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In order to add to my understanding of magazine front covers, I decided to buy some high fashion magazines that will be similar to the one I will make. I bought the August edition of Elle, and the August and September editions of Vogue. I also bought a Grazia magazine because Bauer owns them and so I thought it would really allow me to get an idea of the sort of product they own, seen as though mine will also be owned by them.

I really love the Elle magazine because the colour schemes allow it to look very classy and sophisticated. It is nearly a full length body shot and the model is posed in a way that makes her look quite voyeuristic, as she has her hand in her hair and isn't wearing much on her bottom half. However, it still seems very sophisticated and classy because of the high fashion clothes she is wearing and the way they match the masthead. The turquoise works very well. The font used is very elegant and simple, it is the same as the font used on the contents page inside. 

I like this August edition of Vogue because again, it is very classy. The red and white work really well together and are a lovely contrast. I will definitely have strong colour schemes on both my front covers as it certainly makes the magazines look sophisticated. On all the high fashion magazines the models are conventionally looking straight into camera. I really like how the earring has been featured on this front cover as well.

This September edition of Vogue is my favourite because I think it looks extremely aesthetically pleasing as the colours work so well together due to the strong contrast. It looks tropical and very classy. The models make up has been done very bold with a dark purple lipstick and very interesting thin pencil eyebrows. I think it really makes a statement and I would love to create something similar to this. There is barely any writing on this front cover so the attention is very much on the models face. I think this cover really stands out compared to the rest and I want both my magazines to create this effect as well. This cover has really inspired me. 

The Grazia magazine is nowhere near a sophisticated as the others, due to it not being a high fashion magazine. The front cover is a paparazzi picture so this instantly makes it not sophisticated. Even though it is owned by Bauer, it isn't a proper high fashion magazine like Vogue and Elle, so I won't be taking inspiration from this front cover. Although, I have looked at the contents page to get an idea of how they set it out and this might help me to design mine.

I also went on the British Vogue website to see all the front covers created by them in the past few years.

Something I noticed was that as the front covers got more recent, the amount of text reduced. June, July and August 2018 have text down one side and a larger piece of text at the bottom. September 2018 only has text at the bottom. Whereas if you look back at older covers this is very different.

These covers from 2015 all have text on each side and at the bottom. This makes them look very busy and not as sophisticated, which is probably why they have less writing now-a-days. It also takes the focus away from the models. When I design my front covers I will definitely go with a similar layout to June, July and August 2018 covers, with less text. This will make the main focus the model, and it will make it look much more sophisticated. I think there is no need to cram all of the text on the front - that is what the contents page is for.

So from this research I have learned:

• Not to put too much text on the front cover.
• Have a strong colour scheme on the front cover.
• Use contrasting colours to make an impact.
• Ensure the model is conventionally looking into camera.