I liked the idea of using massive music icons, such as the above, Jimi Hendrix, for my magazine front cover because they instantly draw reader's attention and make an instant positive statement about the magazine. i think you would have to be sensible about which artists you included however, as in some cases the musician may give out a certain impression which is associated with them because of their reputation and so therefore I think it would definitely matter who it was that I included. Artists with troubled backgrounds such as Amy Winehouse or Britney Spears are not great artists to include when trying to promote a magazine to the teenaged audience as they are not always considered inspiring, i think it very much depends on the artists reputation and how popular the artist is with the public as to how many mags will sell as for it to be appealing to the public, the desire to read about the particular artist has to be there. After considering this, i experimented with a few designs that did not include a named, famous artist for the front cover, instead i have included almost faceless photography, this way, the readers are looking completely for the stereotype of the front cover for them to be able to decide whether or not they are interested in reading the magazine. i think it would be difficult to find an artist with a completely untroubled past.

Draft 3

front cover draft 2

Draft 1

Language – the eye-catching colours of white, black and red against the grey background, and the use of hyperboles also makes it stand out more, such as, ‘The Grinch Speaks’ and ‘NME goes head to head with Simon Cowell’ they are a statement in themselves and by using the face of Simon Cowell that is well known and linked to the x factor which is the main name included on the front cover. It grabs our attention and makes us want to read the magazine.

Institution – NME magazine

Ideology - values of NME include: fashion, music, trends, gossip about new and old band and music in general but as opposed to other magazines found on the high-street it does not feed off gossip as much and does not write such horrid gossip instead focuses on mainly the music and what the artist is doing next with the occasional story to keep readers interested. There is no horrible story printed on the cover of the magazine about a stars life instead there is just stories about various different music artists, and upcoming bands and the state of the music industry today and also reviews about primal scream and various different artists and therefore that is something that I think particularly the teenage audience would want to read about as they are so music involved and the music being included in mostly stereotyped to be from this generation.

Audience – people interested in music trends. People who are not interested in reading about celebrities, perhaps more focused on people who are interested in the music industry and the latest top artists, that may get the magazine every month so that they can keep up with what music people are listening to in the particular time period, the impression the magazine gives is it is aimed at the younger more interested in the trends of new music that features in the charts.

Representation – the image is representing dominance and cheekiness by the impression on Simon Cowell looks very sly in the picture but similarly to Rihanna on the previous front cover, he still looks bold and confident. I think this is an image that some people may aspire to have especially boys because they may desire to be feared and admired by the overwhelming confidence, also despite looking cheeky he looks cool and not afraid to do whatever face he wants to and therefore I think this could be seen as a positive and perhaps an image that some people may aspire to have which is I think why they have used him especially, I think they have also chosen to use Simon Cowell as he is an obvious strong image that he portrays, he seems confident and people know him to not be afraid of voicing his opinions.  I also think that fact that he is the main judge of the x factor is important because that in itself gives him some sort of leadership which is what will make the audience put him on a pedestal.

Language – the eye-catching colours of white and black against the red background, and the use of hyperboles also makes it stand out more, such as, ‘I’m not dead!’ and ‘artic monkeys split!’ they are a statement in themselves and by using the face of Dave Grohl that is well known and linked to the foo fighters which is the main name included on the front cover. It grabs our attention and makes us want to read the magazine.

Institution – NME magazine

Ideology - values of NME include: fashion, music, trends, gossip about new and old band and music in general but as opposed to other magazines found on the high-street it does not feed off gossip as much and does not write such horrid gossip instead focuses on mainly the music and what the artist is doing next with the occasional story to keep readers interested. There is no horrible story printed on the cover of the magazine about a stars life instead there is just stories about various different music artists, and upcoming bands and the state of the music industry today and also reviews about primal scream and various different artists and therefore that is something that I think particularly the teenage audience would want to read about as they are so music involved and the music being included in mostly stereotyped to be from this generation.

Audience – people interested in music trends. People who are not interested in reading about celebrities, perhaps more focused on people who are interested in the music industry and the latest top artists, that may get the magazine every month so that they can keep up with what music people are listening to in the particular time period, the impression the magazine gives is it is aimed at the younger more interested in the trends of new music that features in the charts.

Representation – the image is representing anger, Dave Grohl looks very fierce in the picture but similarly to Rihanna on the previous front cover, he still looks bold and confident and looks as if you would not want to get on the wrong side of him which I think again is perhaps an image that some people may aspire to have especially boys because they may desire to be feared, also despite looking angry he looks cool and not afraid to do whatever face he wants to and therefore I think this could be seen as a positive and perhaps an image that some people may aspire to have which is I think why they have used him especially, I also think that fact that he is the lead singer of the band is important because that in itself gives him some sort of leadership which is what will make the teenage audience put him on a pedestal.