Annotating Magazine - GQ - Rihanna Cover

Annotating Magazine - GQ - Rihanna Cover

The magazine "GQ"’s target audience is primarily men, aged 25-50. We can tell this by the layout of the cover. Furthermore, this cover isn’t very busy which shows the target audience is an older generation. Also, the colours used are quite basic, contrasting with a bright yellow. These colours are slightly more masculine than they are feminine. Magazines that are aimed at young girls are generally very busy and use very feminine colours.

On this cover, the masthead is placed under the image. This gives the impression that the magazine is popular and its audience will recognize it from the colours and layout used. The masthead is also big, bold and bright. The font used for the masthead is basic which makes the magazine look more sophisticated and upper class. 

The dateline on this cover states the magazine is the December 2012 issue which indicates this magazine is a monthly issue as it doesn’t have a specific date of publication. The font used on the dateline is usually small, but here it is very small. This gives the impression that the audience knows how much the magazine is, or that they don’t care. Furthermore, this magazine is $5 which shows that the “GQ” magazine falls onto the social economical model at C1 and/or B (teachers, managers, junior managers etc).

The main image on this cover is very sexualised. The model is Rihanna, who is known for her raunchy songs and sexy music videos. The model is only wearing a leather jacket in this image, with no underwear. The image is a long shot to ensure every sexy part of the model’s body is view-able. Her facial expression involves inviting eyes and a sexual mouth. By this I mean the eyes are suggestive and the mouth is slightly open. Furthermore, the main image for this cover is representing women to be sexual objects.

Usually on a magazine cover, there is one main cover line which grabs the audience’s attention. However, on this cover there is no main cover line. This insinuates that the main image is enough to draw the target audience in.

Furthermore, on this magazine the cover lines, otherwise known as puffs, are around the main image and very little overlap with it. If the main image doesn't suggest the magazine is for men, the cover lines definitely do. With lines such as 'men of the year', the cover suggests the magazine has articles about inspirational and even relatable men. This may intrigue the target audience and even convince them to buy the magazine so they can work on their personal identity and become more like their ideals. The cover lines also state about books and gadgets which are things that older, more sophisticated men can relate to and would be interested in.

The slogan states "Look Sharp, Live Smart". Again, this suggests the magazine is for the older generation and higher class.