Conventions of School Magazine Covers

As part of my research for my preliminary task I looked at a range of real life school magazines. I decided to look at the main conventions of these magazines and decide whether they are useful in relation to my own school magazine.

Images

Smiling student – On the front of school magazines there is always a child smiling. This is used to portray the school as looking like a fun and happy environment. I will utilise this convention in order to make the school look friendly and the magazine appear more approachable.

Range of students – A key convention of school magazine covers is having a range of students on the cover. By having a diverse group of students, the school looks far more inclusive and welcoming for people. In my magazine I will aim to use a group of students of different genders and ethnic backgrounds in order to convey this message.

3 colour scheme – School magazines generally have three colours within their colour scheme. This is used to show order to the magazine and yet still a bit of variation. The colours are often very contrasting, to make the cover look more vibrant. This will be used in my magazine to keep my cover organised and yet still visually appealing.

Logo – Often the school’s logo is visible on the cover, this reaffirms the schools identity and makes the magazine instantly recognisable. I will make sure the school logo is visible as I think it is really important for the magazine to be recognisable to its audience.

Language

'See Inside' – There is always a small snippet of what’s within the magazine, this is used to entice readers into reading the entire magazine and not just the cover. I will use this idea to create the same sort of enticing effect.

Alliteration – Either the headline, tagline or even the title of the magazine use some form of alliteration. This makes the magazine seem much friendlier and appealing to read. I will probably use this in my title, in order to really catch the attention of my audience.

Imperatives - Often the language used is very imperative, this helps to assert the information within the magazine. I will follow this convention in order to make my magazine appear much stronger and more appealing.

Traditional Fonts – The fonts used are fairly basic and so don’t over complicate the cover however they are still fun and eye-catching. I will definitely make use of this as I want my magazine to be legible and yet still appealing.