Front cover conventions

A front cover needs to have many conventions to make the magazine a success and eye-catching to the reader of the magazine.

The main conventions include:

• Each cover page needs to have a unique design or something about it to make it stand out from other magazines on a newsstand.
• Each new cover must be different from the previous issue but still have a sense of recognition and familiarity to regular readers.
• The most common type of front cover is an image based cover page, where they have an image or several images of people who are related to that issue of the magazine.
• The image is usually of a person/people looking directly at the camera and more often than not smiling, so that it draws the reader in to the magazine as it seems more personal.
• There is normally a link between the text and the image on the cover to make the magazine flow more.
• The colours shouldn't clash as they need to be vibrant
• The masthead needs to stand out on the cover to make sure the readers know what magazine it is and the main story/article in that magazine so that the customers know what is inside.
• The cover lines should be 'sans' typography as it is easier to read from far away which would make it easier and more attractive to the readers.
• Puffs are usually included to make it more eye-catching and they contain important information about the issue of the magazine the customer will be reading.
• A barcode needs to be included on the magazine so the reader is able to buy it.
• A price needs to be included so the customer knows how much they have to pay for the magazine.

Below is a previously annotated front cover of a magazine:

The masthead is red and bold which makes it eye-catching to the reader. It also implies that the magazine is informal because it is written in all lower case letters with no capitals which gives the impression that the main target audience is teenagers.

There are a range of different font styles and colours used on the front cover to show the variety of news and gossip inside the magazine. The brightness of the colours also make the magazine stand out as they are vibrant.

There are pictures to match the text written as the story;‘Jessie J lashes out at the voice’ shows her with an angry face which reinforces the idea of anger in the article. The use of the red text colour shows that the nature of the article is angry because red is a colour associated with anger and frustration.

By using quotations it makes the celebrity more relatable as the audience would feel they are more genuine. It also makes it seem more personal as it expresses the celebrity's actual opinion.

The magazine suggests it is an informal magazine as it uses colloquial language to express the headlines that are featured in the magazine as it says 'Tatts!'.

The pink box implies that it is directed towards more of a female audience because of the girly tones to the magazine. It also highlights this particular story in pink because more girls would want to know facts about men.

Sam Faiers and Joey Essex are in the public eye regularly so having the main picture of them on the front would draw people into reading the magazine to see what is happening in their lives.

The contrast between the pictures in the top right hand corner shows how the relationship has changed as in the smaller image it portrays a loving relationship and in the bigger picture it shows her alone. This carries forward the idea of trouble in their relationship.

By having different pictures of celebrities all over the cover it draws the audience in as there must be at least one celebrity they are interested in, included in the magazine.

The use of the yellow font as, Scott and Kourtney are rumoured to get married, portrays a sense of happiness and relief that they might actually be getting married after all these year.