2.1 | MAGAZINE COVER
There are two important goals when designing a magazine cover; the first is to attract the potential buyer’s attention and the second is to express the content or theme of the magazine. Design a cover that achieves both of these goals and it will significantly increase the chances of the ultimate goal — a consumer purchase. Put simply, a strong magazine cover comes down to specific design techniques.
How will your magazine cover attract the potential buyer’s attention? By being striking. Study the competition and do something different. Create a cover design that attracts attention for being unusual, extreme or prominent; a cover that stands out like a sore thumb on a crowded magazine rack. And as these striking magazine covers demonstrate, create a design concept that is closely tied to the theme of the magazine issue. Before we start on this assignment it is very important to know the terminology and various elements found of the front cover. Magazine Cover ElementsMasthead - 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 recognizable. Selling line - Short, sharp description of the title's main marketing point ('The world's No 1 Magazine for Young Women') or perhaps setting out it's editorial philosophy. Dateline - Month and year of publication, often with the price. Note that a monthly magazine usually hits the newsstands 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. 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 color. Note it is positioned against the model's shoulder so it shows up clearly. Cover lines - Cosmopolitan uses many of cover lines, which are distributed around the main image without detracting from it too much. Model credit - This says: 'Shania: So hot.' It is not unusual for such a credit to appear on the cover. Left third - In western countries, the left third of the cover is vital for selling the issue in shops where the magazine is not shown full-frontage. The title must be easily recognizable in a display of dozens of competitors. The start of the masthead is important here. Bar code - Standard bar code used by retailers. |
The Assignment
- You will create the March/Spring issue cover of an existing magazine.
- Your design will consist of an image (or images; depending on the month-month design), a minimum of 5 teasers, and barcode information (price, date, issue, etc.). Select a magazine that is appropriate to a Catholic School environment.
- The information in the teasers must be consistent with the theme of the magazine.
- Remember the teasers are what wells the issues. You will need to create these on your own, do not use what is on your sample issue. It's helpful to look at previous issues to see how they word their teasers. Remember, teaser tell the reader what they can expect in the issuse they are about to purchase and read.
- Find your own images using Google searches or any other website that will offer high quality images. Using graphics with text is not permitted. You must create any text on your own. There are limited exceptions, please check with me if you are unsure.
- Your design should be eye catching, using any open space wisely, so your cover does not appear cluttered or unfinished.
- Use the exact measurements of the original magazine. Remember that the Title and other repeating elements on the cover must appear the same on your issue.
- Get fonts that match what the origianl magazine uses. If you can't find the exact font choose something very similar. A helpful site for finding fonts is http://www.dafont.com or google search the 'magazine name and font' in the search.
Steps to follow
- Find a suitable magazine to design for. Use something that is popular and current.
- Down load a working version to your desktop. Rename the file to your name and drop this in the class shared folder. I will print this out for your reference for measurement.
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- Find a suitable photo to feature on your cover. Use the largest file size during your search so you won't loose out on the quality.
- Using PhotoShop, set the resolution to 300 dpi and a size of approximately 8.5 x 11. I you need to extend the document to get more height, change the document size under Image -> Document Size.
- Save the new changes to a new file name and set quality slider to maximum. Quit out of Photo Shop this will also make the processing of the computer faster.
- Open Adobe InDesign. Create a new document. Measure your reference printout of the cover you choose for proper sizes of the various elements.
- Place the image you want to use on your layout (Edit-Place). Do not drag and drop from your desktop.
- Find the fonts that matches best and use.
- Measuring is crucial in getting things the same as original.
- Use guides by clicking and dragging then out of the top or side rulers areas.
- Create your teasers off to the side on the paste board then drag them into position.
- Barcode can be found online as image - be sure to use hi res image.
- if your magazine does not have a barcode, look at similar genre magazines for sizing and information so you can add a barcode to your version.
- Export a JPEG version for your ePortfolio and File -> Package and save your package folder as: . . Yourlastlame_Firstname_2.1.MagazineCover
- Connect to the TGJ2O1 class shared folder and place your folder in the Dropbox.
Evaluation
- At least one Image
- 5 Teasers
- Barcode with what information your magazine includes (look at the details on your barcode) :
- Price
- Issue/Date
- Website, etc.
- Also check that the size is the same or equivalent to another magazine to compare.