Magazine research - analysis of LOOK

In order to help give me inspiration in making my own magazine, I'm doing a bit of research into other magazines, such as LOOK. LOOK is a weekly British fashion magazine aimed at young women aged from around early teens to late twenties. It focuses mainly on fashion at affordable prices as well as including articles on real life stories and celebrities, particularly in concern to their outfits and fashion statements. It is priced at £1.60 and is the first weekly high-street fashion magazine for women, meaning that its launchers must have thoroughly researched the gap in the market, and the desire for constant updates on fashion in today's consumer society; consequently, this led to its launch in 2007 being the most successful magazine launch for 17 years. It is published by Tammi Iley and is edited by Ali Hall.
The front cover is very eye-catching, in bright, coordinating colours. It can automatically be identified as a woman's magazine, due to the pink and white colour scheme traditionally associated with women, in particular young women. These colours might also be contrasting each other; the "innocence" of the white, which comes across as more serious and business-like, in comparison to the fiery pink, its binary opposite, which is complemented with words such as "red hot" and "sexy" and is perhaps a suggestion that this magazine addresses the more vivacious side of women; this could be an indication that the magazine is an 'escape' from school, college, work, and the everyday stresses of life. This is amplified further in the headline "Man Drama," which is written in capitals so that it stands out; this is a classic example of a form of gossip that magazines publish in order to make the readers feel less pressured by the worries and stresses of their own lives, as the lives of celebrities are made to appear far worse by the use of exaggerations and strong words such as "drama" and "dangerous."
The main focus of the cover is the photo of Lady Gaga, who is looking directly at the camera; this creates a kind of false 'relationship' with the reader, helping to advertise itself. The photo abides by the rule of thirds, drawing the eye to it more as it is falls under the natural eye line.
The cover is not packed full of headlines, but there are boxes along the bottom and left-hand side featuring some of the contents of the magazine, alluring a person to buy the magazine so as to read the rest of it. The features in the boxes are entirely fashion related, but are complemented with the sub-headings "high street trends the celebs love!" (which reinforces the stereotype of women being obsessed with celebrities and includes the colloquial abbreviation "celebs" in order to appear less formal, and perhaps more in touch with celebrities in this use of an informal term) and "sexy" (which supports the common view that women are obsessed with looking good). However, there is another box in the top right-hand corner featuring another celebrity related headline, to insure that people are aware that it is a balanced fashion and celebrity related magazine.