The cover is very important!

Cover lines are a "preview" of the main articles in a magazine. They aid in attracting the target audience so they need to be something the age group targeted would like to read about. The main article is usually in a larger font than the rest of the cover lines so it stands out but still doesn't take focus away from the cover image. Using descriptive words and wordplay is another way to help appeal to the target audience. Numbers in cover lines infer that the magazine offers an amount of things, whether it's ways to do something, use something, etc. I think that it'll be a great idea to use numbers in my cooking magazine as it would be an eye catcher for my target audience. It also goes along with what will be included in the magazine, such as recipes. Although some recipes have more exact measurements than others, they all have numbers to go along with it. My main article will not have numbers in the title as it'll be for people to read on and learn more without focusing on the numbers which they can do when looking at other stories in my magazine. 

The selling line is a description of the main marketing point. I am going to include one so that there is a catchy saying or slogan that can go along with the brand of my magazine. I looked up short sayings here and got inspiration to create some that I can use in my magazine. I brainstormed to make them but will decide on which one I am going to use in the near future. Here's what I came up with:

The healthy way is the right way!

Good food is equal to a good mood.

In life, the first wealth is health.

Eat what’s good for you.
Your guide to healthy eating.

Just a bite away from heaven.

Keep eating on.

A food lovers heaven.

Make a change to cook and eat healthy starting here.

Things taste better when cooked the right way.

We make a great pear.

Don't be afraid to try cooking something new.

Make every meal count.

The dateline shows the published date and is usually right above or below the masthead. It lets the reader know when the magazine came out as it includes the month, date, and year in every issue. As I like to know when things are published when I look at them and is helpful to the reader is easily determining the issue they are looking at, I am going to include a dateline in my magazine. 

The cover photo is the first thing that the reader sees. Therefore, the subject of the cover photo should draw the eye and appeal to the target audience. My cover photo is going to be a visually appealing image of food. I have not decided what specific food I'm going to put on it yet, but the picture of it is going to be from an aerial/point-of-view view. I think this helps readers connect with the image as that would be what it would look like if they followed the recipe in the magazine and cooked it for themselves. 

The barcode, issue number, and price is used so that the cashier can check the buyer's soon to be magazine out. I'm going to put the bar code on the back because I think it will take up space on the front and is unnecessary for my cover. 

Resources:

Casson, Vicky. “Magazine Conventions and Terminology.” LinkedIn SlideShare, 20 Sept. 2012, www.slideshare.net/shsgmedia/magazine-conventions-andterminology.

Working on the masthead!

The name of a magazine is called the masthead. It's the second thing that the reader sees, following the cover image. Many find that it's a great way to advertise the brand and act as a logo for it. Consequently, it needs to be recognizable so that it can stand out to those looking for it or have interest in finding a magazine to read. Some even have special fonts that are specifically created for it. It's the title of what the reader is about to browse at. It's important for some more than others though. In bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million, magazines are lines up so that when someone is looking for one, they have to find it by seeing only the top of it where the masthead is. In contrast, other magazines, such as cooking and gossip ones, are displayed with their whole cover shown on display for people waiting in line to check out in places like the grocery store or a somewhere that has a variety of food. 

The masthead should capture the publications, attitude, and fit the intended readership. It should also be versatile and unique so it can be used in other occasions such as a marketing material. It should be easy to read, even if part of it is behind the cover image. Some magazines choose to have it fully displayed, like the Food & Wine magazine, while others choose to have their cover image partly over or under it, like in the Cosmopolitan
magazine. When deciding one which way to, you always have to keep your magazine’s content and style in mind. It's a helpful guide to use because if the title is fitting the style of the magazine, then you will be on track to make it not only recognizable but also memorable.

Something else that is important when deciding on a masthead is using the proper font. It should go along with the theme and keep up with the design of the magazine. For example, if you wanted a playful and bold font, you could use a large one and make it bright pink as the designers of the People magazine did. If you wanted an elegant and sophisticated font, you can make it medium-sized and gray as the designers of the Bon Appetit magazine did. It's better to use different fonts for the logo and other parts of the magazine, such as the cover headlines, so they can easily be told apart.

