Codes & Conventions

The codes and conventions of magazine are the fundamental ‘ingredients’ that allow the audience to distinguish it as a magazine. Different types of magazines use different codes and conventions. One code and convention of a magazine is the masthead. This is the title block identifying the magazine at the top of the page. On some magazines there are logos to go with the masthead; this is another way for the audience to identify with the magazine. The font that the magazine has can also help identify the magazine with the type of audience that the magazine is targeted at. For example ‘Arial Rounded MT Bold’ would be used for girly magazines whereas ‘Castellar’ or ‘Algerian’ or ‘Arial Black’ with an effect on it might be used for a magazine like Kerrang! The fonts and colours used on the front cover will also be carried out throughout the magazine. This is called the house style. Another code and convention of a magazines are pugs. These are situated at the right and left-hand corners of the magazine. Things such as the prices, logos or promotions are placed here. They are well placed to catch the reader’s attention. These would also tie in with house style of the magazine. A further code and convention of magazines is the main image. This is the central image on the magazine, and it is also illustrates the main article. The main image will always be the biggest picture on the magazine and it is normally one of the first things a reader would see when they look at the magazine. The main image accompanies the feature article. The feature article is the main story in the magazine. The font for this is bold and large in order for the audience to see it. These can be exclusive pieces or a story that another magazine will cover. Also some magazines have lures. This is a word or a phrase that encourages the reader to look inside the magazine at a particular story. Examples of lures would be little snippets of information about celebrities that would encourage the reader to look inside the magazine to find out about that celebrity. Cover lines are another code and convention of magazines. These are usually on the left side of the magazine and help attract the intended audience, as the left third is covered up when the magazines are on the shelf. All magazines have bar codes and prices. Sometimes the price is small as it is not as important as the other information on the magazine. In addition to this, they have issue numbers. This is so the audience knows when the magazine was published. The price of the magazine can be written near here or the website, if the magazine has one. All of these codes and conventions are used in magazines; however school magazines do not use all of these.