Flat Plan and Rationale - Front Cover

This is my initial idea of what my regional entertainment magazine will look like. I have selected a variety of common conventions that a high quality magazine would have and that would appeal to my chosen target audience.

The featured image will be the primary focus of my magazine cover as it is usually the first attribute of a magazine that the audience will look at. The main cover line will be written in a large, bold font in order to attract the customer towards the magazine. It will be short and snappy to provide a fast reading experience. This is also the second most important feature to a front cover as the headline provides a brief caption of what the article will be about inside.

With the inclusion of a puff, this allows me to follow a popular magazine convention as this is a way to promote my magazine and the information, articles and images that is inside. It is imperative that the puff would be a contrasting color to the rest of my magazine as it would need to stand out for it to be recognized instantly.

I will also aim to use a variety of sub-images as means to attract a wider audience, due to the fact the main image may not suit everyone. For instance, the main image of one issue could be music, whereas the following could be film. I intend to create a magazine cover that achieves the medium between busy and bare, in respect that I want to provide as much information as possible but so my features appear overcrowded.