Encoding Presidential Gender

Elements of Magazine Cover Design

Masthead: the name of the magazine

Date

Main image including the background

Anchoring: Because images are open to interpretation like all forms of language, words are often used to anchor the image to in a particular meaning. On a magazine cover the Lead article lines often seek to anchor the image

Lead article line: headline for the main story

Coverlines: Headlines that indicate the content

Masthead:

What does the name of the magazine connote? For example, what changes about this magazine if, rather than calling it Vogue we call it Lookin Goooood! Or Extremely Fashionable Accoutrements? Would it have a different impact on the reader?

How well-known is the name of the magazine you are analyzing? What is its reputation?

What do the font choices seem to convey and why? If you download Find my Font or What the font on your phone you will be able to see which font the magazine is using, or least the family of fonts to which it belongs – that can give you background on the font (whenever I suggest that students download an app on their phone, I like to remind them that most apps are monitoring you and selling your data. So, you should make the decision which apps you want to download to your device carefully). Note, you can also look at the font, describe it and ask yourself what is it trying to convey. Where is it placed on the page? Where have you seen this pattern

Coverlines:

What stories are in magazine? What does this convey about the magazine? What does it convey about how they see their audience? What words have been selected to convey this information. For example, on this cover: why might a fashion magazine emphasize ‘new’? How else might you say “coming of age”? why choose coming of age versus other words? Where else do you hear these types of phrases used? What type of energy and imagery do the word choices convey? Note that two of these stories (the Kaia Gerber story and the Rihanna story) are about growing up – why do you think that is?

Look at the font choices here too. Which words are emphasized? Why?

Lead article line:

What is the main story about? What does this convey about the magazine? For example, this Lead article is about Rihanna. What narrative are they conveying about her? What types of people are usually in this magazine. Which celebrities or other people is this magazine unlikely to feature in its lead article? Why not?

What words have been selected to communicate ideas about the lead article. For example, with this example, what is the impact of using alliteration: Fearlessness, Fenty, and Finding Love? What do we know about the Rihanna brand that makes the word choice make sense? Look at the font choices here too. Which words are emphasized? Why?

Main image:

Ask yourself questions such as

Why this image? Why this particular person?

What does the lighting convey?

Where is the camera positioned, what does it convey? What if we lowered the camera so that it was looking up at Rihanna? Or what if we placed the camera above here so that it was looking down on her?

What are some of the cultural conventions of posing that are being used?

How is the person dressed? What colors are being used How is make up used?

What is going on in the background

How are codes of gender being used?

Your generation is probably the most informed generation ever about how images are modified with Photoshop and with filters. Use that knowledge in when examining the magazine you are analyzing too.

Anchoring:

Because images are open to interpretation like all forms of language, words are often used to anchor the image to in a particular meaning. On a magazine cover the Lead article lines often seek to anchor the image

How has the main image been anchored? What types of readings are they seeking to emphasize? If those words were not there, how else might you read the image? What is the impact of the anchoring? How is it inviting the reader to read the image?

Date:

When is this published? Does that have an impact upon the content that is included in the magazine?