Magazine Front Covers

Magazine Front Covers

These two magazine covers are similar, yet different in their own way. Each magazine will have similar compositions, no matter what type of magazine it is. The masthead is the main title, which is usually at the top of the cover, as seen below ‘RollingStone’ and ‘Back To School’. The kicker is usually in bold and is one of the main headlines to attract the reader to the magazine. Also on the front cover, you will find teasers. These are either one or a couple of words that don’t give away any information which makes you want to read what it is about. For example on the RollingStone magazine, the teasers are ‘Prince’ and ‘Allman Brothers’.

There are special features such as bolding or capitalising certain words and phrases to attract you to the article. This is shown on Back To School where it says ‘QUIZ’ and ‘HIGH-TECH’. Other special features which are made to catch the reader’s eye are the black box with the white writing is completely different to the rest of the magazine, therefore

stands out and the same with the yellow scribble effect with the black writing. The signifier is what is in the photo, for example the girl and Lil’ Wayne. What it is signifying is that she is a school girl with her school books and the artist which is being interviews inside the magazine.

Both of these magazines have the same conversions. This means that we are used to things being a certain way so that we recognise what they are. If these magazines were laid out differently, such as writing the whole way across the page and no images etc… then we would not recognise it as a magazine, because almost every magazine is laid out and presented in this way.