The exam: Colour, conventions and 'House Style'

Lifestyle magazines follow a house style (similar style and production)

Colour:
Red - Passion, Love, Anger
Orange - Energy, Happiness, Vitality
Yellow- Happiness, Hope, Deceit
Green - New Beginnings, Abundance, Nature
Blue - Calm, Responsible, Sadness
Purple - Creativity, Royalty, Wealth
Black - Mystery, Elegance, Evil
Grey - Moody, Conservative, Formality
White - Purity, Cleanliness, Virtue
Brown - Nature, Wholesomeness, Dependability
Beige - Conservative, Piety, Dull
Cream - Calm, Elegant, Purity

Conventions:
Masthead - Title of magazine
Selling Line - Short line summarising the magazine
Coverlines - Inside stories
Date line - Date and price
Main image - Image of an aspirational person
Model credit (sometimes) - telling the reader who the main image model is
Barcode - Used to buy the magazine and for companies to check stocks
Left third - Best coverlines are put here (to display in stacking)
Main coverline - The most significant coverline

Lifestyle magazine conventions

This magazine uses direct address because the model on the front looks directly at the reader and uses the word 'your' (addressing the reader). This makes the reader feel more involved with the magazine.
The magazine's language fairly chatty and informal. You wouldn't formally hear 'Flat Belly Super Foods!' or 'Eva Longoria on the power of Staying Positive'
It also uses aspirational offers/tips. For example: Eat more, weigh less.
The colours are pink (Which represents passion and purity), purple (which represents creativity and wealth), red (which represents passion and love), a bit of yellow (which represents happiness), a bit of black (which represents mystery and elegance) and white (which represents purity and cleanliness)
The person on the front is someone to aspire to be and also to use direct address as they chose someone who was skinny and good looking.

Colour connotations

My first magazine cover uses a shade of purple for the title. This stimulates imagination, meditation and artistic qualities. Many of the cover lines are red, which increases physical energy, vitality, stamina and passion. Red enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It is easily visible, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is a colour found in many national flags.

The second magazine uses a red title and border. Red enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It is easily visible, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is a color found in many national flags.

The third magazine uses a blue background. Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
Blue is believed to help the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and makes a calming effect. Blue is connoted by tranquility and calmness.

Red is used once again in this magazine, red is a bold colour which increases physical energy as the speed of other bodily functions.

My Cover For A Teenage Girl Lifestyle Magazine

www: Colourful
          Elements of a lifestyle magazine used
          Most important coverlines on left third
ebi:     Some fonts could be better
          A fair amount of the picture is covered
          Bar code is usually down at the bottom

Coverlines for my magazine

What's new in the world of Fashion?
10 Minute Make-over
Find the perfect shoes to go with your school uniform
Staying cool at school!
All About Celebrities
Be The New You
World's Best Bronzer
Jewelry For Anywhere
10 Tips For Getting A Boyfriend
Healthy Snacks

Titles For My Magazine

Teen Dreams
The Fashionable Female
Trendy Styles For Teens
SHE         (Style for Her, Everyday)
Designs Of The Month
The Gossip
Trendy Times
Glamour Girl
The Big, Fat Mag Of The Month
Designer's Choice

The title I'm going to use is SHE because it is short, simple, modern and immediately displays the target audience.

Balance

This image is a symmetrically balanced magazine cover because everything is centered in the middle and does not need balancing out

This image is an asymmetrically balanced magazine cover because the image on the right is balanced out by the text on the left

This magazine cover is asymmetrical by colour because the bright, vivid colours on the left are balanced out by the duller, orange-tinted image on the right.

This magazine cover is balanced by value because the black and white colours on one side are balanced out by the grey contrast on the other.

This magazine is balanced by shape because the plain background is balanced by the picture of the woman in the front

This magazine is balanced by position because the larger image of the bike on the left is balanced by the smaller Audi and text on the far right

This magazine cover is balanced by texture because there is a plain black background whilst the front picture has bright, conflicting colours that fluctuate and flow

This magazine is balanced by eye direction because the parents are looking at one of the babies, which is a focal point for the picture