Covers - DPS - Contents

1. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF
MAGAZINE COVER PAGES

2. Generic Codes and conventions for Country Music Magazines
Masthead- Title of the magazine normally bold and bright it helps catch the eye of the audience, entices them to buy that
particular magazine over competition . Sometimes Mastheads become well known helping the magazine company gain a
customer base and help the brand name come established
Central image- It's the central image in the magazine. It will always relates of the genre of the magazine. In my case the
image would relate to country music so maybe a country musician.
Cover lines- Tells the audience what they can expect to read in the magazine. It will always relate to the main photo. And
it helps draw the attention of the reader.
Puff and buzz- (Puff) it may in applies the reader can win a free gift. (buzz) are used to excite the reader this helps sell
because readers don't want to potentially miss out.
Positioning statement- also known as "slogan". This helps the company stand out from competition.
Colour themes- Colour themes match the genre of the magazine. For example Country magazines would have to use
colours which would entice their target audiences to buy the magazine.
Barcodes- Has to be on the front cover because the back cover normally has an advert.
Issue date- This has to be on the front cover so the audience know if they are buying the latest issue of the magazine.

3. Shot type - Close-up,
The subject stands
out giving a personal
relationship with the
reader – uses and
grat
Direct mode of
address -
connecting the
audience with the
artist - uses and grat
Three colour House Style – Red, Black and White. Low key lighting keep in with
this style. Can be seen as very gender neutral.
Masthead stands out from
the background drawing
attention to it especially
with the red M. Contrast
to the rest of the cover
Positioning – Rule of
Thirds, the eyes are
within the middle
segment of the cover
Text is plain and
bold contrasting the
background
Key words (this
case names) are
larger making it
stand out more

4. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF
MAVERICK MAGAZINE
• The Masthead is bold and stands out to the rest of the magazine. This is
easily recognisable to regular consumers and it stay’s consistent throughout
all issues. Mastheads are essential to magazines so that they are
recognisable, therefore I intend to use a bold masthead in my magazine.
• The subtitles are placed in an organised fashion and looks aesthetically
appealing.
• The colour scheme of this issue is Red, White and Black which suggests
that the magazine is targeted at a male audience. However, other issue of
this Magazine are much more colourful and brighter so we can see that
Maverick targets audiences dependant on issue than a universal audience.

5. House Style – Black, white
and yellow – gender neutral
Image placement – in front of text
Masthead is black -
stands out
Colours in letters –
unique & stands
out
Direct mode of
address –
personal
relationship
(uses and grat)
Main cover line
features artists
name and it stands
out enticing fans
Gender neutral
background
Date of issue
Variation is
subtitle colour
intrigues
audience and
draws them to
the text
Insight into
magazine to
draw viewers
in

6. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF
BILLBOARD MAGAZINE
• Lower case text on masthead is unusual for all magazines however the
recognisable company means that people know what it is
• The front cover image covers a large amount of the masthead. This means
that the magazine is confident that it is well known enough for people to
only need to see some of it to recognise the brand.
• Billboard use many eye catching colours to make it stand out to the viewers
however they don’t have a consistent colour scheme in all issues so
different issues will appeal to different audiences.
• Follows the similar conventions for all country music magazines where the
front cover isn’t rammed full of subtitles and information. This is something I
can incorporate into my magazine.

7. Magazine logo &
image covering the
title shows magazine
confident that it will be
recognised
Image placement – in
front of text
Masthead in lower
case – against the
norm & stays in
with generic house
style of black/white
& one different – in
this case a light
blue
Subtitles clear
and contrasting
against back
ground
Main cover line
features artists
name and it stands
out enticing fans
Direct mode of
address
Date of issue

8. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF
COUNTRY WEEKLY
• Masthead isn’t in bold capitals unlike other country magazines such as
Maverick but they rely of consumers knowing the brand from their logo and
parts of their masthead
• The image of the artist is clearly the main attraction on the page as it takes
up most of the space on the front cover, it is also very prominent as it laps
over the masthead giving a 3Dish effect to entice consumers. Artists on the
front cover tend to be the main subject and is a common convention for all
genres not just country. Therefore it’s essential that I use this in my own
magazine.
• Subtitles contrast the background and each topic of these are in bold to
attract the reader to the text.

9. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF
MAGAZINE CONTENTS AND DOUBLE
PAGE SPREADS

10. Main image taking up a
huge amount of space on
the spread, typical for
Country Weekly – it’s the
first thing the audience is
drawn to.
Color scheme
keeps in with
issue house
style –
professional
consistency
Lists of content
easily follow
able by
contrasting
colours
Text contrasting the
background making it
easy to read while bein
able to keep in with
professional house style
Image and stand alone text identifies the
main context of the issue drawing the
reader to this since it stands out from the
rest of the contents spread
Key information bold –
such as page
numbers, artist names,
features and
departments
Magazine
name and
date of
issue –
recent info

11. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF
COUNTRY WEEKLY CONTENTS
• One large bold image in covering the entirety of the contents spread. This is
the usual convention for Country Weekly to appeal to the reader. I will not
incorporate this in my magazine as this is only typical to this particular
company and doesn’t have the same effect as multiple smaller images to
draw attention of a reader to different topics to engage them
• Consistent layout with other issues with half of the spread on the whole
magazine and half on the main topic and focus
• Each issue tends to have a different colour scheme dependant on main
focus and topics so colours usually gender neutral to entice all audiences.

