This document summarizes and compares the design elements of magazine covers for Gorezone, Fangoria, and Empire magazines. For Gorezone, the color scheme is bright but still conveys horror themes through red. The layout positions the central image with stories around it. The image shows a model with blood but it's unclear if it's hers. Bold colored text stands out. Fangoria uses dark colors associated with horror like black, red, yellow and white. The layout neatly spaces the well-positioned image. The bloody, sinister image implies a supernatural horror. Text separates the bold magazine name from cover lines. Empire uses a desaturated dramatic color scheme with contrasting red. The overlapping image and title show importance. Descript

1. Magazine Covers
Alice Sophie Turrell

2. Gorezone

3. The colour scheme is quite bright
using reds, blues and white. Although
the colours used are bright, the horror
themes are still shown through the red
colour.
The colour scheme for the image
contrasts this, as it is significantly
darker, opting for black and kaki
colours mainly as well as red.
These colours make the cover stand
out, however they do not straight away
give a strong indication towards horror
films.
Colour Scheme

4. The layout for this is relatively simple
and conforms to typical magazine
conventions. For example, the title
stretches across the top of the
magazine, with the slogan underneath.
The positioning of the image is central
to the magazine, with the stories
surrounding her face. In terms of the
overall positioning of the stories, I
think they would have looked better
spread out more rather than cluttered
around her face.
This cover uses the rule of thirds
well, as it puts the models face along
one of the focus points so the viewer
would naturally look there first.
Layout

5. The image used fills the majority
of the composition. With the
model staring straight ahead at
the camera which creates a eerie
look seeing as she seems “dead”
and emotionless. The blood on
her clearly shows the horror
theme, but it is unsure if it is hers
or if she is the antagonist.
Although the image uses quite
dark colours, it is quite bright
which enhances the bright red
colours.
Image

6. The text on this is quite bold and
stands out well as it is in colour
instead of black which would have
blended in with the shadows on the
image. The title of the magazine
stands out well due to the shadow
and the sharp font.
In terms of what the text says, it just
gives the reader a taster of what will
be in the magazine. For example just
saying names of people or brief
overviews of what the article will be
about.
Text

7. Fangoria

8. This magazine cover has a very
dark, stereotypical colour
scheme for horror. Focusing on
using black, red, yellow and
white which reflect the horror
ideas. Especially the red which
connotes blood and black which
connotes evil and darkness.
The white and yellow goes well
as well as they show up well
against the back and red.
Colour Scheme

9. The layout for this is quite
neat, with a lot of space around
the image so it does not look
crowded and claustrophobic. The
layout clearly shows that the
coverline going across the
bottom is the main one and
linked into the image.
This cover uses the rule of thirds
effectively, positioning the
magazines name in the top
half, the focal point of the image
in the middle, and the main
article coverline along the
bottom.
Layout

10. The image use for this gives off
strong indications that the
magazine is aimed at horror films
due to all the blood and animal
teeth. Due to the cover model
looking off to the side adds a
more sinister feel, and as though
she got caught. Other than the
teeth, she looks normal so that
gives an indication that the image
is showing the ideas of a
supernatural horror and that she
is the antagonist.
Image

11. The name of the magazine is in a bold
font, which creates the shape of fangs
at the end. This bold font makes it
clear what the magazine is and
separates it from the cover lines. The
cover lines are in yellow and
white, separating them from the rest
of the cover. The main cover line
along the bottom is in a bolder font to
make it stand out more and link it
more to the image.
In terms of what the text says, it just
give names of movies and a very brief
description of what the article/film is
about.
Text

12. Empire

13. The colour scheme is mainly
very desaturated, giving the
cover a more dramatic feel.
The desaturated look also is
similar to the colours used in
the film that is being
advertised. The red used helps
make the attention grabbing
parts of cover even more
powerful, as the bright red
contrasts with the darker
tones.
Colour Scheme

14. The layout for this is slightly
different, with the coverline creating a
sort of 3D effect, with them being
pulled behind the cover image. The
fact that the cover image is over
lapping the title shows that he and the
film he is promoting is big and
important.
This cover uses the rule of thirds, but
slightly different to the previous
magazines I have looked at. For
example, “INCEPTION” is bold and
cutting right across the middle section
of the magazine, with the image going
vertically through the centre.
Layout

15. The image in this is also different to
the images in previous magazine I
have looked at, as it is not a
portrait, instead its almost full
length. For the movie this is
advertising, this works best as it
shows the star in a more powerful
stance. This also shows the gun in
his hand which hints towards the
themes of the movie. The colouring
works with the rest of the image, as
it desaturated, dark and shadowy
like the background.
Image

16. The text on the cover is fairly
simple, just mentioning the names of
directors and movies with a small
piece of description. This helps to tell
the reader whats in the magazine
without giving too much away. The
review about Inception “THE
MATRIX MEETS 007 ON
STEROIDS” really talks up the
film, comparing it to two different
highly popular movies. This will
make the reader want to read on.
In terms of font, its constant
throughout the cover, being bold and
simple. This helps to attract the
audience and make the coverlines
visible, while not taking too much
attention away from the image.
Text