MixMag Front Cover Analysis

Front Cover Semiotic Analysis : MixMag

The centre of visual interest that is most prominent on the front page is the main image of "The Black Madonna" a DJ who is featured within the magazine. She weas a black cloak which contrasts with her gold bracelets and gold head decoration. The colour combination of black and gold have connotations of luxury and prestige, therefore suggesting that this magazine itself is premium and high quality, two characteristics that create a strong brand identity.

The masthead, which here is the title of the magazine, is at the top of the page, which is its usual conventional place, this is where it was in the Louder Than War magazine as well. The title reads "MixMag" which is the name of the magazine. It is in a non-serif white font which has connotations of purity, innocence and clean things. Therefore this masthead suggests that this magazine is pure and therefore one of a kind, unique.  The masthead is the largest font on the page.

Situated above the masthead is "dance music + club culture " which are the two main music genres featured in the magazine. This is shown on the front so that customers can see before they buy it whether or not they are interested in the genre on offer. People that like dance music and club culture would be inclined to purchase the magazine because it says so on the front. The text is lower case, non-serif, and gold, which reinforces the luxury theme introduced by the CVI image.

The gold on black colour palette continues on the right hand side, in which "The Black Madonna" is written in gold text, rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise. This is the name of the artist featured on the main image to the left of the text. This shows the audience what the name of her is, to provide context and give the audience a better understanding.

Above this is a gold square, which inside writes "THE DJ OF THE YEAR" in block capitals and white font. This relates to Black Madonna, and this in turn entices the audience to read the magazine because they want to read more about here, because she must be good if she had been proclaimed as the DJ of the year.

The barcode is in its conventional place in the bottom right of the page, which is also where it was on the Louder Than War music magazine that I previously researched. It is tilted 90 degrees anticlockwise. Below the barcode is the banner, on which the date of issue, price and website is shown. The inclusion of the website link is beneficial to the overall efficiency of the magazine because it promotes exchange, in which readers of MixMag can get in touch and react to the magazine on the internet.

On the left hand side of the page is a vertical white stripe 7cm in width. On here in small black, block capital text is the photographer of the main image's name, Uli Weber.