Front Cover Ideas

This is my first front cover idea for the final product and I have made it fairly busy following the usual conventions of my genre's magazines. Making it fairly busy shows that it is a middle class magazine which is what I was aiming for. Too busy and it becomes a lower class magazine but too little and it becomes a higher class magazine. The main image is a convetional mid shot which drifts more to the right of the page leaving room in the left third for text and other features. This could be however a problem as the image acts as advertising, a famous celebrity will encourage readers to buy the magazine and this will not be seen when the magazine is in the right hand side because the left third is usually on display when magazines are stacked. The main cover line and cover lines are on the left third alongside cover images which acts as promotion for the magazine as these stories and images will catch the attention of the reader and encourage them to purchase the magazine. There is a pug also on the left hand third. It's position is crucial as it needs to be seen by customers. A pug is a unique selling point of a magazine and if it is not initially seen it has little use on the magazine. There is a barcode in the bottom right hand corner of the magazine which is accompanied by a date and price. The barcode is not nessisarily a design feature however it is crucial on the magazine for the magazine to be sold. As it is not a design feature it is almost hidden in the corner and takes up little space. A downside to the barcodes postioning would be that as the image is also on the right, it covers up some of it which could be an important part to the image which needs to be shown. If I was to choose this idea I would look at rearranging some things. The final thing on this cover is the masthead. It is positioned conventionally at the top in big bold text. It stands out extremely well which is the main job of a masthead.

The second idea has the main image positioned in the middle and again the photograph is a mid shot. This means that the chance of a famous celebrity being able to be seen when stacked in shops is higher which is better for the magazine. The main cover line remains on the left along with a tag line in order for that to also be seen by customers however the cover stories and list of artists featured are on the right hand side of the image and the text would be shaped to fit around the image. The barcode on this idea is in the bottom left hand corner but still remains small and out the way. It would be accompanied by the price and issue number and as it is on the left it is able to be seen by the customers more easily and therefore they are able to see what issue this magazine is and the price which is a useful feature for the front cover. There is again a pug on the left hand side next to the image for it to be seen by customers and act as a unique selling point for the magazine. The masthead is again at the top of the magazine and the main image sits over it slightly but it is still able to be read easily and still very clear. The masthead is joined by the date and website of the magazine which sit just underneath it in a much smaller text. There is also a skyline above the masthead which acts as another unique selling point for the magazine.

Idea three unconventially has the masthead at the bottom of the page, this looks different to usual magazines and therefore could encourage customers as they feel like it is something new and different. This positioning also suits the title of the magazine 'Exclusive'. The masthead sits on top of the main image and is shown very clearly. The main image is again a mid shot which is slightly to the right of the magazine. This position leaves room on the left for the main cover line and cover lines to stand out and be seen by customers but this again may lose customers as they are unable to see a celebrity which encorages sales. There is again a pug on the left hand side which does the same job as the others and also there is a barcode with issue number and price. The barcode however is now positioned in the top left hand corner due to the masthead being at the bottom. However, I feel as though by the barcode being at the top of the magazine it stands out too much which is not what I want from the barcode. Although it is easily seen for customers to find out the price and issue number. Also above the image is the date and magazine website for extra information for the reader.