Research into Magazine Front Covers

This is the magazine front cover promoting the DVD collection of the TV series, “The Story of Tracy Beaker”.
The rule of thirds can be seen on this page. In the opening third, the logo of the magazine can be seen. The logo is coloured in bright, girly colours - making it exciting and appealing to younger audiences. The centre third is usually a point of interest, although on this magazine cover it is just full of empty space. There is nothing here for the audience to focus on. In the final third, there is a colourful cover line which is advertising a free gift. This is the last place that people look on the page, so if someone was thinking of buying this, it could make them more likely to. The “hotspots” according to this rule are not covering features of interest for the audience to focus on. There is only one “hotspot” that we would really focus on. This is the one which covers the main characters head, drawing our attention into the image. The rule of thirds could have been used more effectively to show off the main features on this front cover.
The route of the eye concept can also be seen on this page. The first line goes straight through the logo of the magazine, immediately drawing the audiences attention to this. The lines then lead into the corner showing us that this magazine is “part 1”. This advertises that the magazine is part of a series, and we can continue buying it. The next line then goes straight across the page, allowing us to focus on the image and some of the cover lines on the left hand side. The final line goes along the bottom of the page, highlighting the banner which advertises “quizzes, puzzles, jokes and flowcharts”. These are all fun things that young children may find interesting and exciting, making them want to buy the magazine. This concept has been used well on this magazine front cover. It highlights all the key features that will encourage the audience to buy this magazine.
There are three images on this front cover; one main image and two smaller images. The main image takes up about a third of the page and is an image of the main character of the TV series. This is who the magazine is all about, so it is important to have a picture of her. Her body language makes her look very laid back and casual. She has frizzy hair and is wearing no makeup - showing she is young and fun. She is wearing a denim jacket which may show she has a tomboy side to her. Younger children may find this character fun and mischievous, being able to relate to her. It is hard to tell what the background to the image is. It is quite blurred, but looks like some kind of urbanised area. The two smaller images have been used to illustrate cover lines on the page. This adds something else for the audience to focus on, not just one main image. It can sometimes make the front cover look cluttered, but not on this page.
The colours used on this magazine front cover look bright, yet toned down. The logo is yellow and pink, two colours which are quite girly and clash together to look fun and exciting. The cover lines on the front cover are a mixture of blues, greens, yellows and pinks. This unorganised style adds a youthful feel and doesn’t make the front cover look boring. The background to the image on the front cover is a blur of more boring, dull colours. Brighter colours have been layered over it, showing that this magazine is fun and happy. The banner at the bottom of the page which advertises features of the magazine is the brightest colour on the page. This may be to show it off and grab people attention. Overall, the colours on these page are stereotypical colours which are associated with young girls. They have been used to make the front cover look fun and appealing.
The layout of this magazine front cover has been thought about well. The logo of the magazine is in the top left corner, spreading to the centre of the page. It is quite a big size so it is clear to see. Down the left hand side of the page is a variety of cover lines, telling the audience what is included in the magazine. Each cover line is given a title, then a sub-heading; explaining a little more detail about each cover line. Down the right side of the page is the image. It takes up most of the page, showing that it is important.
Overall, this magazine front cover has made good use of visual concepts to showcase its important features. It includes content which will appeal to its target audience and is clearly aimed to appeal to them.

