Friday, 14 October 2011

Conventions Of Magazine Front Covers And Contents Pages

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.


Contents pages
  • page numbers with images
  • they all feature an offer or reduced rates to subscribe
  • adverts
  • editorial- message from the editor (different style/font)
  • main or bigger pictures illustrates the content of the main articles
  • reviews
  • usually paragraphed
  • list of page contents and numbers
  • same theme as front cover
  • logo of magazine is showed
  • page references
  • bold page numbers for main articles
  • main storys have an image
  • each picture shows facial expressions and emotions
  • speech marks/quotes are used from the articles
  • guide to different sections
  • main persons/group name is in bold
  • advert of how to subscribe to the magazine
  • layered
  • sub-headings are used to group articles of similar content
  • all of contents pages use columns
  • none/little empty space

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