Magazine Design and Layout Tips/Guide

Cover

1. Dark on light, light on dark text placement

To make the text on the cover of a magazine legible and have good visibility, it is best to put either dark text on a light main image, or light-colored text on a dark main image. 

Both of these magazines have a background with varying shades of black and grey, but the light text is always put on the darkest parts of the images to make them more visible and easier to read.

2. Match and complement text color

To make a magazine cover look well organized and put together, you can match the color of the masthead and main coverline to a part of the main image. As mentioned in Blog Post #3 "Color Theory," complementary color combinations also appeal to the audience. This can be used in the cover of a magazine.

This magazine's masthead is orange as is the dress of the woman on the cover, and they are both set against a blue background. This increases visibility but also makes the magazine look more unified.

This magazine's background is green and the woman in the picture is wearing a red dress. This combination makes the cover stand out because of the opposing colors, however, since they are used in the correct amounts, the cover looks captivating.

3. Use 3D text behind and in front of the image.

One way to design the text on a magazine cover is to make it seem as if some words or phrases are behind an image or in front of it. This will add a 3D effect and make the cover look more interesting.

This magazine is talking about manufacturing and the image used is of a storage unit background with machines around the words. "Made in the USA" clearly states that the magazine talks about production in the U.S. and making the text look like it is a product being made by the machines further makes that point.

This magazine's contents is about the 3D world and how people can make their own 3D characters. The image used of a branch-like character in front of the word "characters" provides a visual as to what people can learn to make, which helps in drawing in readers.

4. Placing emphasis on bold, italics, etc. lettering on covers

One of the main purposes of a magazine cover is to advertise and draw attention to the coverlines and the stories they are about. You can add emphasis to them by changing their font and making them different from everything else. You can also make them pop against the background.

Both of these magazines use different fonts for the mastheads and coverlines. This is to match the energy each font creates to each topic, like using a bold font for the coverline "250 Bold Style Edits" in the first magazine. To catch the readers' attention just like the edits the magazine is talking about, a bold font was used.

5. Consistency

Most magazines do not adhere to templates and a set way of structuring their covers. However, people still need consistency in some aspects of the structure to recognize the brand. This helps in having people recognize a certain magazine.  

Time Magazine uses different images and positions each image differently in these issues. However, they consistently had a red border and their masthead "TIME" was in the same font for each magazine cover. This allows people to recognize which brand these magazines belong to.

Table of Contents

1. Use two pages if needed

If your magazine has a lot of features, use two pages instead of trying to restrict yourself to only one. This will result in a less cluttered-looking table of contents and will not overwhelm the readers. 

2. Use many images

Do not use too many images, and if you need a lot, place them on the page(s) creatively so that they entice the reader into flipping to the articles in the magazine. 

The images used in the table of contents give readers an idea of what each article is about and how to visualize the topics.

3. Do not get rid of all of the white space

Do not put too many features into one column or row of the table of contents. Too many items on page will feel cluttered and look unappealing, so it is best to maximize white space.

White space will give the features listed some breathing room and make the page(s) look more aesthetically pleasing to the readers.

Spread/Articles

1. Wrap text around images in unusual ways

This is a good way to integrate photography with text to create an organized look. This style is better with an image that has a lot of white space.

This layout and design looks creative and readers will be drawn to it. This will increase chances of people reading the articles in magazines.

2. Use an aerial angle for images

This will create interest in your feature and make it easy to put text on the page so it looks good overall. This style goes really well with food/drink articles but can also make travel and journalism photos look appealing.

3. Theme your typography around the image and subject of the article

As mentioned in Blog Post #2 "Font Psychology," different fonts and typefaces evoke certain emotions from people. Designing your typography around the article's subject is a good way to maximize the feeling your audience will get from the feature.

Both of these spreads are written in a serif font to give off a feeling of sophistication. Fashion is usually associated with luxury and serif fonts are frequently used in high-end brands and magazines.

Images

1. Leave yourself enough white space

Use images that have subjects that fill up half of the image and leave the rest to blank space. This will give you enough space and flexibility to design the layout of the spread however you wish, while also making it look professional.

2. Have some filler images for feature pages

This is important because the first things people see in a magazine are pictures so they have to capture their attention, and then encourage them to keep reading. Photos that take a lot of space, look good, and do not have a specific subject are good for this purpose.

