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.