1. Covers (5 tips). The cover of your magazine is extremely important. It can be the deciding factor on whether someone will want to pick up and read your magazine, or not. An effective magazine cover does not need a wide range of colors and images, and can even look dated and cheap. Instead, a well composed and neat cover can do the trick. There are many methods and techniques used to put together a cover, but a popular trick is the following technique. You will want A) one masthead (title of the magazine), B) one subheading or main coverline, and C) a larger selection of smaller subheadings. When creating the masthead, you will want to be creative, and use an attractive name that relates to your topic. For example, Traveler is a good name for a travel magazine since it relates to the topic of travel, and the name makes the magazine seem professional. You will want a main coverline to advertise one main story inside your magazine, such as the main location your magazine advertises, and smaller subheadings to tease other stories in the magazine. Along with this, you will want a main image for the background which is graphically bold, and pleasing. This is for the image to stand out, and the picture of the travel location will tell the reader that the publisher took time to make the magazine, and that it is well-done. The three images below all have a masthead that relates to the topic. Afar tells us that the magazine is about world travel, Travel + Leisure tells us that the magazine is about interesting travel places that evoke a sense of tranquility, and Traveler is a simple name that tells us that the magazine will go over places to travel. The main image is interesting, and draws the audiences' attention. It also makes audience want to read the magazine to learn more about the location. The main coverline for the first magazine says "On the Road in Mexico," which is interesting, and mysterious, so it makes people want to read the magazine. The second magazine says "Island Escapes," which relates to the main image, and tells the audience that islands that people can travel to will be mentioned. This makes people think about islands that they want to travel to such as Hawaii. The third image says "50 people, places, and ideas changing the way we travel." This draws attention because an island is shown as the main image, and there are many different ways to travel to such as a cruise, a flight, and more. This attracts the attention of tourists because they will want to tour this island, and try new ways to travel. The smaller subheadings tell the audience what is inside the magazine.
2. Table of Contents (2 tips). This is the first page that your audience will see. This page is usually arranged in a grid format. You should get creative with your table of contents page, but not pack it all on one page. If it fits comfortably it's fine, but there is no harm in spreading it across multiple pages. Throw in pictures and pair them with interesting colors, and structure the page creatively to create an interesting and visually pleasing table of contents page. When looking at the images below, they all have different types of organization, but follows the same grid like structure. The first magazine has images, and page numbers on top. The colors for the page numbers also stand out. This allows for an interesting table of contents page, and will make the reader want to check out your magazine. The second magazine's table of contents page starts at the top left corner and reaches the bottom right corner. The black and white images looks good with the white background, and black text. The way that the images are cut and placed in relation to the text also makes the magazine look very professional. The third magazine is simple, and straightforward. The page numbers are on top of the text is bold, and the text is black and smaller. It all easily fits on one page, and the red streak of color on the left page combined with the text really makes the magazine pop.
3. Magazine Spreads (4 tips). The magazine spread should include plenty of images. This is to really sell to the audience the location that your travel magazine is advertising. The more images there are, the more of the location you can show, but you do not want to overdo it. Putting too many images will leave no room for text, or even captions for your images. There is no set structure for the magazine spread, so you can tailor it as needed.
When creating the magazine spread, you will also want to include quite a bit of text. This is to thoroughly explain the images, and talk about all the things that you could do at a travel location. For example, when talking about Belgium, you can talk about the different foods to try, different cruises to go on, different museums to visit, and more. You will also want a font that is not too big, and not too small. Make sure to include a font that will
persuade the reader into traveling to the advertised location.
Do not include too much text that will scare off your reader, but make sure to use a decent amount. For example, do not want to have an entire page of just text. Along with including text to explain the images,
you should use different methods of style to make your text look better. This is to attract the reader, and encourage the audience to read the magazine. For example use drop caps, add colors, and insert pull quotes to engage the reader. The three magazines below all have multiple images. The first magazine has the image on the top of the left page. This is effective if you want the reader to see the image first, then description and text. On the right, there are images in the middle. This is useful if you want the audience to see some information before the image, then the image, then more information. When looking at the text, we can see a variety of different style methods. The name of the magazine is on the image in the same color font as the image which is a creative idea that is visually pleasing, and there are colors included in the text to separate some parts. Drop caps are also included, and they help to guide the reader. The second magazine has images on top. This is useful to loosely connect the two pages together, and to put text on the bottom. This magazine has separate paragraphs, and uses bold words to attract attention. This helps bring readers to the main point. When looking at the bottom, we can see how the text is wrapped around the images. This helps to explain that specific image and not the images on top, since the image is right next to the text, and lets the reader know that information on that image can be found in that text. The third magazine has one image in the middle, and then multiple images on the sides. This is perfect to connect the two pages, and breakdown the location to explain each aspect and each element in the picture with the text. This is useful for explaining multiple things as once, for example, explaining the image on the bottom left with text above it, while also making connections to the image on the right.
