Conventions of magazine front covers

Some of the conventions that are included in magazine front covers are;

• Bold title.
• 1 to two people in main image.
• Text down the side detailing what is inside magazine.
• Normally some sort of exclusive feature.


The bold title is an obvious convention that you see in most magazines it because a lot of magazines titles are recognizable and used to see a magazine. The title is also normally very large and not too long for example ‘Empire’.

The second most important thing on a magazine front cover is the image you use. Generally the image is of the feature film that they are reviewing or previewing. The image usually relates to the themes that the film is looking to convey and features the main characters we followed this convention with our magazine.

The other convention that magazine front covers have is to include text down the side of the image detailing what is inside the magazine. This because people wouldn’t buy the magazine if there was no more information on the cover. Most magazines include information such as regular features or completions along with previews and reviews and exclusive interviews. The more stuff you include on your cover the easier it is to sell the magazine because people feel they are getting value for money.

An exclusive feature is a feature that only this magazine has. For example an exclusive interview with an actor or director who is featuring or filming in an up and coming production. Exclusives are very good at selling magazines especially with the larger magazines where they exclusive interviews with some of the largest actors on the planet.