matt's AS Media Studies: October 2011

College Magazine Front Cover Sketch

Most magazines have similar conventions, below is a list of the conventions:

Front Covers

bright colours- a colour scheme is used for texts, normally 2-5 colours
one main cover image is used- usually a celebrity for the bigger magazines
facial expressions convey personality or image of 'star'
cover image uses direct address- eye contact with the reader
price of the magazine is usually small, and in the corner
smaller cover lines are arranged- do not put writing on faces!
if cover image has more than one person, they may have one in the foreground
page numbers may be used
other products, freebies, posters/Cd's given away as an incentive to buy the magazine
different fonts are used - but not too many
white or light-coloured background is used
clothing of person/celeb on cover image matches style/fashion of personality
issue number is quite small and the bar code is usually tucked away
cover image and text are layered- masthead/cover image/cover lines
cover lines are written in an entertaining way to lure the reader- e.g. rhetorical questions
title of magazine has connotations linked to content
banners may be used as background for text.

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matt's AS Media Studies