Red Magazine Analysis

Red is another lifestyle magazine owned by Hearst focused on women. Red is aimed at women aged 30 to 50, with the 40 age range being their core focus. Their audience is very open minded, happy to try new things with more disposable income than most. The premise of the magazine is that it is everything that is relevant to a woman's life. The main image features a woman who seems to be in her late 30s/ early 40s which anchors their target audience. The Red logo is placed at the top left of the front cover which is typical of Red which keeps the magazine covers consistent. The white on red font stands out against the other colours on the front cover and highlights the logo for the audience, making it easily identifiable. The main image has been taken in a way that creates areas for coverlines to be placed around the main focus of the photo which is also typical of Red front covers. This placement ensures that both the model and the coverlines are able to have focus on them. In the bottom left hand corner of the magazine front cover, there is a barcode, the Hearst logo and the website to Red. This creates cross media convergence between the physical copies of the magazine and the online website that Red has for extra content. This is an aspect I want to have on my own front covers to ensure that attention is brought to the website. The main coverlines are pink and white, varying in font types and size but all feature further on in the magazine. The main coverline 'Autumn style joy!' links to the main image because the setting is seen to be in an autumnal area (seen through the dried long grass and trees) and the model is wearing clothes that are named within the main coverline e.g. 'Jumbo Trousers', 'Luxe Knits' and 'Cool Suits' which offers the audience a visual on how the Autumn Style can look on a person within their age range.

The contents page for the same edition of Red is pictured to the right. It features the same logo at the very top of the page which links the two pages together and reiterates the magazine that the audience are reading. All of the typography used is sophisticated which engages their target audience of 30-50 year old women in the socio economic group AB. The contents link to the coverlines seen on the front cover, for example a cover line about Perimenopause can be seen at the bottom right of the magazine front cover and the same article can be seen on page 156 according to the contents page. The contents page headings have been made to engage the interests of their target audience, featuring headings such as 'STYLE', 'FASHION', 'BEAUTY', and 'LIVING'. Once again, the website link for the Red website can be seen within the physical copy of the magazine, first on the front cover and now at the bottom of the contents page which further creates cross media convergence between the two products.

From the analysis of Red, Good Housekeeping and Bazaar I have learned about the typical codes and conventions of lifestyle magazines, specifically women's lifestyle magazines. These conventions include sophisticated typography, a consistent colour palette, a main image that features a model within the age range of the magazines target audience, mid shot main images, large bold logo mastheads at the top of the magazine front cover, features of the website for the magazine on both the front cover and the contents page and many more. I will ensure to utilise and include these codes and conventions within my own products in order to create a successful lifestyle magazine and website. I will make sure to adapt these to my target audience and make them targeted to an aspiring audience as mentioned in my brief.