This document analyzes the design elements used on the front cover of two magazines. For the first magazine covering the Joker, it summarizes that a sans-serif font, large text sizes, and a bold masthead are used to appeal to a young audience. The creepy image of the Joker in distinctive clothing and makeup entices readers. Dark colors create an unsettling atmosphere. For the second magazine covering Leonardo DiCaprio, it notes the use of a wide shot that shows his suit, creating intrigue, while mist in the image adds mystery. Pale colors emphasize the mist and red headlines stand out. Both covers follow conventions like using the route of the eye to guide reading.

2. TYPOGRAPHY
 On the front cover of empire they use a variety of san-
serif fount, they do this to appeal to their youthful
target audience because they are informal and appeal
to the younger ages. They have used large font sizes
to help attract people to the magazine and the use of
the bold masthead helps to maximise brand awareness
due to it’s size. The cover story’s on the front are in a
smaller text but the use of san-serif font helps them
stand out and catch the eye of the reader.

3. IMAGE
 The use of the long shot of the joker on the front cover
allows the reader to see what mise-en scene he is
wearing, the use of him wearing a green and purple suit
makes him seem slightly creepy which entices the reader
as they want to find out why he’s on the front. They have
also used his conventional make-up to make him seem
slightly creepy.

4. COLOUR
 They have used dark colours in the background of the
image to make the atmosphere seem unsettling as the
characters is quite disturbing. They have used bright
colours to attract the readers eye and the colour
scheme they’ve used matches the jokers clothes
creating a contrast between the font and image.

5. LAYOUT
• They have followed the route of eye approach
on the cover so the user reads all the stories
on the front. They have used the hotspots on
the rule of thirds to advertise the stories. The
use of the route of eye allows the reader to
identify the brand and identify the stories.

6. LANGUAGE
 They have used informal text on the front
cover to appeal to their youthful audience,
they have used text such as “mass murdering
clown” and “meet the joker” these entice the
audience because they want to read more
about the joker and what he is about.

7. CONVENTIONS OF FORM AND GENRE
• This front cover is conventional to the horror
genre this is because the joker is wearing make-
up which is a conventional item for a horror
character to make him more creepier. He is also
surrounded by black colours which makes him
seem even more unsettling which is conventional
for a horror film as the character is made to scare
the viewer.
• This front cover is conventional to form, this is
because it includes a masthead in bold which
displays the brand name, cover stories which tell
the reader what’s inside (the use of bold colours
attract them to this part of the magazine). The use
a bold image on the cover is also conventional to
form because it tells the reader what the main
story is about, in this case it’s the joker.

8. TYPOGRAPHY
 The use of a bold masthead attracts the audience to the
brand name, the use of bold cover story’s help attract the
reader to different parts of the magazine which entices
them to read on in the magazine as they want to know
what’s going on. The use of san-serif font appeals to the
youthful audience which they have and makes the
magazine less informal which appeals to their target
audience.

9. IMAGE
• They have used an image of Leonardo Di Caprio
on the front cover, they have used a wide shot so
the reader can see what he is wearing. The use
of him wearing a suit displays his intelligence and
makes the reader want to read on and find out
why he is on the front. The use of the mist in the
image helps make the character look mysterious
and detective like signifying his intelligence and
power. The use of the cover story image reveals
what else is inside the magazine so the reader
gets a more visual idea of what the story is about.

10. COLOUR
• On the front cover they have used
colours in the background which are
pale to help emphasise the misty
effect they have on the image. They
also have used red for their cover
stories to help the stories stand out
in front of the image to attract the
attention of the readers.

11. LAYOUT
• They have used the route of eye
approach on this front cover this
helps the reader identify the key
aspects of the magazine. They
have also used a bold masthead
at the top to maximise brand
awareness and the use of cover
story’s identify the smaller stories
involved in the magazine.

12. LANGUAGE
• On this front cover they have used a
series of short phrases to make it
easier for the audience to read and
also when the audience glance at it,
the stories catch their eyes and they
then buy it because they are enticed in
the magazine.

13. CONVENTIONS OF FORM AND GENRE
• The conventions of form are the
masthead is the largest part of the
magazine and is located at the top of the
page. There is one main image and the
cover story is the 2nd largest font. There
are also cover lines around the magazine
and the use of left third is also applied on
the front cover.
• The conventions of genre are the fog
creates a mysterious effect on the
character which makes the reader
wonder why they have made him look
like this. They have also use red colours
which connote blood and anger which is
conventional for the horror genre.