The document discusses several key elements of magazine cover design including the front cover image, masthead, sell lines, cover lines, color scheme, strips, and barcode. The front cover needs to attract readers' attention in 3-4 seconds and get them interested in purchasing the issue. Elements like the celebrity image, masthead, and exciting sell lines aim to quickly engage readers and communicate what's inside. Color, fonts, and layout also aim to professionally represent the magazine's brand and content.

2. The front cover of any magazine is the most crucial part of selling it;
because if the audience doesn’t like the design, it will not get sold.
Effectively, the front cover determines whether the brand succeeds
whilst also presenting the publications character and content.
Also each issue of the magazine needs to be recognisable to the brand,
regardless of the theme. For example, the magazine may be having a
special edition such as ‘25 Year Anniversary’ and have a unique design,
but the audience need to be able to recognise it and pick it out amongst
many other magazines on the shelf.
Furthermore, the theme will change with each issue (whether it be
weekly, monthly or annually). The celebrity on the front will vary, as
well as the colour theme. However the magazine must remain
recognisable to the audience, whilst being interesting at the same time.

3. An image based front cover is the most common approach to magazine
cover design. This image should be displayed as the background of the
magazine but the person featuring on it should be centred so that cover
lines and tag lines can be displayed on each side.
The person/sometimes a few people would be shown waist up, making
eye contact with the camera (so that the audience feels connected to
them) and preferably smiling. This image should also be of high quality
so it makes the magazine look professional. And official.
The person featuring on the front cover will usually have an article
dedicated to them inside the magazine, which may encourage fans of
the celebrity to purchase it. This means the magazine also appeals to a
larger audience.

4. Magazines are consumer good and like any consumer good they are brands and
represent a certain company. The masthead of the magazine is considered their
logo and plays the role of making the magazine recognisable to the selected
audience.
The masthead should capture the publications content, character and attitude whilst
remaining versatile so that it can be used on other occasions.
The masthead of any magazine is on the top third of the page because in the UK,
magazines are displayed in shops so the left third of the magazine is shown. This is
why ‘Q’ magazine has their logo at the top left. However in the USA they are
presented in a waterfall display so the top third is the most visible. This gives the
reader a brief view of what the magazine will be like.
Music Magazine masthead’s are all unique and no two are the same, this is because
different magazines appeal to different audiences which is why they are all
designed differently.
Also the masthead short be short and catchy, this makes it easy to remember and
recognise. It will stand out at the most important thing on the front page as it is a
one word title.

5. The sell or tag lines are usually displayed above or below the masthead.
They give the reader a brief view of what the issue will feature and this
promotes the magazine by advertising the exclusive article the
magazine includes.
Usually sell lines include exciting vocabulary such as ‘Exclusive’ and
‘Special Edition’ and ‘Free’ or ‘Best ever’. This makes the reader feel
like they need to buy it or they’re missing out.
Also by using sell lines at the top it makes it the first thing the reader
will see, which will make their first impression either positive or
negative. Furthermore this powerful statement will be clear
immediately as marketing research suggests that an average person
spend 3-4 seconds on average glancing at cover pages. This means the
sell line should be perfect and encourage the reader to purchase the
product straight away.

6. Cover lines are short statements found
on the outer thirds of the magazine.
They are short because the editors do
not want to give away too much
information about what is inside the
magazine, but they need to give a
brief description.
Readers need to instantly spot the
interaction between the words and the
pictures so they can decide whether
what they are looking at is something
that they would be interested in.
Some magazine covers only have a
few cover lines to keep the focus on
the image, but others fill every empty
space with cover lines. It depends on
the character of the publication for
example, a Rock Magazine front
cover is jam-packed with information
However a fashion magazine tends to
focus on the images.

7. The main cover line is smaller than
the masthead but slightly bigger that
other ordinary cover lines.
The main cover line usually
promotes the main story featured in
the magazine for example, the
magazine showed on the right.
This cover line is bold and stands
out amongst the other colours and
conventions in order to catch the
reader’s eye.
Main cover line

8. The colour scheme is one of the most important
conventions of the front cover. The colour scheme on
a magazine has the potential to make the magazine
look more professional than it is or cheap.
Also the colour scheme helps to add a certain type of
genre and atmosphere that the magazine is trying to
portray. In a music magazine, the colour scheme is
used to portray the type of musical genre, and targets
the niche audience.
The fonts need to be a certain colour as to fit in with
the colour on the main image. Also colours need to
create contrast on the page as this would demand the
attention of the reader as it would stand out amongst
other magazines on the shelf.

9. Strips are featured at the top and bottom
of magazines. They include things which
the magazine contains such as below –
free posters.
This intrigues the reader to buy the
product – which is ultimately what the
consumer wants.
These are usually featured on magazines
that are aimed at younger niche
audiences; such as the Pop Magazine on
the left. This is because younger people
do not have money of their own to spend
or many things to do in life so they like
the idea of free things or gossip.
Strip

10. A barcode is a machine-readable code in the form of
numbers and a pattern of parallel lines of varying
widths, printed on a commodity and used especially
for stock control.
Barcodes do not contribute to the style or theme of
the magazine, they are purely there to transfer data.
A good magazine will always feature a barcode at
the bottom (preferably right) of the page. This is
because it follows the ‘Z’ layout. This is the layout
where the masthead/logo is featured on the top (left)
which is where the person first looks. Then the
readers eyes go to the image and main cover lines,
and then down to the bottom right where the
barcode will be.