Magforum: The secrets of magazine cover design

The secrets of magazine cover design by Tony Quinn:
1. The key ingredients

magazine front cover design Shania model

Ingredients

Use on front cover

Masthead (title or logo)

The name of the magazine displayed in a specific typeface. This is the visual branding of the title and is often done in a specially designed typeface to be easily recognised and unique. The masthead - also called a title - is usually used on the contents page inside as well as the front cover, and as a logo for advertising and branding purposes. These titles are often designed by typographers such as Dave Farey and Richard Dawson (European Magazine, Maxim, Design Week) and Matthew Carter (Rolling Stone)

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 it is done on fashion magazines. The photographer and model credit is usually on the contents page

Coverlines

From the 1950s, greater competition on the newsstands resulted in more cover lines.Today, some magazines print special covers for subscribers' copies that use few cover lines. 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 on the left 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 that are easy to read

The top fifth of the cover - usually dominated by the masthead - may be the vital part in supermarkets, where magazines are displayed differently

Bar code

Standard bar code used by retailers, used on UK magazines since 1988. Special ubscriber covers often omit this

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

(C)

This page is copyright. If you want to use it on your website or for teaching material, you must credit the source and add a web link if online:

The secrets of magazine cover design by Tony Quinn

http://www.magforum.com/cover_secrets.htm

Part 2: Magazine cover design - the right mix

Part 3: Magazine cover design - some finishing touches

Other relevant pages:

Magazine front covers: special effects
Town covers 1955-1968: classic swinging sixties men's lifestyle
selection of magazine covers, from About Town to Zest

The secrets of magazine cover design by Tony Quinn: 1. The key ingredients

The secrets of magazine cover design by Tony Quinn:
1. The key ingredients