Secondary Research

Source: 99designs (2012) “This is how you rock a magazine cover design”
https://99designs.com/blog/tips/how-you-rock-a-magazine-cover-design/

1. Dark on light, light on dark text placement

The basis of most magazine covers is going to be either a photograph or an illustration.

Either way, appealing images tend to have a good amount of contrast between light and dark
regions. Obviously, for text to be readable, it must be light and set against a dark
background or vice versa.

So, much of magazine cover design is finding a suitable spot for text — look at how New
York Times Style magazine below places the phrase “talking dirty” in the one region of
George Clooney’s shirt that is most blackened, or how the text over Keira Knightley on
Interview magazine follows the line of her dark coat.

Conveniently, modern designers have access to editing software like Photoshop, so digitally
lightening or darkening areas of a photograph is always a possibility. That crashing wave in
the foreground of the Morberg magazine page is a great bed for dark text spelling out the
magazine’s contents but it may not be a “natural” part of the image. The designer could have
lightened it up or even planted it there altogether! If done well, we’d never know.

2. Match and complement text colour

Black and white are always solid choices for subtitles or other smaller text, but a magazine
cover’s bigger, bolder text elements are a great place to inject some serious colour.

As any skilled designer knows, selecting colour is never random. In magazine cover design,
common approaches are to either match or complement certain vivid areas of the
photograph or illustration beneath. The below issue of Home Miami, for instance, samples
the vibrant red tone from the patio chairs, just as the issue of Seventeen magazine samples
the pink colour of Avril Lavigne’s lipstick. Dwell, on the other hand, picks an orange that is
not present in the photo, but which nicely complements the image’s dominant blue and feel
tones.

3. Use 3D text behind and in front of the image

The magazine cover may literally be flat but that doesn’t mean all of the design elements
have to share a single plane. Indeed, one common approach is to place a photograph or
illustration so it partly obscures some text while appearing behind other text, effectively
setting up 3 layered planes.

Vanity Fair employs this approach in its cover with Tina Fey, and Rolling Stone really goes all
out with its cover featuring Taylor Swift — she almost entirely blocks the title text! Notice how
in the cover of New York magazine, the illustration of the earphone begins to wrap around
the letter “k.”

4. Placing emphasis with backgrounds, bolds, italics, etc.

One of the main functions of the magazine cover is to sell the issue’s inside stories. This
often means a lot of short teaser lines floating about the cover page. The more of these
there are, the more methods a designer must come up with to draw the reader’s eye to each
— especially in popular magazines, which typically go for a loud approach.

On the most obvious level, bold and italic fonts are your best friend. From there, you can get
fancy with coloured or shaped backgrounds — check out the pink and yellow stripes on
Wired‘s cover, and the highlighting and blue serrated ribbon on Popular Mechanics.
Cosmopolitan, as you can see, takes an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach.

5. Combining photography and drawing

Harkening back to the humble doodle, a combination of photographic and

illustrated/designed elements is often a great way to make a cover stand out. Check out the
clever ways in which Fiasco magazine and Nature magazine blend the worlds of illustration
and photography, and how Esquire Malaysia surrounds Daniel Craig with hand-written text in
place of typical.

6. Take illustration and digital design all the way

Although less common than the photo-centric approach, it’s possible to pull off an engaging
illustrated or typographic-only cover. Good colour and a unique style are, of course, key
here.

7. Spice up the boring stuff

These 3 elements, although perhaps not of much interest to most designers, do need to be
placed nonetheless. Most magazines take a pretty hands off approach, leaving them in a
conventional spot in the bottom left corner. Some magazines, however, have found unique
places to put them, making them striking design elements in themselves.

For example, see how The New Yorker includes the price and date above the title line, in the
classic New Yorker font, or how Little White Lies always includes the barcode front and
centre in the centred circular window. This particular issue of Slanted is laid out to look like a
printing error, with the result being that the barcode, here in purple, sits dead centre.

