This is a cover image for NME magazine. The main image is of Lily Allen, which obviously makes the reader aware that she is the main article. The headline "Lily Allen Takes on the World" leads to the reader thinking something big is happening with this artist. They've also got a pull quote on the cover that says, "I can't keep living on like this, it's doing my head in" this quote makes the reader, perhaps sympathise with Lily Allen and makes you want to read what is happening in her life to make her say something like that.
Her whole look is very dishevelled and as if she's just rolled out of bed. However, a lot of thought has gone into her look in the picture. For starters, the tarten shirt. This links back to punk in the 70's. NME is a very punk magazine and rebellious. Therefore the shirt fits in with their theme and their target audience is most probably the rebellious type of youth. The way Lily Allen is starring into the lense of the camera makes her look quite unwell. Her face is very pale and the expression on her face is very "WHat are you looking at?!" Which would appeal to NME's target audience.
Also on this cover they have a few flashes. All of these will be small things for the reader that may benefit them in some way and are just another way to draw them in.
The skyline on this front cover says in big writing, "NEW MONKEYS TUNE" The fact that they have abbreviated the name Arctic Monkeys to Monkeys, suggests that they are a big, well known band and the use of their full name is unnecassary. Therefore, readers will want to know more about their new songs and want to read about it.
NME's cover lines are running along the bottom of the cover and are just a list of band names. NME are confident that they don't need to put any information about what the stories on these bands are. Just the list is suffice.
They've used the power of the left third quite a bit on this cover, thier main article is all on the left hand side, where you would be able to see it if you're skimming a magazine rack. Like the cover story, the pull quote and you would also see some of the cover lines, put the use of the "Plus" arrow will show readers that there is even more for them to read.
When I did my research for what students would like in a college magazine, I made a survey with 15 questions and asked students from different departments in the college to get a wide range of opinions and answers.
In the end, the most popular subjects were things like, ways to save money, gig dates and reviews and where to go for good food around the city.
I took these ideas and focused on them for my front cover and contents so it would appeal to the majority of students.
Looking at other college magazines, it's very clear that it is mostly all about things for students. Things like discounts, chances to win things and local events. There's one called College Magazine that has different polls for students to decide what performance they would like to go and see on a trip which I think is a good idea for getting them involved and making things happen themselves.
There seems to be a lot of articles on things like night life, fashion, sex, entertainment. All of which, people are into, or are getting into when they come up to college. It's always very relevant to students.
There's another magazine called, U Magazine that consists of interviews from celebrities about their college life and experiences. There's also articles on different subjects in each issue.
