Cover Mock-ups and Element Choices

    This blog post will be about the cover mock-ups and element choices being used for the magazine cover I am creating! As well as visually showing the drafts/mock-ups that I have created, I will also include an explanation of why these covers are good, or bad, and the detailed elements within them. This can also be used as a guide for future designs created by you, the readers!

Review

    Before we begin analyzing the drafts I have created, let's quickly review the main cover elements of magazines.

    The main image usually covers most of the front page, and in a food magazine it is often a food or dish on the cover. In order to make the audience want to buy the magazine, the cover needs to be attractive to catch their attention.

    The masthead lets the reader immediately know what the genre of the magazine is. The masthead is also very large and tends to be at the top of the front cover; it usually matches the shade of the magazine cover's main image as well.

    The cover-lines are seen normally on the left/right-hand side of the cover of a magazine. Important articles and selling lines are often stated in this section of the magazine cover. 

    The strip is the most interesting part of the magazine, because it includes information about what details will be mentioned later on in the magazine. 

    The bar-code tells the price of the magazine.

    The content page is the page in the magazine that contains little to no images and tells the page numbers of the articles.

    A puff is the incentive placed on the cover of a magazine in order to make something stand out. Puffs are usually promotions or giveaways, therefore attracting audiences towards the magazine; it is also usually a different color from the rest of the cover so that it stands out even more.

    The double sheet spread is the two-page section of the magazine that contains few images (often one large image) but is mostly made up of headings and text. 

Magazine Cover Mock-ups

    This cover was the first mock-up I made and is based off of the second draft I made in my last blog post. This mock-up includes a masthead, selling line, two cover lines, a volume number, and the publication date along with a main image. As can be seen, the main image is very large, taking up most of the cover; it is also in the center of the cover, whereas the draft I based it off of was more towards the right-hand side of the page. This is because with the main image I had chosen, the cover looked a lot better fitting with it in the center. The large main image draws the reader's attention towards the magazine cover, while being in the center so there is still room to place cover lines without them completely overlapping. The masthead is at the upper left-hand side of the page, with the selling line on top of it. While this can look cool, the downside is that people may think the selling line is the magazine's title because of it being read top-to-bottom. Next, we have the cover lines. The two cover lines have been spaced apart, the same as they were in the draft; however, I decided to move them differently to better fit the main image and looks a lot more professional overall. The negative of this is that this spacing makes it harder to read the cover lines, making the eyes jump around often. The volume number and publication date are on the bottom right corner, staying small and organized because they aren't made to draw in the attention of readers. This magazine does contain a bar-code; however, I have chosen to place it on the back of the magazine in this draft/mock-up. In terms of color scheme, I went with a more professional look by using plain black colored text and basic fonts; this contrasted well with the main image, because the main image contains vibrant colors such as red, green, and yellow.

    This cover was the second mock-up I made and is based off of the second draft I made in my last blog post. This mock-up includes a masthead, selling line, two cover lines, a volume number, and the publication date along with a main image. This mock-up is also very similar to the first mock-up I had made, but with different fonts and placing of the cover elements. As can be seen, the main image is very large, taking up most of the cover; it is also in the center of the cover, whereas the draft I based it off of was more towards the right-hand side of the page. This is because with the main image I had chosen, the cover looked a lot better fitting with it in the center. The large main image draws the reader's attention towards the magazine cover, while being in the center so there is still room to place cover lines without them completely overlapping. The masthead is at the upper left-hand side of the page, with the selling line on top of it. While this can look cool, the downside is that people may think the selling line is the magazine's title because of it being read top-to-bottom. Next, we have the cover lines. The two cover lines have been spaced apart, the same as they were in the draft; however, I decided to move them differently to better fit the main image and looks a lot more professional overall. The negative of this is that the positioning of both coverlines clashes a bit with the main image, which is definitely not as appealing to the eye as it should be. The volume number and publication date are on the bottom right corner, staying small and organized because they aren't made to draw in the attention of readers. This magazine does contain a bar-code; however, I have chosen to place it on the back of the magazine in this draft/mock-up. In terms of color scheme, I mostly used a plain black color on the basic fonts to contrast with the green, brown, and pink of the main image; however, I used different sizes/fonts for the main parts of cover lines to draw in the reader's attention, along with using a dark brown color on one of the cover lines to contrast it from the rest of the magazine cover.

    This cover was the third and, as of right now, final mock-up I made and is based off of the fifth draft that I made in my last blog post. This mock-up includes a masthead, selling line, volume number, and the publication date along with a main image. As can be seen, the main image is very large, taking up most of the cover; it is also in the center of the cover, just as the draft I based it off of was. The large main image draws the reader's attention towards the magazine cover. The masthead is at the upper left-hand side of the page, with the selling line on top of it. While this can look cool, the downside is that people may think the selling line is the magazine's title because of it being read top-to-bottom. Next, we have the cover lines. There are no cover lines, because I decided to go a different direction than most magazines usually do; this mock-up features a large main image with little amounts of text on the cover in order to give the audience a chance to admire the work of art that is food, along with being able to view the food in greater detail without being distracted by cover lines. The negative of this, however, is that reader's may not be drawn towards the magazine if it has no cover lines that catch the reader's attention. The volume number and publication date are on the bottom right corner, staying small and organized because they aren't made to draw in the attention of readers. This magazine does contain a bar-code; however, I have chosen to place it on the back of the magazine in this draft/mock-up. In terms of color scheme, I went with a plain black color and basic font so as to not distract the reader from the point of this unique design- THE IMAGE!

Conclusion

   The magazine cover that I will most likely be choosing is my first mock-up, because it was very organized and professional, while also having few negatives. However, I may decide to change the font/size of the cover lines in the future so as to give it a less basic look and possibly draw in a larger span of attention from viewers. I also like the color scheme of the first mock-up, because it has a very minimalistic/basic look while also having a bit of color pop; this gives it a very appealing look and makes it look more professional as well.