The masthead on the front cover of Q magazine use red and white colours, these colours are opposite

and contrasting, with red being very strong and dominant, and white being very plain and bright. This means the colours complement each other, proving eye catching for someone picking up the magazine. The colour red connotes the danger and aggression associated with the rock genre of the magazine; I think white is used simply to stand out against the red, which again connotes dominance and individuality. The typography used on the masthead is big, bold and a capital letter, almost stressing the letter Q, which again suggests the in your face feeling of the masthead. I think the magazine editors have chosen the letter Q to be the mastheads title as it a letter uncommonly used in the alphabet; this makes the magazine seem different and unique, standing out against other magazines. The main image denotation presents Cheryl Cole in the rain, holding a blade to her tongue. This is giving an unlikely negative representation of Cheryl Cole, presenting her as rebellious, rather than as her typical nations sweetheart image. Cheryl Cole is using direct address, immediately connecting to the reader and covering common ground. The fact that she is wearing red lipstick and dark eye makeup is connoting a seductive, sexier side to her, the red and black also connotes danger, maybe that Cheryl is to be feared of. It is almost as if Q are trying to present Cheryl in a less perfect way than usual, her rain-drenched hair looks scruffy, messy and as if she hasnt bothered, which all adds to the rebellious image she is trying to portray. Cheryl has been styled in this way to appeal to the audiences of Q, who are into the rock music; otherwise she wouldnt be taken seriously which may alienate readers. However, I also think Cheryl has been used as the coverstar to perhaps draw in younger readers, or a wider audience, as Q magazine is normally aimed at readers who are 25-30+ years old. It also seems as if the image has been edited to make Cheryl look paler than usual, her style looking gothic, which is also appealing to the stereotypical Goths and Emos who read the magazine. The anchorage text on the cover displays 3 Words Cheryl Cole ROCKS. 3 Words is immediately relating to Cheryls album title, again covering common ground with fans of Cheryl Cole, yet also

referring to the latter part of the anchorage text. ROCKS is a polysemy, relating to the genre of the music magazine but also praising her at same time. The typography of the anchorage text is set onto three lines, the text becoming bigger each time, perhaps emulating Cheryls rising celeb hierarchy profile. The text CHERYL COLE is white, which highlights the text against the other red words, drawing the readers eyes to it. 3 Words is in lower case letters, perhaps suggesting that this was her old nations sweetheart persona, CHERYL COLE ROCKS is in capitals as if its stressing the rebellious woman that shes become whilst starring on the cover, yet ROCKS is also relating to the genre of the magazine. The cover lines display names of certain bands featured in the magazine, however I think that Q have picked the bands featured purely because of their names. For example, The Crooked Vultures, Snow Patrol, Vampire Weekend and Midlake are used and words such as Vultures, Vampire and lake are all associated with the gothic themes of the main image and general cover. The colour schemes of the magazine cover uses black, white and red. The colours are polysemic, with black perhaps connoting death which can be associated with the rage and anger of the rock genre. Red connotes the passion and dominance suggested by the heavy rock music, the sheer love for music, but also the danger which can be implied through the lyrics and sound of the music. White is used as it compliments and stands out against the darker colours, however it can also be linked to the gothic themes as it is a pale colour, reminding us as readers of vampires, ice etc. which are featured on the front of the magazine as the band names. The layout of the magazine, is quite formal, probably due to the fact that Q is aimed at an older audience, therefore the gimmicks and colloquial nature is not needed to draw the readers in. However, I also think its because the editors dont want anything to distract away from the main image. Despite the fact that other bands are featured on the cover, they clearly want the cover to be all about Cheryl as the surrounding cover lines, anchorage and flashes have been strategically placed to not cover any part of the main image.