Magazine cover
Monthly Archives: March 2024
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MAGAZINE COVER
Magazine Cover
Magazine Cover Statement of Intent
I intend to produce a cover for an independent arts and entertainment magazine, while also taking inspiration from mainstream magazines like GQ and Entertainment Weekly, titled ‘Unwrapped’ aimed at a mixed gender audience ranging from the ages of 16-30.
I plan to do this by featuring a male cover star, but featuring cover lines that may interest a female audience too. My intention is to have one singular cover image of a teenage boy, who will be an up-and-coming actor and holding a prop in each hand, looking at one of them in the process. The lack of direct address in the image creates a distancing effect between the reader and the cover star. The props will suggest the different roles the actor may have played in the past, suggesting he may have a pre-established fanbase. In terms of clothes, he will wear everyday, casual clothing in order to link to the personal identity aspect of the Uses and Gratifications theory, as readers may see themselves in the cover star. For the background, he will be stood in front of an empty blue surrounding, as many magazine cover images have no imagery behind their cover star.
The main cover line will refer to him as “leading the next generation of stars” reinforcing both his youth and profession. In terms of audience diversion, a cover line will feature a pull quote like “Exclusive first look” in relation to a new fictional film titled ‘Hidden’. This quote will be inside of a circle shape, to emphasise the point that the material can only be seen in that specific magazine. Another cover line will be about a celebrity answering questions asked by readers, connoting both personal relationships and surveillance (also suggested to audience by the title of the magazine implying there’s something more they haven’t seen). The themes of the cover lines will consist of films, music, and sports for the purpose of making the magazine as diverse as possible in relation to its subjects. Additionally, one of the cover topics will be a ‘disaster’ at an Awards Show. This cover line remains quite ambiguous and therefore could be interpreted as comedic or serious by readers.
The fonts for the masthead and cover lines will be simplistic and bold, making them easy to read. The magazine will also include a dateline (detailing the month of publication), price (£3.99) and selling line (‘All You Need To Know’), as well as a standard bar code which appears on most print magazines. The title, dateline, price and selling line will be in grey as opposed to the cover lines being in black, to differentiate the two clearly without completely altering the appearance of the text. A wave effect will be added to the masthead so that it is distinct and identifiable. The simplistic overall look of the cover can maximise audiences, as it doesn’t come across as limited to one group of people.
I intend to produce a cover for an independent arts and entertainment magazine, while also taking inspiration from mainstream magazines like GQ and Entertainment Weekly, titled ‘Unwrapped’ aimed at a mixed gender audience ranging from the ages of 16-30.
I plan to do this by featuring a male cover star, but featuring cover lines that may interest a female audience too. My intention is to have one singular cover image of a teenage boy, who will be an up-and-coming actor and holding a prop in each hand, looking at one of them in the process. The lack of direct address in the image creates a distancing effect between the reader and the cover star. The props will suggest the different roles the actor may have played in the past, suggesting he may have a pre-established fanbase. In terms of clothes, he will wear everyday, casual clothing in order to link to the personal identity aspect of the Uses and Gratifications theory, as readers may see themselves in the cover star. For the background, he will be stood in front of an empty blue surrounding, as many magazine cover images have no imagery behind their cover star.
The main cover line will refer to him as “leading the next generation of stars” reinforcing both his youth and profession. In terms of audience diversion, a cover line will feature a pull quote like “Exclusive first look” in relation to a new fictional film titled ‘Hidden’. This quote will be inside of a circle shape, to emphasise the point that the material can only be seen in that specific magazine. Another cover line will be about a celebrity answering questions asked by readers, connoting both personal relationships and surveillance (also suggested to audience by the title of the magazine implying there’s something more they haven’t seen). The themes of the cover lines will consist of films, music, and sports for the purpose of making the magazine as diverse as possible in relation to its subjects. Additionally, one of the cover topics will be a ‘disaster’ at an Awards Show. This cover line remains quite ambiguous and therefore could be interpreted as comedic or serious by readers.