3. Use images that look natural

Natural-looking images make people feel relaxed. Stiff-looking or unnatural images will make people feel put off and they may not buy your magazine if they do not like the emotions that staged-looking photos evoke in them.

Magazine Designs and Layouts in Travel Magazines

Travel magazines also use the dark on light and vice versa technique on their covers, though their covers are rarely black and white, and when they are, the text-background color contrast technique is heavily used. This magazine used the analogous color combination of blue, pink, orange, and yellow and matched the text to the theme of the image, but positioned them so the words are easy to see.

To make their brand known, National Geographic design their Traveler collection in similar ways. The covers always have a yellow border, the masthead is always in the same font and size and positioned at the top of the cover.

Not all travel magazines use a two-page table of contents. If they have enough space, they usually use one page but they either have a lot of pictures, or a really big one to make the page look appealing. Yet they make sure to have enough white space to allow the features some space and therefore make the page look uncluttered.

A frequent type of image in travel magazines is an aerial shot of a landscape. This allows the viewer to see the whole location and makes them want to know more about locations that look so interesting. Many magazines actually make the first two pages of a spread an aerial shot of a location, and start the actual article on the next page. Another way travel magazines design their spreads is to let the image take up two pages, and put text in a corner. This also helps the viewer have something in mind when reading the feature to better visualize the location.

As in most magazines, travel magazines utilize the "match the font to the topic" technique for their spreads. As mentioned in Blog Post #2 "Font Psychology," serif fonts stand for tradition and stability as they are familiar due to being used in everything all the way up to the 19th century. In this magazine, a serif font was used to talk about Roma, an old city rich with history. The feelings one gets from the serif typeface (family or group of fonts) is similar to the feelings that the article evokes when talking about an ancient city. This helps people emotionally connect with the topic and makes them want to continue reading.

In travel magazine spreads, people often see filler pictures of images that have no concrete subject but look aesthetically pleasing and are balanced with the text to make the pages look organized. They are usually bold to capture the reader's attention and to then divert it to the topic of the article. The spread below contains images of different locations and are creatively placed to balance out the text. The topic is bucket list travelling so all of the images and text alongside them are different to cater to each location. If a reader likes the look of one particular image, they will go to the corresponding feature to learn more about the destination.

Wrap Up

A few design tips are to place dark text on light background and vice versa for visibility, complement and match colors on magazine covers, use 3D text to make covers look more interesting, and change the font of the coverlines to match their topics to put emphasis on them. A good way to market your magazine brand is to keep a few aspects of the magazine consistent, like always having some kind of border on the front cover. Table of contents should not always be restricted to one page, they should have lots of images, and they also need white space to properly balance everything out. Wrapping text in creative ways around photos on spreads is a good way to create interest in the feature, as is including an aerial shot of a subject. This ties into having a good amount of filler images in spreads to make the pages look aesthetically pleasing and to attract attention. Travel magazines use many of these techniques such as dark on light or light on dark text and background, complementing colors on covers, and keeping a part of their cover the same in each issue. They also have a lot images and white space in their table of contents and spreads to balance the pictures and text, but also to provide the readers information on a destination and to give them a guiding hand in picturing the location in their minds. Finally, travel magazines also choose typefaces and fonts that match the vibe, or feeling, of the topic in the features to maximize the emotional connection between the readers and the subject.

Works Cited

• Bigman, Alex. “This Is How You Rock a Magazine Cover Design.” 99designs, 99designs, 24 Jan. 2018, https://99designs.com/blog/tips/how-you-rock-a-magazine-cover-design/.
• Fussell, Grace. “10 Tips for Designing High-Impact Magazines.” Design & Illustration Envato Tuts+, Envato Tuts, 15 June 2020, https://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, https://www.indesignskills.com/inspiration/magazine-layout-design/.
• 123RF, et al. “7 Pro Tips for Using Photos in Your Magazine Designs.” 123RF, 123RF Https://Blog.123rf.Com/Wp-Content/Uploads/2018/07/123RF_logo_v2.Png 323 62, 27 Apr. 2017, https://blog.123rf.com/7-pro-tips-for-using-photos-in-your-magazine-designs/.