Magazine Cover Analysis 2

 

TeenVogue is a fashion-based style magazine produced by Condé Nast, with a primarily female target audience aged 17-29. The audience is typically fashion-conscious, which is emphasised through the cover above, and they may be viewed as “world-changing” individuals. The secondary audience for Vogue is typically a slightly older audience and does include some men. The cover above is the May 2013 edition, featuring Justin Bieber, a popular artist among teens during the time of release.   

The masthead is bold, taking up the top horizontal third of the magazine cover. It quickly establishes the TeenVogue brand, making it easily recognisable from the top for audiences. The masthead is made up of both a Serif Font (as part of the wider Vogue brand) and a Sans Serif Font in lowercase, which is designed to appeal to the younger audience. The masthead specifically takes up the largest font size, showing its importance.   

The cover above uses colours that strongly connote femininity and innocence. The wide use of pink carries the strongest connotation of femininity, emphasising that the magazine is targeted towards a younger, female audience. Pink also has connotations of innocence and romance, which may also relate to the brand as a whole. Similarly, reddish-pink tones are also used to further emphasise this idea of youthfulness and love. The yellow-gold colours in the background and main image create a connotation of optimism and happiness. Like most magazine covers, black and white is also used to help add contrast and separate the coverlines from the image. Bieber is wearing a white tank top which reveals his skin and his tattoo – this primarily focuses on his masculine image, which conforms to standards of what a man should look like. He is kept in the centre third, helping to establish his importance. Moreover, he makes a direct mode of address with the readers, connoting his confidence and creating personal appeal. Arguably, he could be used as a way to create an appeal to young girls, who are likely to find him attractive. Furthermore, as the main image, Bieber is typically more recognisable to the younger female audience during 2013. 

The main coverline is vague, but automatically draws the reader in. It suggests the potential of an exclusive interview inside, by referring to ‘Justin’s’ year – the use of colloquial language creates a more personal link between readers and the image. The other coverlines are primarily focused on gossip, attracting a wide female audience. Fashion is also heavily important for the coverlines; TeenVogue is trying to push the idea of the importance of beauty onto girls from a young age. 

The dateline links to the image, emphasising the idea of a ‘spring’ setting, by confirming the issue is for May. The selling like is $2.99 USD, which is roughly around £4.19 in 2025. The magazine is kept cheap to attract a younger audience, who are less likely to have large levels of disposable income to spend on products like magazines. 

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Masthead: 

• Traditional Vogue logo, accompanied by teen – creates a new masthead 

• Establishes the brand as part of Vogue, but also it’s own separate being 

• Immediately emphasises the magazine is for a younger audience 

Colour Scheme: 

• Pink – strong connotations of femininity – clearly a magazine for young girls 

• Has further connotations of innocence and romance 

• Yellow/gold - optimism and happiness 

• Dark pink/red - youthfulness, love, excitement 

• Colours suggest the magazine is focused on teen gossip and romance 

Fonts (Sizes): 

• Primarily Sans Serif fonts, except for the masthead 

• Emphasis on a younger audience 

• 4-5 different font sizes – bold, stands out 

Main Image: 

• Justin Bieber 

• Direct mode of address 

• Confidence  

• Appeals to teenage girls (target audience)  

Supporting Images: 

• None  

Cover Lines: 

• Celebrity gossip 

• Justin Bieber interview 

• Fashion and style 

• Heavily focused to appeal to the young female audience 

Main Cover Line: 

• “Justin’s Crazy Year” 

• Colloquial 

• Teens 

Dateline/Selling Line: 

•  May 2013 

• $2.99 USD 

Rule of Thirds: 

• Masthead top third – key convention of magazines 

• Cover image – centre third – importance 

• Coverlines in the side vertical thirds 

Target Audience: 

• Gen Z and millennials – 17-29  

• Primarily women – aims to appeal to “world-changing” individuals 

• Secondary audience of older males