4. Connection to my genre. Travel magazines have a masthead that connects to travel. This is for these magazines to be easily identifiable, along with certain brands of travel magazines. For example, "Traveler "is a simple name that gets the point across, and readers know that if they want the National Geographic brand, they should look for the name "Traveler." The covers are also not overdone, and are easy to comprehend. They include a main image that is related to the travel location to show it off. A main coverline is also included to tease what is inside the magazine, while not giving away the entire story to hook readers. Smaller subheadings are present to tease some more, and can relate to the main coverline.
All three images have the masthead of "Traveler," and are from National Geographic, therefore creating a sense of familiarity. They also have simple, matching colors, and one main image. The main image relates to the magazine, and is usually one of the main locations talked about in the magazine. The first cover also says Alsace, Granada, and Bangkok, which tells the reader that these three locations are mainly talked about in the magazine. The second cover says India, Palma, and Mexico City, and this tells us that these three locations are talked about in the magazine. The last cover says "50 City Surprises" which tells us that the magazine is more based around the city, and talks about 50 things that you could do in a city. "Diving With Sharks" is on the left side of the cover, which hints that water activities may be one of the things to do. The first cover also says "Canada" and "Isle of Skye" which means that these locations are talked about, but not as much as Alsace, Granada, or Bangkok. The second cover says "Kenya" and "Wales" which means that they are talked about, but not as much as India, Palma, or Mexico City. The third cover says "Namibia Safari Camps," "The Spirit of Colombia," "Poetry in Prague," and "Costa Rica with kids." All of these tell us that these locations are talked about in the magazine, and relates to the 50 things to do in a city that is talked about.
The table of contents page for travel magazines can be on one page, or spread across multiple. It depends on the amount of content. Usually there is a lot of content in travel magazines because of all the things that you could do at a new location. They also include pictures, and are structured in very creative ways to be able to show off an image, while also creating a visually pleasing table of contents page.
All of the table of contents pages include pictures. The first one has them spread across both sides, while the second one has them all on top, and the last one has it as the background image. These are all effective ways to show off locations, and are used a lot in travel magazines to intrigue the reader. All of the page numbers could not fit on one side of the page. This is because travel magazines are usually content heavy, and cannot fit them all. They are spread out to accommodate all the page numbers. The color of the font also matches the theme of the image or images, which is a convention of travel magazines.
Travel magazine spreads include a plethora of images. This is to show off a travel location while showing activities to do. A lot of text is also included to explain the image and things to do. Travel magazines have a lot of text because explaining a location can become pretty extensive. No one page should have just text as this will scare off your reader, and get creative with how your text looks.
All three spreads above include a lot of images. It is okay to include a lot of images on one page, but do not include all text. Although you do not want all text, quite a bit of text is required for explaining a location. For example in the second image, the text an be explaining kayaking in a certain location, along with other water sports related to it. Multiple styles of text are also used. In the first spread, a drop cap is used to help guide the reader, and make the text seem more interesting. The second spread has a blue paragraph and it says "Plan your trip," so this also helps to guide the reader. Same thing in the last spread, the blue paragraph is there explaining the image. Get creative with your styles of text, and use them for different purposes.
5. Conclusion. When talking about the cover, do not overdo it with a bunch of colors and images as this looks old, unprofessional, and cheap. Instead, keep it simple with a masthead, coverline, and subheadings. Make sure to include a main image in the background, and try to relate it to the main topic and stories of a magazine. When creating a table of contents page, if all the numbers do not fit on one page or side, expand it. There is no harm in doing this, and is often seen in travel magazines because of all the content that they cover. Along with this, include images, and interesting colors for the audience. You will also want a lot of images and color for the inside spreads of the magazine as they are more explanatory and will make your readers more interested. When writing, include a decent amount of text, but not as much as a full page of text. This will scare off your reader, and is just boring. To avoid this, mix it up and get creative with elements such as drop caps.
Works Cited:
Fussell, Grace. “10 Tips for Designing High-Impact Magazines.” Design & Illustration Envato Tuts+, 15 June 2020, design.tutsplus.com/articles/10-tips-for-designing-high-impact-magazines--cms-25956.
Morris, Sam. “5 Pro Tricks to Instantly Improve Your Magazine Layouts.” InDesignSkills, 12 Oct. 2021, www.indesignskills.com/inspiration/magazine-layout-design.
“10 Key Elements of a Magazine Layout Design - Outsource2india.” Outsource2India, www.outsource2india.com/creative-services/articles/10-key-elements-magazine-layout-design.asp. Accessed 26 Jan. 2022.
“14 Magazine Layout Design Ideas for Your Inspiration.” LucidPress, www.lucidpress.com/blog/14- magazine-layout-design-ideas-for-your-inspiration. Accessed 26 Jan. 2022.
“10 Expert Tips for Writing Travel Articles.” Wanderlust, www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/10-tips-for-writing-travel-articles. Accessed 26 Jan. 2022.
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