School Magazine Cover Analysis

This is an image of a generic school magazine cover.

chs school magazine cover

Masthead

The title of the magazine is in large font across the top. It is in a different typeface to any other writing on the cover to indicate that it is the masthead and not anything else. It is also that way for it to be easily recognised, however on this magazine the school's title does not show well against the background, as the whole of the magazine's title should be in full view and not just the word 'magazine'. The masthead is also known as a title, logotype, logo, or nameplate.

Dateline

Shows the date of publication, usually just the month and year. It is often written next to the price in small print and a monthly magazine is always released a month before the month written as the cover date. On this magazine it is shown in the same colour writing as the title and just beneath the masthead, which is small enough that it doesn't detract from the intended focus of the page but big enough to be read easily when in print.

Main image

Usually just a single image of the model used which covers the majority of the page. The face of the model is big enough to stand out to the readers and though it is partially hidden by subheadings it is still visible enough to stand out. This applies to this cover as the girl's face takes up most of the page which stands out more.

Model credit

Though model credits aren't often used on the cover of magazines, this has a smaller coverline with a quote from the student featured.

Coverlines

Coverlines are distributed around the main image but not enough to detract the focus away from it. Coverlines give insight and examples to each article in the magazine and are bold but not as bold as the masthead. On this cover the main part of the coverline is in capital letters which further grabs attention and shows it is something worth reading about. The coverlines also have a transparent coloured background to them which, while still not as bold as the masthead, are enough to catch the reader's eye and draw them to the main topics ands focus of the magazine.

Main cover line

The main coverline is the largest coverline on the page. It is designed to grab attention from the readers and display the most important aspect and article of their magazine. The main coverline here is a different colour to the other coverlines so that it stands out and shows it is more important than the others. The different colour, font, and spacing of the main coverline attract the reader's attention from the other coverlines as it shows it is the magazine's most important article.

Left third

The left third of the magazine cover is vital for selling magazines as it is the first thing people look at when they see a magazine, so what is covered on the left third has to be enough to grasp the attention of the reader and interest them enough in that first glance to make them want to buy that magazine. This magazine's left third is vibrant and obvious in that it shows clearly and simply what the article features of the magazine are.

 

 

Bar code

 

The bar code is used by retailers to scan when buying the magazine. Sometimes if the magazine is a subscribers edition or, as it is in this case, free, the magazine covers may not have a barcode.

 

 

Selling line



A short and sharp description of the title's main marketing point- in the case of this magazine, it doesn't have one, so that may mean it wouldn't sell so well because readers may not know what the marketing point is.