8. Consistency is key

While all of the above techniques give a designer plenty of room to get creative, it is
ultimately important to remember that every regular publication needs some degree of
consistency from issue-to-issue, in order to keep its branding intact.
This does not mean a template (although some publications seem to adhere to one), but it
does mean that the overall layout and feel remain more or less constant. Check out these
screen grabs of Cosmopolitan, Dwell, and Time magazine covers to see what we mean.

Summary:

In summary, I will be adding all of these into my magazine because they will all help at
making my magazine look as best as it can be. Doing this will help me to understand what I
need to add in a magazine and the reasons why I need to add them. It will also help me to
understand how I should plan my magazine and all the fundamentals that I need for it to look
really good. I will also be using photoshop in my production to create the pictures to make it
stand out from the rest and make it eye-catching for the audience to go and purchase the
magazine, by adding a big, bold font and to make the colour scheme the same so it doesn’t
look awkward. Adding consistency will always make the magazine look much better and
professional and if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t look as good because everything will be different and
to make it look pleasing to the audience, adding different colours and fonts will look rubbish
and people may not want to buy the magazine. I will also be spicing the front cover
magazine up to make it look a bit different from other sport magazines and to make it look
more professional and pleasing to look at then other magazines to make mine stand out.

Source: Flipsnack (2021) “The 10 golden rules of a magazine”

https://blog.flipsnack.com/how-to-design-professional-magazine-covers/

Masthead

Of course, we have to start with the most important one. The masthead represents the name
of the publication and is the most crucial aspect of your magazine cover design.
Professionally designed magazine covers make the mast head stand out besides the other
elements. Therefore, it’s good practice to set it right in the centre and make it as big as
possible. It will also help people to recognize your magazine among all the others.

So follow what magazine designers do and use a big and bold font for the masthead. Also,
don’t forget that the masthead’s colour has a crucial role in making it pop even more.
Therefore, it’s helpful to adapt the title’s colour to match the image and theme you’ll use on
the front cover.

Issue and dateline

This section contains the date, month, year, and issue number of the publication. Some
magazines, like Vogue, only specify the month and year as they only publish one issue for
each month. And usually, some magazines also add the price in this section.

Main image

The main image of the magazine cover is usually a representative illustration of the content
within the magazine. It should best reflect what the issue is all about. Big magazines typically
portray a well-known celebrity or a visually appealing image that easily triggers an emotion.
One thing you should have in mind when designing your magazine cover is to use
professional images. When you invest in high-quality photos and have a cover image that
stands out among the others, you improve the chances of selling more. Also, keep in mind
that the image you use will draw the readers in and make them curious to know everything
your magazine contains. So invest in photography because it’s one of the most important
aspects of a magazine. Choosing the right image is one of the most essential aspects of
designing your magazine cover. So make sure it will best reflect the content within the
magazine.

Lead article

The lead article reflects the central issue of a magazine. Maybe an interview with an artist,
an expert on a subject, and the list can go on. It’s recommended to use a different font for
the lead article to let the readers know the issue’s theme and main story.

Supporting cover lines

The supporting cover lines are topics that can revolve around the same theme or simply be
completely different subjects. When it comes to placing them on the magazine’s cover, the
key is balance. Try to make them clear, short, and concise. Also, go for a more subtle font
and choose a smaller size to avoid distracting the reader from the main attractions.

Bar code
Most of the time, the bar code area is made by the printing house you collaborate with, but
it’s helpful to plan and have it in mind when designing the cover. Try to leave a little space for
the bar code in some part of the corner area. Maybe you also noticed that they add the price
above the bar code in some magazines, but it’s not a mandatory option. You can decide
what works best for your cover and even change the place in other issues.

Here are 10 golden rules of magazine cover design:

Place the magazine name in the most obvious place

Use the same cover template for all magazine issues
Work with grids and layouts
Decide on a focus point and build everything else around it
Play with font styles
Emphasise powerful words
Infuse your magazine cover design with a healthy dose of colour & contrast
Place a portrait on the cover
Avoid busy backgrounds
Dare to be bold. Go for illustrations

1. Place the magazine name in the most obvious place

We already talked about how important the title/name/masthead is. That’s why the first thing
you should start with is placing the magazine name in the most visible place. Truth be told,
most magazines cover giants, put it right in the middle of the magazine. It’s easier this way
for people to notice the magazine among the others.
Therefore, the overall layout of the magazine cover should be organised around your
magazine’s name. One rule that all professional designers follow is to make the magazine’s
name the most prominent feature of the cover. So make it big, bold, and as visible as
possible.

