This document provides guidance on analyzing graphic elements on music magazine covers. It defines common elements like the masthead, cover lines, font types, color scheme, main cover line, main image, barcode/dateline, and plugs. The task is to choose three music magazine covers and analyze the graphic elements using a provided template. The template includes boxes to describe each element and analyze aspects like element composition, codes/conventions, main colors, font types, and image/text sizes. Analyzing these elements will provide insight into the magazine's design, target audience, and overall message.
1. Graphic elements, generic codes and
conventions and target audience analysis
Task
Choose three music magazine covers and analyse the different graphic
elements on them, following the template provided in the students area/AS
Media folder.
2. To know the main graphic elements in a
magazine cover.
3. There are a series of conventional elements
included in all magazine covers (although
not all magazine covers will include all of
them)
Have a look at the following examples.
4. MASTHEAD: This is the
title and/or logo of the
magazine.
Identifies the brand. It
is usually located in the
same place
COVER LINES: Aside form
the main cover line, there
will be others that flag up
different issues inside the
magazine.
FONT TYPES
The font types used in this
magazine cover are sans-
serif fonts, which….COLOUR SCHEME:
Colours such black,
white and red conveys...
The choice of white for
the background
matches the model’s t-
shirt as well as the use
of black and red for the
text creates a colour
scheme that…
MAIN COVER LINE:
This is the text that
goes with the main
image. It further
explains the more
about the main issue.
MAIN IMAGE: This is the
photograph or illustration
that occupies the biggest
area in the cover. This
image tells you what the
magazine is about, as well
as what is the main issue.
BARCODE/DATELINE:
COVERMOUNT
5. MASTHEAD: This is the
title and/or logo of the
magazine.
Identifies the brand. It
is usually located in the
same place
COVER LINES: Aside form
the main cover line, there
will be others that flag up
different issues inside the
magazine.
FONT TYPES
The font types used in this
magazine cover are sans-
serif fonts, which….
COLOUR SCHEME:
Colours such black,
white and red conveys...
The choice of white for
the background
matches the model’s t-
shirt as well as the use
of black and red for the
text creates a colour
scheme that…
MAIN COVER LINE:
This is the text that goes
with the main image. It
further explains the more
about the main issue.
MAIN IMAGE: This is the
photograph or illustration
that occupies the biggest
area in the cover. This
image tells you what the
magazine is about, as well
as what is the main issue.
BARCODE/DATELINE:
Date, issue number,
price,…
6. Choose three music magazine covers and analyse
the different graphic elements on them, following
the template provided in the students area/AS Media
folder.
Analyse masthead, skyline, main image, main cover
line, additional cover lines, flashes, additional
images (in case that there are any), issue number,
price, date and barcode.
Analyse use of font types (serif/sans serif), use of
images, sizes of text and images and use of a colour
scheme.
7. In your analysis you must answer these questions in the boxes provided
in the template:
How many elements can you spot? List all in different boxes.
Describe the masthead.What font types are used (serif/sans
serif)?What colour is used?
Is there a skyline/header above the masthead?What font type
and colour?
What is the headline/main cover line (image/cover line)?
What other cover lines are included?
What is the composition of the text and images?Think of size of
text and position of images.
What are the codes and conventions of that particular genre.
What are the main two colours in the image?
What are the main two colours in the text?
9. Masthead: The title (can also be
the logo) of the magazine. It
identifies the brand and
conventionally positioned in the
same place on all volumes.
Skyline: The writing above the
masthead, at the top of the
magazine cover.
Dateline: The information on
when the magazine issue was
released.
Main image: The photograph
that occupies the biggest space
on the cover. It is usually
attention grabbing and who the
main featured article is about.
Main cover line: The text that
accompanies the main image. It
gives an overview of the entire
whole story and entices the
reader to read on.
Cover lines: Two titles
previewing additional stories in
the magazine. How many cover
lines depends on the target
audience and the genre of
magazine it is.
House style: How publishing or
printing companies like to
present and layout their
graphic material, giving the
magazine its unique identity.
The colours are subtle, pastel
shades of pink that connote
femininity and elegance. Bold
accents of black and blue
complement the pink, used to
look eye-catching. There is only
one image on the cover: the
music artist Katy Perry. The
typography is sans serif, so very
quick and easy to read.
Website: idk
10. Masthead: The title (can also be the logo) of the magazine. It identifies the brand and
conventionally positioned in the same place on all volumes.
Slogan: A phrase which sums up
a magazine and presents its
unique brand image (also
known as a tag line).
Pull quote: Words taken from
articles inside a magazine, usually in
quotation marks.
Dateline: The information on
when the magazine issue was
released.
