The document summarizes key codes and conventions used in magazine covers and design. It discusses common elements like mastheads, cover lines, images and headlines that are used to attract readers. While most magazines follow similar conventions, entertainment magazines sometimes adapt conventions like using wider shots that promote the media form rather than just celebrities. The document also provides an example magazine cover, deconstructing elements like the masthead, menu, strapline, main image and use of color to engage readers of the Hunger Games franchise.

1. Magazine
Codes & Conventions

2. masthead
Pug/Puff
Splash
-accompanied by main story’s
headline and main image
Strapline – ‘TV, style, straight talk’
Tags – ‘hot 25’, ‘ultimate’
Lure – rhetorical question makes reader
read inside
coverline
Cover model
Secondary lead

3. Cover Images
-usually the main feature of the article
-professional photographs taken in studio
-close-up/medium close-up shot of celebrity
-direct mode of address from celebrity and in cover lines
-commonly only 1 person (the artist/ celebrity) features on the cover

4. HOWEVER,
-in entertainment magazines some of these typical magazine
conventions are not adhered to because of their unique genre
-direct mode of address is still commonly used for dramatic effect
but, because models are in usually modelling as their film/tv
character, their facial expression will be reflecting this = more
important and still engaging for an audience
-close-ups shots are still common when feature is focused on a
single model but wide shots and medium shots are also popular
to focus on the mise-en-scene of the film/tv series than just a
celebrity or character = promotes the media form more

5. Masthead
-to create a trademark and brand identity
-its role is to be recognisable to an audience as a brand
-usually one or two words
-fills width of top of cover or positioned in top left corner
-if two words, sometimes stacked to fit, with more prominent
and stand out word bold

6. Features
-pug/puff = offers something with the magazine as an incentive to buy,
e.g. voucher, ‘win’, free gift
-buzz words = used to attract attention to other parts of the cover away
from the main article, e.g. ‘exclusive’, ‘plus’
-barcode = often found near bottom right corner, a reminder for the
audience to buy the magazine, usually found alongside the date and
price of the issue
Cover lines – used to attract the audience to other articles and entice
the reader to pick up and read the magazine
Strip – across top or bottom of magazine and contains a list of items
which feature = conveys that magazine is full of stories and audience is
getting value for money

7. Masthead – creates a sense of brand identity
due to the iconic ‘Entertainment Weekly’
typography
Menu – creates an insight into articles
and contents inside the magazine
Main heading – ‘Catching Fire’ is
the title of the upcoming Hunger
Games movie, grabs fans attention
and creates an immediate buzz.
Strapline - features buzz words ‘exclusive
preview’ and tag ‘Fall’s hottest movie’ to further
entice the readers who have been attracted by
the main headline of The Hunger Games.
Strip – contains an insight of an additional feature
in the magazine which conveys that the magazine
contains many interesting stories and an array of
films, thus the audience will receive value for
money.
does not include a barcode, language
suggests that this is a digital and interactive
version of the magazine, ‘tap any headline
or photo to read that story’. This is
representative of the decline in print
magazine sales but rise in multi-platform
media.
Main image – Jennifer Lawrence as Katiness Everdeen in The Hunger Games
trilogy, culturally competent audiences would recognise her from the mise-
en-scene. Direct Mode of Address, wind swept hair, bow and arrow on her
back represents her character as a strong female lead character, challenging
stereotypes.
Colour – blue, contrasting to the strong
female representation, is a stereotypically
masculine colour. The use of this colour
challenges the connotations of stability,
expertise, confidence and intellect being
associated with males by associating them
with a strong female with these attributes.
Colour – orange gradient background
reflects the ‘fire’ in the masthead, a
strong contrast to blue colour scheme
Pug – promotes the multi-cover
editions, a new method of classic
distribution.

8. History of Magazines
-usually a periodical publication
-generally published on a regular schedule with a variety of content
-financed by: advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions or combination
Types of magazines:
Consumer – most popular and common, thus targeted at a large and general
population, catering to special interests
Trade and Professional – target professionals working in business or trade, offering
advice within a certain industry
In-House – printed for non-profit organisations and special interest groups, e.g.
university periodicals and medical journals