Masthead:

The simple ‘Q’ is easy to remember. On this particular magazine the masthead is in the top left corner, and is quite large, and overlapping some of the main image. The white ‘Q’ stands out against the red background. The simplicity of the masthead doesn’t show much about the magazine, so we don’t know what type of music will be featured. Or even that it is a music magazine. But, fans of the magazine will recognise the title, and will already know from recent magazine that they have read, or perhaps the ‘Q’ music channel. Also, from the main image and cover lines we can guess that the magazine is about music.

Main image:

The main image is of the lead singer of the band ‘Arctic Monkeys’, Alex Turner. His face fills most of the cover, and is in the centre of the page. He is not looking directly at the camera, but his face is facing us. It is unclear what kind of face expression he has, as it could be suggested that he is angry, or even confused. His face looks pale, and his hair looks dark. This fits to the colour scheme black, white and red. Also the top that he is wearing is white, which does his too. The background for the image is effective, as black and red words have been hand written. Fans of the band would recognise the words as lyrics to some of their songs. For instance, ‘sit down I’ve moved your chair.’ The fact that it appears hand written, and is about their songs, suggests that Alex has written it himself. This is an unusual background for a magazine.

Banner:

There is no banner on this cover, and there is little information about what will be inside this issue.

Cover lines:

In this magazine, the cover line is about the band ‘Arctic Monkeys’, which matches the main image of their lead singer. There is little writing on this cover, apart from the writing on the background, so the audience can focus on this cover line. It is over the top of the main image, and the black font stands out against his white top and pale skin.

Colour palette:

This magazine has used three colours on its cover. This is common for a magazine, as it makes the overall appearance much more effective. The red and white match the ‘Q’ logo, and the black makes the font easier to read.