The right image in the right place is essential to create the right impact on the audience of your magazine. We, humans, are visual learners and quickly interpret a message or emotion on seeing. Emphasizing this is a statement that we’ve heard and experienced ourselves, “a picture says more than a thousand words”. Thus, effectively using an image on a magazine cover is a foundational step and crucial to the magazine’s success as a whole.
To guide you through the strategy of using images on a magazine cover, we’ve listed below a few tips that might come in handy while working on your next creation.
Keep it relevant
Let the readers understand the theme of your magazine’s issue just by having a look at the cover image. Focus on choosing an appropriate image to match the theme of your magazine and the on-page content. Say, for example, if you’re publishing a magazine for runners, choose an image of an athlete in action in the daylight with a soothing background.
This immediately boosts the energy of viewers and motivates them to get going and achieve health goals. Similarly, if publishing about a sensitive issue like the endangered flora and fauna, choose to strikingly display now and then backdrops of a jungle. This will instantly stimulate the readers to think about what their future could be if the appropriate measures and precautions are not adopted in time. It is also essential to pre-decide the content placement scheme of your magazine that could do justice to the image and other important content on the magazine cover page.
Use high-quality images
It’s a no-brainer but an essential checkpoint. A low-quality or blurred image can spoil the cover page appearance and prove to be a reputation hamper. Hence, always use high-quality, detailed images that attract the readers’ attention. If using an image of a dancing model on the cover page, pay attention to her dance steps, hands’ posture, facial expressions, lighting, and the backdrop. If using an image of a reading child, focus on his eyes, proper body posture, text visible in the book, and the background or seating area. Impress your readers with each minute detail and help them relate emotionally. You can even cover the entire page with an image background and strategically place text thereon. It’s also advised that instead of trying to show many things at a time, demonstrate the message by focusing on a single aspect. This will save your images from being ambiguous and give you a chance to succinctly display your topic.
Get creative
Creativity knows no boundaries, embellish your images with artistry. Energize the creator within and let your readers gaze at your magazine in awe and curiosity. Following are some of the great inspirational ideas and tips to help you do it.
- Display a sequence of images to demonstrate the minute details that change with each successive image. This can be a quick action illustration or an ongoing process or a series of expectations or options. Embed them nicely in the form of a chart or a grid.
- Beautifully sideline the cover page image by assigning the focal point to the text. While the text remains in the center, the image will soon grab the user’s eyeballs.
- Create an illusion of a merged image and background by coloring them same. This will give a seamless effect and engage users.
- Break the monotony and ongoing customs by decorating the image with multiple colors. Experiment with an amalgamation of traditional colors or psychedelic colors or others to create a statement with a splash of colors.
- Place your text over the image or behind the image and create a 3D look. Blur them or sharpen them, it’s up to you. Simply adjust the transparency of images, background, and text and get the appropriate cover design effect.
- Paper art is also loved by designers to create illusions. Use torn paper effects or visual design techniques to display a series of images or an inscribed text.
- Add images with design aspects like laser cut-out, embroidery, geometric shapes, silhouettes, and more such patterns. This can also be said of a design in the design.
Leverage celebrity images
Allow your magazine cover to be noticed at once by using an image of a celebrity or an object of high importance. Celebrity status and luxurious items effortlessly attract mankind as we love indulging in the world we dream of. It gives us a sense of happiness to follow our ideals, know more about them, and get inspiration from them. People instantly relate to a magazine when they see their favorite movie star or the main lead of a series they watch daily, or a famous business person, or a person trending in the news industry. It instantly sends out personal emotions and a bond that’s unique.
Do it innovatively
Think out of the box! Brainstorm ideas to execute similar things in a different manner and give the users more reasons to look forward to your magazine’s issue. Keep yourself updated with the latest trends and practices in the industry to let the ideas flow. While designing the cover page, keep in mind the taste of your audience of both genders, choose attractive color schemes, and leave enough white space for the content to breathe.
Got inspired to create your magazine’s cover page design? It may be difficult but never impossible, choose any of the above tips or formulate a fresh look. Impress and engage readers with enthralling magazine covers resulting in more sales and maximizing brand value.