Magazine Cover Research

The main task that I will be doing is to design a magazine’s front cover including a content page. The type of magazine I’ve chosen to design is a music magazine which is targeted to students in Kelsey Park Sports College. Any person interested in music should be my target audience with the age span of 11 - 19.

Initially, I thought this task would be easier the more research I do.

The very first step that I took was to understand the codes and conventions of different magazine covers; how they use them, why they use them, and what it is for from normal lessons with Ms. Norville to give me more ideas of the professionals’ techniques.

I took some reference from books about Media Studies which I read like a bedtime story and note down on paper or phone some key terms to broaden my knowledge of the subject in general. I’ve also used the internet to get evidence from the magazine designers themselves for back-up quotations later on when annotating my magazine.

For magazines in general, I noticed that they mostly use one main picture which relates to the headline to attract their audience immediately. Of most magazines I’ve seen, magazine journalists seem to adopt a mode of address particular to that magazine and aim to construct a bond between the magazine and its audience. For example, the front cover of Sugar (October 2001) includes the following cover lines: ‘Will your name make you a star?’, ‘Boys Uncovered! Discover what he secretly thinks about you’. Such cover lines ‘speak’ to the audience and mean that they not only recognize that you are being spoken to but feel that they are members of an exclusive club.

The tehcnique that seems to be the msot effective in encouraging teenage readers is using the "teenage language" in a magazine as the mode of address which seems to be slang. this makes the teenagers feel like they aren't left out and someone like them is addressing them.

A technique that I've also notice that most journalists use to encourage teenage readers is the main picture of a famous icon on the front page with a caption to pull the teenagers in.

I’m planning on targeting boy students aged 11 – 19 because this age span seems to be perfect for the budding musicians who admire their idols. Since it is an all boys school, my niche audience is more narrow so it will be easier for me. I chose this certain age span because it will be easier to make a review through the whole school for some evidence.

The main content that I should add to attract the audience’s attention initially is a mid shot picture of a well-known music icon with a catchy (possibly using a pun) caption about that music idol. Since I cannot really take my own photo of a famous person, I’m planning to dress up like one.

I could add an advertorial of cheap music equipment for sale to entice the readers to buy the magazine by them wanting to find out more about this. Possibly a quote like “get a limited edition…” to get the audience excited.

I may also add the most interesting cover lines I could think of to gain my audiences’ attention. Cover lines such as “Linkin Park visiting Kelsey…” could be one.

Since it seems that I can make-up stories, I could also add at least one exclusive story to gain my audience’s respect and loyalty.

The techniques that I could also stretch out are my magazine’s house style and mode of address which I need to take notice of, to relate to my target audience. With the influence from other magazines, I could make my magazine’s mode of address slang and second person.  I’m also planning my magazine’s main colours to be blue to connotate a relaxing, lay-back mood.

Most of the text in my magazine’s front cover and contents page should be in bold and sans-serif to reduce damage to the magazine’s layout. Some circular cropping could also be added for style and space saving.

These techniques may change in the future because I could inquire more information in the future.