Codes and Conventions

Front cover of Guitar World

The title guitar is written in a large, orange sans-serif font with the word ‘world’ written in a smaller white sans-serif font inside of the letters ‘A’ and ‘R’. Having the word guitar a lot bigger than the word ‘world’ allows it to stand out letting the reader know that this is a guitar magazine straight away.  

There has been a 3 colour scheme used these colours being orange, black and white. The picture used itself has been taken in black and white and the text on the page is written in orange and white. Having the picture in black and white allows the orange and white text to stand out against the black background grabbing the reader’s attention.

The picture used is of Keith Richards posing with a guitar. The picture overlaps the title ‘guitar’ therefore showing that he is more important than the title of the magazine. He is holding a guitar so having the title slightly covered doesn’t stop the reader from knowing that it is a guitar magazine. Keith Richards name has been written in a large white font underneath him immediately telling the reader who he is. Keith Richards himself attracts the attention of people who would have listened to his music in the past but his stance and the words ‘King of rock and roll’ attracts a younger audience who like rock music.

Most of the text used on the page is in a sans-serif font giving it a blocky look. The only piece of text not written in a sans-serif font is the words ‘exclusive interview’ allowing it to look important making the reader want to read it.

The barcode at the bottom right hand side of the page has a black strip with the date written inside of it in a white font. Having the date of the magazine on the page allows the readers who buy the magazine every month to keep track of which magazine is which. Having it along side the barcode is a good place to have it as it gives it a tidy look.

From this magazine I like the idea of having just one person on the front making a pose that grabs the reader's attention straight away because their strong facial expression draws attention towards themselves. I also like how different words in the stories are coloured in a different colour such as 'plus' is in white making it stand out more. I will take these features into account when making my own magazine.