And speaking of visible titles, take a look at the image below. Do you see how the flower
crown hides quite a few letters from the title, but you can still figure out that it’s a Vogue
cover? Starting from the image, font styles, colours, and layout design – everything screams
– “Vogue.”

However, Vogue became such a big brand because of the recognizable elements they share
on all their platforms – website, social media accounts, printed magazines, etc. Yes, it takes
some time and learning to build a brand, but it’s so worth it as people will instantly recognize
your magazine’s personality reflected on all your communication channels.

This is a great idea, especially when you have a celebrity on your cover magazine like
Beyonce, for instance.

2. Use the same cover template for all magazine issues

The next thing you should have in mind when designing your cover magazine is to choose a
template that you’ll also use in the following issues of your magazine. If you wonder why let
me tell you this: Consistency is key! And keeping the same cover template for your following
magazine issues helps your readers get used to your specific magazine layout and easily
recognize it.

And most big brands do this! They mainly change the image cover, keep the name in the
same place, and only adapt the colours to match the image. It’s like a proven good practice
that works wonders.

Still, consistency doesn’t mean every issue of your magazine should look exactly the same.
That would be boring! In fact, each issue should look different from the previous one to
ensure readers know you released a new issue. For the same purpose, you should add the
date and the price on the cover.

If you’re not quite sure how to create a cover magazine template, you can always take
inspiration from Flipsnack. We have a vast collection of magazine templates that make the
whole design process smoother. Also, our online Design Studio tool is super intuitive, so if
you don’t necessarily consider yourself a skillful designer, great, you just found the perfect
solution! I’ll tell you more about how to design a magazine cover in Flipsnack in the following
paragraphs of this article.

And for a brief history time, take a look at how Vogue covers evolved over the years. Still, do
you notice the brand consistency? It’s one of the critical elements that kept the magazine
super recognizable. So try to be as consistent as possible. It’s challenging to think about the
future when you’re just getting started. But try to envision how your publication will look in a
year from now and even 2 years from now. And only afterward come up with a template that
will pass the test of time.

3. Work with grids and layouts

Because now you know how much a template can help you make the magazine cover
design, you also have to keep in mind using those grids and layouts! It will allow you to
organise and align your design elements to make your magazine cover look neat and
professional.

Grids and layouts are helpful, especially when you plan to print the magazine. Professional
designers and print studios use them to know exactly where the safe margins are and where
the printed pages of the magazine should be cut.

But no worries. Flipnack’s templates already follow a specific grid style. Our designers
already did the legwork for you, so you don’t necessarily have to think of this step separately.
The only things you have to do are choose your favourite template, change the texts and
images, and basically, that’s it. From this point, you just download your magazine as a PDF
and hand it over to a print studio.

4. Decide on a focus point and build everything else around it

Whenever you want to design a magazine cover, you have to begin with the purpose in
mind. So, depending on the subject – fashion, nature, cooking, business, etc. pick one and
build everything else around it.

For instance, fashion magazines usually feature models as the cover’s focus point, but you
can use an object or a headline. Anyways, if you’re reading this article, you probably already
figured out what subject you are going for.

Still, one crucial thing is to make sure that your subject is best reflected in your cover design.
As I previously mentioned, your magazine cover design should best reveal the content within
the magazine and hook the reader into making them so curious they choose to buy it.

Do you want to talk about fashion? Or do you have a significant lead article with an interview
with a celebrity you want to feature? Choose the focus point and try to build the entire cover
design starting from there. If the portrait of the celebrity is your key element, then let the
image stand out and only mention brief details about the other articles you feature. Figure
out when not to use that much text and when it’s okay to give more information to your
audience.

5. Play with font styles

As you already know, font styles play a significant role in how a magazine cover looks –
they can either instantly attract attention or not get anything at all. So, yes, that’s how much
relevance they have.
And even though most magazine covers feature the headlines of the most important stories
on the cover, using suitable font pairings can make a big difference in how the audience will
perceive them.

