This document provides a comparison of two magazine covers - a student magazine cover and a more professionally designed cover. It notes several ways the professional cover is improved: it uses larger and more eye-catching images with direct eye contact; more authentic fonts; a consistent color scheme; more detailed and varied cover lines; and inclusion of relevant information like artist names to create a stronger sense of genre. It also has less blank space and looks busier overall. In contrast, the student cover lacks these conventions and has a less polished, focused design.

1. More
authentic, realistic
selling line
Knowledge of
conventions e.g. large
masthead at the top of
the page, the cover
artist is giving eye
contact
Better editing of the
photo – has been
made into focus and
is bright/more eyecatching than the
student magazine
Better fonts – I have
used fonts that are
not commonly seen in
normal
texts, magazines
have more authentic
styles and use fonts
to match the genre
Barcode
More detailed cover lines,
different fonts/sizes and
colours (mixture of white,
yellow and black)
Sense of Genre with use
of acts that will be well
known by people who
listen to electronic music
Better colour
scheme – colours
are contant (in the
image as well as
text)
More acts at the bottom
to make the page look
fuller and busier

2. Not as aware of
conventions e.g. Cover
image – he is not giving
eye contact
Cover image – is not
high quality and looks
as if it has not been
focused
Blank space – more
professional
magazines are a lot
busier and do not
include much blank
space, this space is
either filled with the
cover photo or more
cover lines
Common fonts –
professional
magazines use more
authentic fonts
No obvious colour
scheme – I have
followed it slightly
highlighting the word
‘FREE’ in red, but it has
not been committed to
Selling line – is small
and doesn’t really
have a purpose on this
magazine as it does
not sell it and it
doesn’t stand out for
the audience
Only two coverlines a
professional magazine
would conventionally
have quite a few to
make the page look
busier, therefore making
this page look empty
Usually on
magazines, when they are
promoting something ‘free’
it it put on a sticker like
so…:
instead of
written like
the other
cover lines
Struggle to read
the text under the
headline, would
be better to have
added a white
stroke to make it
more visible

3. Added colour to
colour scheme –
red, but it fits this
page as the sign
post in the picture
is red and Lucy
T’s guitar in the
bottom centre
image is also red
Date of the issue
box, logo (name of
the magazine) and
the title of the
page – contents
In a yellow box –
fitting to colour
scheme
Better alignment – has
been put into columns
(overall looks more
professional than
student magazine)
Features column
Margins
Sense of genre
Images – not only of
the cover artist, but of
acts/articles that are
included inside the
magazine (with page
references)
‘Blurb’ underneath
headings – a bit more
information to give the
reader more of an
idea of what the page
is about before they
turn to it
Link to website
where you can find
out more
information
Page numbers can
be clearly identified

4. No obvious colour
scheme, except for black
text and a light blue
background to match the
cover page
Columns – there is no
columns and it is centre
aligned
Basic fonts have been used
There is no mini ‘blurb’
under the headings for the
features
Only one image on the
page and it has been
faded, better contents
pages are busier and
include images of what’s
inside
Blank space – usually
magazines would look
a lot busier
Usually there is a bit
more information
underneath the
heading to give the
reader an idea of what
the page/pages are
about
Page numbers are
clear