Magazine Covers & Connotations

Magazine Covers and connotations:

Beyonce for Harper's Bazaar UK 

The image of Beyonce creates a 'fierce' connotation. This relates to her on-stage alter ego Sasha Fierce, which is the title of her third album. 'Up close with Beyonce' creates an imagined community, as readers will 'get to know' Beyonce.  Many readers who buy this issue are likely to be a fan, so it is important that the cover depicts her as someone to aspire to.The colour use of reds and black emphasise the 'sexy'. 'hot', 'seductive' and 'power' themes presented on the cover and the cover line 'Autumn's sexiest fashion' adds to the connotation of allure and confidence which Beyonce represents herself.

Lana Del Rey for Vogue Australia

Lana Del Rey's cover featured her looking directly at the camera as a mode of address with her hands together, almost in prayer. One of the featured human interest stories is 'Girls Club: Do women make better leaders?' which is a feminist topic. The pink tones and gold palette also support that women are the target gender. The anchoring text 'Fashion & music' denotes that the issue will be based on fashion and music, whereas Vogue magazine is traditionally solely based on fashion. This is also what Lana Del Rey is known for, which argues that 'Fashion & music' could be an anchoring text. As Lana Del Rey's style of music is very dreamy the image of her has been airbrushed so that it looks hazy and this reflects her 'modern take on old Hollywood glamour' style. 

TAP Analysis

VOGUE September 2014 Magazine Analysis: 

Target Age Group: 21 - 35
Gender: Women 

Occupation: Fashion industry, fashion photography/journalism students,buyers, well respected jobs

Income: Above average 

Leisure Interests: Shopping, restaurant and bars, fitness, beauty salons, travel, cinema, parties, networking events 

Brands: Designer and limited edition: Louis Vuitton, Tom Ford, Russell and Bromley shoes and bags. Select high street brands such as Zara, French Connection. High end beauty brands such as Chanel and MAC. Most advanced technology such as Apple, Samsung and Blackberry.
Holiday Destinations: Dubai, South of France, New York, Monaco, Maldives, Hawaii, India
Music: Classical, jazz, instrumentals, opera, pop. Artists such as Adele, Beyonce, Coldplay
Iconic Covergirls: Princess Diana, Kate Moss, Michelle Obama, Twiggy, Beyonce, Cara Delevingne

Top 3 Media Pieces

My Top 3 Favourite Media Pieces:

1) Short Film: Paperman

Paperman is a short, black and white film by Disney and it was the first short film I had ever watched. It's about a lipstick stained paper bringing the two characters together.

2) 'YouTuber" : SprinkleofGlitter

SprinkleofGlitter/Louise is one of my favourite YouTubers because she creates videos about a variety of topics such advice videos and lookbooks.



3) Music: Aston (Band) 

Aston is an Australian classical group which posts symphonic versions of popular songs by famous artists and theme tunes from shows such as Game of Thrones.