Magazine Research

This is taking a look into the typical aspects of a magazine cover. One thing i noticed is that the masthead is always on the top of the magazine and is in bold bright lettering contrasting with the background it is on.
As you can see in this picture, Jason Statham's head is printed over the masthead. This could be due to the fact that Men's Health is such a popular magazine that they can get away with people not being able to see the whole magazine cover.
Now this is different in this magazine cover, possibly because the title of the magazine is a lot smaller than that of others and Brad Pitt's head is such a size for the cover that it would have no need to cover the title, as he is such a cult icon and is widely recognised. Another noticeable trait of magazine covers is the main headline is much larger and centered to show that it is the main feature of this issue. As you can see with both of the magazine covers there are other headlines printed down the side of the magazine. These are a lot smaller and not as bold as the main headline as, obviously, they are not as important. Below you can see a diagram which showsthe typical aspects of a magazine cover. Looking at this you can also see the main features and where they are placed.


Also below you can see a diagram showing the typical "Z" layout of a magazine cover. As in the western world we read from right to left, it is only natural that we follow this pattern when designing a magazine cover.