Magazine - Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover

Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover

MASTERHEAD - A masterhead features on all magazine covers. It is usually placed at the top center of the page which tells the audience which magazine it is. As it tells the audience which magazine they're looking at, it only makes sense that it is the largest text that appears on the magazine. This makes it eye catching for the audience. Masterheads often have bold text or are placed in a box to make them stand out even more. 

IMAGES - Magazines always have a main, central image which takes up most of the space on the page. If it was a film or gossip magazine, the central image would usually contain a picture of the main character/celebrity. This magazine becomes more appealing as it is about a celebrity in the lime light. This magazine is using celebrity endorsement to sell their magazine. There may be smaller images around the central image to advertise other products etc. 

BUZZ WORDS - These are words which grab the audiences attention and make the magazine seem to stand out from any other. Using words such as "exclusive" when talking about an interview will make them seem like they are the only magazine with this exciting information. 

ANCHORAGE TEXT - This text often overlaps with images and is normally quite large on the magazine cover. It tells the audience what stories will appear within the magazine. These often contain quotes taken from interviews. This will be to sell the magazine and make it different from all the others available to an audience member. 

BANNER - This gives overall information about the magazine and what can be found inside of it. 

BARCODE, DATE, ISSUE NUMBER and PRICE - All magazines contain these. The barcode appears on the front of the magazine as usually the back page is a paid for advertisement, the date and price are normally quite small but still relevant so that the audience can see this information.