This is the magazine front cover for the TV series of “Hannah Montana”. This programme is produced by Disney and is aimed at young girls.
The rule of thirds concept can be seen on this page. In the first third we can see the first two letters of the logo of the magazine. These letters are bigger than the other ones in the logo to make them stand out. This then leads us to reading the rest of the logo, being drawn into the magazine. The centre third has not been used to its full efficiency. It does not hold anything of great interest - just the blank space between the writing and the image. The final third contains part of a cover line advertising a free gift. This is the last place that we look on the page, so it is important that there is something for us to focus on that will make us want to buy the magazine. The “hotspots” in this concept have been used well. One of these areas is on the image of the main character - this draws our attention to that, allowing us to see the whole image and to focus on it. Another one of the “hotspots” focuses on the free gift. This is an area of interest as people may buy the magazine because of this. Overall, this visual concept has been used well. It highlights some, not all, of the main features of the magazine and promotes them to the audience.
The route of the eye concept can also be seen on this page. The first line goes across the top of the page, highlighting a cover line for “free stickers and posters”. This is something that the target audience will be particularly interested in and will also be the first thing they see according to this concept. The next line then goes across the page, allowing the audience to focus on the image and some of the cover lines. This line covers a huge area, so it just gives the audience a broad view of what is on the front cover. The final line goes along the bottom of the page. It allows us to focus on the large Disney logo in the corner and the cover line telling us that this magazine is the “movie issue”. This may be important to audiences who collect the magazine regularly, or to people who are interested in the move and want to buy the magazine. Overall, the rule of thirds concept has been used effectively on this page. It is most effective at the top of the page, but does highlight many key features that the target audience will be interested in.
There are lots of images on this front cover. The main image is of the main character, there are then 6 smaller images which have been used to illustrate various cover lines. The main image shows the main character to be friendly and happy. She is wearing a chequered shirt and playing a guitar, which represents that she could have some country influence. She looks very relaxed, which allows the target audience to relate to her. The smaller images have been used to illustrate cover lines on the page. This gives the audience more to look at, although it does make the page look quite cluttered. Most of these smaller images are still of the main character, just in different ways to relate to the cover lines.
The colours on this front cover are very bright and youthful. Bright pink, purple, yellow and baby blue are all colours which appeal to the target audience, young girls. These colours have been used for cover lines, logos, headings and borders. They look quite disorganised and don’t seem to be in a fixed colour scheme. This makes the front page look quite fun and cool. The background of the magazine is a grey/purple and white. The bright colours layer over the top of this and stand out even more.
The layout of this magazine front cover has clearly been thought about well. The logo is in the top left had corner, spreading to the centre. There are banners at the top and bottom on the page, displaying information that will appeal to the target audience. Down the left hand side of the page are a variety of cover lines and illustrating images. These are in a variety of styles, shapes and colours making it look quite busy and cool. Down the right hand side of the page is the main image, which takes up a large area of the whole page. It is framed by cover lines on the left and at the bottom. Overall, the layout of this page is quite busy and cluttered. There is a lot of information for the target audience to focus on, making it look like the magazine will be packed full of fun and excitement.
Overall, this magazine will attract its target audience well. It has all the key elements to make them want to read this magazine, and uses visual effects to show off these features to the audience. The only let down of the front cover is that some of the audience might say that the front cover is cluttered.

This is the magazine front cover for the TV series “Doctor Who”. It is produced by the BBC and is aimed at young boys.
The rule of thirds concept can be seen on this page. In the first third, we can see the first few letters of the magazine logo. Then draws our attention and we then read the rest of the logo. There is also a cover line in the opening third. This immediately makes the audience attracted to the magazine as they are interested in what is inside it. In the centre third, we can see part of the main image. This makes the audience look to the right to look at the rest of the image. In the final third there is a picture which relates to the cover line on the left. The “hotpots” in this concept are areas that are eyes naturally focus on. The two top hotspots frame and image of a “dalek” which is one of the baddies in Doctor Who. Another one of the hotspots covers the word “BEWARE” in one of the cover lines. This draws the audiences attention to the main cover line of the page. Overall, the rule of thirds concept has been used very well on this magazine front cover. The main features have been highlighted by using a visual concept that is not known to the audience. Their eyes will be naturally drawn to the important parts of the page.
The route of the eye concept can also be seen on this page. The first line goes across the top of the page, highlighting the words “packed with amazing facts”. This is something that the target audience will be interested in and will make them more likely to buy the magazine. The second line then goes across the page diagonally, bringing the image and some of the cover lines to the audiences attention. The final line then goes across the bottom of the page, going over the main cover line on the magazine front cover. At the end of this cover line there are arrows that point towards the opening of the magazine. This is encouraging people to buy the magazine and read inside of it. Overall, the route of the eye concept has been used well on this page. It has been used in a way to make the target audience want to pick up the magazine and read it straight away.
There are a variety of images on this magazine front cover. There is one main image and 8 smaller images. The main image is of the two main characters in the TV series and a “dalek”. Their facial expressions are very dramatic and they look surprised. This represents the sci-fi genre. The Dalek in the background of the image shows that this TV series is not just about people. Young boys are stereotypically interested in robots and monsters, so having this image is a good way of getting them interested. The characters in the image look casual and cool - this allows the audience to identify with them. The smaller images on this front cover have been used to illustrate cover lines. This gives the audience something else to look at, adding depth to the front cover. It can make the front page look quite cluttered though if there are too many. The images are relevant to the words that they are grouped with so that the front cover makes sense.
A variety of colours have been used on this magazine front cover. The colours in the main colour scheme are purple, yellow, green and white. In each cover line, a mixture of two or three of the colours have been used. This makes the text look more exciting. The background to the magazine is purple, this is a very youthful and fun colour. It is also quite a mysterious colour and is often associated with the sci-fi genre. The colours in the main image are quite plain, but the front cover is bought to life by the vibrant use of the brighter colours.
The layout of this magazine front cover has been cleverly thought about. The logo of the magazine is in the centre at the top of the page. Beneath that on the right hand side, taking up most of the page, is the main image. This is clear for us all to see and is the main focus of the page. Young audiences are attracted to images rather than text, so this important to get their attention. The image is then framed down the left and side and along the bottom by a variety of cover lines in different shapes, sizes and colours. These cover lines are paired with images that go alongside them. The magazine front cover does look quite cluttered on the left hand side because of all the writing and the images. The layout will attract the audiences attention well.
Overall, this magazine front cover is successful in attracting the audiences attention. It highlights the key features and makes good use of colour and images to do so.