research - already on the market

In this post i aim to decode the conventions of existing magazines already on offer on the market. I will dissect what makes these front covers aesthetically professional and what makes them attract their target audiences.

Firstly I am going to analyse the front cover of popular indie rock magazine NME :

This magazine cover has achieved a look that represents rock indie music, this has been achieve by creating a messy collage of things we stereotypically associate with this genre of music, the iconography is laid out in an uncontrolled manner and this chaos is associated with rock music so this convention establishes the magazine firmly in it's genre and makes it appeal to its target audience of indie/rock music followers.

The text in this cover plays a key role in anchoring the images and also gives an idea of contence with in the magazine. The main text "The Greatest Indie Anthems Ever" has been centered and is in a bold typeface that grabs attention of the reader immediately, this instantly gives the reader information on what to expect from the magazine.

The sub heading under the main heading has been placed on the magazine cover at a canted angle again adding to the disorganised urban look of the magazine.

The logo plays a key role in every magazine, it creates a sense of corporate identity, the logo has been created using a colour scheme that occurs offten in logos of magazine (red and white) this is because these colours are bold and draw attention. I will consider this key convention when creating my magazine.