The magazine which we researched was Empire, a film magazine which was established in

1989, then looked through ten issues of the magazine ranging from its established date to
2013 and analysed the changes and conventions of the
magazine through the years. We noticed that the older
issues of the magazine were organised in a very
disjointed way, with the colours and images not really
fitting together. However as the magazine developed the
design of it became more fluid and easier to understand,
making is more attractive to look at than the original
issues. Making a magazines design more appealing to
passers-by is probably one of the most important aspects
of producing a magazine as it can attract new readers
2014 cover
1989 cover
and increase the financial income of the company.
Also, contrary to the development of the overall design of the magazine, the title essentially
remained the same, creating an easily recognisable brand for it which is also important in
keeping a steady stream of customers. An additional way that the magazines design
appeals consistently to readers is the use of basic colour schemes and clear non-cursive
fonts, which all make the information and any additional sell-lines on the cover stand out
and possibly draw in potential readers. The magazine also has a very direct appeal to
readers, as the main images on the covers often use a personal mode of address, with the
subject of the photograph looking directly ahead, therefore engaging with the reader.
In order to find out more about peoples reactions to Empire, we created a questionnaire
which was handed out to an audience panel of 7 different people. From this we were able to
infer that the target audience our panel assumed would read Empire are mostly male, with
an interest in action films. Additionally to this we
What gender do you
discussed that the demographic, including men, would
most likely be white, heterosexual, with a vaguely nonthink these covers
conformist psychographic profile and an obvious interest
appeal to the most?
in films and media. Extra indicators of the intended
demographic are the bright, bold colours, which are
typically symbols and indicators of masculinity; and the
cursive font used across the cover, which are also
associated with masculinity and maleness, whereas nonMale
Female
Both
cursive fonts often connote femininity; and the informal,
energetic mode of address which is noticeable throughout all the covers we looked at. This
predicted demographic would also help the creators and editors of the magazine decide
what content to include in their magazine and which main selling points to include on the
cover to attract the largest amount of readers in their target audience.
We also asked our panel about what attracted them most to the magazine, and were given
answers such as the large images, clear title, and additional information about inside
content on the cover. All of these features are constantly included in every issue, most likely
because they appeal to most people and
Chart Title
give them magazine consistency in its
design. In addition we also wanted to
8
confirm that the magazine was eye6
catching enough to attract passers-by,
4
and our panel agreed with this by a
2
0
Yes

No

Other

Would this catch your eye if you walked past it?

Is there anything about the magazine you dislike?

small margin. They also mostly agreed that there was very little about the magazine that
they disliked, apart from the title of the magazine occasionally being obscured by the main
image on the cover.
Additionally, although there is no set narrative throughout the magazine, they
do often have specials with certain themes, for example some issues of
Empire only contain reviews and articles related to superhero films or similar
subjects. The covers of these issues often have one main, large image which
relates to the longest article in the magazine; which is always surrounded by
smaller images, which still relate to the theme of the special. These smaller
image usually have smaller anchor lines underneath them, for example the
image on the left shows three additional sell-lines, which are anchored by the
short explanations above each image. These additional sell-lines are often
placed on the edge of the magazine, so that when they are layered on top of
each other on shelves in a newsagent or supermarket the most interesting
stories and interviews are easily seen by a passer-by or potential reader.
As touched on earlier, the mode of address used in Empire is also important in attracting its
main target audience. The cover often uses an energetic, enthusiastic mode of address to
interest people in the articles and interviews within, this mode is also kept inside the
magazine, with the writers of the magazine often using informal, colloquial language. The
mode of address used throughout the magazine is an integral part of maintaining a readers
interest, as it enables them to feel included in the reviews and interviews through the use of
slang etc.
The images used on the cover and inside of the magazine are also important features, as
shown by our audience panel, who all agreed that the images were among the most
inter
estin
g
parts
of
the
mag
azin
e for them. This is probably because the images can be used to show famous actors or
directors, and are usually enlarged to show the best known people, so they can be seen
clearly from a reasonable distance. The images are usually photo shopped, to make the
overall effect more appealing, especially in the case of women who are on the covers. By
perfecting the images, the magazine also gains an aspirational quality, as a lot of people
would want to look and be like their favourite actors who are shown on the cover of Empire.
Empires executives and editors will also have a classification system (the NRS scale) to
determine which social class their readers will be in. This scale ranges from A to E; with A
being upper class; B being middle class; C1 being lower middles class; C2 is the
classification for skilled working class people; D is the classification for non-skilled working
class people and E is for non-working people. After looking through the general
demographics for Empire, Ive more or less completely determined that their reader
classification comes under B-D, as they cover a wide range of films which appeal to lots of
people within their magazine. Also the price of the magazine is reasonable considering the

amount of content, which allows people of varying incomes to access it. Additionally, as the
majority of consumers at the moment are active, and seek out content that is easily
accessible and that they enjoy, the majority of people on the NRS scale would have some
kind of interest in the content of Empire, as long as they have an interest in film, and would
therefore be interested in reading the magazine.