What’s in a magazine design? Well, magazine covers are the first thing a buyer sees before picking them up. Among thousands of magazines available today, it’s a challenging task for buyers to make a selection. So, naturally, they judge a magazine by its cover. When they find the one that gives a glimpse of its content, they pick it up off the rack immediately!
So, before you start creating a stunning political, financial, or fashion magazine cover, let’s explore the most important elements of a magazine cover.
Important elements of a magazine cover?
A magazine cover shows us what the issue discusses inside. So, a reader picks up a magazine after seeing its exciting cover design. That is the main purpose of the cover. Its design prompts readers to pick and buy it.
However, a magazine cover is not just a simple cover from the designer’s perspective. The cover comprises of these important elements.
- Masthead
- Issue and dateline
- Main image
- Lead article
- Supporting cover lines
- Bar code
Masthead
The masthead is the magazine name, usually at the top of the cover. Since the magazine’s name shows authenticity, its design should be consistent with previous mastheads.
Some magazines set the masthead right in the center. Most mastheads are in big letters for quick visibility and recognition. That is why mastheads have the largest font size on the cover.
Issue and Dateline
A magazine cover also mentions the date, month, and year of publication. It also highlights the issue number. The price of a magazine is also mentioned boldly on the cover. However, the designers should avoid giving too many details.
Main image
The main image of the cover is always a chief attraction and sometimes a reason for readers to buy. The main image is mostly an appealing illustration that triggers the potential buyers’ emotions.
A celebrity’s image works well as the main image to drive people’s interest quickly. But the image must reflect the main content that the magazine had discussed inside.
If you use a few magazine pictures, ensure they support the main image on the cover.
Lead article title
A magazine cover also mentions its lead articles to let the buyers know what they can expect to read inside. In this way, the lead article title emotionally impacts the magazine’s prospective buyers. The designers use a unique font for the article title to highlight the story for the readers.
Supporting cover lines
The supporting cover lines are the ones that tell the magazine buyer a bit more about the subject matter related to the central theme. These are short and clear lines in a more subtle font.
Bar code
Bar code is also a vital element in modern-day magazine cover designs. It is set in the corner area of the cover. However, the printing house that the magazine is working with generally creates this section.
Now that you know the main elements of a magazine cover, let us know the critical rules for designing the cover.
Top 10 rules to create unique magazine covers
An attractive and uniquely designed cover generates interest in buying the magazine. Here are some essential tips when pondering how to make a cover page:
01. Add the magazine’s name at the top
The first rule to creating an impressive magazine cover is placing the magazine’s name at the top. Start the cover by adding your magazine’s name where it is instantly visible, usually at the top.
Whatever your magazine cover ideas, organize the magazine layout around its name. Know that a magazine’s name becomes a brand. People recognize it for its unique font style and design. The name will remain the same as the brand identity of the magazine. However, the name may appear in different colors depending on the color scheme of each cover design.
Ensure you put the magazine’s name in big and bold letters to make it visible from a distance.
02. Use grids for a visually appealing look
Grids and layouts are designers’ tools to organize different design elements in a given space. While layouts give a magazine cover a visibly appealing look, grids are the backbone of layouts. Grids determine the layout of your fashion magazine cover design or other business or sports magazine covers.
Professional designers use grids and layouts to find out what the safe margins should be. These also help decide on where to cut printed magazine pages. Even if yours is a digital magazine, you need grids and layouts to ensure a better magazine design. These help create a crisp and clean magazine cover.
03. Retain the same layout for consistency
Another helpful tip for designing amazing magazine covers is to maintain the layout consistency. Once you use a grid and layout to decide on a magazine cover design, make that your template. Use the same template whenever you create a cover for the next issues.
Using the same cover format is also a great way to get people used to the layout. That also helps in building recognition. Grids and layouts are a way to ensure that different covers of a magazine look the same. However, it is all about positioning the elements familiarly.
04. Build everything around a focus point
One of the tested magazine cover ideas is to use all elements to support the focus point of the cover. Once you have finalized your magazine cover template, think of a focus point to help balance design and content. Therefore, first, you need to know what the focus point of your magazine issue is. A key thing to deciding on the focus point is to know what your audience is interested in. What would quickly catch their eye? A precise answer to this will be your focus point for the cover.
