Generic Conventions of Magazine Covers and

Contents Page

Alice Martin

Front Cover

Language and Font

The font is very clear

and easy to read.

The ‘+’ symbol is there instead of ‘and’ which makes

it different from other magazines. It also makes the text which is more important

stand out.

The theme is often represented through titles on the front. It’s

shown straightaway that the target audience is teenagers. There’s usually a variety

of 3-4 fonts on a front cover to keep it

interesting.

Magazines usually have a main title to show what the main

feature of the issue is about.

The most important content is always across the top of the image and

down the left hand-side of the image as people read

left to right.

Structure/layoutThe main feature

(usually a celebrity or sporting star) should be in the

centre of the magazine cover.

The title of the magazine (the Masthead)is always

put on the top part of the page in the centre as it’s the most important part to let people know the

type and style of magazine it is.

The barcode is usually at the bottom right side of the

magazine and sometimes has the price written in

small print above or to the side of it.

The main feature of the magazine is usually in

large text on the bottom left side of the cover page as people read left to right. It

shows that it’s important.

Having a shape around a piece of text often

shows if it’s a competition.

ImageThe photos on a cover of a magazine are

often medium shot. This is so the main features face is the

focus of the magazine.

The way his skin is tanned blends in with the tanned

orange plain background.

The tattoo on his shoulder also could

represent the main title ‘Justin’s crazy year’.

By using a celebrity icon it makes the magazine more

popular.

The way Justin is looking at the camera would entice a Justin Bieber fan to buy it.

As Justin is the main feature on the front cover

it shows the target audience is for teenagers

as Justin Bieber’s audience is people of that age

range.

Typical ContentThe name of the magazine (The

Masthead) is at the top in the centre, so it stands

out, letting people know what magazine it is. This is a generic convention.

Magazine’s usually have a special offer

advertised on the front cover to entice people into buying it, as it will

seem like good value for money.

The main feature of a magazine is usually a

celebrity of sporting star. This is show they have a fan base and people will be interested in reading

it.

There is often a competition advertised as

well.

Barcode and prices are usually placed very small on the

bottom right corner as they aren’t

important.

They also have information on the front letting people

know what that magazine issue is

about.

Contents Page

Language and Font Throughout a

magazine contents page there is usually three different fonts

and colours throughout, this is to keep it interesting but also smart and easy to

read.

They have used catchy

sayings which are relatable to

the target audience.

The language used on this contents

page is directly for the audience,

which is teenage girls. This is shown

by the choice of words (e.g. ‘swag’

and ‘tweet’).

The main title font is in a very clear font which stands out as it’s the title of the page and

therefore the first thing someone reads.

Structure/layoutThe layout of this contents page is clear

and simplistic.

The page is separated into sections to

organise different parts of the magazine and different topics.

The images down the side have numbers on to inform people what page

they can be found on. Having images draws

attention to the reader as it is more eye-catching

than just text, if they see images of people they admire they would be persuaded to buy the

magazine.

The text is down the left

side of the page.

Image

The bigger the image on a contents page

the more important it is to the magazine.

The images on a contents page usually

link to the sub-headings on the page to give the readers an idea of the

articles inside.

On this contents page it has images of the articles

which can be found inside. This is so people looking at the magazine can have an

idea of what to expect.

The main image on a contents page usually is the main image

on the front, or is the same person. This is because they are

the main feature of that magazine in that particular

issue.

The larger image (the feature of the magazine) is an image taken

at an awards event which implies the article involving that celebrity

involves a recent award.

Typical Content The colours used for

this are used throughout the

magazine.

The important points are in bold black writing to

make them stand out

The images also have borders round them so the contents page is organised and the

images are then separate from the

text.

The images of people on the contents page are to

let the readers know what to expect in the magazine. Often the images are of a

role-model or famous celebrity.