Conventions of a magazine cover

As part of my planning, I have produced a short list of elements used in magazine covers.

Conventions of a magazine cover

These elements are often, or always used in magazine covers. By remembering these conventions, I can use them when creating my cover.

Masthead – The title or logo of the magazine, used to identify the magazine.

Main Image – The main central image of the cover, used to attract potential readers and inform them of some of the content of the magazine.

Strapline – a subheading, used to give some more information to the reader

Coverlines – these short phrases on the front cover inform the reader of other contents in the magazine than the main article which is often represented by the main image.

Barcode, Dateline and price – Provide the date and price of the magazine, usually found near the barcode.