What would you expect to see on a front cover?

Labelling a front cover of a conventional magazine has helped me grasp what an appealing and conventional magazine will look like. The following features of a front cover:

• Masthead
• Plug line
• Cover lines
• Main cover line
• Main cover star
• Captions

all help convey a narrative and prepare a reader for what kind of magazine they are about to read.

This cover is missing the features, pugs, plug line and insets which are all key features of a title but weren’t used in this issue. This shows that you can tailor a magazine to fit the kind of effects you want for your media, in this case in magazine form to make the reader want to read about Dua Lipa.

Looking ahead with my new knowledge of magazine design conventions I know that an aspect like the masthead for example, is endlessly paramount when designing a magazine. I can now differentiate between a poorly assembled front cover, and a highly innovative and informative one and I will use this going forward to make sure the media I produce is to my best ability.