Before I can start designing anything, I have to research the conventions of the literary magazine genre. There's a bit of overlap between this post and the last; magazine covers are very indicative of their genres after all, but I'll try my best not to repeat what I've already stated before.
Literary Magazines
- Cover text is bold, often in all caps, occasionally in a handwritten style font
+ unorthodox font attracts writers, the intended audience
- Covers are missing barcodes; issues can be distributed online
+ the Internet is always useful for distributing media
- No predominate color scheme, but neon colors seem to be avoided
+The majority of covers and layouts I've seen from The New Yorker, The Kenyon Review, etc., don't stick to particular color scheme; realistic, natural tones, dream-like pastels, and even vibrant hues are utilized in different issues. Eye-catching, but never garish or abrasive.
- Unobtrusive/no cover lines
+ the exclusion of cover lines is so atypical for a magazine, that there must be reason why. I personally think it's because it makes it less immediately obvious that the magazine is trying to sell itself to the reader; without cover lines, the magazine almost resembles a book. Perhaps this is more attractive to the audience because it looks more academic.
- Two page spreads often dedicate one side entirely or partially to a piece of artwork and allot the rest of the space to unbroken columns of text
+ this places more emphasis on the focal point of the literary magazine: literature
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