Moodboard & 10 Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover

In order to explore our chosen genre for our magazine and the conventions of magazine front covers I made a moodboard. Within the moodboard I gathered images that I feel had specific connotations to do with the indie genre or had some aspect of them that I liked. For example I've collated images of indie music magazines front covers such as NME and to a certain degree Q as well as images of live shows.
This moodboard has helped me to further comprehend the genre of indie and helped me to think of ideas for my own magazine.

10 conventions of a magazine front cover

1. Strong, striking images-one of the most important features of a front cover as they draw the reader in and demand attention and I hope to be able to replicate this with my own front cover.
2. Bold mastheads-usually placed along the top of the cover or in the top left corner as this is the most seen area by potential buyers.
3. Covelines-usually placed down the sides of the magazines and they act as a lure to entice the reader to look through the rest of the magazine.
4. Unique Selling Point-expressed through a variety of techniques form images to main stories and coverlines.
5. Clear and defined colour codes-text in the masthead, coverlines and colour of the image are usually similar or the palette is confined to a few bold colours to provide a sense of unity and professionalism.
6. Lure/hook-all magazines have some lure on the cover ad give the reader incentive to buy the magazine.
7. Clear mode of address-whether it's formal or informal there is always a clear mode of address which reveals the magazines target audience.
8. Main coverline-the largest coverline on the page which refers to the cover image and main story.
9. Brand/identity-may be a logo or specific colour code which runs throughout the magazine such as the red 'Q' for Q magazine which makes it easily recognisable.
10. Dateline-the publication date and price usually shown somewhere on the cover, however it often is very small as it is not as important as it doesn't provide any incentive to buy the magazine.