Front Cover Sketch Drafts

When planning my front cover I started by making a sketch draft of the layout I was going to use and then made a second sketch draft when included the masthead name, cover lines and image etc.

When planning my layout I decided to stick with the typical music magazine conventions and place the masthead in the top left of the splash. I then decided to place the main image along the right hand side, taking up the majority of the splash, ensuring it stands out and is the first thing people notice. The main cover line was placed on top of the main image to distance it away from the other covers lines and making sure it is linked with the main image/feature. The main image will be shown in a close up as it will make the reader feel engaged due to strong eye-contact, making them want to buy the magazine and read on further.

The caption to the main cover line will make the story featured seem as though this is breaking news and has never been seen anywhere else due to the use of words such as 'finally' and 'reveales'.

The masthead will be shown fully and will not be covered by the main image as my magazine is a new one and therefore the public will be unaware of it, meaning that if the main image covers the masthead the audience will not know what the magazine is called.

I then decided to place the remaining cover lines down the left hand side of the image and make them smaller than the main cover line and also in a different font and colour so it is clear to the reader that they are not linked and do not relate to the main image.

Finally I decided to include a banner along the top of the splash to relate the magazine to music completely and make the magazine seem more realistic as, when carrying out research, noticed most magazine covers included a banner along either the top of bottom.