Conventions of Magazine Covers

Purpose of Magazine

Covers The main function of front covers

of magazines is to sell the magazine

They are deliberately eye-catching, interesting and brightly coloured

They also clearly display the “house style” of the magazine

When making a film magazine front cover, the main CVI needs to be considered seriously, as it is going to be the first thing the viewer things, when the magazine is displayed in the shops.

Magazine Front

Covers

The Central Visual

Image (CVI).

Important, as it is

most likely the first

thing that the viewer

will be drawn to.

This will be the

content of the

featured article of

the magazine

Masthead, which is usually

at the top of the page. It will

make the magazine easily

recognisable to the audience

The Cover Line is

always bigger than

the rest and

dominates the page

Cover Lines/Tag Lines

are the main text on the

cover – they advertise

articles in the magazine

Most pages will have a

colour palette – a

defined choice of colours

– to create a

recognisable house style

This colour palette in this

magazine is fitting into

the main CVI.

Date and Barcode –

usually now with a web

address to entice the

audiences to the

magazine’s website

Straplines may be used

to highlight stars in the

magazine

Layout When making a film magazine, it is

important to choose the layout on the page, so that the audience can see exactly what is in the magazine

The masthead and the CVI is usually seen the in the opening third of the magazine, as it is proven that this is the part of the magazine that the audience sees first.

The cover line is always put in a larger font size, as this is the featured content of the magazine and should relate back to the main CVI.

Sometimes, the CVI can be in front of the Masthead, due to the high profile of the magazine.