Aesthetica Magazine Cover...

The magazine is called ‘Aesthetica’ as it is a cultural entertainment magazine. Aesthetica is a British art and culture magazine. Founded in 2002, Aesthetica Magazine covers photography, visual art, music, film and theatre. It has a readership of over 350,000 and national and international distribution. The magazine includes features on art, film, music and performance, highlighting notable new exhibitions around the world and showcasing photography.

The masthead appears to look like a classic newspaper headline which doesn’t overlap what would be the story, being the artwork in this sense. The masthead is more designed to be like a framework that is representing what is on the cover. The artwork is entirely uncovered other than the barcode and this all shows the magazine to be demonstrative of all this culture as it simply hangs above them .

The font used for the masthead appears to be like  a typewriter in a sans serif font. The word aesthetic within in the title compliments the font well as it represents an old fashioned, somewhat trendy appearance that looks like the beginning of a novel more than a magazine.

Though the women on the cover of the magazine is actually a painting of someone rather than a picture, who the girl was based on is made unclear. There is a picture being held up to her face though we can assume she represents a lot more women than she actually becomes one. Though the women’s message may be implicit at first glance her perfected eye sends a message of social criticism where all women’s imposed beauty standards are represented and are made relatable. The girl is also Caucasian which could be a diminishing example of what beauty is set out be in the media. However the girl also speaks to a wider audience of cultures as when the perfected picture is held to her face her skin is made paler and brighter which is heavily desired by most in Asian countries. Moreover this magazines cover although seemingly white washed speaks to a variety of cultures in its relatable factor .

The girl can also be seen as androgynous which her haircut and no makeup on her actual face. Whereas the hand holding the photo to her face is seemingly feminine which could be a whole other criticism on how gender roles are seen as imposed to some people questioning their identity.

The painting appears to be a head frame however the girl is still not made central as the hand holding the picture is deliberately shown as not being hers. Even when she is being displayed as being beautiful there is someone else judging her and pulling the strings of how she should look. It is however a direct address and a front facing angle that emphasises the lack of emotion in her face.

The other impact that the direct address has is a sense of empathy for those who feel they have to change themselves for others, that even more people than women and transgenders can relate to.

The layout of the magazine is aforementioned to be putting the artwork at central focus corresponding with the title. The name of the magazine is at the top of the page so that you read it as the guideline to what it represents (the art underneath). The layout also denotes that the magazine favours the individuality of the artists and feel as though they are a platform for representation rather than taking any credit for it. The layout is uncluttered and neat so that the art is not obstructed or used as a background for anything.

The kind of language that has been used is based entirely around the title of the magazine which involves the word ‘aesthetic’ to provoke the theme of the magazine. The word Aesthetica makes the magazine appear as if it itself is like a culture of artists and a place where people can express their creative genius.

There are no sell lines on this front cover other than the small text under the masthead that lays out details of what is included in the issue however the majority of the magazines selling point is based around the art on the cover speaking enough to draw someone into question into what the magazine is trying to say. 

The target audience for this magazine cannot be too easily defined. The cover covers a range of cultural influences, social criticisms and a modern approach to gender identity. Most predominantly a younger audience could be more attracted to this magazine however as it covers quite modern takes on cultural issues.