Magazine Front Covers

The importance of a magazine front cover: 

The front cover of magazine is a vital part of selling the magazine. A magazine front cover is important because it is the first thing the audience/reader will see, therefore it needs to be eye-catching. Each magazine front cover has to be different from the previous issue however similar enough for their audience to recognise it. On every issue of the magazine the masthead and logo will remain exactly the same in size and will stay in the same place. However it is likely that the colour scheme will change to make it related to the main image on the cover. When designing magazine front covers, several ideas should be tried and tested with a target audience. However most magazine do not have enough time to do this, so they have to make sure that they spend time on seriously designing the magazine front cover.

The conventions of a magazine front cover:

In order for a magazine to sell successfully, they should follow the conventions of a magazine. The conventions of a magazine help to make the front cover aesthetically pleasing to the audience as well as provide a solid structure for the magazine. If the conventions are poorly followed or aren't followed at all it will make the audience less likely to buy the magazine. 

Masthead:

The masthead usually appears across the top of the magazine front cover, because of this it is the first thing that the audience will read. The masthead is written in bold, large font this is to show that it is the main title on the magazine front cover; it is also written in a different font to headlines, cover-lines and bylines on the front cover, this helps to reinforce the idea that it is the main text on the front cover. The masthead needs to be the similar on each issue to make it instantly recognisable to its audience. This means that the target audience will easily be able to find the magazine when it is placed on a shelf filled with other magazines. The colour of the masthead will often vary on each issue so that it matches the colour scheme of the magazine front cover.  The masthead of a magazine is usually just one word because it is easier for the audience to remember because it is brief. 

Main Image:

The main image is the most eye-catching image on the magazine front cover. The image usually shows the person/persons looking at the camera; preferably smiling. The main image is often linked to the main article/feature within the magazine. In most cases the person/persons on the front cover are the main reason why the issue sells; this is why some magazine front covers with celebrities on sell more copies than ones that don’t.

Headline:

The headline summaries the main article/feature within the magazine to a sentence or phrase. The headline is always linked to the main image on the magazine front cover. The headline font is smaller than the masthead but it bigger than the cover-line; this is to make it stand out amongst other sell-lines to show that it is the most important article/feature within the magazine. 

Coverline:

A cover-line usually has smaller font than the masthead and headline, but has larger font than the bylines. Cover-lines are used to give more information about the main headline article to make you read on. 

Byline: 

A byline is the headline and text of a smaller, less important article/feature within the magazine. Bylines are usually found on with the left or right hand side of the magazine front covers so that they don't cover the main image. Bylines have a small font, this is to highlight that they are not the most important article/feature in the magazine. 

Colour Scheme:

Colour schemes are used on magazine front covers to make them more eye-catching and atheistically pleasing. When a magazine determines its colour scheme they consider what colours will work with the main image and the genre of the magazine. The colour scheme helps to add a specific atmosphere to the magazine front over and emphasise the genre of the magazine. The colour scheme of the magazine will help to attract the target audience. 

Strap-Line:

A strap-line is a thin band of text, either at the top or bottom of a magazine front cover. The strap-line previews the articles/features that will be inside the magazine. It helps to show the audience that they magazine is full of articles and will therefore be getting good value for money. 

Barcode:

A barcode is a small image of bars and spaces, they are usually found in the bottom left hand corner of the magazine. Barcodes do not contribute to the theme 0r design of the magazine however they are compulsory because they are used to identify the product. 

Puff/Starburst:  

A puff/starburst is a shape used to draw attention to the text written on top of it. It draws attention to it because it is different to the rest of the magazine however it dos follow the colour scheme of the magazine front cover. 

Pug:

A pug is usually found in the top left hand or right hand corner of the magazine (it usually appears under the masthead).  Pugs usually contain the price of the magazine, the issue number and the date.