Front Cover Main Influences

I like the layout of this front cover, with the use of the close up image of the model, as well as the use of text in and around the dominant image. I feel this is a neat balanced layout and suits the front cover of a football magazine. This is the kind of layout I envision my front cover having. Also this magazine SEVENTY3, is a Sunderland based fanzine. This is useful for me as it has a very similar genre and region to what my magazine will have, therefore it is a useful influence as I can look for conventions which are perhaps suited to this particular region. My front cover will have a similar sized masthead to this front cover. The masthead is important and needs to stand out to the reader, therefore making it big will help it to stand to readers. The size and location of the masthead is also in a similar position to how I will place my headline. This too needs to stand out to readers as it holds important information about the magazine. Placing it slightly under the dominant image and making it a fairly large size helps it to stand out, adding to the neat layout of this front cover. This front cover's colour scheme of red and whit is also the same as the colour scheme I will predominantly be using throughout my magazine. I like the way that the colour is used within this, as it isn't too colourful to the point where it looks unprofessional. It manages to subtly capture the red and white colour scheme without creating an unprofessional look to the front cover.

I decided to look at cultural magazines as influences as well as football magazines, due to the fact my magazine fits into the category of culture as well as football. This front cover has a similar kind of design to what I want my front cover to have. Its use of the stark, slightly distorted image creates the cutting-edge design that I want to replicate in m front cover. It adds to the mise-en-scene of the magazine and really captures the mood of the region. I also like the minimal use of text within this front cover. Again, this adds to the cutting-edge look of the magazine and also gives it a professional feel, in that there is not too much text clogging up the page. The subheads placed on the left hand side of the page are subtle and are placed in a position where they do not draw attention away from other conventions within the page such as the dominant image. I like the use of the plain background. It allows a more concentrated focus on the dominant image, colour scheme and uses of text. I will also be using a plain background for the background of my front cover, so that more emphasis is placed on the dominant image and colour scheme. There are some effects used for the background, such as the worn-out looking crease to the right of the model. This adds to the magazines mise-en-scene as it gives the magazine a rugged, weathered look, which is commonly associated with the mood of the North East of England. I may create a similar look to my front cover by using the 'burn tool' on Adobe Photoshop to add the rugged look to the front cover.