'Magnificent Magforum' - University of Westminster Journalism website
The secrets of magazine cover design:
1. The key ingredients
| The ingredients | Use on front cover |
| Masthead (logo) | The name of the magazine displayed in the typeface in which it is designed. This is the visual branding of the title and is often done in a specially designed typeface to be very recognisable and unique. The masthead is usually used on the contents page inside as well as the front cover, and as a logo for advertising and branding purposes |
| Dateline | Month and year of publication, often with the price. Note that a monthly magazine usually hits the news-stands the month before the cover date |
| Main image | In the case of this front cover there is a single image of the model Shania. The image is used in a classic way, the face is big enough to stand out on the news-stand, with the model making full eye-contact |
| Model credit | This says: 'Shania: So hot.' It is unusual for such a credit to appear on a magazine front cover, but is done on fashion magazines. The photographer and model credit is usually on the contents page |
| Coverlines | Cosmopolitan magazine uses a lot of cover lines, which are distributed around the main image without detracting from it too much. A mistake often made with cover lines is that they run over an image that has a lot of colour changes, rendering the words invisible. This is a problem here with the red text on the hair and the smaller yellow text against Shania's skin |
| Main cover line | This is very large - taking up almost a quarter of the magazine cover - and comes in three layers, each with a different colour. It promotes the use of naked male centrefolds, a feature of Cosmopolitan in the UK since its first issue. Note the main cover line is positioned against the model's shoulder so it shows up clearly |
| Left third | The left third of the magazine cover is vital for sales in shops where the magazine is not shown full-frontage. The title must be easily recognisable in a display of dozens of competitors. The start of the masthead is important here, as are short cover lines thast are easy to read |
| Bar code | Standard bar code used by retailers |
| Selling line | Short, sharp description of the title's main marketing point (for Cosmopolitan: 'The world's No 1 magazine for young women') or perhaps setting out its editorial philosophy |
Part 2: Magazine cover design - the right mix
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Updated March 2008