Masthead: this term refers to the flag, banner or name of the magazine/newspaper etc. and is printed largely at the top of the front page. It is also usually used as a logo to the magazine and can be used on images belonging to the magazine, on the magazines website or even as a profile picture for the magazine's social media sites. It should be bold and should represent your magazine in a way that makes it memorable and recognisable, but at the same time should be understandable and informative to the target audience. My masthead will prominently cover a large area of the front cover and will follow my house and colour theme in order to maintain a professional look.
Main Image: this refers to the largest and most prominent image on the page. It should usually take up the full front cover with the main feature of the image, usually the model, covering at least two thirds of the cover. The image is usually of high quality and in music magazines, usually employs the use of a popular artist of the magazine's genre. The artist is used as the model and is placed in a way that will produce an effective cover. This usually involves direct eye contact, a position and a costume that fits the genre and draws in the appropriate audience. My magazine will include a main image that makes use of celebrity endorsement of an artist of my genre that is generally popular so that they are recognisable to my target audience and will draw in not only my primary audience, but anyone who likes the artist that is presented on my front cover. My artist will most likely have a serious but desirable look and will make direct eye contact with the camera and therefore the audience in a way that grabs their attention and speaks to them.
Left Third: the left third incorporates the left side coverlines and the masthead, proving them to be very important as they are most likely to be seen due to the typical layout of a magazine stand layering the magazines on top of each other so that only the left side of each magazine can be seen. This means that the coverlines that draw the audience in on the left side, should be attention grabbing and should cause the audience to remove the magazine from this structure and take a closer look. Only part of the masthead is also seen, giving further reasons to why it must be recognisable as it must have the ability to be identified simply by the first few letters. I must ensure that my magazines left third employs exciting coverlines in order to grab attention. At the same time I believe that my colour scheme that I am considering will make my magazine easily recognisable (black and white, with areas of red).
Coverlines: this refers to the small areas of text that give a slight insight as to what is inside the magazine. The are normally in your face and leave you wanting to know more. They can often include a rhetorical question or make use of lexis such as journalese (SLAM, BANG etc.). Usually, a magazine also includes a main coverline which is printed considerably larger than the other coverlines. This main coverline normally links to the main image and introduces the reader as to what this issue's main article is about (usually the double page spread). I aim to use several coverlines in my magazine that will encourage my audience to purchase and read on.
Sell Line/Tagline: the sell line/tagline of a magazine is a short statement that is usually printed near the masthead and tell the audience something about the magazine that will convince you to buy it. An example, in the above image is Rolling Stone's sell line of that issue: 'The best albums and songs of 2012'. This issue was published in December 2012, meaning the sell line is stating that the audience will receive a look back throughout the year at the best albums and songs, making the audience curious of 'what were the best albums and songs of 2012', encouraging them to purchase. I will aim to use a tagline in my magazine, but I would most likely make it less about the issue, and more about the magazine. This would include creating a tagline that states something good about my magazine that will encourage the audience to purchase it, whilst also giving a certain idea about my magazines genre.
Date: the date simply states the date in which the magazine covers. In the above image, the date of the magazine states 'December 20th 2012 - January 3rd 2013', informing the audience of what time the issue covers and also when the next magazine will most likely be published. I believe that a date is a vital feature of a magazine as it allows the audience to keep up to date with when past, present and future issues are published in order to keep up to date with the music within them. As I aim to provide my readers with information on artists that are up and coming, meaning that they will want to keep up to date with the issues in order to be the first to know of these artists (also almost making them the 'trendsetters of music').
Issue Number: the issue number establishes what issue this is. For example, if it is Issue 17, it is the 17th issue of that magazine. In the above case, the magazine is Issue 1172/1173. This gives the idea that the magazine has been around for a while and that there have been many published issues of the magazine, usually giving further understanding of the magazine's popularity and success. I aim to use this magazine feature as it will enable my readers to keep track of which issue they are on, meaning they are aware of any that they have missed.
Barcode: barcodes generally contain information on the price of the magazine, but also allows the stores to keep track of how many copies have been sold through technology, making it easier for the magazine company to produce sales statistics etc. Due to my magazine not being free, I will add a barcode to ensure that if someone were to buy my magazine, shops could easily register the price, whilst also maintaining a professional feel throughout my front cover.
No comments:
Post a Comment