LIIAR Analysis

This is the LIIAR analysis of my magazine cover, included in my evaluation:

Language – The medium-close up head-on view of the student is, in my opinion, effective at drawing attention to the cover. The large text is coloured red and green, bright colours which also attract attention and have connotations of positivity, as well as making the cover more aesthetically pleasing. For the masthead I have used funky lettering for the font, which furthers these effects. However, I have used a more clear, bold font for the coverlines so as to not over-do it, and make the main feature of the article stand out to the reader. The microphone, as well as the speech bubble surrounding the masthead, is meant to reference the main content of the magazine, the interview with media students. This could perhaps have been enhanced by having a photograph of more than one media student as the main image.

Institution – The magazine cover does not include the logo of a publisher. However, as it is named “Wyke Weekly”, it is published by the staff/students of Wyke, intended for sale to Wyke students. This is also implied by the image of a sudent on the cover.

Ideology – The bright, funky lettering on the magazine cover suggest a message that life at college is fun and enjoyable. This is also shown through the main image of a student smiling, looking relaxed and happy to have his photograph taken. (I originally used more than two colours for the coverlines, but this over-did the message and took attention away from the main image). The large image of the Wyke student, as well as the coverline telling the reader about the main article, give a message of relating to the audience, as the main article is an interview (or interviews) with students at Wyke.

Audience – The audience of the Wyke Weekly magazine is students who attend Wyke College. This is shown first in the title of the magazine and the strapline, which reads “for your college life.” Also the image of the student conveys this. The cover does not really specify a gender towards which the magazine is targeted, as there is no specific one; it is just aimed towards students of Wyke.

Representation – I think that the audience, Wyke students, are represented positively in my cover, through the positive image of a smiling first-year student as the main image and the strapline showing that students are contributing to the main article of the magazine. I also think this creates a positive representation of college life, as the students enjoy it. I believe it is important to create a positive representation of students and the college, as it encourages people to buy the magazine. The people represented in the magazine are also the magazine’s target audience, so it is especially important to create a positive representation or no one would want to read the magazine.