planning - codes and conventions of food magazine

1. z
Codes and conventions - magazine
• Life style magazine initial ideas:
• Lifestyle – gossip, latest celeb news, some elements of
fashion can be included
• Lifestyle food magazine – eat healthy, feel
good food, diets
• Lifestyle travel magazine

2. z
Codes and
conventions analysis
of magazines:
• Setting
• Mise en scene
• Editing
• Lighting
• Typography
• Colour scheme
• visual composition
• Text
• Graphics
• Pull quotes
• Iconography
• Cinematography
• Sell quotes, ratings
• Masthead
• Title
• Tag line
• Strap lines
• Selling line/slogan
• Cover lines
• Central image
• Cover model/celeb/image
• Header/ footer
• Edition/edition line
• Article
• Double spread page/
featured sections
• Price
• Barcode
• Content page

3. z
Examples/inspiration from other magazines
 Healthy food
 Feel good food
 Snack attack
 Vegan food
 Sugar free / gluten free / low calories

4. z

5. z
Cover image, general analysis - there is a clear
contrast across the cover as a whole between
the royal blue background and the bright
orange font, matching the main dish. This is to
catch the buyers attention from the onset.
Furthermore there is a key attention to detail
played in this cover emphasised by the
matching bright white font of the main title, with
the sauce standing out in the dish.
Anchoring photo/Main Cover image - the
subject of this anchoring photo on the cover
page is the bowl of chilli. This image is a very
though-out tactic because it creates
temptation in the customers, attracting them to
the sole sight of the delicious food. Through
the close-up shot of the food, audiences are
revealed each ingredient distinctly, for
example the deep red sauce and meatballs,
contrasted with the vibrant green parsley and
again with the bright white sour cream.
The less busy background of the main
image/anchoring photo prevents any
distraction from the main dish; clearly aiming
to target food lovers (good/healthy dishes).
Barcode/price - The barcode is
located at the bottom right of the
page, it is the last thing the
customers will look at (as a result of
the Z-rule), this is to make sure the
audiences view is not ruined (as it
would be if the barcode was placed
anywhere else) and it does not take
away attention from the main selling
points. Furthermore, the use of the
puff/splash next to the barcode
further takes the attention way from
the almost unpleasant feature;
instead it draws the focus to the main
aim of the magazine, and towards
what the target audience want - "cook
smart".
Taglines and slogans are similar, but minor
differences set them apart. Taglines are more
permanent representations of the brand, while
slogans can be changed frequently and are
often particular to specific campaigns. The
'Get creative with spice' shows the edition and
content of this magazine (the slogan) and
the 'Biggest selling food magazine' is the
tagline as it is a more
permanent element/achievement and selling
point of the brand.
Plug - A strong outline, such as the one used stating that 'gf recipes always work', are often
used to plug a competition or another incentive to purchase the magazine.

6. z
z
Colour scheme in magazines - as
the cover is the main selling point of
magazines, it's important to use a
colour which compliments the core
feature image. By complimenting
the photograph with the header and
text devices, the photograph
appears more vibrant and striking
against the background color's
The colours used in the title are often
similar to the main or central image, this
can also been noticed in featured and
lead articles (headings and
subheadings).

7. z
Cover lines - Other important
stories are floated along the sides
of the cover. Bold and italics will
emphasise the text. Short and
catchy buzzwords are used to
tease the reader into buying the
magazine
In publishing, the masthead refers to
the title of the magazine. Printed in
large type, it is usually positioned at
the top of the page and fills the width
of the cover. These factors ensure
the brand is instantly recognisable
The choice of colour and font weight
will connect to the genre and
ideology of the magazine.
e.g. - 'good' is emphasised in bold to
exaggerate the style of the life-
style magazine. Furthermore, the
colour choice of the word 'spice'
reflects the content the magazine is
based on.
The use of the orange (in the
coverline) is also eye catching –
standing out from the main white
font used; it is against a blue
background (the opposite colour
scale to
orange). The use
of the letter 'e' in 'creative' to dot the
'I' is interesting and unusual again
further reflecting the magazines
intentions (e.g. creativity within
food).
Tag line
Header
Splash/Puff - A puff is a circular eye-catching graphic used to catch buyers attention, proving very popular with designers.
The editors are trying to grab the reader's attention, they hope the most important story of the day will “make a splash”.
Having a yellow coloured puff contrasted with the black font is very eye-catching for the buyers and they will look at the puffs
before the cover line because of the way they/it is placed.
Sell line – Words that attempt to sell the
product to the consumer with a promise
of benefit using persuasive writing. They
describe the content of the magazine e.g.
'80+ recipes'
Another example of sell lines
Strips and banners – Often run
across the bottom, in the form of a
list. These strips usually include
information about more minor
articles and regular features inside
the magazine.
A banner is a larger version of this
approach.
- gives
info about
the issue
and date
of the
magazine