The fonts for the masthead and cover lines will be simplistic and bold, making them easy to read. The magazine will also include a dateline (detailing the month of publication), price (£3.99) and selling line (‘All You Need To Know’), as well as a standard bar code which appears on most print magazines. The title, dateline, price and selling line will be in grey as opposed to the cover lines being in black, to differentiate the two clearly without completely altering the appearance of the text. A wave effect will be added to the masthead so that it is distinct and identifiable. The simplistic overall look of the cover can maximise audiences, as it doesn’t come across as limited to one group of people.
Magazine cover + Statement of intent
Statement of intent
My project will be a cover for an art/intellectual magazine, titled ‘Actorfied’, exploring the unique story of an emerging local actor, and how they challenged the traditional forms of acting. This magazine is devoted to exploring actors, and ideas that break the norm. The demographic of this cover will be teenage/young adult audience who have an interest in theatre, and gripping life stories. In terms of VALs Psychographic descriptors, this magazine will be targeted at Achievers, who can relate to the bravery and success of said actor, and Activators, who seek and take in the new and expressive ideas being portrayed.
The cover will depict the main image being multiple versions of the actor overlapping each other as they circle props and masks around them. Each prop, mask and face will be a different colour representing each of the personalities and varying styles and roles that this actor can portray. I will not focus on making the circle of props/hats symmetrical as this magazine cover tries to embrace imperfections. For sections of each cover line, I will highlight or make certain words stand out so that the main message can be brought out in a much bolder and simpler way. I want the main image to pop out to the viewer, so I will use layering of graphics, probably red paint striking across the background, which will not only separate the image from the background but will also connote an artistic theme. In one of the cover lines, I specifically would like to create a form of binary opposition, where it’ll talk about going against the norm, however the word ‘norm’ will be in a different style compared to the rest of the text on the cover, bringing across the message that being different is the only normal thing. All of this will help in presenting an abstract view on this already predefined world of acting and should help to open the viewer to wider ideas.
The motives for the audience that I am exploiting through this magazine cover is personal identity. According to the Uses and Gratifications theory, personal identity is something that the viewer will be able to see in themselves through the media text, and in this case, the magazine cover could inspire the viewer to experiment and try something new, unorthodox, brave, just like this cover is doing, just like what the actor’s message is trying to bring across. This cover also explores embracing difference, which will be heavily highlighted in the cover lines as well as a wide variety of unusual colours and visuals.
Magazine Cover
Magazine Cover
Magazine Cover
Magazine – Statement of Intent
My project is a magazine cover that features up-to-date fashion trends among modern, radical women from the ages 20 to 40. My cover will focus on providing my viewers with the latest information and styles, as well as relevant and eccentric article titles that will be featured in the cover lines. This will allow my readers to gain a sense of social belonging and have their questions feel more relevant.
I aim to create, what Uses and Gratifications Theory states as, a diversion from real life by presenting the latest chic, bold and aesthetic styles. Through this, there will be an opportunity for consumers to reinforce their own styles and identities, this will also create an escapism from the pressure of social expectations and what people see as “the norm”.
Although excessive fashion styles and trends are being seen as more normal, this is only apparent among younger generations, meanwhile older generations still feel the need to conform to what is “normal” for adults, therefore my magazine cover will allow self-discovery and a safe haven for women who want to express themselves through the use of an older model dressed in a more flashy or a traditional dining-out outfit, this will rule out issues with my viewers feeling excluded.
I want to keep the colours on my magazine cover subtle as it’s main purpose is to help those seeking fashion advice and I don’t want to draw my viewers attention away, however I plan to keep some bold fashion elements within the poster such as the model’s clothing. I believe that using black and white for my background image will make my cover stand out more as most magazine covers are very bright and colourful while mine is more toned down and goes against my opposition. It will also create a real vintage and nostalgic feeling and because my target viewers are 20 to 40 years old this feeling is very relevant to them.
I also believe that to dress radical doesn’t mean bright clothing, it has many meanings, an example of this could be monotone clothing with elements such as texture and layering, e.g. gothic style that can be seen as quite radical, dramatic and unusual for adults/my viewers to be dressed in.