The title of this magazine cover is, again, displayed in large capitalised red text. Although the typography is simple so as to make it easy to read at a glance, the font is still signature to the brand, making it recognisable to those who know the magazine. The image used to reveal to the audience the main feature of the magazine is dominant, taking up the majority of the page, the characters head covering the title and overlapping the caption along the top. To anyone who is familiar with the Harry Potter films this image is easily recognisable, the main character Harry standing in a defensive stance, wand at the ready for battle. The caption atop the page, “10 years, The Icon Issue, 10 covers”, is very striking in choice of colour and layout. The way the lines have been placed between each phrase shows where the full stops would be, breaking up the sentence and making it more dramatic, whilst the colours show that the line “10 years” is linked with “10 covers” forming almost a pattern of alliteration. The release date is displayed slightly to the left of the centre of the page, directly next to the characters head. Although the font is small the way in which it is positioned to be linked with the title Empire, as it is situated in the dip of the M, shows its significance. The price can also be seen here, in plain view but still subtly hidden so as not to draw the attention of the audience, as what they should be focusing on is how much they want to buy the magazine, not the reasons for which they shouldn’t. The phrase, “The world’s biggest movie magazine”, shown just below the title, acts as a tag line for the magazine; promoting its excellence whilst putting across its theme to the audience. The web address of the magazine is shown parallel with this phrase on the opposite side of the cover in the same font and size. This is so that it can be linked with the title and the line which shows the brand in all its glory, causing the audiences view of the Empire to improve right before they become aware of a way in which they can follow up the information and learn more about the magazine and possibly subscribe. The red button shown to the left of the main image gives more detail of the picture which stands out so boldly, by also making this circle of information so obvious the editors enable the audience to learn more about the image and who the actor is, drawing them into the story still further and compelling them to purchase the magazine. On the opposite side are three phrases which are designed to promote the magazine still further. The way they have announced that this feature includes, “New interviews! Amazing Access!” and also “Exclusive photos!” makes the page seem more exciting through the use of exclamation marks. The colour scheme also adds to this effect as the black and red stand out boldly against the white. The rule of three also adds to the impact, which is enhanced by the way they are laid out one below the other, making them short and sharp. The adjectives “New”, “Amazing”, and “Exclusive” augment the features and make them sound that much more impressive and entertaining. The phrase “the 10 greatest characters of the noughties…” leads the audience into the main feature articles title, whilst also relating back to the “10 years” and “10 covers” at the head of the page. The title “ICONS” is displayed in capitals, laid-out with the phrase “…of the decade” next to it, shown in the same font but slightly smaller in order to make the main part of the sentence stand out and grab the audience immediately. These short sentences are very dramatic and the use of the “…” also adds to the striking outcome. The phrase “…and how they rocked our world” also sounds very impressive and, although it could be considered over the top, increases the impact on the reader to the maximum, leading them on from the title and into the magazine. The colour scheme of the page is all designed to work together, each item playing off the next to add to the dramatic effect. The background remains dull so as not to detract from the main image, yet the title is able to stand out so as to remain the most prominent feature of the page. The bar along the foot of the page is designed to be noticed but also to be discrete, the colours used are subtle, except for one line which is used to grab you and draw you into the fine print which is more detailed than the main headlines which are designed to draw you in. The small print of this footer then instructs you to turn to page 13 which draws you in further still, urging you to purchase the magazine.
Lucy :)
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