Blog #4: Magazine Conventions

Blog #4: Magazine Conventions

January 23-26, 2023

    When viewing a magazine, the front cover is the first thing readers see. And it is the main factor in which people decide if a person is going to decide to read the magazine or not. Magazine conventions help contribute to the overall look of the front cover. There are tons of conventions and some magazines such as this one; use multiple conventions when producing their front cover.

Masthead: A masthead is the most common convention of magazines and should be found in every magazine you pick up. The magazines name Us Weekly is on the top of the magazine in 2 different types of fonts one being bold pink letters while the other half of the name is in a different font on top of the 's'.

Cover Model: The first thing viewers eyes are drawn to when picking up this magazine is Kim Kardashian. In this context it can also be considered the central image. But they use her as the cover model to draw in people who are fans of hers and or are just interested in the lives of the Kardashians since their family is a household name.

Anchorage/ Secondary Image: In this magazine issue, the main anchorage form is describing the cover model. For example, the “forced to like a lie” and the “trapped with Kanye in a broken home.” However, there are tons of secondary images on this cover that consist of anchorage that describes these images. Such as the secondary image of prince William and the anchorage that states “secret health battle.” 

Coverlines: Coverlines are on the front cover which tells readers about the content that is in the magazine. An example of a cover line in this magazine issue is "Halle Berry at 54!". Which can hint to readers that in the magazine there will be a section talking about Halle Berry at the age 54 and how she is thriving.

Puff: A puff is used to promote the elements that are within the magazine. They are often in a different shape than the rest of the cover like a circle or oval. There are actually two puffs present on this front cover. They are the circles that state one puff on this cover is the “why $1 billion can’t buy Kim’s happiness." These puff hint readers to what contents will be discussed inside the magazine. 

Use of color/Font: The magazine uses tons of vibrant colors so when someone sees it, they are automatically drawn to the wide range of colors that incorporate this cover. But along with this, the magazine also uses a ton of different fonts for different stories. And the different fonts on the front cover draw viewers to a specific sort that is going to be included in this issue. 

Barcode: The barcode is strategy placed on the right bottom corner of this magazine, so it doesn't distort the cover.

 All things considered; this is a great cover for their target audience. Us Weeklys audience consist of viewers who are interested in current news, entertainment, beauty, and style. This cover and the conventions used on it do a good job of giving Us Weeklys target audience what they want such as the current news/entertainment. And from my viewpoint I actually do enjoy this cover. I would definitely pick it up to read about Kim and Kanye's relationship and how things went downhill.