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

� 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 cleanComic 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