Conventions of a Magazine
Jasmine Gill
- A level coursework
Masthead: The masthead is basically used to
allow it’s reading audience to identify that particular magazine. It also gives
the magazine a feature that is consistently the same, giving the audience
something to recognise, because of course each issue of the magazine will be
different with different feature stories, different colour schemes, and
different pictures, so there needs to be one consistent feature which will
always remain recognisable and the same.
Pictures: The pictures are used to give the
audience an idea of what the whole magazine is about. This is particularly true
when considering the type of people who are being shown or portrayed on the
magazine. The pictures are also used to make the whole magazine look more
colourful and exciting because if it was just a plain black front cover with
some text it would just look boring meaning less people are likely to pick up
the magazine. A trick most magazines use to make people want to buy it, is to
have headlines and stories based on people that are well-known and so the
magazines target audience will be intrigued and want to buy and read the
magazine. The pictures are also used as a teaser for what can be found in the
magazine for example if there is a picture of a celebrity, then the reader will
automatically know that there will content within the magazine which is based
on that particular celeb. Then placement
of the pictures also has an important effect upon the reader and the magazine
itself. If the central image of the magazine is placed directly in front of the
masthead, then this gives us an idea
that the person portrayed is extremely important and it means that the picture
of the person stands out more the anything else on the page including the
masthead. This is quite a risky move for magazines becuase it detracts
attention from the masthead of the magazine however if the person on the front
cover is well known it will catch the readers attention almost
immediately.
Slogan: Slogans are used to encourage people
to want to buy that magazine. It creates an individual feel about it and makes
it stand out in the market that it is competeing in. It also provides the
reader with a reason to choose that magazine over any other, it could perhaps
emphasize it’s indivudualitiy within the magazine industry or exagerate it’s
content or how much it means for them to put the readers first, all these
features will make the reader want to but the magazine.
Headlines: Headlines as already briefly
mentioned are there to catch the eye. For example most magazines will use a
shocking or even controversial headline to make their magazine stand out over
all others, this will make people want to read the artical that is linked to
the magazine expecially if it is based on something that interests them. Shocking
and controversail headlines can also give the magazine some kind of publicity
whther it is good or bad, it still allows the magazine to reach out to a wider
audience of people, which could mean more potential readers. If there are a
number of headlines on the magazine this could also show that the magazine is
jam packed with articles nd information and gossip which is essentially what
the readers want when they read a magazine.
Fonts: Different fonts can have different
effects when we first look at a magazine, and each font has different
connotations. If a certain piece of text was put in big bold letters which
really stands out, this could show that this piece of informaion is important
or an exciting piece of news which could be exclusive to that magazine. If
something was put in capital letters this would have a similiar effect and in
actual fact many conventional magazine will
put particular words in capital letters in headlines because it will be
these words which are first seen and if the words which are in capital letters
are words such as “EXCLUSIVE”, “SPECIAL” “EXCITING” “SECRET” etc then the
reader will get a general idea of what will be included in the magazine, and of
course if the above words were used then the reader will automatically assume
that they are getting, exclusive special and exciting stories and gossip that
no other magazine can provide them with, therefore encouraging them to pick up
that magazine.
Colours: Colours also have strong
connotations when used in a magazine. If a magazine is primarily aimed at
female audience that steroetypical colours such as pink, violet or purple will
be used, this is to allow the reader to automatically realise what type of audience
the magazine is aimed at, because of
course all these different colours represent romance, style, feminimity, and
perfection which are all things which will appeal to females regardless of age,
if on the other hand the magazine used colours such as blue, green, grey etc
than this will automatically appeal to males because these are also gender
sterotypical colours which represent style, a sense of strength, and boisterous
rebellious behaviour, which will appeal to males. Again neutral colours such as
blue, white and black are used to appeal to both genders since neither are
particularly aimed at certain genders.
Some colours can even appeal to certain age groups, bright colours which really
seem to stand out, could come across as rebellious which could represent a
mainly teenage aimed audience, whilst a more mature use of colours such as
white, yellow and blue could appeal to an age group that could be compared to
adults or young adults.
Barcode/Price: The barcode and price is normally
located on the front cover on the bottom right hand side of the magazine
however it can sometimes be found along the side of the magazine front cover,
this is mainly so it is easy to find and scan when it is being purchased. The
barcode and price is located at the bottom of the magazine so that the
attention isn’t taken away from the masthead, headlines, or images.
Pull Quote: A pull quote is basically a quote
from an article which appears in the magazine, it is put in a larger, brighter,
more distinctive font and is located in a place where it is clearly visible,
for any reader to see. This is often to entice in the readers and to appeal to
them, because normally the quotes sound ridiculous or quite controversial and
it’s this that makes readers, curious and so of course they will want to read
this particular magazine, to find out more and read the rest of the article.
Direct Address: Direct address is often used to make
the reader feel as though they aren’t just a
reader, but part of the magazine and what is going on in the magazine.
By making the reader feel like this they not only feel part of it but it
creates a very personal feel to the magazine, almost as though it is
specifically directed at the reader rather then a whole group of people. This
means that the magazine feels altogether more friendly and makes it more of an
interesting read then it would if direct address wasn’t included at all.
Sell Lines: Sell lines are used to effectively
appeal to it’s reading audience and make them want to buy that particular
magazine so they can read on and find out more. Normally a sell-line will
mention prizes and competitions that readers can enter, sometimes it can even
mention an exciting or controversial article that can be found in the magazine,
making people again want to buy the magazine so they can read this. However the
mian idea behind a sell line is that they provide the reader with a little
teaser which will give them a small idea of what they can find within the
magazine, normally the sell line will be something that will appeal to a large
percent of the audience, therefore making people want to buy that magazine. A
sell line that is used in a lot of music magazine could say something about
revealing the line up for an exciting new concert, or for a fashion magazine it
could be revealing the new catwalk summer dresses, there are lots of different
sell lines which will appeal to different audiences.