- Lifestyle magazines e.g. Marie Claire
- Fashion Magazines e.g. Vogue
- Games and Computing magazines e.g. Xbox Live
- Music Magazines e.g. Vibe.
...They all stick to the same conventions.
Image, Logo & Header.
The image on the magazine must fit in with the content of the magazine and the target audience; this is fundamental as after all when people are in shops it's the cover of magazines which grab their attention and make them want to but the magazine. If the cover doesn't appeal to the audience it's aimed at it isn't going to drawn in readers the magazine is going to lose a lot of revenue. Also if the person on the cover is someone well known and someone who appeals to the target audience this will cause the reader want to read the magazine and see what it is that's said about the person on the cover. The header of the magazine must also do this as it also contributes to drawing in an audience. It's also very important that the colour scheme fits in with the content and target audience as then this becomes the house style of the magazine; which once again helps to draw in an audience. The logo of the magazine must also appeal to the target audience as after a length of time people learn to associate logos with the things they like and later depend on the logo to help them find what it is they want. If, from the very beginning, the logo of a magazine looks appealing and stands out it'll become pronounced to the audience and when they see the logo it'll make them want to see what's in the current issue and are more likely to buy it.
Mode of Address(MOD).
What is Mode of Address?
The Mode of Address is the way in which a text creates a relationship with it's audience. however the Mode of Address can also refer to the written text in magazines and how it addresses the reader - usually in a friendly and informal manner.
In magazines it is common for the MOD to be DIRECT ADDRESS - this is when whoever it is that's on the cover is looking straight out of the magazine, making it look as though they are looking right at you, thus enticing the reader to but the magazine. However even though Direct Address is the most common MOD, many magazine covers have used INDIRECT ADDRESS - where the person is looking away. This isn't a convention of music magazines but it has still been used on covers.
Stars and Celebrities.
Usually, Magazines include stars or celebrities on their covers as this helps boost sales therefore increasing their revenue. Stars and celebrities are used as they are admired and seen by the public as aspirational characters of society and seen by some as role models. They are included, conventionally, on music magazine covers simply for the purpose of selling the magazine as it is mainly cue to their popularity that people will but the magazine as they'll want to know why it's that particular star/celebrity on the cover.
Magazine Covers.
Magazine covers have many purposes; they're the main form of advertisement for the magazine because of this the cover has to represent the magazine as a whole. In retrospect magazine covers should be bright, interesting and eye-catching, without being any of these the cover is highly unlikely to draw in readers to buy the magazine. however considering this the colours should not only be bright and eye-catching and attractive, they should also in someway reflect the target audience and also in the case of music magazines, represent the genre of the music which the magazine follows for example if it were a rock magazine red and black would be appropriate etc.
Even though colour is a key concept of magazine covers it's also the fonts used on a cover which make it interesting, visually. We tend to see on covers a variety of fonts enabling the cover catch and hold the interest of readers, we see this throughout the entire magazine however we don't see hundreds of different fonts we see the same ones from the cover reappearing throughout as even though the magazine is striving to be interesting and eye-catching, at the same time it has to maintain a House Style. In the magazine industry House Styles are very important as they atop the magazines from looking amateur and shabby, and also because after a while consistent readers of the magazine begin to rely on the House Style of the magazine to catch their attention when on the shelves, making it easier for them to spot it. All this amounts to AIDA(S). AIDA(S) is the acronym used in marketing that describes a common list of events that is often undergone when selling a product/service.
A- Attention (Awareness): Attract the attention of the customer
I - Interest: Raise the customer's interest by focusing on a few key points
D - Desire: Make the customer desire the product and leading them to feel that buying the product will satisfy this desire.
A - Action: leading the customer to purchase the product.
S - Satisfaction: satisfy the customer so the they become regular buyers of the product.
Magazines do this through the type of articles that feature in them, the colours they use on the cover, the image on the cover and in the case of some magazines they offer freebies to the buyer e.g. Marie Claire has offered free bags to its readers repeatedly in the past.
Conventionally on the cover of any magazine it must contains the following components:
- Title/Header: this is usually at the top of the page, this creates the brand image of the magazine and will be instantly recognisable to the audience.
- One main model/star photographed: this image is usually either close up (a head & shoulders shot) or a medium shot using Direct MOD - on music magazine covers conventionally the main image can be of a solo artist or a group.
- Leading Caption: the leading caption usually dominates the page and stands out. The main focus of the Leading Caption is the feature article and should 'anchor' the cover story.
- Subheadings: the subheadings on the cover should indicate to the reader what the other main articles of the magazine are and advertise these stories to the audience. The subheadings usually appear on the right /left hand sides of the cover.
- Straplines: Straplines are usually found running along either the top or the bottom of the page. They highlight other stories/stars which appear in the magazine.
Even though it isn't one of the main conventions of magazine covers, sometimes we see a slogan used beneath the header to explain the magazine's content or to make it stand out against its rivals. On all magazines, regardless of what type they are, you will always find the date and barcode, now usually with a web address to entice readers to go on the magazine website. On the cover, usually somewhere close to the barcode you will find the price of the magazine. Magazine prices fluctuate between themselves depending on the quality of the magazine and also dependent on how often an issue of the magazine is released e.g. Monthly 'Glossy' magazines such as Marie Claire etc, are usually more expensive; they tend to be printed on glossy, high quality paper whereas weekly magazines are cheaper and are printed on low quality, normal paper e.g. NME.
Contents Pages.
Just like covers, magazine contents pages should also be bright, colourful and interesting - encouraging the reader to keep reading. Typically the page should be dominated mainly by images rather than text, helping the reader to browse and look through for what they want, images with page numbers are also included on the contents page. Again in regards to the images direct MOD is used. The title/header appears, usually on every page at the top of the page, but sometimes it is used at the bottom of the page. On the contents page there is always a list of what is in the magazine, the contents of the magazine are usually grouped according to what section everything comes under e.g. quizzes, reviews etc.
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