Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions

I went and researched the different codes and conventions which are used in school magazines, to help the audience become drawn into what they are reading. All magazines have a large demographic but every code and convention used in a magazine are very similar.

One of the codes and conventions I found out about is a masthead, when producing my magazine I will need to ensure that I include the magazine title in the largest and boldest font which will be the full width of the page. This means that the reader is likely to be interested in what they are about to read. During my research it became clear to me that the magazine needs a colour scheme so that the front cover looks structured and well presented. The colours need to fit in well with the magazine, they need to be bold to attract the reader but not to over-powering that it looks unprofessional.

On the front cover of my school magazine there needs to be a lure which is seen as a marketing device this could be a simple word or sentence that would make the reader feel more inclined to read the articles which would be in the magazine. There is always a contents page which is included on the first page of the magazine. This is used to help guide the readers on the different articles that are included and tells you what page they are all on.

Another code and convention used is a tag, they are words used to catch the eye of the reader for example 'Exclusive' Which automatically draws the reader in.


Here is a magazine cover from Vogue a world famous fashion magazine. This magazine uses different codes and conventions to present a product which entices the reader to look further than the front cover. One typical code and convention which has been used is the large masthead which is the full width of the page. This has been done so that when potential readers look at the front cover they will automatically be able to understand what the magazine is about just from the title.

You can also see that the magazine has exclusive articles as the font has been put in different colours and sizes to emphasize the main articles which the magazine entails. The different sized font intrigues the reader and stops the magazine from becoming bland. The camera angle is in a mid-shot this makes the model stand out and creates brilliant eye contact too draw the reader in.  

In the magazine you can see that the language used is simple so that all age groups can understand what is being presented in the news article. This makes it easy to follow and relatable to all ages. The different font sizes also highlights the most important articles which you would rather read. The different coloured font used on the front cover draws your attention because the colours are contrasting with each other making the articles stand out more. This is a great technique too draw in the reader which I'm tempted to use.