College Magazine – Textual Analysis

College Magazine – Textual Analysis

This is an American college magazine titled ‘college’. The cover uses a medium close up shot of a lady in a red shirt with the focus on her, hence the blurred natural green background. The general appearance of the magazine cover is bright and eye-catching. The colour scheme of the text used on the cover is coordinated with the colour of the lady’s attire, except the black which is used to stand out over the bright background. The lady featured on the cover is smiling.

The fact that the lady on the cover is smiling helps to give a friendly and welcoming vibe to the magazine, this combined with her direct mode of address is very inviting and may be very effective in enticing potential customers to purchase and read the magazine. The use of trees and grass in the background adds a very natural touch to the magazine and keeps the cover very bright and eye-catching, it also helps to prevent excluding any sort of potential audience for the magazine.

The magazine cover also seems to have a theme of personal wellbeing. The lady on the cover is wearing what appears to be a sport top and she is standing by a field possibly suggesting that she may be performing some sort of physical activity. The lady looks happy and healthy which the magazine may be attempting to use to encourage people to look after themselves. The magazine may also potentially be trying to depict the lady on the cover as a model student, with the sunshine in the background giving her an aurora.

The colour red has been used a lot on the cover of this magazine. It helps the magazine to stand out and it is very clear on the background. The colour red helps add to the healthy and bright themes of the cover.