Designing a Magazine Cover

Introduction

When you pass by the magazine rack at Wal-Mart, what makes you want to pick up a magazine and read it?

The cover

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to: Describe at least 3 design elements that

should be considered when designing for a specific audience.

Choose proper photos/clipart for the intended audience.

Choose an appropriate color scheme for a stated audience.

Design a magazine cover for a specific audience.

Design Elements

Font

Color

Layout

Fonts

Don’t overuse fonts

Never use more than 4 fonts.

Readable

Size

Typeface

Use Bold and italics instead of different fonts

Common Fonts

Times New Roman – best for large blocks of

text

Arial – Good for titles: very clean

Comic Sans MS – whimsical and informal

Script – Small and Elegant

Georgia – classy

Trebuchet – Very clean

Colors

As always: Use a Color Scheme

Stereotypical colors work!

Gender (pink, blue, pastels, gray)

Industry standards (Cat yellow, John Deere Green)

Age groups

Country/Ethnic colors

Pictures/Graphics

Catch the readers eye

Simplicity usually works best

Simple clipart – Nothing Complex

Limited subjects in pictures

Don’t over-enlarge small pictures

Mimicry

When in doubt, borrow!

Don’t steal designs, but borrow from design elements you like