8. z
Cover Image - Magazines will
splash an image of a popular
band, artist, or in this case a
chef (Gordon Ramsey) on the
front page – Celebrity
sells. Many publications note a
sharp increase in revenue
when the most famous
faces dominate the
cover. Celebrities are famous
for their extreme success in
various professions, whether it
is music or here, food, which
again helps convince buyers
that this is the best magazine
to for them.
Cover Image - The direct gaze of
the person (Gordon Ramsey) will
pierce the viewer and a medium
shot (shown here) will connect us
to the emotional energy of the
glamorous model or star. Other
non-verbal codes will help support
the magazine’s values and
message, such as how Gordon
Ramsey holds a powerful stance
(showing of his fit physique in a
tight black t-shirt – an example of
costume), while smiling - this
encodes the right meaning for the
target audience as this mise-en-
scene creates an image of a
healthy, happy person - which is
the aim of a healthy food
magazine.
To achieve the most appropriate
representation, the mise-en-scène
needs to be controlled, therefore you
should expect the main image to be
taken from a studio photoshoot. High
key lighting (which is a common
convention) is used in this magazine
to keep the image looking fresh and
youthful. Links to high Production
value
The main image will
be directly related to the lead
article.

9. z
Graphics - are visual elements often
used to point readers and viewers to
particular information
Visual Composition refers to how you
arrange and place design elements on a
page. The spaces between the design, the
arrangement, and the ways in which the
designs interact or crossover with other
elements.
This design idea shows the contents of the
magazine, persuading audiences that they
want to buy it and read more.
The use of the 3 attached rectangles
,parallel to the barcode (used to pay), is
also an example of graphics and design
choice. Even when we have a food
magazine focusing on a celebrity, food is
still displayed on the front as the main
point of the magazine, this is a common
convention for food magazines/celebrity
based food magazines.
Typography – There is 3 different forms
of typography shown in this food
magazine cover – multiple fonts can be
seen in many food magazines (a
common convention). The first font
stating 'Jamie' is a fancy, sophisticated
font used possibly to suggest that this is
also the style of Jamie Oliver as a chef
and therefore in his recipes. Fonts are
often stylish in order to make the
magazine seem more sophisticated. We
also see a second font, a similar style to
bubble writing, the pale blue colour
matches that of Jamie's shirt , linking the
Italiaanse Herfst to the chef (linking chef
to content) – another common code
used. The uneven font gives the
impression of something hand-made
again reflecting the food, fonts in
magazines are often used to create the
intended impression for the brand. The
3rd font used is a simple one, reflecting
the style of which recipes inside
magazines are written in (a convention
almost always used), reflecting the style
of which the recipes are written in (simple
and easy to follow – language and font
wise).
Lighting – naturalistic and high key
when a human is featured on the
cover – to create an open warm,
comfortable environment/look –
familiar to the audience. Whereas
when food by itself is featured on
the cover the saturation (colour)
tends to be toned up to make it look
more appealing and buyable to the
audience – they want to indulge.
This links to Editing - The editing
process makes sure that each
sentence is clear and written as
well as possible. It looks at the
format and structure of the press
release and makes sure that the
information flows.
A common code and convention of a
celebrity chef based magazine would
see a featured article (in this case
from Jamie Oliver)

10. z
z
Content (inside) codes and
conventions
Codes and conventions seen
inside a magazine (in the content)
include:
Headings – headlines / sub-
headings.
Columns.
Composition – grid structures /
balance / use of white space.
Page numbering and folios.
Design elements – colour /
graphics / typography and layout
to engage with specific target
audience.
Featured Article - a feature
is a longer piece of writing
which covers an element in
greater depth than a
normal article or paragraph.
The lead article will also be
some sort of
exclusive with the broadest
appeal to the readership. In
a food magazine it is
common that
this featured or lead article
would likely be one from a
well-known celebrity chef or
expert.
The featured article is similar
or sometimes is the same as
the main body text
A generic code and convention for
a magazine sticks to the single
portrait page, however, it is
also common that a double
spread page is used in a food (or
fashion magazine) – often
showing the final dish and the
recipe – a double spread page
allows more space for these
elements and therefore
matches the written text (or
recipe) to the images around,
instead of separating them. The
image will go across the two
pages or be on one with the
writing on the
other side. Usually, the photo
goes on the left but not
always. The writing in a column
will never be split across the stap
line
Magazine Articles use codes
and conventions such
as: Headings – headlines /
sub-
headings. Columns. Compositi
on – grid structures / balance /
use of white space (seen here)
The use of font makes it simplified and
easy to read but also makes a bold
statement e.g. the use of bold numbers
down the side of the recipe and larger
typed (sometimes underlined and
commonly bold ) subtitles/headings. This
is a common convention for a food
magazines font/typography
(My own picture)

11. z
I can apply all the Codes and Conventions I have analysed to my magazine, but I am going to
specifically aim the magazine towards my target audience – 16-25 year olds in the sense of a healthy
lifestyle.
Side Note of ideas – young people in modern times often look for aesthetic looking food to post on
social media, more vegan options have started trending, its become popular to eat health, many
students will also need a helping hand in this area.
Here is the image used for
New York Times
Magazine(2014 Food Issue –
Eater)
This is the August
2020 issue of a
food magazine put
out by the brand
'Your Teen' -
encouraging teens
to venture into the
kitchen more
I could also take a magazine in
this style and format and put my
own spin on it in order to target its
content and ,obviously cover,
towards younger people (16-25).