Practice essay 1
Jan 2008 sky magazine.

Firstly, the predominant colour used on the magazine is red. The background is red, the title ‘Sky’ is red and so is the word ‘queen’ and Kelly Osbourne’s lipstick. This colour makes the cover look ‘sexy’ because red connotes love. This suggests that the target audience for the magazine is young adults and the strap lines also suggest that the magazine is aimed at women; “fashion queen…all new project catwalk!” This is about the programme ‘Project Catwalk’ which will be coming on Sky and is hosted by Kelly Osbourne, which is why she is on the cover. This suggests that the genre of the magazine is about TV, in particular Sky. This is made obvious by the title “Sky mag”.

Furthermore, Kelly Osbourne is made to look like the Queen. This is done by her pose and crown, also the word ‘fasion QUEEN!’ make it obvious how the magazine want the reader to know what look they are going for. Her head is tilted to the side so only three quarters of her face is showing. This helps to create the ‘snobbish’ British look. This connotes British ideologies, as do the colours red and white which are the main colours on the cover and resemble the England flag. The look on Kelly Osbourne’s face makes her look ‘stuck up’, and because she is British this may represent all British people to be like that. Also above the title it reads “BRITAIN’S No.1”. ‘Britain’ is in capital letters to make it stand out and to be proud of.

Moreover, the type of shot used is medium angle shot. This shows Kelly from chest upwards which allows the readers to see some cleavage, again making the cover look ‘sexy’. This is done to help portray the genre of the programme the magazines is promoting: “Project Catwalk”. The article which are advertised on the magazine cover suggest a working class audience: “win a 6k…save over £210”. This connotes the most of the readers are working class because they want to save and win trips which maybe they would not be able to afford otherwise.

The make up used on Kelly is also used to make her look seductive. She has heavy eye make up to make her eyes stand out, and red lipstick to suggest she may be ‘horny’ and trying to attract the opposite sex. This could also lead men to read the magazine because they might want to see more pictures like this and read the article to find out what it is about.