Marjorie Ferguson-Categorising facial expressions

Marjorie Ferguson (1980) identified four types of facial expressions for the covers of British women's magazines.

They were:

Chocolate Box

This is where the model has a half or full smile, with their lips together or slightly parted, their teeth are barely visible, face is full or three quarter to the camera. The projected mood: blandly pleasing, warm bath warmth, it is where the uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of uniqueness/ individuality.

Invitational

This is where there is an emphasis in the eyes, the model's mouth is shut or has a hint of a smile, their head is to one side or looking back to the camera. The Projected Mood: this is suggestive of mischief or mystery, the hin oft contact potential rather than sexual promise, the cover equivalent of advertising's soft cell.

Super-smiler

This is where there is a full face, the model has a wide open toothy smile, their head is thrust forward or their chin is thrown back, their hair is often wind-blown. The Projected Mood: Is aggressive, the model seems to be like 'look-at-me' demanding, the hard sell, 'big come-on' approach.

Romantic Or Sexual

A fourth and more general classification devised to include male and female 'two-somes' or their is the dreamy, heavy-lidded, unsmiling big-heads, or they're overtly sensual or sexual. The projected mood: possibly 'available' and 'defenitely available.'

Vixen Music Magazine

I think the title 'Vixen' is very foxy and sexy and it is bold so it stands out.
There are three different fonts used, which is a traditional convention of a magazine. It varies the text, without over-complicating things.
Rihanna is a well-known artist, so she is a recognisable face to the audience. She is colour-coded to the magazine as the background is purple and she has purple in her hair. She protrudes off the page as she is in blue which stands from the purple background. This makes her the main focus of the front cover and it also makes her appear dynamic.
This front cover is not too cramped, but not too simple. There is only one image on the full front cover, which focuses all the attention on Rihanna. Having one image is a classic convention of a music magazine.
Rihanna is posing sexually, she has her mouth half open, is dressed quite revealing and has her hand on her hip with her head tilted.
An attractive female is used which supports Naomi Wolf's theory of having erotic images of women sell products to women.
Another convention of a music magazine is a website, this is so the audience can gather extra information about the magazine and it's contents on the internet.
The bar code can be placed anywhere, but in this case it isn't in focus as it's in the bottom corner, so it doesn't attract attention away from the rest of the front cover.
The colour scheme is particularly feminine: purple, pink and yellows. This tells me that the magazine is aimed at female's but also as it concentrates on celebrity lifestyle and not just the music.

Q Magazine

The genre of Q magazine is indie, classic and rock. This isn't the type of genre I am interested in but I shall analyse this magazine cover to find typical conventions of music magazines, which I can use when creating my very own music magazine.
There is a simple colour scheme of red, black, white and grey which fits with the Q logo itself.
The image of Madonna blends into the background, but Madonna is a well-known celebrity. The image also comes out infront of 'Q' to make Madonna appear more dynamic.
I believe this issue of the magazine is trying to appeal to a female audience, as in general men buy music magazine, as appose to women who tend to be more interested in celebrity lifestlye magazines.
Q has it's regular tag 'Britain's Biggest Music Magazine.'
This is a 2008 issue, I have noticed that recently in the last few issues of Q it has been steering away from music and entering a more celebrity lifestlye approach. This may be becuase they know they have to change their magazine to keep their audience, this issue shows early signs of this.
There is also a list of music in the top right corner, so that the magazine isn't just focusing on celebrity lifestyle.

Vibe Music Magazine

I like this magazine as it is based upon the genre of music I am interested in: R&B.

There is an attractive women on the front (Ciara,) according to Naomi Wolf (1990) erotic images of women are used to sell products to women. Of course, they will also sell to men as men find these models appealing.

The colour layout is very simple, it's mainly dark/light blue and yellow with a small amount of different colours in smaller writing.

Compared to women magazines, there isn't much writing and the focus of the magazine is obviously Ciara as her picture is large and so is the writing revolving her.

The bar code is in the bottom left corner, although it can be placed anywhere.

In the background colour there is a lighter gradient, this focuses the magazine on Ciara. It is lighter in the middle and a darker blue on the outside.

The writing on the bottom right of the magazine is curved, around her bottom, this is to emphasise the curviness of Ciara. This writing is also: yellow, red and green; the Jamaican flag colours, this is appropriate as Vibe is a black, music magazine.

The title 'Vibe' protrudes off the page, but Ciara's head hides part of the title. This shows that the magazine is particularly well-known.

Ciara looks extremely air-brushed (almost doll-like) this is to make her look flawless and perfect, but it is noticable that her image has been edited. The image of Ciara is emphasised. Her hair is extremely large and curly and her curves are extremely apparent. I believe the image has been manipulated to concentrate on the sex appeal of the image, she is dressed in leather and the lighting focuses on her curves.