What to include in my magazine (layout)

Wow, more than one post in a day, I'm on a roll here

Layout is a very important factor in the production of a magazine because the information and images needs to be displayed in such a way that it is both informative and eye-catching but not too cluttered, so the masthead, headline and other text stay clear and professional, the general basic layout for a magazine is the main image occupies the middle or background and the masthead it located at the top.
Here are a few examples of different layouts of previous magazines:

 

For example, I like the layout of this particular cover of EMPIRE magazine because the layout is in a simple structure, the Masthead, headline and taglines are all of the same colour to keep everything linked together. Also the main image is the highlight of the cover because it is a medium close up you can see all of the fine detail and characters emotions, the image is also slightly in front of the masthead, giving it an almost 3D effect to engage the audience



 

I also like the style of layout because of the varied fonts which add interest and the simple red and white colour scheme which really stands out against the central image, the fonts are also very elegant which makes a link to the magazines genre of fashion. The overall layout is interesting as the different taglines are not specific to one area of the page which adds more interest, also the picture slightly over laps the masthead which brings the image more into the foreground to be the main focal point.  

 

This magazines layout could also feature in my school magazine as I like the use of multiple images to add detail and even more information, I am also keen on the way they are used to create patterns, in this case flowers, to make the cover unique to anything else on the shelves. I also like the strong use of colour, and it is the most eye-catching magazine I have analysed, also the layout is different because small secondary pieces of information are scattered all across the page both in front of and behind images to add different layers and levels of text. 

 

Because it's a school magazine the cover needs to include lots of information and previews to what's inside, this means that I cant use a minimal cover where the image does all the talking, at the end of the day the magazine still needs to be factual.

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