What is a Magazine Cover?

Codes and Conventions

In order to produce our own Magazine cover, we had to first explore what elements make up a magazine cover. I have recorded our research and listed them along with an explanation and purpose on the cover.

Mast Head:

The Mast Head is the title of the magazine and takes up a considerable area of the cover. Although the font, placement and size remains near constant, the colour can change from issue to issue depending on the colour scheme. The main image can be overlapped by the main image to add a 3D effect. The magazine's name is usual associated with films, such as : Total Film and Premiere. 

Direct Address:

The subjects of the main image usually looks straight at the audience, or directly. This makes the audience feel more immersed in the image and more likely to buy the magazine promoting the film. 

Puff:

Is a sticker-like shape usually an eye catching colour that will alert the readers of the magazine what else may be inside the magazine such as a poster or a competition. 

Skyline/Strap-line:

The skyline of the magazine is usually a banner above the Masthead which either promotes the magazine or gives more information about the magazine's contents. The strap-line is lower down the cover and usually contains inset images, advertising the other films or articles inside the magazine.

Skyline:

Strapline:

 

Sell Lines:

This is text usually around the edges of the cover, that try to sell the magazine by telling potential buyers what else they can expect to appear inside the magazine.

Iconography:

This can usually only be used when promoting the main article film that is part of a series or well-known franchise. It will include imagery associated with previous films made. For example after Avengers Assemble (dir. Joss Whedon 2012) and Thor (dir. Kenneth Branagh & Joss Whedon 2011) Loki's costume was easily recognizable with the green in particular. This serves as part of the iconography of the character and film.

Main image:

The main image will usually feature the main characters/actors from the main article film in the magazine. Or sometimes with anniversary or special edition issues the characters from various films are present in the main image. The people in the main image will usually be directly addressing the audience/reader. This makes the audience feel more connected and drawn to the character.

Inset Image:
An inset image is not the main image you will see on the magazine cover. They are smaller images displaying the contents of the magazine.

Anchorage text:

This is text that will state the title of the main article film and also give audience a hint as to what the article will be focussing on about the film.

Date, Issue number, Price:

This is basic information so collectors or fans of the magazine can see when they came out and what issue number it has. The price is there so the people know how much this product will cost them.

Barcode:

Used to catalogue the magazines and manage the transaction easier when purchased.

-There are usually two different covers for each issue. The regular that can be bought in the shops and the subscriber's cover. The subscriber cover usually only features the main image, the masthead and possibly the title of the main article film.

Retail/regular Cover:

Subscriber cover: