branding techniques

There are many factors to creating a magazine that will appeal to someone looking for a magazine on a shelf. A consistent design is very important so a reader has an idea of what the cover page will look like. A reader will always be drawn to that magazine on the shelf if they were interested the first time. Pretty much all magazines will use the same masthead style on all of their issues.

As you can see above, ESPN uses almost the same masthead on each of their magazine issues so that a reader can identify the cover on a shelf and return back to it if they like the magazine.


It is also important to have a color code on your cover. The masthead and other text on the covers normally correspond with the image. For example, the Texas longhorns basketball player in the first magazine above has an orange uniform on, therefore, the masthead is the same color and the other headline are also orange. In the third magazine above, Flloyd Mayweather is wearing red boxing shorts, therefore, the masthead is also in red.

table of contents analysis

The table of contents is a very important guide in a magazine so a reader can flip to whatever page they want in an easy, timely fashion. Here are some examples of tables of contents in magazines:

As you can see above, the table of contents should be neat and easy to follow. All of these tables of contents are organized vertically and have small descriptions of what each page will feature. It is important to have small descriptions so the reader can have a brief explanation of what the story will cover. Text should be easy to read and should also correspond with the text format in the rest of the magazine to keep the style. If there are any images on the table of contents page, and they are focused on certain articles within the magazine, they should be placed near the article title and page number . If there is one photo in the table of contents, then it should relate to the whole genre of the magazine, or it should relate to the main story in the magazine. I plan on using one photo and it will be a baseball field since it is a baseball magazine.

Masthead Analysis

Cover shot planning

Today, Bradley and I went to the high school baseball field to take some practice photographs for the cover shot. The purpose of the planning was see what the shots would look like and where the subject should be in the frame. We were not dressed in uniform.We took a series of shots with different actions taking place and different angles were experimented with for each shot. One shot was a 3/4 shot of Bradley in his batting stance, looking at the pitcher, ready to swing. Another shot was a full body of him after he has swung the bat and he is looking at the ball in the air. Another shot, my most favorite, was Bradley robbing a baseball at the wall. To get this shot i had him stand on a chair near the wall and lean against the wall like he was robbing a home run. All of these photos have action that is quite exciting in the game of baseball. Batting can be one of the most exciting aspects of baseball due to the sheer power that some hitters have. Robbing a home run is a near impossible feat to pull off, but when players do it, the crowd goes crazy! Using photos with such great intensity and focus can pull the reader in more because these aspects of baseball are some of the most exciting for baseball fans to see.

Cover shot planning

Today Bradley and I went to the baseball field so he could take some planning photographs for his cover shot. We were not dressed in uniform as these were just planning photos. We took one photograph where i posed like a pitcher getting ready to pitch the ball. This shot was a 3/4 shot. We took another shot where i posed like i was catching a ball at first base. This shot was a full body shot. In our next practice shot, i posed like i was swinging the bat and making contact with the ball in action. This shot was a full body shot. In the last shot, i posed like i was in my batting stance, getting ready to swing. All of these shots are either action shots or the model, me, is getting ready to perform an action. These shots all intrigue a potential buyer because the action attracts the eye to the cover.

Content Page Analysis

Double Page Spread Analysis

               

All of these are examples of double page spread articles out of magazines. All of these articles have their text assorted in columns that take up both pages. All of the titles are bolded and even in a different font or color to catch the readers attention. All have photos that take up about 1/4 of a page. These photos compliment the articles, but do not take up too much space on the page. I plan on arranging my article into columns and i will have the photos above the articles.