"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" edition of EMPIRE Magazine is a very clean and classy looking affair. The designers have elected to use a bold, yet somewhat understated colour scheme of the eye-catching red that is the colour of both the magazine and the film's titles and desaturated grey that is envelops most of the image. The three characters that dominate the poster are Orlando Bloom's Legolas who is positioned centrally due to his recognisability with the general public compared to Lee Pace's Thranduil on the right and Evangeline Lily's character of Tauriel on the left who had been created for the purposes of the films and is not the creation of the book's original author J.R.R. Tolkien but rather that of Peter Jackson and his fellow writers. They are each shown armed with Elven weaponry, his trademark bow in the case of Legolas and are all stood sideways. Tauriel is shown standing in a more feminine position that enables her to look over her shoulder in a manner reminiscent of a glamour model's photo shoot to add to her sex appeal, while the men are in more powerful positions. They are all faced towards the reader in order for the latter to personally engage with these characters and be drawn to the cover.
The text around the edge and centre of the magazine is important in demonstrating the audience that EMPIRE is trying to attract. The top banner feature a series of unrelated titles (with exclamation marks for unnecessary emphasis) hinting towards stories that are are covered within the magazine's pages, while above the title of 'The Hobbit' sequel are the words 'On Set In Middle Earth!' to provide an indication as to the nature of the feature about the film, promising a close up behind the scenes look at the work of the cast and crew. With the cover clearly dedicated to the characters of these elves so is the chief tagline. 'Here Come The Elves' is followed by the quote "Less Wise...More Dangerous", a simple statement that has perhaps been shown in quote marks to suggest it had been spoken by someone involved with the film, not just the magazine, in order to add credibility to what is, otherwise, a rather annoying phrase. While the magazine to this point had a very organised feel to it, with a stylistic approach of diagonally angled words (and barcode) in a crisp, classy combination of serif and sans-serif fonts, the addition of a large box advertising a '32-Page Comedy Special!' is somewhat unbefitting, with the images of Will Ferrell, Simon Pegg and Steve Coogan providing a contrastingly unattractive series of counterparts to the three pretty-faced men and women above. However, obviously, at thirty two pages this feature is a large part of the magazine and so what seem a waste not to advertise this fact, and of course they have to cater to a wide audience and so focusing strictly on 'The Hobbit' and its fanbase would be detrimental to the success of the issue.
The text around the edge and centre of the magazine is important in demonstrating the audience that EMPIRE is trying to attract. The top banner feature a series of unrelated titles (with exclamation marks for unnecessary emphasis) hinting towards stories that are are covered within the magazine's pages, while above the title of 'The Hobbit' sequel are the words 'On Set In Middle Earth!' to provide an indication as to the nature of the feature about the film, promising a close up behind the scenes look at the work of the cast and crew. With the cover clearly dedicated to the characters of these elves so is the chief tagline. 'Here Come The Elves' is followed by the quote "Less Wise...More Dangerous", a simple statement that has perhaps been shown in quote marks to suggest it had been spoken by someone involved with the film, not just the magazine, in order to add credibility to what is, otherwise, a rather annoying phrase. While the magazine to this point had a very organised feel to it, with a stylistic approach of diagonally angled words (and barcode) in a crisp, classy combination of serif and sans-serif fonts, the addition of a large box advertising a '32-Page Comedy Special!' is somewhat unbefitting, with the images of Will Ferrell, Simon Pegg and Steve Coogan providing a contrastingly unattractive series of counterparts to the three pretty-faced men and women above. However, obviously, at thirty two pages this feature is a large part of the magazine and so what seem a waste not to advertise this fact, and of course they have to cater to a wide audience and so focusing strictly on 'The Hobbit' and its fanbase would be detrimental to the success of the issue.