like all magazines, the bar codes and price are always found on the front of the cover and allow the buyer to see the price before purchasing. Another thing that is commonly found on the front of the magazine is the date in which the magazine is produced for August in this case; some people may collect the editions throughout the year especially if they work in the fashion industry to see what’s in style.
Overall, I believe Teen vogue portrays a very good magazine front cover as it is clear who the target audience is and what the magazine has to offer. They have used colours and certain images which will draw the buyer into looking and consequently buying the magazine. The magazine is interesting, eye catching and draws the buyer in to seeing what the magazine is about. The main image is the central focus point of the front cover along with the bold powerful title on the page. The sub headlines then also contribute to attracting the target audience with a lot of them located in the left third of the page.
