Prospect Magazine: front cover, contents page and website analysis

Prospect Magazine

Analysis
  • The skyline features stories that are unrelated to the main story which shows that the magazine covers a wide range of stories therefore fitting the current affairs genre. 
  • The masthead looks like it belongs to a newspaper due to it being in black and positioned at the top of the page. This may be to allow the magazine to appear as if it could also be a newspaper due to the current stories it contains. The font is very classy which suggests that the magazine is sophisticated. 
  • The masthead also is very clear and the bold allows it to stand out which will draw the readers attention. There is a circle between the 'c' and 't' which could symbolise that the magazine covers a wide circle of topics. It could also show that the magazine covers topics that are world wide with the circle symbolising the Earth. 
  • There is a red line between the masthead and the main image which allows the masthead and the main image to be shown as separate and allows the front cover to appear neat. 
  • The main image is of the Earth surrounded by germs which could represent the corona virus. This is relevant to when the magazine was published as the corona virus pandemic was effecting the world. 
  • The image connotates that the Earth is has passed through the 'tunnel' of germs, suggesting that it has overcome the corona virus. This connotation fits with the main cover line as the topic is the world after the corona virus. This shows the magazine featuring a current topic therefore conveying to the current affairs genre. 
  • A tunnel effect is also created due to the image being a long shot. The Earth appears far away which suggests it has past through the germs. 
  • By the main image being digitally created, it allows the magazine to be seen as up to date with technology as well as suggesting it is up to date with other areas, which is appropriate for it being a current affairs magazine. The digital design is also appropriate for the story as the corona virus isn't human and there isn't a 'real life' image on the page.                                     
  • The main cover line 'The light after the darkest hour' suggests that the magazine believes that there is a more positive future to come. This statement fits with the phrase 'the light at the end of the tunnel' which is being shown in the image as the Earth appears to be out of this tunnel. 
  • The text underneath the main cover line tells the reader what the magazine is referencing by actually mentioning covid-19. This allows for clarity which shows that the magazine likes to keep things clear and simple, which is a feature of the current affairs genre. 
  • The typography on the image is in white which allows it to stand out and be easily read on the dark background. The typography is simple which suggests that the magazine is more interested in presenting the facts to the readers than sensationalising text and having creative fonts that magazines from other genres may do. 
  • The other cover lines are linked to the issue of the corona virus which shows that this is the main story featured in the magazine. One of the cover lines uses the personal pronoun 'us' along with a question which allows the magazine to create a personal connection to readers as this question causes readers to think and feel affected by the story featured. The use of having the cover lines also aligned on to one side makes it easy for the reader as they can read it like a list. 
  • The colour pallet is dark but is broken up by sections of white. Red, black and white are the colours which occur the most on the front page which suggests that they may be the house colours of the magazine. They are very sophisticated colours which have connotations of importance to them as they are used in important media products such as newspapers. The use of the colour purple for the 'germs' allows them to be seen as powerful as the colour purple contains connotations of power. It is also thought to be associated with mystery which is appropriate for this image as there were many factors of the corona virus that were thought to be a mystery. 
  • There is a barcode on the front page which shows that it is a commercial media product.
  • The use of only having one main image allows for the attention of the reader to just be focused on this main image, therefore signifying its importance. 


