Inspirational Texts

The first magazine cover that I chose was from an independent style magazine called “INDIE”. I like to listen to Indie/Alternative music so the name drew my interest straight away. The cover is very simple. There is a picture of Daisy Lowe in an invitational pose. Her head is tilted slightly to the right and her mouth is slightly parted. There is no hint of a smile and her eyes are emphasised with black eyeliner. The main sell line reads “in love with Daisy” and the rest of the cover is very plain. I like this front cover because it simple yet effective. It has captured my interest through the title of the magazine. The colour palette seems to only consist of white writing. It sounds boring but looks effective and captures the audience’s interest just as well as busy and very colourful front covers. I think I would like to keep the appearance of my own magazine simple like this magazine has as I find that this magazine is a perfect example of the saying “less is more”.

The second magazine that I found inspirational is a cover from New Musical Express or “NME” as the masthead reads. Alex Turner and Miles Kane from the band The Last of The Shadow Puppets are on the front as in this issue they gave their first official interview to the magazine. I find this magazine cover inspirational because it is a more complicated front cover than the first magazine I looked at. It shows a number of sell lines and also has one in a black circle to make it stand out. The colour palette consists of red and black with a white background and white and yellow writing used sparingly. I think I prefer the appearance of the first one the most but I find this cover more attention-grabbing due to the use of extra colours. I think I would like to use the shape idea to make certain sell lines stand out because they make the magazine more eye-catching. This is essential because the media industry has grown immensely over the years and there are now hundreds of different magazines in competition with each other to gain consumers.

The third magazine that captured my interest was an issue of the New York style magazine “New York Look”. It is a high fashion magazine that lists things “fresh off the runways”. The photograph on the front shows two girls with flawless beauty. They have red lips and their eyes are lined fairly heavily with black eyeliner. They aren’t facing the camera lens which provides a mysterious element to the picture. The colour palette consists only of black writing. It could be argued that other colours include white and red because the photograph is very close up and the faces take up the whole page. Like the first one this magazine is very simple and captures the audience’s attention not with the use of clever captions and sell lines but with visual aid. I think the reason I was drawn to this front cover is because I have always wanted to visit New York and because I aspire to have skin as clear as them. I am naturally pale and feel pressure to look tanned in our society but pictures such as this give me the confidence to embrace my pale tone. I think I would like to use a similar font for my mast head because it simple and easy to read.

Fourthly I chose another busy front cover. I looked an issue of “Nylon” with the actresses Annalynne McCord, Jessica Stroup and Shenae Grimes from the popular television series 90210 on the front. They are wearing quirky outfits that capture the reader’s interest. The main sell line states that “90210 is back” and there is another sell line explaining that this issue of Nylon is the “TV issue”. Another sell line is “Fall Fashion: The Season’s Greatest Hits” which explains why the actresses are wearing such stylish outfits. The colour palette consists of pink and purple with yellow and black used sparingly. The main sell line is written in a different font to the rest to emphasise it. This magazine captured my interest because I am a fan of 90210 and I was drawn in by the main sell line. I find it inspirational because the main sell line stands out very well. I think the colour palette really looks effective and I would like to try and incorporate the use of a bright colour for the main sell line of my magazine.

“Dazed and Confused” was the last magazine I analysed. The issue that I was drawn to was the one with Dakota Fanning on the front. The image of her is in greyscale and shows her natural beauty. She is wearing little make-up and isn’t looking directly into the camera lens. The main sell line is her name, “Dakota Fanning” and the sub head says “from golden girl to glam rock rebel”. This draws the reader’s interest because Dakota Fanning is an icon who has grown up on television screens all over the world and people will be interested in what she is up to next. The colour palette consists only of white and it looks very effective against the greyscale photograph in the background. I think that this magazine captured my attention because it looks different to most of the magazines I have seen before. The majority of magazines include a little bit of colour somewhere on the front but this one doesn’t. I also like how the sub head describes Dakota Fanning as a “glam rock rebel” yet the photograph of her looks very natural. The connotations held with the words “rock rebel” are of people looking quite fierce with heavy eyeliner and messy hair. This will draw the audience in because they will be wondering how this photograph can portray a “rock rebel”. I think I would like to try and create a photograph such as this one for my magazine which could confuse my target audience into buying it to find out more.



In conclusion, I think my favourite magazines were the first and fifth ones I looked at. I think this because I like simple things that look effective. I find that they both stand out more than other magazines that are busier. In both magazines the main colour used in the palette is white. The poses are quite similar too. I think I will be using an invitational pose on my front cover because it is a soft sell with eyes that create a sense of mystery, which could potentially draw in the audience and make them wonder what will be included in it.