Some mastheads that I have brainstormed, getting inspiration from the picture below, are:

Cooking Healthy
Healthy Eating
Nutritious Eating
Fresh Foods
Taste of Health
Taste of Nutrition
Cook It Up
For Real Cooks

Fresh Cooking 

I want my magazine to be clean, organized, easy to read, and have interesting content that may not be in other food magazines. I think this will appeal to my target audience and keep my purpose of letting readers enjoy a magazine about food clear. I am going to design it using a free designer page called Canva.

The reason that I chose Cook It Up for the masthead of my magazine was because it's a fun title that's catchy and can easily be remembered. I think it'll appeal to the target audience as they are still young and have a lot of time and energy on their hands to read my magazine and "cook it up" in their own homes.

Resources:

Nikola. “Magazine Masthead Creation.” Magazine Designing, 2 Oct. 2013, www.magazinedesigning.com/magazine-masthead-creation/.

Change in Representation

After looking over my previous blog posts and taking time to decide on what magazine I will create, I do not think the best representation will be of those in high-class anymore. Instead, I have chosen to switch my representation to those in the middle-class category. Since I have chosen to create a healthy food magazine and my target audience is adults in their early years, those in that age range are either finishing their degrees or starting out in their careers. Consequently, they are starting to make their own money and trying to save money when they can. This magazine can help them learn about cooking as well as have them keep money in their pocket as food can get expensive. 

According to a United States Consensus, there's a big difference between middle and high class citizens. Middle class citizens earn between $45,153 and $138,460 a year and make up 45% of the United States population. High class citizens earn at least $150,000 per year and make up 15% of the United States population. This change in representation will let my magazine will reach a larger audience. It'll also help them as not all people can afford what high-class individuals can. 

Resources:

Amadeo, Kimberly. “What Is Considered Middle Class, and Is Your Household Part of It?” The Balance Small Business, The Balance, 23 Feb. 2019, www.thebalance.com/definition-of-middle-class-income-4126870.

Starting the planning process!

Since I last blogged, I have been reviewing my research and thinking about what I would be most interested in making. I found pros and cons in making both of the magazines so I ended up having a hard decision to make. The main pro I thought of if I were to make a lifestyle magazines was that it could influence people to live their best life like people they look up to that would be in the magazine. The main con was that people can take things the wrong way. For example, if someone sees their role model lost a lot of weight and is becoming a lot healthier, they may assume that they have to be very skinny and go to the extreme when trying to lose weight that they are starving themselves and ultimately becoming unhealthy. The main pro I thought of if I were to make a cooking magazines was my interest in it. As earlier explained, I love cooking and trying new recipes so I wouldn't be bored when making it. The main con was that I have to find someone to interview for my double page spread that has experience in cooking. 

After weighing all of my pros and cons, I have made my final decision to make a healthy cooking magazine. I chose to do this because of my interest in cooking. After doing my research on both cooking and lifestyle magazines, I have realized that eating habits play a big part of the daily life. I am going use what I have learned to make a cooking magazine that people who love cooking and reading articles related to it can enjoy. 

My target audience is going to be ages 25 to 40. People try to eat healthy at all ages but try to cook healthy when they finish college and get their own place at around age 25. My magazine is going to be printed and put in supermarkets, where the entire cover can be seen and is convenient for those who read it and want to buy ingredients to try a new recipe. It is also going to be digitally printed on a PDF file that can be accessed on the magazines website to keep up with the rapid evolution of technology. As the magazine grows, I want to have them in the back compartment of plane chairs so that people can read them on the plane. When people go on vacation, they usually eat unhealthy so they can read this magazine to help them get back in shape after their vacation. 

To start out with the cover, I drew out my plan. The cover image is going to be of a healthy meal that is taken as if it was being seen by the person before eating it and will cover the entire page with the main focus being where I wrote "Main Image". The edition name will go along with when the issue is published so that it can best fit when it's released. The main cover line will be in a bigger font than the rest of the cover lines below it. In the cover lines, I am going to use numbers to attract readers and get them interested to open it up and get to know about all of the information that it has to offer. After making this plan, it helped me figure out where I'm going to put the main elements of my magazine cover as well as keep me organized in the planning process.