front cover of a magazine

1. The front cover of a
magazine is the selling
point, it is the most important
as it is what the customer will
look at first. A magazine cover must
be eye catching and interesting to grab
the readers attention. The logo of a
magazine brand will stay the same on every
issue as this is a way from people to recognise a
magazine they previously enjoyed looking at possibly
making them buy it again, it will positioned in the same
place but may involve different colours to make that
particular issue distinctive. Different magazines will appeal to
different types of people depending on what genre the persons
likes and what music they listen to. Most music magazines will have a
main image of a famous or popular figure as this is an attraction point
from buyers, this figure will represent the type of music genre that the
magazine presents.

2.  The main image on a front cover of a magazine is what attracts the reader and draws
them in, making it a very important part of the cover. One way of doing this is having a
current popular artist as this will automatically be a selling point.
 After looking into different music and school magazines the usual way a cover photo is
taken is from the waste up, it is mainly a photo of one person in particular, although this
does vary in music when having a cover involving a group/band. The main image
should be positioned taking up most of the page but also making sure that there is
space around the sides and at the top for sell lines and the masthead. The space in the
background will be filled with text explaining what will be inside the magazine, this is
supposed to attract the readers making them intrigued and want to read the articles.
 The main image should relate to the main story that is advertised in the magazine as this
is the largest way of attraction and must be the most interesting.
 Also to make to reader attracted to the cover most magazines have the artist looking
directly into the camera, Asif they are making eye contact with the buyer as this is
shown to be a way of drawing in the reader.
 All magazines must look professional to do this they must follow a colour scheme
throughout meaning the main image must tie in with the text, using similar colours.

3.  The masthead one of the most important parts of a front cover
of a magazine. It is usually positioned at the top of the page as it
follows the conventions of the ‘Z’ rule. The mast head is the fist
thing that a person would look at when picking up a magazine
as it connotes the genre and style of the magazine itself. It will
give an idea of what type of artists, music, and articles etc that
will be presents throughout.
 The masthead must be large and bold to attract the readers
attention, to make them want to buy that magazine rather than
any other. It must be short ad catching as this will allow people
to remember the name. Usually the masthead of magazines will
differ slightly but change in style if they are a series. Each issue
will be made to be recognisable for readers. A masthead can
be of any colour and style depending on the style the magazine
wishes to portray. The masthead will have the largest font out of
all of the text on the cover as it is the name/title of the magazine
representing its style so it must be clear to see.

4.  The logo of a magazine is very important as they
allow the magazine to become recognisable to all
readers, this can become a selling point as it makes
the magazine have value. Each magazine has a
unique logo this allows it to be recognised easier.
Usually the logo of a magazine will be placed in the
same place on the cover to all the rest of the issue to
make it noticeable.
 The logo is very important on the cover of a
magazine as it makes the magazine a statement, the
brand adds business selling more copies. The logo is a
way of being able to know the genre and style of a
magazine without having to read anything making it
a popular way of advertising.

5.  The sell lines are normally positioned wither
above or below the masthead, there purpose
is to give the reader a quick incite on what the
magazine will be featuring and what the is
about overall. The use of a sell line is to sell the
magazine by advertising its main articles and
stories by using catching short sentences, in a
music magazine is usual for it to have names of
artists as this attract people who like that artists
or there style of music. It may also use words to
make the issue sound unique and an
interesting read , words such as ‘exclusive’ and
‘special’.

6.  A cover line is positioned down the left hand
side or the right hand side of the magazine
cover, that are surrounding the main image
following the conventions of a magazine. The
use of s cover line is to promote the articles
inside the magazine, the use short statements
and slogans to attract the reader. They are
used to intrigue the reader and make them
want to read the stories inside. often
magazines use the same slogans and words as
cover lines again. This is because of the
success they have had before, they feel that
as it has attracted many readers before it will
do it again.

7.  The main cover line has the largest typeface out of
the rest of the text apart from the masthead this is
due to it being the second thing the writer would
want the viewer to read after the masthead. The
main cover line is advertising the magazines biggest
story, they choose the one that they feel is most
popular, this could be popular celebrity at the time
or a statement about a most talked about
issue/article. The main cover line usually is linked to
the main image on the cover as this further promotes
the story. The main cover line is made to stand out
using bold text usually in a different font or colour
than the rest of the cover lines to make it stand out
even further although it Is usually the same colour as
the masthead.

8.  The colour scheme of a magazine is important as it can
represent the genre and style of the magazine. For
example a pop magazine would use pinks and light blues
where as a rock magazine would use red, back and
white. This is to appear appealing to there target
audience. Different colours represent different genres. The
colours used can vary the presentation of the magazine
making it look professional. Different magazines use
different colours depending on the niche audience they
want to attract depending on the content of the
magazine. The colour scheme of a magazine also ties with
the main image portraying the type of image they wish to
show. Although some colours are used to contrast others
and to make them stand out among the page o that the
most important text will grab the readers attention.

9.  The strip is positioned along the top or the
bottom of the front cover. The job of a strip
is to show a lost of what the magazine
consist of. This could be stories written
about, artists included or particular games
that are inside, they are usually only a list of
single words. They are written to attract the
reader and show them the amount of
different articles and people that they can
read about if they were to buy the
magazine.

10.  The bar code is usually placed at the bottom
of the magazine, it is usually quite small as it is
not something that needs to be seen, this is
also because it follows the conventions of the
‘Z’ method. The reason they are positioned at
the bottom of the page is because of the fact
that this is the last place hat the reader will
look. They are small as a barcode is not a
selling point of a magazine , although they
must be there as this is how you buy the
magazine and it helps to keep track of how
many magazines have been brought showing
which ones are most popular.