Barcode: Used to
retail magazines.
Additional image: Represents a
different story inside.
Plug: Information about the
contents of a magazine given on the
front cover.
Flash: Text/image in a shape on
a magazine front cover.
Cover lines: Titles that preview
additional articles in the
magazine.
House style: How publishing or
printing companies like to present
and layout their graphic material,
giving the magazine its unique
identity. Bold shades of red and
blue are used in the colour scheme.
They are associated with Western
nation flags (i.e. UK, USA) and
connote masculinity (appropriate
for targeting male young adults).
Sans-serif typography makes it
quick and easy to read. The main
image on the front cover is the
band All Time Low. Their target
audience will be able to identify
with them. Yellow, white and black
accents complement the main
colour scheme, making it more
appealing to the eye.
Main cover line: The text that
accompanies the main image.
Main image: Photograph that
occupies the biggest space on the
cover.
Website: A web address to
where the reader can find out
more about the magazine,
often to assess exclusives.
Issue number:
How many times this volume
has been published.
Price: The retail
cost.
11. MASTHEAD: This is the title and logo
of the magazine. It identifies the
brand and is usually located in the
same place
FONT TYPE: San-Serif font is mostly
used throughout the magazine cover.
From being used for the masthead to
the cover line.
COLOUR SCHEME: Colours such as
red and yellow stand out and will
catch the eye straight away.
Also the use of the colours being bold
makes the cover seem almost like a
poster. Fire can also be represented
by these two colours which can also
mean power.
Graphics:
MAIN IMAGE: This is the photograph
that takes up the biggest area of the
cover. It’s also in front of the
Masthead of the magazine but the
Masthead is still legible. The main
imagine in this case is the main artist
that will be feature inside the
magazine.
BARCODE: This is needed to
purchase the magazine. It’s a
common convention of a
magazine, however some
magazines don’t put them on the
front cover as it can be
unappealing and does not go
with the theme of the front cover
DATE/PRICE: Date (also can be
the issue number too) and the
price are common conventions in
magazines. It occupiers a very
small space as the company
doesn't’t wants it to stand out as
it doesn’t actually appeal to the
audience as it just informs them
on how much they will spend on
this product. As it’s £3.99, it
seems to be aimed at middle class
audience.
MAIN COVER LINE: This is the
text that goes with the main
imagine. It explains more about
what the main issue is and will be
featured in the magazine. In this
context it’s the band
PLUG: This plug of a free item
inside encourages the
reader/audience to want to buy
this issue.
12. MASTHEAD: The title of the
magazine is also the logo and very
recognisable in the music industry.
Like most magazines, its behind the
main image but still legible
FONT TYPES:
COLOUR SCHEME: Pink is used
with just black, white and yellow,
the colours the artist is wearing.
Pink is the main colour though for
the background. Being a female
dominated front cover, pink is
usually associated with females
therefore a good colour to use. The
use of black for most of the text
makes specific text, most likely the
most important, to stand out.
MAIN IMAGE: The main image is of
a well known artist, Katy Perry.
Taking up a large about of space,
the main image is the first thing the
audience will see and notice.
DATE/ ISSUE NUMBER: This will
just tell the audience when the
magazine was published as well
as what issue the magazine is.
This is usually the smallest text
and accompanied by a barcode
and price but this magazine has
just stuck with the date and issue
number.
MAIN COVER LINE: For this
magazine the cover line is the
biggest/boldest righting but on
the left hand side. It is simply the
name of the artist who will
feature in the magazine.
13. FONT TYPES: Throughout the
magazine cover, San-Serif font is
used.
MASTHEAD: The masthead is the biggest
text but as well a code of the magazine
as its green, sticking with the theme of
the magazine. It is still behind the main
imagine but again still legible. Also its an
acronym/logo of the actual name of the
company that produces this magazine
MAIN COVER LINE: ‘Green Day’, the
name of the band featured as the
main image and content of the
magazine is the title of the main
cover line. This cover line indicates
who the main image is in case the
audience don’t know who they are.
MAIN IMAGE: The main imagine again
takes up the most space on the
magazine. It also will gain the most
attention from a reader. The main
imagine on this magazine is the artist
that is the main feature of the magazine,
in this case, Green Day. The artists are
not all doing a typical pose a rock band
would be expected to do. On the other
hand they are styled conventionally like
a rock band from what we can see. They
seemed to not be photoshopped or
‘glammed up’ like most artist would be
on a front cover. Saying that, they are an
all male band in their 40’s
COLOUR SCHEME: Green/Pink
The colour scheme is related to the artist
that is featured on the cover (Green Day)
newest album at the time ‘¡UNO! ‘. The
album was green and pink. However the
use of green as well is a code to the band
as the band does have ‘green’ in it’s
name. It is then incorporated into the
magazines colour scheme. On the other
hand, green and pink are complimentary
colours to each other with yellow
highlighting key points.
