Visual Branding and Readership. A Comparative Case Study of Consumer Magazine Covers

Document from the year 2012 in the subject Communications - Journalism, Journalism Professions, grade: 1., Brunel University, course: Journalism, language: English, abstract: This dissertation will look in depth at the visual elements on the covers of three consumer magazines (Vogue, Elle, and Harpers Bazaar) from the same month, to review each magazine¿s effectiveness at aligning their cover with their own target readership. Sammye Johnson and Prija Prijatel, both American professors of Journalism, once wrote that the magazine cover is ¿the most important editorial and design page in the magazine. The cover, as the magazine¿s face, creates that all important first impression. Editors, art directors, publishers and circulation directors spend hours trying to select the perfect cover for each issue.¿ As the quote suggests, a lot of thought goes into what is on a cover, even if the suggestions go unnoticed by the reader or a person passing a magazine stand. It could be argued that the magazine cover intends to offer an aspirational vision of the reader in terms of their lifestyle aspirations, but from another perspective however the cover could instead reflect the brand identity of a magazine. But there are many ideas to be considered when analysing a magazine cover.