Magazine Front Cover Analysis - Codes and Conventions

• All have a large central image - and mostly use direct address, were the celebrity/person in main image, looks directly at the audience.
• All the gossip magazines have 'exclusives'
• All have other major stories/coverlines which catch the target audience's eye.
• All bright and colourful, using bold font and bold colours.
• Familiar magazines have the titles an pictures overlap each other.
• They all include a price, bar code and date of issue on the front.
• Women's Own - Global Magazine, has other countries prices, The rest are national magazines.
• They all have a distinct colour scheme.
• All have a masthead.
• Mainly celebrities in the main central image.
• All have graphics which are around some of the coverlines.
• There is usually 3-7 coverlines on a magazine.
• All have a unique masthead font.
• Usually have 2-3 different fonts.
• Gossip magazines tend to have a paparazzi shot as their central image.
• The biggest coverline should match the central image