Week 28: Magazine Front Covers Analysis

Before I start to create my Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread for a new student magazine I have to carry out research into the way in which a good magazine pages are created, I have started to analyse different front cover magazines and this will therefore help me in what features are vital to be included within a magazine front cover. I have deconstructed two existing student magazines and I have analysed a magazine front cover and a contents page, within the front cover I have stated the colours, the fonts, the layout of the features, the features included, images and textures used. This has helped me in understanding the layout of magazine front covers and how they can appeal to the target audience of students, I have also seen how they use different fonts to show different features within the magazine, and how they have used a different font and enlarged the text for the main story is by the main image. From analysing this front cover I can now go into more depth about the magazine front covers and start to consider conventions for my own magazine, this includes:

• How may layers I will use within my magazine and how many are used within existing magazines.
• How the image can be used for the background and that the other features on the magazine can be placed over or under parts of the main image, I will also be able to get ideas from existing magazine front covers to see how they have laid out their image with the rest of the magazine front cover.
• The title for my magazine will need to be a Vector Graphic as this is better quality, as within most magazines they use vector graphics as these have better quality than raster graphics.
• The title within some existing magazines I have briefly looked at had the image over the font which shows that some magazines are so well known they do not need to have their title showing completely and that the image can over power the magazine. This could be a layout idea I could consider but I believe within a student magazine which is a new magazine the title needs to be clear to the target audience to be able to recognise it within the first few issues.
• Images at an angle: Existing magazines also use the effect of putting images with effects at an angle which is effective as this gives the front cover an 'edge' and makes it more interesting to look at. 

Contents Page
I also analysed a Contents Page from a Student Magazine and I have looked at the layout of the Contents Page and how they lay out certain features within the contents, such as images, the contents and page numbers and editors comments. I will also be researching into the conventions used within creating a contents page in more depth during the week, as this will also help me in understanding what 'makes' a contents page and how it will be creative and appealing to the target audience of students.


Contents Page and Front Cover Analysis


















I will now research in magazine front covers and contents page the different points I have explained above in more detail and research into the different features I need to consider when I create my magazine pages.