James Reeson

Comparison of Conventions in print based products

There is a coverline above the masthead. The masthead is the largest component of text on the front cover, so it can be used to draw

attention to other coverlines. Total Film and my magazine both make use of this technique to bring increased attention to a coverline that if placed somewhere else, may not benefit from the same attention

from the reader.

The masthead runs across the top of the magazine, dominating the top 3 thirds of the page. Blocky sans serif fonts are used with

formatting that increases the attention that it grabs from the human eye. This is conventional because it tells people the name of the

magazine. This makes size, positioning and formatting vitally important.

There is a consistent colour scheme that runs across the front cover, used in the background colour, image colour and font colour. This is conventional because it helps to create familiarity, and also, because

of the limitation of a massive amount of colour, creates a more professional and aesthetically pleasing product.

Dominant use is made of the left third of the front cover. Convention dictates the utilisation of this technique because it creates a layout

that seems more ordered and structured, which aids how professional it looks. Additionally, there are differences in the colour

of different parts of coverlines to separate and distinguish their content to the reader.

A seemingly neutral background that opposes in colour to that of the image is used to make the image jump out at the reader.

Conventionally, research suggested that movie magazines tend to shy away from just using an image on set, and instead opt for the

approach utilised in the two magazines featured here.

The coverstory is formatted in a font that differs in style to those used on the rest of the magazine. The reason for this is because the

coverstory, after the masthead, is the most important part of the magazine. By giving it an identity of its own, the importance is made

clear to the reader. My magazine opted to maintain the sans-serif font and use a broken style instead, whereas Total Film used a serif

font.

Both magazines make use of ‘buzzwords’ that have the effect of enticing potentially undecided customers, who don’t know whether

to buy the magazine. In Total Film, the word ‘Essential’ is used, which indicates that you ‘MUST’ purchase this magazine. My magazine uses the word ‘Exclusive’ which indicates that my magazine has some kind

of advantage over the competition. This makes my magazine more attractive over rival products, because people will understand that by

exclusive, it means that they can’t get a similar article elsewhere.

The route of the eye is used to give the layout of the magazine a sense of order and structure that connotes professionalism and

quality. This is of benefit to the reader. Through the use of the route of the eye, everything is in a position where it is convenient for them to see. If a product is convenient, it is more likely to entice them to

buy the product, so the use of the route of the eye is beneficial to the reader and the producer.