This is a magazine that we had to annotate in pairs, going over the key design features of a magazine. Although this specific magazine didn’t include some of the main features eg. a barcode (presumably located on the back) or cover lines, these are the focal features that all magazines typically consist of:

• Masthead – the name of the magazine, usually located at the top
• Cover lines – tell the reader what is included inside the magazine
• Main cover line – a subheading relating to the main cover image, usually located in the center of the magazine on top of the main cover image
• Main cover star/image – a large image relating to a main story in the magazine
• Barcode – located at the bottom right of the magazine (for ease of scanning) and includes the price and issue date
• Plug – usually a bar across the front cover, located at the top or bottom that is used to entice the reader/tempt them into reading it
• Pug – an incentive placed on the front, usually at the top left or right, to make something stand out
• Insets – small images usually inserted on the sides of the cover, related to the content of the magazine
• Captions – small bits of writing placed underneath insets to vaguely describe the image

It is important to understand the basic rules of layout for a magazine cover as when we do our own music magazine, I will need to ensure that all of these aspects are included so that I can make an attractive and successful magazine that is accepted by  the audience.