Plug: This plug is highlighted in
yellow and is meant to stand out to
grab the audience attention.
However it’s quite small but is in
serif font. In this issue of the
magazine, there is an exclusive
poster. Freebies like this can draw
the audience to buy the magazine.
14. Graphic elements analysis
Marie Hodge
MASTHEAD: This is found
normally at the top of the
magazine this is because this is
the place where it is more bolder
so the audience can know who
they are reading.
COVER LINES: this is normally
found on the other side of the
magazine. Cover lines are
mainly for the audience to tell
what else is in the magazine.
FONT TYPES: the mostly used
in magazine are sans serif and
serif this because they are easy
font to read. On this magazine
the fonts are serif this gives the
magazine a classic look and still
able to read.
COLOUR SCHEME: colours are
very effective on a magazine and
is important because certain
elements can stand out more.
sometime they use whatever the
staff is wearing for example in
this magazine they used the
lipstick because it goes with the
colour of the logo.
MAIN COVER LINE: the main
cover line is most like
information on what the
magazine is about this also
accompanies the main cover
shot. The main cover in this
magazine is LANA DEL REY
this gives information that
there's an article about her
in the magazine.
MAIN IMAGE: this normally
takes up most of the area on
the front cover. The main image
is important because this gives
audience an idea of the content
of the magazine and will attract
some audiences.
ISSUE NUMBER/ DATELINE/
PRICE: to inform audience how
old the magazine is and how
much its is.
SKYLINE: writing at the top of the masthead gives you
information about the over content like a cover line by
skylines are located at the top of the magazine.
15. MASTHEAD: This is located at the
top of the magazine this is because
its where it stands out the most. Its
important for the mast head to be
bold so the audience know what
they are reading.
MAIN COVER LINE: Accompanies
with the main image. Main cover
line gives you information about
the article but not to much.in this
magazine it is chemical romance
this gives us information that the
person on the front of the
magazine has maybe had a bad
experience with love.
COLOUR SCHEME: the main colour
on this magazine is red because of
the red hair it also goes with colour
line because of the word romance.
Red in this case is a very powerful
colour compare to the baby blue
back ground and the white. The
black is used to make the element
stand out to the red. Colours on a
magazine are important because
you need to make certain elements
stand out and make the magazine
stand out it self.
MAIN IMAGE: this is a photograph that
take most of the room on the page this
is normally related to the main the
cover line. The main image is normally
usefully because it brings audience
attention and can get the colour
scheme out the images. On this
magazine he has an evil looking face
and also started straight at you the face
is important because if it was
something unusually then it will make
the magazine pop out and also
depending on the person on the
magazine it can attract difference
audiences to the magazine.
COVER LINE : the cover line gives you
more information about the magazine
and what in contains they are normally
located on the side of the magazine to
not attract much attention as the main
cover line and for instants on this
magazine you can se there are not as
bold as the main cover line.
FONT TYPES: The font types used on
this magazine is bold and some
element stands out more than the
other. The font types used on this
magazine are sans serif this is unusually
for this because normally sans serif is
used for article (body) but it can be
used ass the head line because it
creates and more bolder affect.
DATE: To let the audience know when
this paper was issued
16. MASTHEAD: This is the title on the
magazine. The masthead is
normally found at the top this
because to make it stand out and
so the audience will know what
they are reading.
MAIN COVER LINE: phrase on the
front cover to give information on
what is going to be on the
magzine.in this case is BRING ME
TO THE HORIZON this lets buyers
know that an article is going to be
in the magazine about them.
COLOUR SCHEME: is important
because it make certain elements
stand out for example the PUFF in
this magazine is a blue splat which
stand out for all the other element
in the magazine.in this magazine
there are a lot of vibrant colours to
make sure that element are
standing out because the magazine
is very busy and has a lot of
elements.
MAIN IMAGE: a photograph that
takes up the most amount of
room in the front cover. This is
important because it gives
audience an idea on what inside
the magazine. On this magazine’s
front cover there are 7 additional
images ,this makes the magazine
look busy and full of content.
FONT TYPES: The font types used
are important because you need
to make it easier on the audience
to read.In this magazine the font
type they have used is sans serif,
this is the easiest font type to
read and is normally used in
headings and titles, but less
commonly as body text.
COVER LINES: Phrase given to
give in formation about the
contents of the magazine. An
example of this would be
Mathew’s live returns.
