Front Cover Flat Plan

This is the flat plan I have produced for my front cover, the left showing the masthead in bold and the right showing without. The font is Dubiel, sourced at fontspace.com. I like it because I think it gives the magazine quite a professional, sleek look, reminiscent of Vogue Magazine or Living North. I have decided to use the bold masthead, because I think it stands out better and will still be easy to read when the cover image is displayed over or under it.

I feel that my front cover flat plan is quite conventional in terms of existing publications - I have arranged the sell lines so that they go around the image (which will take up a large portion of space). The only sell line that will be on top of my model will be advertising her article, which will make the cover clear and concise. As my target audience is quite young I want the cover to be interesting and relatable, so that it draws them in. I think using a popular local celebrity on the front cover should help with this, as they are up to date with popular culture. 

In terms of sell lines I have chosen quality over quantity. If there is too many pieces of information on the page it will look overcrowded and confusing, which may detract the reader. I think using four is the right amount, because I can make the most of the best articles in the magazine to grab the readers attention. I am likely to use a plug or similar within the sell lines, for example to advertise a competition or special event.

My colour scheme will be the house style of the magazine; black, white, red and navy. Black will be the dominant colour, with white used to make certain things stand out and navy/red used to highlight important points on the cover. These colours will suit both genders within my target audience but also stand out due to their bright nature, preventing anything from being hard to read.

My cover image will be either a medium shot or a close up of my model. She will either be looking directly at the audience or slightly away depending on which image I choose. In one sense, by using a photo looking directly, this could draw the target reader in as they may feel more connected to her and the magazine itself. On the other hand, however, using a photo of the model looking in a different direction may create an air of mysteriousness and pique the readers curiosity. The chosen image will have good, high-key lighting, so that the image is bright and attractive, bringing out the models best features. I am going to photoshop the image I choose so that the model looks as appealing to to the audience as possible, whilst also looking like a professional image. The costume is quite relaxed and casual, to create a sense of relation with the reader, but with attractive make-up so that the reader almost aspires to the image they see.