Q Front Cover Analysis

Q magazine is a monthly music magazine, that's first issue was October 1986, by founders, Mark Ellen and David Hepworth . Not only is the simple name, "Q" effective for being bold and standing out, but the name also comes from the phrase, "to cue a record." The magazine has a reoccurring colour scheme of Red, White and Black. The colour scheme is significant as it establishes a brand of the magazine, and becomes noticeable for the reader. The iconic title of the Red and White "Q" is important as it is what is first noticeable about the magazine, and can be recognized as a well-known company as well as brand.

The slogan of Q magazine; "THE UK'S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE" links in with the thought of a reoccurring theme, in that it features on each issue of the magazine, and acts as an incentive for the reader to buy it, as it suggests how popular the magazine is. The use of the white writing against a black background is a design technique used to blend the slogan into the image of Cheryl Cole, therefore making the cover look more effective and professional.

The main image of Cheryl Cole shows a close-up of the pop star in the rain, in a "Sin-city" styled photo shoot. The make-up is used significantly in the image, to tie in the colour scheme to the image; red lipstick and black eye make-up. The close-up shows Cheryl's new, edgy approach to the music industry, using the sharp ring to not only add sex appeal, but also has connotations of being dangerous and adventurous. The words underneath the image also back up this idea of being edgy, and is also a play-on-words of Cheryl Cole's new song. Her song, "3 words" is expanded to go on to say, "Cheryl Cole Rocks." The use of the word "Rocks" is significant as it isn't the conventional genre of music the audience are used to hearing Cheryl Cole sing, and suggests how she is becoming more edgy and reinventing herself as a performer.

The cover lines are chosen as they show a range of contents featured in the magazine, and therefore opens up the target audience, as different people like different artists; with artists such as, The white stripes; U2; Biffy Clyro; 50 Cent; Vampire Weekend and Cheryl Cole. These are all artists of different genres of music, so doesn't restrict itself to a specific target audience, therefore influencing a larger amount of people to buy the magazine. The font of this writing is all in bold and mainly in capital letters; this makes it stand out from the page, so when a customer is looking to buy, they can see the contents clearly. The font also all in keeps with the colour scheme of red, white and black, therefore tieing the whole magazine cover in together, and creating a house-style.

There is also a pug used on the cover stating, "John Lennon's lost weekend." John Lennon is another big artist, that may entice a reader to buy the magazine due to liking his music. The line also intrigues the reader to find out more about this "lost weekend" and once again, the colour scheme is present, of red, white and black writing, on a grey background.