Billboard Front Cover Deconstruction

This is my third front cover deconstruction.  This is an edition of 'Billboard' featuring pop sensation Rihanna on its cover.


Masthead- Because it is targeted at a young audience, the masthead has bright colours, I.e. red and yellow.  Rihanna's head is covering a large portion of the masthead, giving the impression that it is very popular amongst young people.  I do not plan on covering much of my masthead.  The fact only the first letter of the logo is a capital letter lets the audience know it is informal.  It is in the centre because the word is not short enough to be positioned in the top left hand corner. 

Text- The cover line about a conference at the top of the page is informative and does not have any imaginative words.  This is not repeated however on the rest of the cover lines.  I will have cover lines together on my cover, but there will be one or two that are positioned alone.  'Bull on parade' and 'killer app summit' are much more appealing to teenagers and young adults.  The headline tells the reader that the article will be about the 're reinvention of Rihanna'.  Not only is the headline different, but the strapline is even more so, informing us that Rihanna's fans don't really know who she is.  The reason it's the most involving item on the page is because it speaks directly to the fans and will undoubtedly pique their interest.  What's more, it is quoted by Rihanna herself.  For me, it will not necessarily be the headline that catches peoples' attention, more the props, as I plan on having a guitar in the main image.

Colour- The red and yellow circles on the masthead create the idea of summer.  The red represents heat and the yellow represents the sun.  Rihanna is wearing a summer dress which is a very light shade of pink- connoting she is feeling cool.  The use of white reinforces the idea of coolness.  The red lips symbolise love and lust alongside the red hair.  There is the use of green on the far right of the page which symbolises temptation.  This symbolism comes from the story of the garden of Eden.  Personally, I am not fond of the bright colours, although they do work better here considering the target audience.  As I wish to have a white background on my own cover, the colours I use will need to stand.  This will be accomplishable by using darker shades of green and blue, which also relate to the image and topic of my magazine.

Font Styles- The font styles used on the headline and strapline are certainly stylish.  The use of italic is effective due to the fact that Rihanna is positioned over to the right of the cover.  I do not currently plan on using italics for my text, but I may end up changing my mind.

Layout- The cover line at the top is situated between the letters B and D in the masthead.  This is much more interesting than just listing the features and articles at the side.  The cover lines that are at the side do not get in the way of the main image.  The whole right hand side is dedicated to the star, however we know she is the main star of the issue because her name goes right across the page.  My headline will be placed further to the right because there will be cover lines on the left.  The barcode, price and date are together in the bottom left hand corner.  It is often the case that the barcode is put in a certain place because there is no room for it anywhere else.  This denotes it is not an important factor when it comes to selling a magazine to an audience.  I will most likely put the barcode in the bottom left or right corner.

Images- Since it has a target audience of younger people, Billboard does not need to lavish the page with loads of images.  This is more common in magazines aimed at children, where the images play a crucial role in selling it.  The celebrity image here fills the page which makes it more noticeable over other magazines surrounding it.  The target audience will recognize the pop star when they are drawn in by the brightness of the image.  As I plan on using a white background, my main image cannot be too bright.  I like how this magazine has contrasted the lighting though.

Mise en scene- The models clothing is not detailed because it is not the main focus.  It does not come off the page like the makeup does.  The red lipstick and the red hair are typical of Rihanna.  The light is all on her, connoting she is a superstar.  Plus, it causes the red to become dominant.  The location is probably a studio that has set up the roses and the leaves.  Her facial expression is seductive.  She appears to be hiding from something which is connoted by her tattoo of a gun. The photo shoot appears to have a theme- danger.  Rihanna has a famous personality as a pop star.  Songwriters tend to have more subtle photo shoots, therefore from seeing this cover, I can see how different mine will look.

Pose- The pose is romantic/sexual.  Rihanna is looking at the reader as if she is telling them that she is single.  The use of red reinforces love and lust.  It also connotes danger, which some people may find attractive.

Semiotics- Particular things such as the bright colours and the use of the word 'fans' help me to understand who would be more interested in this cover.  It is clearly most appealing to Rihanna fans, however it invites the general young generation in by its stand out colour scheme and recognizable star.  This is similar to my idea as I am planning on using green to associate my cover with the latest album by Ed Sheeran, who is also a well known artist.