Accentuate the stories and articles you want to catch the most attention and make the others
more subtle.

For instance, take inspiration from the Kate Moss Vogue cover. Of course, the portrait of the
well-known model is the main attraction, but the combination of colors – pink, yellow, and
white – beautifully complements the photography. Also, notice that some fonts are bold,
while others are not, and some have serif fonts, and others are kept simple and clean.
Combining font styles can help you balance out the magazine cover design.

6. Emphasise powerful words

I told you in the beginning that the primary purpose of the magazine cover design is to sell
the stories inside. So what better way to do that if not through emphasising powerful words?
The short teasers reflected through sub-headings are the elements that can trigger the
reader’s curiosity.

So don’t neglect the value of using specific words that usually appear in headlines. After a
short glance at some headlines, I noticed that the most used words that quickly catch
attention are: “Now,” “Free,” “Gifts,” and “Exclusive.” I encourage you to emphasise them
because they prove to do the work.

You’ll see this practice used in a lot of fashion magazines. And even graphic design experts
emphasise these words by adding a 3D effect or playing with backgrounds to make them
pop more. Using powerful words increases your chances of having a perfect magazine cover
that will easily sell itself through all the ever changing graphic design trends.

And remember that people buy first emotionally. So use words that people will feel
connected with and instantly draw them to buy your magazine. Colours also play a huge role
in this process.

7. Infuse your magazine cover design with a healthy dose of colour & contrast

When it comes to selecting colours, never choose randomly. Yes, you first have to decide the
image you’re going to use, and starting from that point, infuse the overall cover design with
pops of colours to make it stand out.

Take a look at this Marie Claire cover design. It has an orange-toned text contrasting the
multiple shades of blue in the photography and background. And with the help of Amy
Adams’ copper hair, the contrast works even better. You can also think about coordinating
colours for a chic look (copy a colour from the photo and use it on different elements from
your cover page).

8. Place a portrait on the cover

Placing a portrait of a celebrity or well-known artist, it’s a practice most magazines do. If you
wonder why, well, the answer is quite simple. It sells easier as people are curious to find out
the latest news about their favourite celebrities.

However, when you have a person’s portrait on the cover of your magazine – be it a celebrity
or not, eye contact is a MUST as the audience can make a deeper connection with the
subject.

You might say that it’s easy to do this when your brand is known worldwide but quite
challenging when you’re just at the very beginning. And you couldn’t be more right. But it’s
always useful to follow the best practices most brands do and who knows, maybe your
magazine will be famous one day too. At least that’s the plan, right? So hit for the stars, my
friend!

If your magazine is about fashion, hire models. Or interview people with authority in a
specific field. You don’t need Beyonce to have success; you need great content. Remember
that without a good story, your magazine is effed.

9. Avoid busy backgrounds

Busy backgrounds can dilute the message you’re trying to tell your readers. So keep the
magazine cover elements pretty organised to achieve a professional look. It’s also
recommended that the model on the cover is on a transparent or solid colour background, as
it will be easier to make the headlines stand out a bit more.

For example, if your magazine cover design has quite a few supporting lines, 3D texts, then
avoid making the background also agglomerated. It’s important to keep a balance between
how much text and busy backgrounds you have in your cover design.

The more patterned or mixed-colour a background is, the more stuff it will look. And this
might confuse readers, and you risk not selling your magazine because of it. So don’t
neglect the overall look of the magazine cover design.

Here’s an iconic Harper’s Bazaar cover with the well-known actress – Saraj Jessica Parker.
You can notice the image is quite blurred through the margins, but designers still kept the
overall cover pretty minimalistic to let the image get all the attention. So follow their example
when you have an image that you want to be the central point of your magazine cover and
avoid having busy backgrounds.

10. Dare to be bold. Go for illustrations

Generally speaking, photos perform better than illustrations for the cover page. However, for
a fun look, you can mix the two or add some drawings to photographs.

