WDW Magazine Cover

CODES & CONVENTIONS
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Magazine covers vary from genre to genre and from magazine to magazine; however, issues of the same magazine often have many similarities. Seeing what a professional, published travel magazine does may inspire ideas into what my own theme park/travel magazine will look like in it’s final product.

The magazine that I am focusing on is produced and distributed by a popular theme park in Orlando, Florida (and other cities): WDW (Walt Disney World) Magazine. It focuses on the inner workings of Disney World and cute games and tidbits about what to expect when you go to their parks. I chose this series as it will help in what I am interested in producing (theme park pros and cons for the park’s events).

From the three issues I chose, the WDW magazine has a sophisticated masthead that is usually displayed on the top left corner, unobscured by any other titles or pictures. It is a sans serif font that emphasizes that the magazine is modern and it pushes away from the child-friendly font that we would expect to see from a magazine based on a family-oriented theme park. At the top right lays the issue number and the month/year released in a similar, but smaller, font to the masthead. The main image is always colorful and captures the reader's attention. Another element to notice is that even though there is a main cover line and other cover lines, the main image is hardly covered by the text. This is done so that the viewer can clearly see the image and be captured by the vivid imagery. While the December issue is darker due to the image being taken at night, it is arguably as colorful and as eye-catching as the October issue which was taken in the daylight. Even the fonts of the main cover line helps convey the aura of the whole magazine. The Soarin’ Into 2019 issue has a main image of a rocket ship ride and it obviously speaks of space themed rides in the cover line-the font feels futuristic. The Holly Jolly Holidays Are Here issue also has a font that screams Christmas time, which is also supported by the cover lines. Finally, at the bottom in a black border, is a topic/cover line that is usually striking due to its placement. The white font against the black background also helps to embolden itself to the reader. For instance, the October issue has “To Infinity and Beyond! Toy Story Land in Pictures”. This piece is especially significant since the Toy Story Land section of Disney World is relatively new, thus the need to place it in such an obvious place for the reader to see.

When I am designing my cover, I will keep in mind the minimalistic but impactful layout of this magazine. The black border at the bottom with a quick, witty cover line is also clever, which I will consider implementing.


December Issue

November Issue

October Issue


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