So, the main subject, such as fashion, cooking, nature, business, etc., is your focus point for the cover design. Therefore, do some research about the audience who is likely to read your magazine. Then, build the supporting cover lines and other elements accordingly.
05. Explore different fonts
Fonts are responsible for giving a personality to any design. That is also true when designing magazine covers. You will use fonts everywhere on your cover. A wise choice of font will make your magazine’s name stand out.
Your magazine name and headline might appear in bold to get it noticed from afar. Use a serif typeface to create an elegant headline and supporting subtitles. Light and italic fonts will give a pleasing look to the magazine covers.
But ensure that the text is legible, whichever font style you choose. People should be able to quickly read the text on the cover from a fair distance. Combining a few font styles to produce eye-pleasing contrast would be good. For this, consider using font pairing trick.
In addition to that, your font style should support the look and feel of the cover style. For instance, you prefer a serif font if it is a fashion magazine cover.
06. Include specific, powerful words
Words have the power to charge our emotions. That is why marketers use words strategically to involve our emotions with an intention in a brand promotion campaign. Magazine covers are no exception.
Therefore, use powerful words on the cover. Your supporting cover lines should be short teasers to encourage readers to read the pages inside. The intention is to arouse the reader’s curiosity.
For instance, many fashion design magazines use buzzwords to make the cover look contemporary. Use words that people easily connect with. Then, highlight those words with appropriate colors.
07. Choose the right colors and contrast
A color scheme will liven up your magazine cover. People see colors and get the underlying message. For instance, red is the color of love and passion, while yellow evokes hope. Similarly, blue is the color of friendliness, and purple is for royalty.
So, first, know the purpose of your magazine cover and incorporate a color scheme accordingly. Going by the trend, magazine covers have minimal use of green, while red is the most used color. Still, choose your magazine cover color to highlight the cover elements.
However, the cover design should have contrasting colors to emphasize important elements. For example, the masthead should be a different color than the supporting cover and lead article lines.
Choose a color scheme for the type of magazine content, such as business and entertainment.
08. Put a portrait for an emotional connect
One of the strategies most magazine cover designers use is to put a person’s large portrait on the cover. This is done to evoke specific emotions from the viewers. When someone with some emotion on their face appears on the cover, it fills people with curiosity. They build an emotional connection with the person portrayed.
They want to know more about that person in the cover story inside. That is why most fashion and other magazines have celebrities on the cover. Ensure that the person on the cover is shown making eye contact with the viewers.
09. Keep the background clutter-free
Everyone likes to have a second look at a clean design with no unnecessary use of multiple elements. Too many elements will clutter a design, making viewers directionless in getting a clear message.
Therefore, leave sufficient space in the background while designing a magazine cover. That will also help highlight the cover photo. Do not make the background busy if the cover has 3D text and supporting lines. The key is to achieve a balance between different cover elements. This is like website design, which should be minimalist and clean for modern users.
10. Create illustrations for a unique cover
While photos are popular options for magazine covers, illustrations are an effective alternative. Historically, magazines relied on portraits to convey an intended emotion through cover designs. But nowadays, illustrations are a popular alternative to give covers a unique look and feel.
Ensure that the illustration hints at what the cover story inside the pages is all about. Try to have a good mix of illustrations and a photograph. That will give a distinctive look to the cover.
These are the key tips you should consider while creating a magazine cover. You should play around and experiment with different elements. Keep your magazine’s cover story in mind while incorporating colors, fonts, photos, illustrations, etc., as part of the cover design. Most importantly, have a look at different magazine cover examples, such as Time magazine, Vogue magazine, Elle, and more. That will give you an idea of how your cover design should look like.
If you are looking for different magazine cover ideas, then visit Designhill. This leading creative marketplace has over 330K talented designers registered on its platform. Launch your magazine cover design contest or use a magazine cover maker to get a desired cover.
Wrapping Up
Magazine covers must be attractive and have unique designs so that viewers can pick them to buy and read. To create an amazing cover, place the magazine name at the top for visibility and incorporate a leading title and supporting lines. Ensure that the cover photo evokes viewers’ emotions. Choose the right colors and fonts for text and ensure contrasting effects. Consider the ideas shared earlier to get a stunning magazine cover.
