Magazines & Audiences, Magazine Terminology, Task Two.

As I will be eventually creating my own magazine front cover it is best to gather as much information I can on how to create an eye-catching, bold and 'snazzy' cover of my own. I have already started brainstorming ideas of what could go where and what main headlines I can include. I cannot however jump straight into creating one without some sort of layout to follow, otherwise the results could be a complete eyesore!

I have constructed myself a listed glossary of key terms and information to check off for when I come to creating my own.

MASTHEAD - The Masthead of the magazine is the most important part, your readers need to see exactly what magazine they are buying. When coming to design a Masthead it should be clear to read and the colour scheme should be carefully chosen. It is no good someone coming into a shop and looking to buy a 'Cosmopolitan' and walking out with some strange mens magazine, not sure if they would be too happy! Basically the Masthead is the visual branding of the magazine.

- Empire Magazine, note how bold the Masthead is!

DATELINE - Dateline is always important, one example is how collectors need to know what issue to talk about. How many times have you heard "Oh did you see what happened in issue 89? The one where Batman did this?" If you haven't heard this very much you might not know me personally but its a great example... Anyway the Dateline is the month, year and date of the publication. With the majority of most magazines they release their issue a whole month before, so they will release the January issue in December. It is also usually located above the barcode or in its own special area.

On this example the Dateline is near the Masthead.

MAIN IMAGE - On the majority of magazine covers you will find they have one huge central image which can either have one or two mini images surrounding. The central image is key to a magazine as it draws the target audience in. You certainly wouldn't have a photograph of a lion on the front cover of a women's magazine it would just create confusion and probably wouldn't sell very well. The models focus is usually looking straight forward out into the target audience, using direct eye contact to grab their attention.

The Main image features Selena Gomez

MODEL CREDIT - It is very unusual for the model to be given credit on the front of a magazine, this information is usually listed in the Contents section of the magazine.

COVERLINES - Coverlines are distributed around the main image, they are written in a smaller font than the Masthead and usually in a different style. The job of a Coverline is to give you snippets of information contained within the magazine. 

A coverline from Empire magazine advertising Thor

MAIN COVERLINE - The main coverline is the largest text on the front of the magazine next to the Masthead. It is designed to be eye catching and attention grabbing. It will usually take up about a quarter of the magazine cover. The basic layout for the Main Coverline is for it to be written in three layers, each a different colour. These colours will also usually reflect the Dateline, for example the October issue will be shades of oranges and browns.

Coverline featuring Inception from Empire Magazine

LEFT THIRD - In Western countries the left third is a vital selling tool for selling magazines in shops. Where most of the time, due to the way the shelving is arranged, the title must be clear and easy to read and easily distinguishable when put next to another magazine that may have a similar theme or colour scheme.

In this pile of magazines can you spot similarities which could confuse?

                        BARCODE - The barcode is a standard barcode used by most retailers. 

SELLING LINE - The short sharp description of the title's main marketing point. As an example it could be 'The World's No:1 Magazine for Men!" or it could set out its editorial philosophy.

THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MOVIE MAGAZINE - Empire Magazine

BUMPER ISSUE - Another technique to encourage people to buy, it bigs up the amount of pages and stories the issue is containing. Perhaps its a one off thing that they do? They may release only a 74 page magazine but for a special holiday like Christmas they will have a 102 page special.

Empire Magazines Harry Potter Bumper Issue

FREE PULL-OUT - A free pull-out is several or a double page spread which usually has a poster printed across them.

A series of fold-out posters given away as free pull-outs

BADGE - A small circular badge object on the front of the magazine, often displaying extra attention grabbing information.

This badge advertises  - THE MOVIE EVENT OF 2010

FONT - A set of type characters, numbers and punctuation marks, in one face and size. 

BASE LINE - An imaginary line where a line of text would sit upon.

I added the red lines from a clipping of Empire Magazine to demonstrate a Base Line

BI-WEEKLY - A magazine published every two weeks or twice a month.

WHITE SPACE - The use of space around headlines or images for design purpose.

The white space draws the attention to the actors and type on the front of the magazine.