Vogue magazine cover: conventions analysis

Vogue magazine cover; conventions analysis:

Masthead:

The masthead of the title of the magazine is the bold accent to the cover. It fills up the majority of the top centre of the cover. The use of large font and the bright colours allow this masthead to stand out even more. It is also one of the main accents (with the main image) that inspire the colour scheme and style for the rest of the cover. It should be the feature that first attracts the reader to the magazine. As this use of font is the standard font for the magazine Vogue, it is instantly recognizable to not just people who read the magazine, but the public in general.

Headline:

The headline is usually the 2nd boldest piece of text on a front cover behind the masthead/title. This is because they want the main headline to stand out amongst the other sell-lines and features, showing it is the most important and it’s the one they want people to buy the magazine for. In this cover, it is bigger than the other sell lines and in a bright colour, a similar colour to the masthead. I have noticed that in other examples of magazines, especially music magazines, the headline is located at the bottom centre of the cover and is bolder, in this cover it located on the right hand side, mainly because this is a very sophisticated magazine and this positioning keeps the elegance of it.

Main image:

Along with the masthead, the main or cover image is the thing that stands out the most on the cover of a magazine. The featured cover star is normally a celebrity or/and a model, with or without enhancements in editing, the cover star has to be attractive as it helps the magazine appeal to certain target audiences. For example: In this cover, the fact that it features Natalie Portman is an instant reason for people to buy the magazine as she is a famous actress, an icon and a sex symbol. The use of direct mode of address with her looking directly at the camera makes the magazine appeal even more. This image stands out with its use of simplicity and colour, the dress that Natalie is wearing is simple yet feminine. This is due to the fact that bright colours in the main image may make the magazine cover too loud, due to the fact that the text (masthead) colours used in this cover are very big and bold. The use of simplicity and boldness are effective, a different combination would not go well. The main image is simple yet effective while it still stands out and lets the text stand out, while the colour combination still compliment each other.

Features:

Featured articles are the next big convention that makes the magazine appeal to more people. While the image, masthead and headline gain most of the readers, the featured articles are something that encourages people that little bit more to buy the magazine. In this cover, the feature headlines share the same colour scheme as the masthead and headline while still letting them stand out. Although in this cover the number 10 featured in one of the feature headlines does stand out.

Date:

The date is a very important convention for a magazine and is always essential due to the obvious fact that it keeps people track of which monthly issue the magazine is.

Barcode:

Like the date, this is also an essential convention for a magazine for technical reasons