Let’s analyse the most creative magazine covers in the food market and see what design
tips we can learn.
For instance, this Washingtonian magazine cover will for sure be bought in second by all
sweet tooths out there. It has a mix of delicious good photography and fun font choice that
compliments the food perfectly. Instead of looking for common ways and fonts to write the
headline: 100 very best restaurants, they had fun creatively surrounding the central star –
the apple pie with a scoop of ice cream on top – with the hand-written font style.

Summary:

In summary of the 10 golden rules of magazine front cover is that there is a lot of planning
that goes on into creating a front cover and that it is time consuming to make it stand out to
the audience and for it to make it stand out from the rest. It is also time consuming so you
can plan it the best it can be so you can compete with competitors. I have also learnt by
reading this source that keeping it simple will be the best thing to do and by keeping it simple
will attract the most audience to buying the magazine. I have also learnt that having direct
address on the front cover is crucial to bring in the audience because they are looking
straight at you and it makes the audience draw the attention to the magazine. Another thing
that I have learned is to avoid a busy background because you don’t want the attention of
the audience being shifted to something else and you want to look at the main image of the
certain celebrity. Also, putting the name of the magazine in the correct place is crucial
because it is the biggest font on the page and you need to make sure it stands out, with it
also being visible to the audience to see.

Source: What makes a good Magazine article?

Regardless of how many years you’ve been in the magazine biz, there is one thing that
never seems to change: Whenever you pitch a story idea, it’s impossible to predict whether
an editor will jump at your idea or pass on it.

And, sadly, all writers are in the same boat; veteran writers are often no better at hedging
their bets than fledgling reporters who are sending pitches for the first time.

Part of what contributes to the mystery, of course, has little to do with us. Timing plays a
major role. An editor will often turn down a perfect story idea because a similar piece is
waiting in inventory to be scheduled for an upcoming issue. Or it could be that the magazine
recently published an article on your topic and is therefore unable to cover it again until
years pass—if ever. These variables are beyond any writer’s control.

But there is something you can—and must do—to improve your chances for success: Make
sure you deliver a solid story idea.

It may sound simple, but it is often hard to tell the difference between an idea that rocks and
one that flops. And what’s a good idea? To find out, we turned to a friend of Mediabistro, an
accomplished magazine editor who’d just as soon remain nameless, to reveal the must-have
ingredients for a quality piece of journalism. If you can nail even a few of these essential
elements, and you still get a rejection letter, then it’s your editor’s loss!

According to our friend, a great magazine story:

1. Is about someone appealing or intriguing or remarkable or abominable, someone to whom
aggressive adjectives can be applied or someone caught up in circumstances that fit these
adjectives.

2. Relies on tension, conflict and drama to move the story along at a steady pace, without
bizarre detours which may in themselves be interesting but which do not contribute to an
uninterrupted narration of the story.

3. Has a beginning, middle and end—in that order, preferably.

4. Tells you something new and unexpected, or takes a totally fresh new look at something
familiar.

5. Has compelling anecdotes that illustrate specific points, but do so with some subtlety so
the reader will not feel beaten upside the head.

6. Includes carefully chosen quotes that reveal the subject’s personality and perspective,
quotes that might be cleaned up for grammar and clarity but never to change meaning or
intent.

7. Leaves no unanswered questions and never strays off course with tangential musings
from the writer and irrelevant anecdotes or quotes.

8. Is easy to follow and doesn’t confuse the reader, meaning that flashbacks and flash
forwards should be employed with caution.

9. Evokes an honest emotional response, not a manipulated one—so resist the temptation to
twist your story a tad to make sure readers get your message.

10. Has a resolution—a triumphant one is preferred, but if it’s a downer both prepare the
reader for it as you go along and make sure you personally can live with that kind of ending.

11. Wraps with a kicker that clings to the reader’s memory, whether clever or noble or heart
rending or even funny.

12. Is factually correct, not only for your sake as a writer of integrity but also for the sake of
our profession at large which has had more than enough reportorial fiction in 2003.

