Media Coursework A2 Evaluation

Spirit Magazine is aimed at young women between the ages of 15 to 35. Under the Income\Status model, the audience would be either categories C2, D, and E. Students would enjoy this magazine for the low price and articles that relate to them whilst white-collar workers would read for the more serious articles. Adhering to the Lifestyle Categories, the audience would fall under ‘Trendies’ and ‘Groupies’.  They want to be up to date with their fashion and for their appearance to make them stand out. The audience will buy Spirit as the magazine offers them an insight to the latest trends that will meet the Trendies need of achieving admiration from their peers whilst Groupies will also get the satisfaction of approval. Under the 4Cs classification model, Spirit’s target audience would be the Aspirer. The magazine offers them a chance to be the best person they can be through articles about fashion and beauty tips, appealing to the Aspirer’s superficial side concerning how others perceive them.

The main appeals of Spirit are the representation of gender, especially towards the portrayal of how gender roles are shown within women’s magazines. The colour scheme of the magazine are bright and pretty colours, leaning towards more ‘girly’ colours such as pinks, yellows and pastels. This also reflects the theme of the magazine; floral and springtime fashions. The female model used is typically attractive young woman and is a role model for the reader to aspire to emulate. This can be achieved through articles about how to get her look, albeit it with her clothes or her makeup or hair.  The fonts used also reflect the femininity of Spirit. The font used for the header is pastel green, a shade that connotes with spring, and is a swirly sans-styled typography.  This also connotes with the carefree and relaxed attitude Spirit upholds, even the name being related to the personality of the magazine.

The photos used in Spirit are typical of women’s magazines. The female model is attractive in a naturally feminine way.  This is a normal representation of gender roles in women's magazines. Females are shown as more passive, this can be reflected in the main model's body language. She is softly smiling but there is still an allure to her, also showing the sexualisation committed by magazines.