The document analyzes conventions used in magazine front covers across several regional magazines in the UK. It finds that mastheads typically use serif fonts in bold and contrasting colors to stand out. Sell lines are the second largest text and intrigue readers with short, catchy phrases. Images mainly feature models making eye contact to create engagement, and models are styled to portray wealth and sophistication through clothing, accessories, and backdrop. Common colors, fonts, and layouts create cohesion and appeal across the magazines' front covers.

1. Magazine Codes and
Conventions
Front Cover

2. Kensington & Chelsea
Masthead - Region of magazine within the title, serif font, black and bold
which stands out on the monotone background
Main image - off centred model, direct eye contact gives direct mode of
address creating a personal relationship with the reader, the dark clothing of
the model makes the image look dramatic against the white/grey background,
dressed in sophisticated expensive looking clothing, the large jumping dog
next to the model suggests wealth as stereotypical authoritative rich men own
big animals (e.g tigers) as a figure of wealth.
Side text/sell lines - written all in capitals apart from the odd words written in
a curly font, the curly font attracts a more upper class audience due to the
fanciness,
Footer - placed at the bottom of the page, bit more information about what’s
inside the magazine, brief details explaining what there is
Bar code - bottom left hand corner
Date - very small writing underneath masthead (left)

3. Cheshire
Masthead - serif font, bold, gold in colour appealing to people of
wealth as gold is a authoritative colour, middle centred
Main image - pitch black background, model slightly off centred
with the horse centred, horse is a statement of wealth as owning
a horse is an expensive hobby and associated with wealth, the
expensive clothing worn by the model and the way the jacket
hangs off the shoulders portrays a more sophisticated look, the
contrast between the light coloured image and the back black
drop enhances the model and horse
Barcode - left bottom corner
Date - very small writing underneath masthead (left)
Side text/ sell lines- written in white, some of the text written in a
slightly spiral font, both bits of text located to the left of the main
image

4. Kent Life
Masthead - Bold white website, recognisable, every kent life magazine has
the same mast head, the white contrasts the background enhancing the words
Side text/ sell lines - linear structure, attracts target audience, east
find/navigate to, switches between colours yellow and white, this
complements the main images colours, the dominant colour yellow highlights
the subtitles making it easy to find
Barcode - bottom right corner, out of focus
Main image - shallow depth of field, focusing on a flower, background colour
almost one colour which highlights the in focus flower
Images - more than one image, intrigue others into magazine, more to look at,
more interesting
Larger text - draws the audience's attention more due to the size, portrays
more importance, different font from everything else more fancy
Add-on - the yellow circle located top right, stands out

5. Exclusive
Masthead - dark deep blue, blue complements the background of light blue also
linking to the fact the main image is pictured on the beach so the colour of the
work matches the colour of the sea, overlaps the models head, making it
authoritative as it’s needs to stand out
Sub heading/ sell line - ‘sunshine chic’ this is linking the main image to the
subheader, the use of language may intrigue the target audience to see what’s
inside the magazine
Main image - model is central, direct mode of address so i.e. eye contact, sat on
the beach, shallow depth of field so model is in focus, dressed in white young
bikini draws attention to the target audience (young female adults)
Side texts - all in a mixture of colours (blue, white, red) these all stand out
against the background and add excitement to the front cover due to the
different colours
Puff - ‘The best local events in your area’ this intrigues readers as they will want
to know what these ‘best events’ are, the blue of the circle makes the puff a
dominant part of the page as your eyes draw towards it as the deep colour
stands out

6. Surrey
Masthead - the region it represents, first letter is
larger and bolder, white to contrast the dark navy
background, serifs font
Price - no barcode on the front cover however
there is a price in the top right hand corner
Main image - full face, shallow depth of field,
direct mode of address, a darker filter is used on
the background and the model is lit up to make
her the main attraction of the front cover, red lip
used and bold brows make her face interesting to
look at

7. The Bristol Magazine
Masthead - serif font, large, placed behind model’s head, vibrant purple, still able
to read what it says even though it is placed behind the model and missing partial
letters.
Price - placed underneath the title, small lettering, £3.95, however no barcode on
the front of the page.
Text - subheading (sell line)larger than the masthead however is lower down the
page, san serif font, white, capitals. Small chunk below this subheading,
summarising the main focus of this magazine.
Banner - placed at the foot of the page, a quote expressing the magazine,
capitals, small font, white
Main image - shallow depth of field, model main focus, direct mode of address
(eye contact), mise en scene-dressed in a floral dress; minimal makeup; natural
hair, complementing the subheading ‘ Garden State’, the background is a blur of
greens and yellow representing nature and again referring to the subheading
‘garden state’.

8. Common Conventions of Mastheads
● The majority of regional magazine titles are written in a Times New
Roman serif font, most of the time the mastheads are the contrasting
colour to the background making it stand out in the best white i.e a
dark navy blue background with a bright white masthead.
● Mastheads are there to stand out, and catch your eye. The
masthead is normally the biggest font on the page, it need to be
recognisable as a brand. Regional magazine mastheads tend to
have serif font which is a more sophisticated way to display the title,
therefore appealing more to an older audience.
● Capitals play a big part in completing a masthead, the fact the letters
are all capitals mean they are mainly the same size therefore linking
more together and looking smoother, which brings the magazine
together, it also makes the masthead stand out more whilst being in
capitals.
I am going to take this research onboard whilst creating my own regional
magazine and use some of these techniques.

9. Common Conventions Sell Lines
● Sell lines are usually the second largest font on the page however
some regional magazines do not have the conventional sell lines. It
tends to be bold, the line is meant to draw the audience in and make
them continue to read the magazine. This is why they’re short
however catchy. They refer to the regional magazines target audience
therefore are made for that selected audience a common technique
used to gain more customers in their targeted market - to maximise
the profits made.
● The text written underneath the main sell line, is a sentence or two
explaining briefly what the article will be about, this again is meant to
intrgue the audience to read into the magazine ( preferably to this
article). It leaves the reader with unanswered questions which they will
want to know.
● The colour scheme will fit in the front covers so it is all appealing to
the eye.

10. Common Conventions of Sub Text
● Each subtext mostly has short text (similar to the
sell lines) to entice the audience in, they’re short
and briefly explain what’s going to be in the article
● Again they conform to the colour scheme of the
front cover therefore the magazine is nice to look at
and flows.
● Some magazine do not have the conventional sub
text and are very plain with just an image/ image
and sell line.
● The fonts are different to conform with the theme of
the front cover, normally the smaller font on the

11. Common conventions of the Image
● Most of the images on the regional magazines I
researched are mid-shots of models, with direct mode
of address (eye contact) this creates a personal
attraction with the audience. However there were a few
with pictures of objects and scenery e.g. kent life had
its main image of a flower with a shallow depth of field.
● Mise en scene - the presentation of each model
portrays a sophisticated persona, their clothing is smart
and their makeup is elegant, most conventions use a
female model, however I found a male model on one of
the regional magazines even though he was male he
still conformed to the sophisticated persona whilst
dressed in a smart suit and top hat. The smart
sophisticated look may attract an older target audience.