SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS• You are to type up your analysis of the magazine cover in order to show how useful

semiotics is in media studies.

• Follow this guide to presenting your work using it as a template:

• Follow the instructions and delete them as you complete your own piece of work.

• Design your slides however you please.

Jesse McNamara

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF A MAGAZINE COVER

INTRODUCTION TO SEMIOTICS• Semiotics are the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

• It is important in media studies as it helps you understand why someone has done something and what this means.

MAGAZINE COVER

The title connotates hat it is professional and meant for older people as not many young people wear a monocle. The name monocle could mean it gives an insight.

The colour choice is plain and simple (black and white) which connotates a formal theme to the magazine.

The masthead is on the top left of the magazine and is formal like the rest of it. It is important as it is easy to locate which would be beneficial for audiences to identify the magazine.

The tagline is “a briefing on global affairs, business, culture and design”. This shows that it is more of as work related magazine than a magazine you read for leisure. It shows that the magazine is clearly designated for intellectuals.

The cost implies that there will be more text than advertisement and correlates with the salaries’ of people buying the magazine. The price also suggests that the magazine is successful internationally as there are different currency prices.

“The great Global Rethink Issue: From nation to shop to home” this reveals that the magazine is available to the full globe as the “global rethink” implies this. It says “from nation to shop to home” which suggests that this magazine is not just for workers, but for different countries and people of different lives.

The use of the language implies that it is for intellectuals and people interested in economics and people in business by the use of language “global rethink” “a briefing on global affairs” and the magazine is all about work, even the front cover has a picture of 4 workers.

The colour scheme used is simple and formal, a clear theme of black white and yellow is used and all the things used in the magazine revolve around this theme. The font choice like the colour is formal, they are all in the same font asides from the Puffs included in the magazine which have a more casual theme to it.

The cover image looks like a universal magazine as it includes business news from around the world (Italy, USA, Switzerland, UK”. It looks like a stereotypical mans magazine but the use of a woman representing the UK makes it available to females also.

The general reader for the magazine is around 40+, male, whose interests are working and economics, who leads a high lifestyle and whose career is highly paid.

CONCLUSION• The key information that this semiotic analysis has given me is that most magazines use

the same techniques to try and attract an audience (large cover photo, large text, puffs)

• The target audience of my magazine is stereotypically male, upper class and over 40.

• The type of the product is formal.

• Using semiotics is easy to anotate a magazine as most magazines use the same thing.

UPLOAD TO YOUR BLOG• You need to use your slideshare or scribd account to upload the PowerPoint to the web.

• You can then embed it on to your own blog on blogger.

• You need to explain the PowerPoint in your blog entry post by using the title Semiotic Analysis of a Magazine Cover

and explaining the task you were given and what is meant by semiotics.