Analysis

  • There is a black bar at the top of the screen with buttons that allow users to carry out a range of features to access what they need. 
  • There is a search tool on the bar which will allow users to search the website which is a helpful feature. 
  • The date and time features on the bar. This makes the website appear official.
  • There is an option to 'login' if you are a subscriber to the magazine. This allows the subscriber to have an enhanced experience in comparison to users who haven't subscribed. This also separates the 'house view' in which everyone sees versus the view in which a subscriber can access.
  • On the black bar, there is a 'like' icon and an icon featuring the Twitter logo and the username to Prospect's Twitter account. The icons contain digital links: when you select the 'like' icon, this takes the user to Facebook to persuade users to 'like' the business on there. The same happens when the Twitter icon is pressed. This allows Prospect to try and gain a digital following to show that it is digitally convergent which it uses to try and advertise the magazine.
  • The logo is on the website which allows users to know that this website belongs to Prospect but also allows users to establish the link between the website and the magazine as this logo features on both media products.
  • There is an advert on the page which shows that the magazine is a commercial product funded from sales and advertisers. 
  • There is a ribbon of buttons which allow the user to access different topics and areas of the magazine. The buttons that are in grey are topics in which the magazine covers. The other buttons 'home' and 'subscribe' are both red, which allows them to stand out as they can be considered the most important buttons on this ribbon. The 'events' button is a dark blue which shows it doesn't belong to the topics buttons and isn't as important as the 'home' and 'subscribe' button but still needs to stand out to users. 
  • Underneath the ribbon, there is a section called 'top topics' which highlights the key topics that the magazine is currently featuring. Each 'top topic' is able to be selected by the user and allows the user to be taken to a page of the website that features information about that topic. This causes users to be able to access information quickly and easily therefore allowing for a good user experience. 
  • There is a main image on the website which is approximately 1/4 of the page. The image is on a roll over system which means that a series of images are shown. The images are relevant to the most recently published magazine. This allows users to see a variety of images easily and without them requiring a lot of the screen. 
  • Next to the image, there are titles of articles and the names of the writers. This allows for there to be a quickly accessible link to articles which users may be interested in reading once they have viewed an accompanying picture on the screen. The use of also having the name of the writers of the articles shows that the magazine appreciates good quality articles. 
  • The colour scheme of the website is red, black and white which is what it is the colour scheme for the magazines therefore allowing for consistency. The colours suggest that the magazine is very formal. 
  • As the user scrolls down the website, there are links to other articles and previews of past magazines. The website features constant reminders for users to subscribe to it, showing it to be a very commercial product. 
  • The overall website is very easy to navigate and provides users with a variety of links to features. 
Analysis

  • The contents page takes up two pages which shows that the magazine features a lot of content. 
  • The colour scheme continues as red, white and black which allows the house style of the magazine to be clear. However, this colour scheme does feature other colours from images and coloured text boxes. The use of having the colour text boxes and the colour of the images, allows the pages to appear bright and inviting to readers. 
  • The date is presented in a top ribbon on the page along with being a title. This allows the reader to be clear of when this issue was published so that they know the time period of the articles produced. 
  • The main title 'contents' along with smaller titles for sections such as 'Arts & books' are all in red which allows for them to stand out to the reader as they are important. The stories are split into sections with headings which make it easier for the reader to search for the article in which they are looking for.
  • Underneath these titles, the article name is in bold and any extra information about the article is in normal black font. This allows for there to be a clear separation between titles, article names and extra information. 
  • There are short amounts of copy underneath each article name which allows readers to gain the essential information they need about each article. This also prevents large sections of the contents page being dominated by detailed text.
  • Each of the journalists' names are featured underneath the name of the article which shows that the magazine values the stories that are written and appreciates good journalism. 
  • There is a mixture of styles of images: some are real photographs whereas others are computer drawn. This allows the magazine to appear creative whilst also remaining 'real'. 
  • Each of the images are small and positioned around the text. They are wide shot images to allow for the reader to be able to have a full view of the mise-en-scene within the image. This may suggest that the magazine goes into detail about stories therefore allowing readers to gain all the information they need. 
  • Each of the photographed images feature important locations, events and people which suggests that the magazine covers stories that are very important rather than random content therefore fitting in the current affairs genre. 
  • The page features Prospect's social media handles on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram which shows that the magazine is digitally convergent and is keeping up with the rise of social media. The page is also informing readers that the magazine has a podcast and a website which adds to the ways in which people can access the magazine. 
  • The computer drawn images are witty and show that the magazine can view things in an amusing way as seen by the Twitter icon of the bird and the actions it has taken towards the Houses of Parliament. 
  • The typography on the page is small but appropriate for the text-heavy magazine. 

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