MAGAZINE FRONT

COVERS
Conventions

PURPOSE OF A FRONT
COVER

Essentially, the front cover functions to entice readers to

buy a magazine. Although the reader will spend a
fraction of the time they read the magazine focusing on
the front, they may not pick it up in the first place unless
the front cover is well designed.

The front cover is made up of a number of important

features. These are common conventions of
magazines. For you to create your own magazine, you
must understand how these conventions function and
what their purpose is.

MASTHEAD

This is the name of the magazine and is almost always

displayed at the top. Why do you think that is?
The font style and colour will have been chosen extremely
carefully to help sell the magazine, as well as give some
indication about the content and audience
Similarly, the name of the magazine will be carefully chosen.
Why is the name important?

TAGLINE
This goes near the masthead, and is

sometimes attached to it. It shows what

the magazine is about or who it might be
aimed at.

CENTRAL IMAGE

This is one of the most important parts of the front cover

as it catches a readers eye before they look at the
printed text. The central image will be relevant to the
magazines purpose and audience, and will often be
strongly related to the feature article

In front-cover analysis, much can be said about the

central image. So much can be denoted and connoted
from this image

FOUR TYPES OF FILM

MAGAZINE COVER

A picture of the main actor

The main character in costume

A staged scene from the film

An actual scene from the film

THE COVER MODEL

For many magazines, a cover model will be used. This

may be a celebrity, or well-known individual connected with
the magazines genre (e.g. a rock star posing for a music
magazine); or it may be a photographic model

Consider the implications of this. What difference might it

make to the magazines selling power?

Think about the mise-en-scene. Why is the model dressed

in a certain way, or lit in a certain way? How are they
posed? What is the connotation of this? Is the models
pose seductive? Intimidating? Why are they wearing those
specific clothes?

ANCHORAGE

This is a term that refers to how images are

referred to. In magazines, images will be
anchored by captions
(directly explaining what the
pictures depict), by
coverlines, or by articles
and headlines.
Anchoring an image
helps give it meaning,
as it helps the reader
understand the significance.

SECONDARY IMAGES

They may be used on the front

cover to help promote other
features in the magazine,
usually anchored by a
coverline.
They are often used in
magazines where readers
need to be enticed by the
picture rather than the
coverline text

COVERLINES

These are located at various

points on the front cover,
telling readers about the
magazines contents

The front cover often

features 6-12 coverlines
in an attempt to lure
different readers to
different things.

Mode of Address

Mode of Address refers to the way that

magazines communicate with their readers.
Some magazines will use a direct mode of
address, communicating with individual readers.
This might be through use of the cover model
(e.g. pointing directly at the camera), or through
the use of 2nd person pronouns (you).

PUFF

As in puff of air, this is a device which helps to

draw attention to and promote certain elements
in the magazine. They are often set against
colourful backgrounds and are shaped e.g.
rounded. Quite often they
advertise a freebie or a
special feature in the
magazine

PUG

Pugs are the ears of a

magazine and are placed at
the top left or right-hand
corners of a front cover.
They usually display a
promotion from that
magazines edition, or
possibly the price.

BARCODE PRICE EDITION

Straightforward features, but they need to be

strategically placed. The barcode shouldnt
distort any of the covers principal features, and
the price will usually be displayed nearby.

How the edition is phrased will depend on the

frequency of publication. Most magazines are
monthly editions, and so the month and year will
be displayed.

Barcod

USE OF COLOUR

Colour: this is used to great effect. Some magazines will alter all the
colour schemes from edition to edition (masthead, coverline fonts,
etc), while others will alter some colours to coordinate with the
central image

Think about signifier/signified where

colour is in question. Ask
yourselves whether the
magazine is using colour
to send a message, or whether
colour has been manipulated to
help accentuate a certain feature
of the cover image

FONT

Front covers will display a variety

of font choices, usually adapted to
infer meaning to the text theyre
displaying

Think about how font choices

are manipulated for both
mastheads and coverlines