Analysing existing magazine covers

Before I start designing my music magazine I am going to analyse two existing covers, 'Smash Hits' and 'The Face' which are similar to what I want my magazine to look like, and get some ideas from them.

'The Face'

Exisiting Magazine Analysis

Content Codes
The colour scheme of this magazine is quite plain, dull colours such as beige and white, mixed with red, black and blue, which are very bold colours. By using dull colours as the background of the magazine, the main image and bold colours stand out more, the redness in the magazine on 'Kylies' lips represent her being glamourous. The model on the cover of 'The Face' magazine is a female celebrity, who is quite popualar. She is pouting her lips towards the camera which connotes a sense of sexual provacativeness although she does this in a classy way, maybe to show the reader that there are two sides of her. The fact that she is covering her eyes with her glasses suggests that she is quite mysterious, as she can see us but we can't seem them. A popstar 'Kylie Minogue' is at the centre of the frame on this magazine cover which is the image the reader would be most likely to notice first.
Technical Code
The shot distance of the of the main image of this magazine is a medium close-up. The images also seem to be quite grainy and old looking and the model is the main focus of the front cover. The lighting is low key and not very bright, and expresses an arty feel and edge. The font of the text on the magazine is sans serif and most of it is straight apart from the caption underneath the image of 'Kylie Minogue' which is going in an upwards direction.
Language Codes
There are very few words on the front cover of the magazine. The name of the magazine is placed along the top of the magazine and the caption is at the bottom. The caption is only a single statement 'International magazine of the year'. This is clever as it is not very wordy but gets to the point quickly with a fact. The other text on the cover of the magazine is over the image of the model, which says 'Kylie' and underneath, 'Who's that girl?' This is good as it fits in with the image of her covering her eyes as she is hiding her identity and the reader might find out information about her if they read the magazine. On the left hand side there is a short list of three things featured in the magazine. There is no rhetorical devices on the cover, although I will probably include some on my magazine.