SKYLINE: writing at the top of the cover to give more
information without getting in the way of the main
image and not making it look to busy.
BARCODE/DATELINE/ISSUE
NUMBER/PRICE: Useful because
u know how old the magazine is
and how much it is
18. MASTHEAD: the name of the
magazine, helps the audience to
identify the brand, and a bit
about what the magazine is all
about. For instant, this magazine
masthead is bold and red and this
shows the audience that the
magazine is all about the best
and bold artists.
COVER LINES: the cover line
attracts more people to buy the
magazine because they want to know
more about what is means and why it
was written like that.
FONT TYPES: the font type
used is ‘Serif’ and this makes it
easier for the audience to read.
This will also persuade the
readers to buy it because they
wont have any difficulties
reading it.
COLOUR SCHEME: the colours
really portray her beauty and this
will attract more people
especially boys as they idolise her
beauty. The nude/pink lips show
that she’s trying to be a bit
seductive as it also demonstrates
her naked beauty. The pink
blusher on her cheeks also show
that she is being seductive as
rouged cheeks also show how
attractive she is.
MAIN COVER LINE: the
main cover line demonstrates
that the magazine is not only
going to be about the artists
songs but it’s also going to be
about her personal life.
MAIN IMAGE: the main image
takes most of the page and it is a
median close up shot of Rihanna.
Her face is half hidden which
intrigues the audience because they
want to know why half her face is
hidden, the audience want to find
out more about the artist.
BARCODE: the barcode is
important because it lets the
readers know how much the
magazine is.
DATELINE: this shows the audience
when the magazine was issued
because people want to know if it’s a
recent magazine or not.
19. MASTHEAD: the name of
the magazine gives the
audience a bit of an intel on
what the magazine is all
about. For instants this
magazine masthead is mainly
white and have some bright
colours, this shows the
readers that it has got
serious facts about the
artists but also has
interesting facts about them.
Cover lines: the cover lines
attract more people to buy the
magazine as it is an interesting
facts about what’s happening
within the music industry
FONT TYPES: it is a sans serif
font type and this is just a basic
font type which illustrates to
the audience that it is a basic
magazine with lots of
information. This font tupe is
also very clear and visible
which makes it easier for the
audience to read.
COLOUR SCHEME: the colours are very colourful and clear which will attract more people to buy the
magazine.
MAIN COVER LINE: here
the main cover line
demonstrates who will be
featuring this magazine and it
is important because it allows
the readers to now who will
mainly be in the magazine
before buying it as not
everyone might like Beyoncé
MAIN IMAGE: the main
image is of a famous and
beautiful singer, the magazine
billboard used this as it will
attract more people to buy it
because a lot of people are
attracted to Beyoncé and she is
an idol to some people. The
image of Beyoncé takes most
of the page as it is a median
close up and it’s a very
provoking picture as her mouth
is half open and her eyes look
like they're staring right into
the viewers eyes and this may
persuade more people to buy
the magazine,.
BARCODE/DATELINE:
this is important because it
allows the readers to know
when the magazine was
issued, most people will
want to know this as they
want to have the most
recent magazine. It is also
important because it allows
the audience to know the
price of the
20. MASTHEAD: the name of
the magazine helps the
audience identify what type
of magazine it is and what
types of things are included in
the magazine. For instance,
the name of this magazine
already shows the audience
that everything in the
magazine is about pop.
COVER LINES: the cover lines
make the magazine look
interesting and it attracts more
readers because it has
interesting news about the
artists. This is important
because everyone wants know
what’s going on in the famous
people’s lives.
FONT TYPES: the font type is
really easy to read as it is a sans
serif font type. It is also a really
basic font type which shows
the audience that we love pop
talks about the basic things
going on in the artists lives.
COLOUR SCHEME: the
main colours in this magazine
is pink and this mostly attracts
females as it’s a very feminine
colour. The colours are also
really bright and this attracts
people as it looks appealing.
MAIN COVER LINE: the
main cover line demonstrates
who is featured in this
magazine which also shows
the audience what this
magazine is all about and
who its mainly about.
MAIN IMAGE: the main
image takes all the attention
away from everything else on
the page as it is of a beautiful
famous singer and she looks
really happy, this will also
attract more readers because
it makes the magazine look
joyful.
BARCODE/DATELINE:
this is important because it
allows the readers to know
when the magazine was
issued and how much its
costs.
