Magazine Cover Design

1
Magazine Cover Design

• How have magazine covers changed with the passing
  of time ?

2
Early magazines - 1900
Are these covers colourful ? No Colour printing
as we now know it wasnt available until the 1950s
Are these covers intersting ? No The people
that bought them were wealthy and wanted the new
magazines that became available. Only since the
1960s have magazines really fought to get their
market
3
The 1920s and 1930s Magazines become
stylish.There is nothing to say what is inside
the magazine. The covers were posters for the
magazine itself
4
Mixing Lettering and Images

• Some magazines did mix images and lettering
  even in the 1920s and 1930s. This is the style
  we see most of all today

5
Recent magazines now need to tell everyone what
is inside
http//aejmcmagazine.bsu.edu/Testfolder/
6
How to design a cover .
7

• Masthead The name of the magazine displayed in
  the typeface in which it is designed. This is the
  visual branding of the title and is usually done
  in a unique typeface to be very recognisable
• 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 cover there is a
  single image of the model Shania.
• It is used in a classic way, the face is big
  enough to make an impact on the news-stand, with
  the model making full eye-contact
• Coverlines This magazine uses a lot of cover
  lines, which are distributed around the main
  image without detracting from it too much
• Main cover line This is very large - taking up
  about a quarter of the cover area - and comes in
  three layers, each with a different colour.
• The title must be easily recognisable in a
  display of dozens of competitors.
• The start of the masthead is important here
• Bar code Standard barcode used by retailers
• Selling line Short, sharp description of the
  title's main marketing point

http//www.magforum.com/cover_secrets.htm
8
Type faces (lettering) is often special and
designed for a magazine to reflect what the
magazine is all about. It should be
eye-catching.
9
What to do next .

• Make a list of all the features we have to
  include in a cover design
• Decide on a magazine that you are interested in.
  Magic, Music, Sport, etc
• Design a typeface that suits a magazine you would
  like to design for.