The appearance of the room is that it is comfortable and homely. There is an old wooden table, a comfortable cushion, and an old style chair. The chair is very traditional and old in style, and they have chosen these furnishings as it is stereotypically how we perceive elderly people. Elderly people are stereotyped to being old and traditional rather than modern, so the brochure has been designed to appeal to them, and it signifies a comfortable, easy lifestyle.
There is no specific activity in the image, the two just seem to be having a good time in a relaxed environment, which in turn makes the manner of the brochure very relaxed too. This relaxed manner makes the brochure appeal to its target audience, if the cover were more formal in manner it would seem too serious and would not attract people to it. The fact that the manner is so relaxed appeals to people as it seems more casual which in turn seems less complicating and more understandable. It appears more personal which appeals to the individual and not just the group, e.g. the target audience is set as a group of individuals and not just a group.
There is little in the way of text on the cover of the brochure, this also makes it seem more casual and relaxed. To the top of the cover there is the word ‘retiring?’ in big, bold letters. This is so that it draws attention to it and is the first thing people look at, it therefore anchors the image and the signfiers so that the desired meaning is met. The rest of the words have been chosen from their paradigms to give their preferred meanings. The text says, ‘Your pension and other benefits’, they have used the word ‘your’ to make it seem more personal, and the word ‘pension’ is usually only associated to elderly people so it relates the text to the target audience. The word ‘and’ suggests in addition to, which makes it seem like the brochure contains plenty of information relevant to the audience, and by putting ‘other benefits’ on the end of this it makes it seem like the rest of the information is going to be good for them. It also seems slightly intriguing, and makes the target audience want to read he brochure to find out what benefits are available to them.
In conclusion, the relaxed manner, the homely environment and the happy appearance of the two people help to give the desired effect, and the text used cements all the signifieds to give the desired meanin and effect.