Summary:

In summary of this article, there are a lot of things that are going to help me going forward
because I have got a better understanding on what needs to be on a magazine article and
how I can structure it to make it the best it can be. It tells me in the article that make sure you
get things that are 100% true, if you spread fake news it will create a negative outlook on the
company and the writer itself, which may cause a disruption in sales and will lose out on
money. Also, you need to keep the article in chronological order because you don’t want to
mix up a lot of information that will confuse the reader and then the audience will be asking
questions about what actually happened in the article and what was the purpose of it, it
should follow the beginning - middle - end look as like you are telling a story to the audience.
I have also learnt that including quotes from people that are associated with the chosen
subject because you get a professional take on something that you are talking about and
also brings in the audience to buy the magazine. I have also learnt that not everything is a
perfect story, so picking a balanced story everyone will enjoy is something I should be
aiming for.

Source : What makes a good magazine layout?

Have you ever walked past a newsstand in your local Barnes & Noble, or crossed a wall of
enticing magazines next to your favourite cafe and end up captivated by the invigorating
colours, photographs and typefaces on the covers? You did not intend to, but the enchanting
designs atop each magazine cover caught your eye and captured your attention..

The bold, dramatic red cursive of Rolling Stone peaks out behind the clean-cut,
unmistakable yellow border of National Geographic — dawning it’s latest photograph of
nature in its most authentic, graceful form. The stoic and introspective design of Time
parallels the publication’s motive of catering to an audience seeking serious, investigative
pieces while the chic, modern, exclusive design of Vogue flaunts a more fashion-based,
elegant business model.

At first, you may believe it to be happenstance that these issues caught your eye. However,
it is quite the opposite. Everything in editorial design is meticulously planted to evoke the
emotions associated with the publication’s character. Every letter, every paragraph, every
photograph, every single inch of white space on the page is cultivated to project the issue’s
tone, agenda, and brand.

This week I want to talk to everyone about the vast a complicated world of editorial design.
Now, this topic is the basis of entire careers, and designers and editors can honestly spend a
lifetime mastering this art. So, this week, I’ll be narrowing this topic down to its bare bones —
giving you a sturdy outline that will enable you to design a page that captures audiences as
well as captures the essence of a brand.

Introduction

Magazines are living things. They are ideas. They are opinions. They are points of view
experiences, communities, and societies. They are stories that capture the essence of the
here and now.

Now, because of this ever-flowing nature of magazines, creating them becomes an

extremely interactive process. Designing a magazine is not a step-by-step process, it cannot
be broken down into a simple formula. All parts of a magazine interact, and everything from
the lead image on the cover to the font used in the paragraphs can affect how the reader
connects with the magazine.

When you open up a magazine, everything is static, juxtaposing modern-day life, which is
constantly moving. Magazines capture bits and pieces of real-life and freeze them, creating
a sense of stillness that allows audiences to pause, think, and truly soak in a moment. In
terms of editorial design, seek to create a publication that is not simply a way to deliver the
news. Create a publication that is a place to be.

Design for Your Readers

The first rule of designing a successful magazine is to cater to your audience. Pinpoint your
intended readership and ensure that every piece of your design works to captivate that
audience.

Next, there are a series of generalised questions you need to ask yourself about the
direction of your publication.

Will you be focusing on words or images? Will your pages be dense or light? Dense pages
can come across as intense and authoritative. However, they could also be construed as
intimidating or dull. Light pages can be peaceful and fun, but they can also be taken as
incomplete or novice.

Will your articles be short, long, or mixed? Will you encounter a variety of topics or stick to
just one? How will your magazine be printed?

In terms of visual design within the magazine, the options are almost endless. From the
hundreds of different typefaces that evoke different genres and moods to the options of
headings, subheads, kickers, deckheads, callouts, text, bylines, captions, legends, sidebars,
folios, footnotes, and so on, your choices are almost infinite, and, a bit overwhelming. That is
why it is so important to nail down the basics of editorial design before diving in feet first.

Building a Magazine

A magazine is typically divided into three parts — the front, middle, and back. Pretty simple,
right? Each section has a different function, and all of them are designed for three different
levels of engagement.

The first level of engagement is the eye-catching level. It’s that first look on the shelves that
draws your attention to the magazine. This comes with the headlines, the lead images and
the captions. These loud pieces all make an impression on the reader, who will then decide
whether or not to flip to the next page.

