The Secrets Of Magazine Design

The secrets of magazine over design: The Key Ingredients


Masthead - the name of the magazine displayed in a specific typeface. this is the visual branding of the title and is often done is a specially designed typeface to be easily recognised and unique. the masthead - also called a title - is usually used on the contents page inside as well as the front cover, and as a logo for advertising and branding purposes.

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.

Coverlines - from the 1950's, greater competition on the newsstands resulted in more cover lines. today, some magazines print special covers for the subscribers' copies that use few cover lines. cosmopolitan magazine uses a lot of detracting from it to much. a mistake often made with cover lines is that they run over an image that has a lot of cover changes, rendering the words difficult to read.

Main cover line - This is very large - taking up almost a quarter of the magazine cover - and comes in three layers, each with a different colour. Note the main cover line is positioned against the model's shoulder so it shows up clearly.

Left third - the left of the magazine cover is vital for the sales in shops where the magazine is not shown full-frontal. the title must be easily recognisable in a display of dozens of competitors. the start of the masthead is important here, as are short Cover lines that are easy to read.
the top fifth of the cover - usually dominated by the masthead - may be the vital part in supermarkets, where magazines are displayed differently.