Magazine Cover - Flat Plan 1

This layout follows the codes and conventions of a hip-hop magazine as the layout is quite simple. The layout includes a skyline and a banner at the top and bottom of the page which will include names of celebrities that are featured in the magazine this is a good idea because if the audience is drawn in by a celebrity that they like then they will automatically want to buy the magazine. The masthead is big and bold and it is behind the model which shows that is a well known magazine and doesn't need to show the name of the magazine for the audience to know what it is, there is a selling line underneath the masthead which is good as the audience will know what the magazine is about straight away.  I have made my models make-up young, funky and colourful as the survey results suggested that this is what my target audiences prefers, the model has props with her that are related to music (a speaker and headphones) this makes it clear that my magazine is a music magazine. There is an anchor which is positioned at the top left hand side of the page this will draw the audience in as it is quite big and in an eye-catching position.

There is a button on the right hand side which will say 'Free Mixtape Inside', this will encourage the audience to buy the magazine as they will feel that they are getting good value for their money and in my survey the results showed that my target audience prefer freebies. Conventionally there are kickers on both sides of the cover but they are mostly on the left hand side as the left third is most pleasing the human eye as I know from photography. The magazine website is positioned at the bottom left hand side, this is so that is does not become a distraction and the bar-code is positioned on the bottom right hand side for the same reason. They are both kept out of the way so that the audiences main focus can go on the kickers and the image which are the most important parts to sell the magazine.