Conventions of Magazine Covers

Purpose of Magazine

Covers The main function of front

covers of magazines is to

sell the magazine

They are deliberately eye-

catching, interesting and

brightly coloured

They also clearly display

the “house style” of the

magazine

Magazine Front

Covers

The Central Visual

Image (CVI).

Usually

photographed either

in a close up or

medium shot –

Direct Address

This will be the

content of the

featured article of

the magazine

Masthead, which is usually

at the top of the page. It will

make the magazine easily

recognisable to the audience

The Cover Line is

always bigger than

the rest and

dominates the page

Cover Lines/Tag Lines

are the main text on the

cover – they advertise

articles in the magazine

Most pages will have a

colour palette – a

defined choice of colours

– to create a

recognisable house style

Many magazines will

have the price text larger

or include free gifts

Date and Barcode –

usually now with a web

address to entice the

audiences to the

magazine’s website

Straplines may be used

to highlight stars in the

magazine