Times New Roman (1931/32) is a serif typeface commissioned by the British newspaper The Times in 1931, created by Paxson E. Helgesen at the English branch of Monotype. It was commissioned after Stanley Morison had written an article criticizing The Times for being badly printed and typographically antiquated.[1] The font was supervised by Morison and drawn by Victor Lardent, an artist from the advertising department of The Times. Morison used an older font named Plantin as the basis for his design, but made revisions for legibility and economy of space. As the old type used by the newspaper had been called Times Old Roman, Morison's revision became Times New Roman and made its debut in the 3 October 1932 issue of The Times newspaper. After one year, the design was released for commercial sale. The Times stayed with Times New Roman for 40 years, but new production techniques and the format change from broadsheet to tabloid in 2004 have caused the newspaper to switch font five times since 1972. However, all the new fonts have been variants of the original New Roman font. Because of its ubiquity, the typeface has been influential in the subsequent development of a number of serif typefaces both before and after the start of the digital-font era. One notable example is Georgia.
Century Gothic (1991) is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed for Monotype Imaging in 1991. Century Gothic takes inspiration from Sol Hess's Twentieth Century, which was drawn between 1937 and 1947 for the Lanston Monotype Company as a version of the successful Futura typeface, but with a larger x-height and more even stroke width. The Century Gothic face is distinct for its single-story lowercase a and g. Century Gothic is more closely related to Avant Garde Gothic, designed by Herb Lubalin, and released by the International Typeface Corporation (ITC) in 1970. Century Gothic is similar to ITC Avant Garde in its pure geometry, and does not possess the subtle variation in stroke width found in either Futura or Twentieth Century. However, it differs from ITC Avant Garde in that Century Gothic does not have a descender on lowercase u (making it appear like a Greek upsilon υ), whereas Avant Garde does. Century Gothic also has larger, rounder tittles on letters such as i and j, whereas Avant Garde keeps the tittles square and the same width as the letter strokes.
According to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Century Gothic uses much less ink, saving money on printer ink. They reportedly switched their default e-mail and printing font from Arial to Century Gothic because it uses about 30% less ink.[1]
However, the font is also widely reported to use more paper (since its letters are wider), meaning that the savings on ink are offset by an increase in paper costs. [2]
1. Wis. college says new e-mail font will save money, Associated Press, March 25th, 2010.
2. Century Gothic a font of wisdom, Dinesh Ramde, Associated Press, Twincities.com, 2010-04-06.
Verdana (1996) is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft Corporation, released in 1996,with hand-hinting done by Thomas Rickner, then at Monotype. Demand for such a typeface was recognized by Virginia Howlett of Microsoft's typography group. The name "Verdana" is based on a portmanteau of verdant (something green), and Ana (the name of Howlett's eldest daughter).
Bearing similarities to humanist sans-serif typefaces such as Frutiger, Verdana was designed to be readable at small sizes on a computer screen. The lack of serifs, large x-height, wide proportions, loose letter-spacing, large counters, and emphasized distinctions between similarly-shaped characters are chosen to increase legibility.
As an example of the attention given to making similar characters easily distinguishable, the digit 1 (one) in Verdana was given a horizontal base and a hook in the upper left to distinguish it from lowercase l (L) and uppercase I (i). This is similar to the digit 1 found in Morris Fuller Benton's typefaces News Gothic and Franklin Gothic which are sans-serif like Verdana.
Verdana was bundled with subsequent versions of the Windows operating system, as well as their Office and Internet Explorer software on both Windows and Mac OS.
1.- "Interview with Virginia Howlett, mother of Verdana"
Arial (1982), sometimes marketed as Arial MT, is a sans-serif typeface and computer font packaged with Microsoft Windows, other Microsoft software applications, Apple Mac OS X[2] and many PostScript computer printers.[citation needed] The typeface was designed in 1982 by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders for Monotype Typography. Monotype is the current owner of the copyrights for the Arial font software programs.[3]
Arial is also a typeface family comprising standard Arial (Arial Std) and variants, including Arial Black, Bold, Extra Bold, Condensed, Italic, Light, Medium, Monospaced, Narrow, and Rounded.
Though nearly identical to Linotype Helvetica in both proportion and weight (see figure), the design of Arial is in fact a variation of Monotype Grotesque,[5] and was designed for IBM's laserxerographic printer.[4] Subtle changes and variations were made to both the letterforms and the spacing between characters, in order to make it more readable on screen and at various resolutions.
Gill Sans (1926) is a sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill.
The original design appeared in 1926 when Douglas Cleverdon opened a bookshop in his home town of Bristol, where Eric Gill painted the fascia over the window in sans-serif capitals that would later be known as Gill Sans.
Futura (1927) has an appearance of efficiency and forwardness. The typeface is derived from simple geometric forms (near-perfect circles, triangles and squares) and is based on strokes of near-even weight, which are low in contrast.