I have focused on three different magazine front covers, they share the same topic which is that they’re all school magazine. I will be talking about why they have used certain features the typical codes and conventions and why they are effective, such as mastheads, font, positioning and structure, the overall pros and cons of the front page etc.

Masthead

The masthead is one of the most important features of the magazine’s cover and the magazine overall, the masthead is the first element that the audience will see when it is being sold in a shop or supermarket. This is why it is important for the magazine makers to make sure that there masthead stands out by bolding and putting colours together that don’t merge and blend such as blue and green because then the title wont standout against the other magazines. When I come do to my magazine i will make sure that i do those things to make my masthead stands out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the three of the magazines mastheads, as you can see they have all used a contrast in colours, for example the first one has put a pink and black masthead over a white background this is clever because it will clearly stand out. The pink could also represent that this could be an all girls school, so in the masthead alone it tells the audience who they magazine is aim at and who it is for.

The second masthead, again it has a contrast of the red title and white background. The negative point of the masthead is that it doesn’t actually tell the audience the full title it only tells them an abbreviation, only people who were familiar with the school would know who they are, this could make them lose peoples interest as they would think it was only for people in the know, it gives off the vibe of being a niche magazine.

 

Finally the final magazines masthead, it is different to the other two as although it does have the dissimilarity of colours, it is quite small it doesn’t have the appearance of a masthead it almost is the size of what a tagline would be. This could confuse the audience or they may feel like they haven’t put a lot of effort into the magazines front cover. However, maybe they have put the masthead in this size because they don’t feel like they have to impress there name is enough and they may have concentrated on the content of the magazine.

 

 

Colour

Colour is one of the most important parts of the magazine front cover, colour can show what type of audience the magazine is marketing at, and for example bright colours would be put on a child’s magazine whereas muted and non-vibrant colours are going be on an adult’s magazine.

The first magazine has used the colour scheme of black, white and pink. The reasons why I think they have chosen these colours are because they contrast and will stand out against each other they would use the white as the background and the black and pink as headings and subheadings. The only criticism is that the white background could be seen as being lazy as its blank and it might give the audience the feeling that they have not spent time on the front cover and that they have been lazy which could put potential readers off.

The second magazine has used red and white as their colour scheme. Again these are contrasting colours so will stand out, maybe they have used red and white because it symbolises England, it’s the colours that are in England’s flag so is showing where they’re and that they’re proud of their country. Also the fact that they have only used two colours suggests that they have an order and structure. A criticism would be that it is basic colour scheme and they could have had another range. The third magazine has also used this colours scheme. 

 

The positioning and structure of the magazines are important because if the position and structure is wrong or has no type of order then it could put potential readers off.

in the positioning and structure of the first magazine is well presented it has the main image as the background, the masthead is at the very top and the tagline is just a bit underneath it and there is a mini contents page in the bottom right hand corner. They have put the masthead at the top so it is easy to see and read, the slogan/tagline is just beneath to show what it is and not to be confused with the masthead. They have put a mini content page in the corner to show off what is going to be in the actual magazine and where it is placed, this could convince someone to buy it depending on what the topics are.

 

it does have the masthead at the top but it is in the left hand corner, it also has a side bar on the left side and in the top right hand corner. The main image is only half of the page on this magazine then full page on the other. I believe that this magazine is the most effective and appearance because has all of the conventions of the normal magazine, mostly every magazine uses these conventions so that’s what makes it professional.

Finally the positioning and structure of the third magazine is probably the most unconventional of the three. The reasons why is because they don’t have side bars, subheadings, a contents section or headings of what is inside the magazine. It only contains images which don’t have any type of order or structure. This makes it hard for the makers to sell this magazine as it doesn’t look as impressive as the other two. The all red background makes it look cheap and childish as it seems they haven’t spent much time or effort on the appearance of the magazine’s cover.

 

What I will use in my magazine cover

 

On my magazines front cover I will take elements of each front cover, such as for my masthead I will use contrasting colours to make the masthead stand out, for example white as a background and red as the colour of the title. Also I will use sidebars to show the readers of the content without them having to look through the magazine. Furthermore I will use a good structure to the way I layout images, unlike the third magazine, if I don’t have structure then it will give the impression that I don’t care and that my magazine is messy and untidy.

 

Conclusion

 

So to summarise, I believe that the second magazine front cover was the most effect and the codes and conventions that I would use in my magazine when I come to produce it. The one that I find the least effect and don’t look like a conventional magazine cover because of its childish look.