Creating the Front Cover of a Magazine (Original)

Meraki
Made using: Pixlr.com, Picmonkey.com, Befunky.com
Font used: Londrina Outline
Pictures from Pinterest

This front cover is a practice trial for my main-task front cover. It's called Meraki which is Greek slang and describes doing something with soul, passion or creativity (- Thus this is a magazine aimed at certain hobbies). I chose to call it a foreign term because I liked the meaning and I didn't want to choose an obvious word or phrase used in everyday speech; I wanted to chooser either an eloquent item of the english vocabulary which is quite exclusive or a foreign word which isn't commonly used in England. If you look at popular magazine like: Ok!, Kiss, Kerrang, and Vogue, Ok(!) and Kiss have names that are casual speech words, therefore if someone said "kiss" without any context, you wouldn't immedietly think of the magazine. Whereas if someone said "kerrang" you would naturally think of the magazine as that is the context that it is most usually used in.

The main cover image is a band member called Sehun from a popular Korean band called EXO. Now that my front cover is finished my feelings about the image are mixed. On one hand I like the cover because the model is not from England and neither is the title, so it makes the magazine seem more cultured. Also I like the cover image because it's quite simple with minimal colours going on and it seems kind of "pastel indie". - An aesthetic popular among adolescents, popularized by photo-based sites like Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram. The pastel-indie genre is characterized by grunge or vintage objects enthused by pastel hues. For example:

I also like it because if any EXO-fans walked past this magazine in a shop, because having a K-Pop star in a(n English) magazine is so rare, they would immedietly buy it. But on the other hand, I feel that K-Pop is so out of the mainstream that not many people would buy it, for Sehun. I also think that the main image doesn't suit it because it's a magazine to fuel people's creativity and a pretty model does not do that.

Moving on, my problem with the coverline is that the font is soi small and thin thaty they are hard to read. I imagine thaty if this cover was actually printed then the writing would be readable however it should also be easily readable on a screen. The first coverline I wrote was "50 UK places to go on a road trip". Which I think is quick, clear, and most of all inclusive. The fact that I advertise fifty locations attracts even picky travellers within the audience as there is such a range of places. I highlighted the words "Road Trip" as I want them to stand out to the audience. because this coverline is inviting them to an article about vacations on the road.  The coverline which I am most undecided about is parralel to this one and it says "Writing promts and ideas, thought of by Jhon Greene, us and Douglas Adams". The negatives about this coverline is visual, in that it is nearly impossible to read. This is due to the font and also where it is placed - black writing on his black hair. However the positives are that I have mentioned two well known authors, and this will boost magazine sales. 

This cover does not have a main coverline and nor does it have a tagline. This is because taglines are meant to pop out at the reader and tell them exactly why they should purchase t his magazine, however as soon as I made the font small enough to fit, it was no longer popping and didn't stand out.

This cover is the July edition which is stated at the top above the title. The magazine retails at £2.99 and the price appears in a black box above the barcode to the bottom right. It appears inside a black box so that it's easily readable.

Analysing the Editor's Letter in a Magazine

The header of this page is a small box which reads "hi from ann". The incorrect grammar and the short welcome makes it seem like Ann is friends with the audience and has been writing as the editor for a while. This is because she introduces herself in such a familiar way that the readers assumes she is their friend and new readers assume that she has built a friendly relationship with the consumers.

She continues to say "I've got do many tweets and FB messages (from you guys)". This furthers the friendliness that she emits. Using annotations ('tweets' and 'FB') makes her seem more casual and connected to her audience, who are teenagers whom presumably use multi-modal language techniques.

Then she quotes what they asked, "what my job is like at Seventeen ... The best part of the gig?". By pointing out what she has and what they want, she seems more like an idol to them, which is a desirable position to be in because she seems like a wise older sister who will help them. This is effective because a wise and kind older is the sort of principal that Ann is going for.

Ann engages in banter with the audience, joking about her twitter and facebook followers hoping they can "snag it (her job) one day" and "tweet(ing) back at random hours". This denotes those friendly vibes I was talking about earlier, because Ann understands their humour and wants to appeal to that criteria.

Further down the text, she uses emotive language to connect with her audience of young, impressionable girls. She says that "it's crucial that we represent girls of all shapes, sizes, and skin tones for their real beauty. We want every girl to stop obsessing about what her body looks like and start appreciating it". This is successful as she clearly and simple articulates her message and the magazine's goal and in doing so she connects with her audience. She is telling them that she wants them to love themselves even if they don't fit into european beauty standards.

Finally she ends by describing the point of her Body Peace Treaty, which is to "always make you feel amazing". This furthers her relationship with the reader, by using 'you', it comes across like she's specifically speaking out to her reader, as it's more personal, and the effect of this is that it encourages them to read on.

☆☾⭐︎✧✧✧✧✧✦✦⚬⚬◦◦・・▫︎▫︎▷▷❐❐❐❐❐❐❐❐❐❐❐
Gem, who writes Cleo magazine starts off by stimulating the audience with an amusing statement, "Riddle me this: High on the list 'things that rock my world' are a) eating b) flicking through food magazines and c) hitting up the latest restaurants". Starting it by "riddle me this" is stimulating because it captivates the readers attention by presenting a task. The reader thinks: wow, a riddle for me to solve, exciting. And so it engages them. Then she states things that "rock her world" within a pop-quiz format. This phrasing is similar to a multiple choice question and so excites the reader as it seems quite active and interactive.

Gem continues to use words and phrases like "Nah-uh" and "Drum roll, please...", These things are what friends would usually say to eachother because they're so casual and the 'nah-uh' in particular sounds most like spoken word.

In a large, colourful font, she says "cooking and I are not friends. we're not even frenemies.". She has chosen to put this in a big, bright font, as people will either relate, or find it amusing. A percentage of the audience will relate because it's a cooking magazine. therefore people will be have an interest in food, but not be able to cook, or they will find it amusing because they can, and love to cook.

She proceeds to list her favourite foods, which all have very personalised names, which will attract readers because people tend to like personalised, 'home-made', things. One of her favourites is "Tina's spaghetti bolognese". By naming this spaghetti after someone makes this dish seem different, as if Tina makes it in a way unlike your standard recipe says. She says "lamb chops" and "custard doughnuts" which are relatable, favourable foods as they're eaten so often. She says "granny's chocolate mousse" which is effective as with a life-time experience of cooking, grandmas are stereotypically amazing at cooking, therefore this probably resonates with the audience and makes them want their grandmothers' home cooking. Then she says "bun cha" which is a famous Vietnamese dish. Adding a foreign food makes Gem seem more cultured and also pleases her audience of Vietnam origin.