12. Date of issue – recent
information – informative
(uses and grat)
Bold Masthead with a red NME to
stand out and to keep in with their
house style.
Bold lines with
contrasting text to split
up the contents list.
Colour scheme is
black/white and red –
keep to this with black
text, white background
and red page numbers
– separates these to
the reader
Only text that breaks the
house style is a promotion to
attract the reader into buying
the magazine
The main image used for
this contents page is placed
towards the top of the page
below the masthead. This is
a conventional look for a
magazine contents page.
The image is quite large
which brings the attention of
detail to the image rather
than the text. There’s no
direct address which can be
an opposite effect of
grabbing the readers
attention.
The subtitle for the main
article is much larger
signaling the importance
to the reader. The text is
also much larger than the
rest of the article to further
show this

13. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF NME
CONTENTS
• NME have used a very mainstream colour scheme for their contents page.
Black, white and red gives the reader an attractive feature for their page.
The red on the page stands out against the black and white which is used to
emphasis key parts off the contents page.
• The text that has been used for this contents page is standard giving the
magazine a simplistic look. The masthead is in a large font placed at the top
of the page which is conventional with this type of magazine. The cover line
headers are place around the image to settle the main image. The text is in
a standard font and colour to further give a simplistic look for the magazine.

14. Magazine Logo showing
brand awareness
Lines separating the
page to make it easy
for consumers and to
keep in with
professional ethos
Bold Heading
Large page numbers with artists names on
the images to make it clear and easy for the
reader to navigate
Direct mode of
address – personal
relationship with
audience and artist
(uses and grat)
Large image to draw
attention as it’s
appealing. Mid shot
– black and white –
acts almost as a
background
Different section –
clear to see –
Information differs to
rest with info such as
websites etc.
Chart information, on all
Billboard magazine
contents – prominent on
the page and different to
almost all other
magazines – unique to
brand and recognizable
to readers.
Subtitles bold and
contrast the
background to attract
the reader. Follows
magazine colour
scheme of black/white
and light blue

15. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF
BILLBOARD CONTENTS
• Page split up into many section divided by clear lines. Keeps
the contents page organised and follows a square style layout
due to it’s appealing look.
• Images vary in size dependent in importance which draw the
audiences eye.
• Unique feature in the chart list to attract audiences every
week to keep up to date
• House style keeps in accordance to the Billboard masthead
(Black/Blue and bits of pink). It keeps the magazine
recognisable while keeping a professional consistency.

16. Pull quote
– draws
the
readers
eye to
entice
them –
much
larger & in
different
font to do
so
Image
used as a
backgroun
d –
common
convention
Main
image of
the article
stand
alone and
clear for
the reader
to see
Text contrasting the
background – reader can see
it clearer
Small image overlaps
onto the second page –
meant to stand out and
draw the reader
Large, bold title in different font to stand
out, Serif text to differ from the main
article.
Backgrounds are White and black
keeping in with Mavericks colour
scheme and house style
Red maverick, small but is
common with maverick –
recognisable to common readers
– keeps in with house syle
Article
keeps in
with a
professiona
l theme of
Maverick,
lots of text
and few
images to
present a
serious
ethos

17. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF
MAVERICK DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
• The main image doesn’t use direct mode of address and y using this
counter convention the reader is more focused on the content on the
pages.
• The house style is continued to keep a professional consistency and
it is in the typical Maverick style making it easily recognisable.
• The text and background differ on each side making the text stand
out while also keeping in with the house colour scheme.
• Both images used are in action long shot which don’t give away the
contents of the article straight away encouraging consumers to read
more.

18. Direct mode
of address –
Uses and grat
Billboard Logo &
colours present
keeping to the colour
scheme
Long shot of artist
covering a whole page to
draw attention to it and to
show what the article’s
about – typical with
Billboard
Text is on a
different
background
than the rest of
the spread –
clearly shows
where the
information is
Use of a drop cap to draw the reader
to the start of the article and then it
carries on with a typical smaller font.
Different font
which is larger
to give an
overview of the
article.
‘Primary Colours’ given an
effect to make it seem 3D to
stand out, the colours also
fit in with the titles as all
colours on the spread are
primary colours – keeps in
with house style

19. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF
BILLBOARD DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
• One large image of Taylor Swift covers half of the double
page spread – this is typical for billboard as it both draws
attention to the image as well as giving it an aesthetically
pleasing and professional feature that go’s along with the rest
of the spread.
• Gender neutral background is countered by a feminine theme
to the spread with a variety of bright colours and an image of
a female star
• Uses of many features such as direct mode of address and
drop cap to entice reader into reading the article as well as
usage of a clear divide between text and the background
(white box)

20. Typical
close up of
artist to
draw
attention to
it as well
as notify
the
audience
as to what
the articles
about
Background split between red and light
blue to appeal to both genders. Also
keeps in with Q’s colour scheme of
red/white and black
Magazine logo
and page
number
Pull quote from the artist
to attract the reader and
break up the long text
Two Drop caps used to
show which parts of the
article are most important
as well as breaking up the
text
DPS Title small and keeping
in with the colour scheme to
draw attention to other parts
of the article
Initial of artist ‘J’ – links
the artist to the article –
Signature house style
colours – red, white,
black - recognisable

21. CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF Q’S
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
• The first thing we notice on this spread is the big ‘J’ on the article. This
is one of their unique selling points as it stands out from the text on the
article; it also has that contemporary feeling of the genre hip hop as the
background of the image of Jay Z looks like something you would see
on a hip hop music video.
• The signature house style of the magazine is continued on the double
page spread which creates a professional consistency and allows the
page to be easily recognisable – this is something I will do in my
magazine
• Image of artist uses half the double page spread, this emphasises that
this is the subject of the article
• White background makes the text stand out while complying with the
colour scheme.