The Big Issue - Cover Comparison (Romesh) & (LEGO)

The Big Issue is unusual in its media language in that the front cover does not follow a house style as faithfully as more mainstream magazines. Layout varies from one style from one addition to the next, though all front covers tend to the uncluttered with either on cover image or a montage with perhaps only three Martin Luther King (MLK) or four David Tennant (DT) to centralised (MLK) to top right. It switches from white on background (DT) & (MLK) to black on white.  Background colours vary from issue to issue, though tend to be fairly bright saturated colours as in the orange and red of our two example. The typography, though usually sans-serif, again changes dramatically, as can be seen in the contrast between the retro connotations of the capitalised handwritten font for (DT). These variations connote idiosyncrasy, liveliness and lack of pretension.

The masthead's capitals connote a no-nonsense solidity and political commitment, as does the sell line: 'A HAND UP NOT A HANDOUT' (top left). The lack of glamour extends to the photograph of (DT), Which appears to have been shot using a single flash rather than professional lighting. By contrast, the stylised monochrome image of (MLK) connotes both the mans saintly cultural status and evokes the period of death in 1968. Both covers also introduce a small element of humour to lighten the mix - the pun about the Commonwealth gains in the (MLK) cover, the cheeky reference to inter species love in the (DT) cover.