Designing a Magazine Cover

Introduction When you pass by the magazine rack at Wal-Mart, what makes you want to pick up a magazine and read it? The cover

Objectives By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to: Describe at least 3 design elements that should be considered when designing for a specific audience. Choose proper photos/clipart for the intended audience. Choose an appropriate color scheme for a stated audience. Design a magazine cover for a specific audience.

Design Elements Font Color Layout

Fonts Don’t overuse fonts Readable Never use more than 4 fonts. Readable Size Typeface Use Bold and italics instead of different fonts

Common Fonts Times New Roman – best for large blocks of text Arial – Good for titles: very clean Comic Sans MS – whimsical and informal Script – Small and Elegant Georgia – classy Trebuchet – Very clean

Colors As always: Use a Color Scheme Stereotypical colors work! Gender (pink, blue, pastels, gray) Industry standards (Cat yellow, John Deere Green) Age groups Country/Ethnic colors

Pictures/Graphics Catch the readers eye Simplicity usually works best Simple clipart – Nothing Complex Limited subjects in pictures Don’t over-enlarge small pictures

Mimicry When in doubt, borrow! Don’t steal designs, but borrow from design elements you like