Annotating Magazine - Seventeen - Rihanna Cover

Annotating Magazine - Seventeen - Rihanna Cover

The target audience for this magazine is girls around the age of 17. This is clear as the magazine is called “Seventeen”. We can also tell this as the colours used for the magazine are very feminine and it is also evident from the cover lines used. For example, "Back-To-School" shows the magazine is aimed at girls of school age. Cover lines such as "Find the perfect jeans for your butt.." and "Flirty Dresses" would suggest Seventeen magazine is aimed at an older age bracket. However, in todays society it is normal for young girls to worry and care about their appearance and want to look nice. Another point is that the magazine is quite busy, this shows that magazine is aimed at a younger generation. However, magazine covers aimed at children between 5 and 8 years old are usually very busy and very colourful, and magazine covers aimed at an older generation are usually very basic with not a lot going on. The fact that this cover is not incredibly busy indicates the target audience is in fact teenage girls and not a younger generation. 

The masthead for this cover is placed over the image which suggests the magazine is not that well known. The masthead is also big, bold and bright. This is usual for a magazine as the masthead is needed to grab the target audiences attention from the new-stand. The font used for the masthead of the "Seventeen" magazine is always the same which makes the magazine recognizable. However, the colour used isn't always the same, and isn't always very bright. 

The date line for this magazine is just like any other; small, black and a basic font. The magazine states the issue date is September 14th 2010 which suggests the magazine is a weekly issue as monthly issues don't have a specific issue date. Like other magazines, the date line also presents the price. For "Seventeen" magazine this is £3. For a teenagers magazine, this price is quite high. "Seventeen" Magazine would fall into the E category on the social economical model as they do not yet have an occupation and would be classed as students.

"Seventeen" magazine only uses women for the main image of their covers. For this cover, "seventeen" has used Rihanna, known and idealised for being a solo pop star. She is also known for her sexualised songs and raunchy music videos. However, this cover is very different from others she has previously done; this main image isn't sexualised and the model is in fact fully dressed. Furthermore, the model is wearing basic, but colourful, clothing that the audience of teenage girls can relate to. The model's make-up is also basic so the target audience can relate again. For most teenage magazines, the model tries to look fun and Rihanna does this for "Seventeen" magazine. Just like every other cover, the model is making full eye-contact, this gives a sense of familiarity.

The main cover line for a front cover is usually bigger and bolder than the other cover lines. However, on this cover, there is two main cover lines. These cover lines use bold, feminine colours  to engage and attract teenage girls. The main cover lines present topics that the target audience of teenage girls can relate to, such as fashion and going back to school.

Other cover lines state other topics the teenage girls can relate to, such as hair styles and make-up tips. The teenage girls can relate to these cover lines as they are at the age where they're starting to care about how they look, but need some help to look good.