PLANNING - Magazine Cover: Further Research

Other exisiting magazines

Instead of only researching music magazines, I looked at other genres such as celebrity, fashion and sports magazines to give me a further insight into magazine layouts and codes and conventions.

Celebrity:

Features:
- Big and bold masthead that stands out and identifies the magazine to the audience (Closer).
- The main coverline ('I feel so alone!') is positioned in the middle of the page so it stands out clearly on the page.
- There are small images on the page indicating a number of stories featured throughout the magazine to encourage the audience to buy the magazine to read the full article. The images on the front cover are also very colourful which is used also to attract the audience.

Fashion:

Features:
- The key image is positioned in the centre of the page to grab the readers attention and to inform them that this issue of the magazine will feature that particular celebrity. For example, for fans of Natalie Portman who see that she is featured in Vogue, it will encourage them to buy the magazine.
- There are 3 house colours used - red, black and beige. This adds to the consistent house style of the overall magazine front cover. From using minimal colours, it makes the page look more professional and it is easier for the audience to identify the key features and articles in the issue. There are also minimal fonts used, a featured font for the masthead and a sans serif font such as arial used for the coverline text.
- This issue includes coverlines that are conventionally placed down the left and right thirds of the page. The headlines are written in a bold, black font which stands out on the page and the key word on the page (Natalie Portman) is written in red, which is a striking colour that grabs the audiences attention.

Sports:

Features:

- The overall layout of this magazine is quite simplistic with only one key image and one main coverline (Summer of Sport). The background is an image of the sky, relating to the title of the magazine. These elements are a definate contrast to celebrity and music magazines. For instance, Closer includes one block colour (pink) as the background and has multiple images and coverlines.

- This magazines masthead is positioned in the left hand corner of the page, as opposed the centre. This is also a conventional position for a masthead as magazines such as NME have their masthead placed in this position.

- The key image is conventionally placed in the centre of the page. This image is of multiple figures rather than one main celebrity. This is common on music magazines as it usually features all members of the band on the cover.