Magazine Conventions on a Front Cover

I believe it is very important to include a number of conventions on a magazine front cover. Below I have inserted a magazine that employs a lot of techniques in order to attract their target audience, and encourage them to buy and read on.

Masthead- The masthead is the title of the magazine, and informs the reader on what they are reading. For my magazine, I will include a large prominent masthead, that follows my colour scheme, so I have a running house theme throughout all of my pages, this will help develop a professional feel. The audience will also recognise the magazine due to the masthead I create, as it is important for branding, and is always used for things like logos (however following an urban theme to it).

Main Image- The main image is the photo on the front cover that takes up around two thirds of the page. In most music magazines, it features a popular artist that the most important article is about. This dramatically increases the number of sales a magazine has, due to devoted music fans, being interested in a specific artist, and going out and purchasing the magazine, even if its not one they usually read. The image has to be clear and a head shot for the magazine to look professional, the model must also look straight into the camera lens, for the most effective front cover. I will feature this on my own page, and remember that is the angle my model needs to stand. For the genre of music I have picked, and after a little bit of research, I have come to the realisation that most rap stars look into the camera for CD covers, posters, videos etc. Thus, it would only be best for the model to do this pose on my cover.

Tagline/ Sell Line- A tagline is a small amount of text that is associated with a certain magazine. For example, ‘Mixmag’s tagline is ‘The World’s biggest dance music and clubbing magazine’ and ‘Q’s is ‘Discover Great Music’. These sell lines will feature on every issue, therefore viewers will become accustomed to which magazine it is is, just by hearing their slogan. The audience will also find out information in a quick, single sentence. For my magazine, I need to make sure it sums up my genre and ‘vibe’ well, to attract my target audience easily.

Cover Lines- This convention is short sentences that describes articles inside the magazine. This catches the reader’s attention and leaves them wanting to read the full article. On a traditional front cover, there is normally a main cover line connecting with the main image, and then several sub- cover lines. For my magazine, I aim to have 3-6 cover lines representing what can be read inside, this will also broaden my audience.

Barcode- A barcode is key for sales of the magazine, and not only keeps track of the amount of sales, but makes it a lot quicker for cashiers to scan the code. Magazine companies can keep track of where the most issues were sold, and at what time, this helps them narrow down the type of audience they have and who they are catering for. I will feature a barcode on my own magazine, therefore adding to the professional feel.

Magazine Conventions on 'MixMag'

Issue Number- An issue number helps keep track of what issue a reader is on. The more number of issues, usually suggests how long the magazine has been published for, if its a long time, this normally demonstrates that the magazine has a large target audience, and has interesting topics that keeps people going and buying their magazine again and again. I will include this convention, because it allows the readers to know what issue they are on, and which they might have missed.

Date- Similar to the issue number, this really establishes when the magazine came out. Nevertheless, it does offer more information. For instance, music fans may know when a new album/ song is out, and watch out for the date on the magazine, as the new music may be featured. I will use this convention as I think it connects with the audience and really lets them know key information.

Left Third- The start of the masthead and cover lines are important to the left third, and must be seen in shops where the full magazine is not shown. This indicates whether or not a reader would be interested in buying the magazine, therefore it needs to present thought-provoking stories and fit the genre they are looking for. I need to keep this in mind when creating my own front cover.