Billboard Cover Analysis

I will be analysing a cover page for Billboard magazine. I have chosen to do the one with Rihanna.  

Firstly, the name 'Rihanna' is the first thing we can see. It is the biggest piece of  writing on the cover, even bigger than the masthead, suggesting that it is extremely important, even more important than the name of the magazine. It stands out so much because the main colours are purple, white and red, and white stands out a lot from those two colours - it contrasts, so it easily catches your eye. 

The main image itself is of Rihanna. Her vibrant hair, covering half her face in minimal clothing is the biggest thing on the page. It even covers the name of the magazine, which can also suggest she is more important than the company itself, and that she is the main feature in this issue. We can also connotate from this, that Billboard believe their name is well enough known, that even when they cover it, people will still realise that it is Billboard. 

Since Rihanna herself is not wearing a lot of clothes, her gun tattoo is visible, and is placed right under her name. This could be a way of her trying to symbolise that she is a weapon, she is powerful. The look she gives to the camera shows her trying to be seductive, to maybe lure someone into looking at the magazine. She is wearing a dark and distinctive red lipstick, that stands out a lot from her actual skin colour, and the mouth slightly open can be linked to her lustful attitude, including the red hair as the colour red an be linked to things like lust and love. 

This cover page has a pull quote that says 'my fans don't really know who I am'. If you were a true Rihanna supporter, you would already be pulled in and attracted to the magazine, as you would want to read it and find out what she really means. The pull quote is situated right under her name, and since the name is visible enough, we can ensure that the pull quote will be seen as well. 

The cover lines on the left have its own white background, to make sure it contrasts from the purple background, and can be visibly seen. There are only 3 cover lines, which can represent that Billboard does not want too many things to get in the way of the main attraction – Rihanna. 

Lastly, where her name is, going across the page, there is something written above it that says 'THE RE-REINVENTION'. Rihanna released a perfume called 'RiRi' (just like "RE-RE") so by wording it like this, she could be subtly promoting her new perfume.