Research-Conventions of Magazine Front Covers

Film magazine covers have many typical features which make it more appealing and interesting for audiences. Popular film magazines include ‘Empire’, ‘Total Film’ and ‘Slant Magazine’, who all use certain conventions to entice their target audience. The main function of a front cover is to sell the magazine, so they are deliberately interesting, eye-catching and brightly coloured. They often display the ‘house-style’ of the magazine, which is the repeated brand image which is created through fonts, layout and colour due to synergy, in order to maintain a loyal audience.

The mast head of a magazine cover is the title at the head of the editorial page. This is used to make the magazine easily and instantly recognisable for readers. It is the visual branding of the title which is featured on every cover.

Cover lines are statements distributed around the main image that allude to the articles which will be included in the magazine. The main purpose of them is to entice the reader and persuade them into picking up and buying the magazine due to the exciting content. The cover line will usually coincide with the main image. A kicker is a piece of information designed to stand out from the rest of the page due to its importance, often achieved by using a box-out.

The main image takes up the centre of the magazine cover. It is normally of great interest to readers and also helps to draw the reader’s attention on the magazine, consequently persuading them to purchase the magazine.

A tagline is used on many magazines to create a strong and memorable brand imagine. It gives further information and also corresponds and works with the Mast Head/title. Usually, it is a short, sharp description of the title’s main marketing point.

Barcode and issue number - This standard barcode is used by retailers and has been displayed on UK magazines since 1988. It is usually placed in the bottom right corner so that it isn’t greatly payed attention to and so it doesn’t distract from the other information.

Pugs are the stickers that are found on the front page that are conventional to a majority of magazines. Pugs are promotional visuals, such as freebies, promotions and discounts which often inform and entice the readers. They usually overlap other images so that audiences are more likely the pay attention to them and read the information. The aids the magazine company in boosting sales as audiences may be persuaded by the additional information.

A puff is similar to a pug, but includes short words/statements to instantly grab the readers focus. It can include words such as ‘Free’ and ‘Win’ which are used as an incentive to purchase the magazine, therefore boosting sales.