Magazine code and convention

Magazine editors always have a target audience in mind otherwise known as a niche. Magazine code and convention can be changed to suit a target audience which most magazines are found to do.
The word convention is the word for formula and things we are expected to follow. The word code means that certain things we read have hidden meanings e.g.- Pink are connotations of feminism.We all understand that certain colours and certain images have hidden meaning

Magazine code and convention- on the front
* Price bar code and issue number
* Photograph closely linked to the feature
* A recognizable and iconic masthead
* Various plugs and puffs on the front cover to entice people to buy the magazine
* A link between colours and time of year
* Carefully designed to attract the target audience, which is very easy from the front.

We also know that magazines can be categorized-
* Lifestyle
* Fashion
* Music
* Film
* Motoring
* Gadgets
* Parenting

However, Audience can also be categorized-
* Age
* Gender
* Class
* Sexuality

Representation-
As media students we need to be familiar with how the media represents the intended audience. Many ideologies will be presented about the target audience on the front cover for example women are portrayed as domestic on the Good Housekeeping magazine.

Analysing a magazine- Company September 2012.

Fashion magazine Company has created a pastel look in there September 2012 issue. The pastel colour complements the fact that it is autumn. The colour and font on the cover also shows the target audience it is aimed at. The font shows a handwritten girly style and along with the pastel pinks and the beige colours this shows that it could be aimed at older teens to early twenties. 

The fact that the main plug is Ibiza jobs in the sun also shows that it could be for those who are looking for work. Also the use of '#Jobsinthesun' and the Youtube and online world of 'Vlogging' shows that it is also aimed at those who are socially aware on the Internet. This means that we can't set the age range overly high so we are looking around the ages of 15-26.

Whitney Port is a huge part of this cover. The wooden flooring shown under the model mixed with the pastel colours she is wearing and the flowers in her hair gives us an idea of the target audience. Most girls who see something like this want to look like her. The girls most influenced by this are the younger ones therefore we can come to the conclusion that this part of the magazine is aimed at the middle aged teens. Also, by saying that she is 'America's next top style icon' give the impression that what she is wearing is what everyone should wear.

The cover lines on the magazine are very brief. The plug where the pastel purple is shown has the alliteration of 'S'. The sound of 'S' is very girly. When reading it you are likely to feel like they are talking directly at you especially with the personal pronoun of 'YOU' also capitalized on the plug. The use on the fashion icons edited to look like the sun also links to the plug. 'You style it in the sun' Talks directly to the reader by saying that you could be the centre of that sun. Therefore, the potential buyer will want to pick this up because they want to be the center of the fashion world.

To conclude, I feel as if the target audience will be older teens to mid twenties since these are the more impressionable people. The use of specialized lingo and Internet terms also means you have to be aware of the online world and that strengthens my point on the target audience. I feel as if they used the pastel colours to show the entry into the autumn months and to show that the magazine is aimed at girls.