Glossary

Terminology associated with magazine design

Airbrush:
A compressed air tool that sprays a fine mist of paint or ink, used in illustration and photo retouching

Dateline:

This shows the month and year of which the magazine is published. This is often shown with the price also. Both of these are near the barcode.

Cover Line:

Titles associated with the content of the magazine. The sizes are slightly smaller than the main cover line so it captures the eye but doesn't drag it completely away from the main cover line.

Genre:

A category of artistic composition, as in music, fashion or film, characterised by similarities in form, style or subject matter

Left Third:

The left section of the magazine which includes the most text, it is the busiest of the three sections. magazines are sectioned into three parts the second being the centre image and the right third containing limited text and headlines.

Main Cover Line:

The text is the largest on the cover and therefore stands out and uses the colours associated with the main design. It has relation to the main article in the magazine.

Main Image:

The main image of the magazine. They usually have an iconic figure making eye contact at any customer that wishes to buy the magazine and it is big enough to capture the customer's eye.

Masthead:

The name of the magazine. The title usually has its own unique typeface so it is easily recognizable. It is iconic to the audience.

Page Layout:

The assembly of the elements on a page, including text and graphics. Also called page composition or page makeup.

Plugs and Puffs:

Used to entice people to buy the magazine. They are usually seen in a bubble or shape to stand out on the cover. 

Scale:

To reduce or enlarge an image or a page proportionally.

Selling Line:

This encourages people to buy it. A main part in showing the main marketing point of the magazine.