The next is the light reading level. This comes with your lead sentences, your deckheads
(longer descriptions beneath the headline), and your sidebars (stories within the story, often
in small paragraphs).

Finally, the magazine moves to deep reading. This section is primarily text, usually
encompassing the main story of the issue. At this point, your reader is fully engaged in the
magazine, and the goal of your design at this stage is to help them easily move through the
story while keeping them entertained and engaged.

The Cover
The issue’s cover is one of the, if not the, most important piece of the magazine. This is your
reader’s first engagement with the magazine — it makes the very first impression that either
entices the reader to continue or loses the audience’s interest altogether.

The cover is your style and tone-setter. You must design a cover that authentically depicts
your magazine’s tone and your brand’s voice.

The Front of the Magazine

Think of the front portion of the magazine as a soft tone-setter for your issue. This section
usually consists of a contents page, a masthead (a list of those who work for the
publication), a publisher’s letter, contributors, columnists, short features, and calendars or
listings.

I want to run down a few of the most important pieces in this section.

The publisher’s letter serves as an introduction for the entire magazine. It might begin to
describe a special theme which the issue encapsulates, provide context for a major article,
depict a personal experience relevant to the magazine, or state an editorial opinion.

The front of the book is also prime real estate for small features — bits of news, fun facts,
quick trivia, or quotes. This section can mix together a variety of topics relevant to the overall
theme of the magazine and should provide a lot of visual detail that creates an exciting and
engaging front that is fun to read and easy to understand.

This is also a great section to incorporate a photo gallery, typically a one or two-page
photograph accompanied by a short story.

Middle of the Magazine

The middle of the magazine has very little structure, which can be a bit scary at first.
However, this wide-open canvas gives any designer amazing freedom to design the pages in
any style or format that perfectly complements the material and amplifies its impact.

This is where any major feature articles should be held, making up the “meat” of the
magazine. There are usually no advertisements placed in this section so as to not distract
from the body of the piece.

The Back of the Magazine

Think of the back of the magazine like the dessert after a three-course meal. You want it to
be the perfect ending to a wonderful, captivating experience. You do not want anything too
heavy to be placed towards the back, and you want to place any light pieces that are going
to be a soft wrap to the issue, such as a Q+A or a product buying guide.

Compromising Space
Unlike on the web, in editorial design, designers do not have unlimited space, leading to the
need for compromise between text, graphics, images and how much space can be allotted
to each.

As a designer, it is extremely rare that you will be able to control all of the factors of an issue
(i.e. which images are chosen, the proportions of those images, what each article is about,
the length of a headline, the amount of text in a piece, etc…). So, you have to be prepared to
manoeuvre through different configurations of all of these pieces while still being able to
maintain a look and feel that compliments and highlights the tone and topic of the issue.

These topics only brush the surface of the intense world of editorial design, but, it’s a start!
Keeping in mind this brief outline, you can now begin to dive into the construction of your
own publication, and even begin to expand your brand’s reach

Summary:

In summary with this last article that I have looked at, It was telling me what makes a good
magazine layout and what I should add to my magazine in order to make it pleasing to the
audience and make them want to pick it up and read the magazine. This article was broken
down into different sections in order for me to get the best idea on what the layout should
look like on each different page of a magazine and the things I should put on the different
pages to make it look pleasing. The first level of engagement is the eye-catching level. It’s
that first look on the shelves that draws your attention to the magazine. This comes with the
headlines, the lead images and the captions. These loud pieces all make an impression on
the reader, who will then decide whether or not to flip to the next page. When you open up a
magazine, everything is static, juxtaposing modern-day life, which is constantly moving.
Magazines capture bits and pieces of real-life and freeze them, creating a sense of stillness
that allows audiences to pause, think, and truly soak in a moment. In terms of editorial
design, seek to create a publication that is not simply a way to deliver the news. Create a
publication that is a place to be. Also, designing a successful magazine is to cater to my
audience. I should pinpoint your intended readership and ensure that every piece of your
design works to captivate that audience.