Magazine Design Tips

First-time publishers will, through inexperience, make a few technical mistakes building their magazine. Many magazines come through MagazinePublisher.com, some look great, others, lets say... could use some help. The following tips for magazine design can make your magazine a real "page turner."

Get Inspiration
Before you start your magazine, go to a newsstand and purchase a few magazines that catch your eye. Take them home and try to decide WHY they caught your eye. What is it?... the photos? the layout? the subject of the magazine? Use elements you like in other magazines to inspire your magazine's layout. And do your best to not let the computer dictate your layout. The software works for you not the other way around.

Use a Great Masthead
The masthead is your magazine's logo. It is most often located at the top of the cover and should be the first thing your reader sees. It must be legible and tell people about your magazine. You have looked at your magazine thousands of times but your readers have not. If the masthead is developed with illegible fonts, people won't view it as you intended.
If your magazine is on the newsstands, there are other considerations of which you need to be mindful. Unless your magazine is on the front row, readers will see only the top 2" of your magazine. Does that area in your design lock in the reader's attention? Try testing your magazine by printing out the cover and putting another magazine in front with the top 2" showing. Now take a look from across the room. This is how future purchasers will be seeing it.

Remember, your cover design will be fighting the other covers for attention. A well-designed masthead visually entices the buyer to choose one magazine over others in its category.

Use a Great Cover Photo

DON'T try to save a few bucks on the cover. A well-designed cover can get your magazine noticed and even more importantly, picked up! Therefore, all cover photos must be of a good, high quality photo (in the proper resolution).
Choose a photo that is interesting to your potential readers or which tells a story. Showing the unexcited face of an unknown person will not do much to get the potential customer to reach for your magazine. Choose a photo that is recognizable to your target readers or shows action, unusual colors, taken from unusual angles, or combinations of all these.

Remember, your magazine only gets one chance to make its first impression. Photos are powerful in making a good first impression.

Multi-column Layouts

One trick for having your stories look professionally built is to use a multi-column grid to the page. For regular sized magazines try using three columns, digest sized mags use two. Not only does it look more professional but text will flow better on the page and you will have more options for placing photos.
Don't Be Afraid of "White Space"

Although it can be difficult, consider leaving some areas of the page blank. Stuffing as much as you can onto a page is visually overwhelming to the reader. Experiment with leaving some column white space in your new multi-column layout. Try running text in one of the columns only with a photo or graph covering the other two columns. Try starting your article halfway down the page with the top half being reserved for a photo. Experiment - computers make that easy.
Stay Away from the Edge

Many magazines that come through our facilities have layouts with text too close to the edge of the page. Again, don't try to fill up the entire space. 1/4" margin is the minimum suggestion but better 1/2" or even more, page margin is suggested. Again, it looks more professional adding more white space and you will not worry about the possibility that text might be cut off when the magazine is cut down to size after printing.
Avoid Clip Art

Market research has shown that cartoons do not sell to adults. In this case you are selling the story to the reader. He has not read the story and is deciding whether to or not based on the graphics. If hokey, cheap clip art is used there is a good chance he will not read the article.
Of course if your article deals with child-related subjects then clip art MAY be acceptable.

Remember...It's Only a Magazine
You have invested a great deal of time, creative energy and perhaps money in your magazine. Because of this, you will be dismayed to have your work judged harshly BUT it still won't be perfect when your time deadline comes around. Keep in mind - you may be the only one that ever notices minor imperfections. You don't hyper-analyze other peoples' magazines - your readers won't hyper-analyze yours! It is only a magazine...not a work of art.
Other Magazine Tips

Below are a few other tips that will make your magazine a little more successful. Don't Forget Contact Info
Now that you have a reader you of course would like them to be a long-term reader. We see many magazines come in that forget to tell readers how to subscribe. Your contents page is a good place to list the following info:
your physical address
your web and email address
subscription price
how to subscribe

Introducing the New Kid on the Block

Chelsea Moody isn’t your average teenager or your average publisher. At 17 years old, Chelsea started her first publication, Etc. Art & Surf Magazine in January of 2007. In only a few months, she’s made waves in magazine publishing, no pun intended. She’s an inspiration for anyone starting – or anyone who already has – a publication. With her second issue out on April 4th, Chelsea’s proved that hard work and belief in your publication is the key to success.

Chelsea recently talked with MagazineLaunch.com about her experiences starting a new magazine, handling the growth after the first issue, and her grassroots marketing techniques. She also designed the entire publication.

How did you come up with Etc. Art & Surfing Magazine?
I started the magazine because I am constantly around the surf scene, since I live in Virginia Beach, and love the surf industry. I love the surf contests, and the magazines and everything to do with it. In Virginia Beach, it seems that art and surf fit hand in hand and that this idea, for an art & surf magazine, was totally overdue. I just started the magazine and I love it!

What made you want to enter the publishing world?
I love graphic design. I knew that what I wanted to do was magazine layout, but had got rejected (for info on internships) by many magazines in the field. I sat down and thought about it and wanted to make a magazine that fit, but was not limited to, Virginia Beach. A lot of people may think print is dead, but for me, there is nothing compared to having a hard copy in your hand.

How has the Internet helped you with your publishing venture?
The Internet hasn't really done that much for me simply because it is a free publication and our website is not set up for ordering. It has been a great tool for networking and easier for more people to send in submissions. It has let more people know about the magazine, but hasn't got them that hard copy that I talked about before.

What kinds of marketing and advertising have you done to promote your magazine?
I have stickers all around Virginia Beach and try to make it out to all the contests and events. I sent some to the surf expo and give them to all the surf brand reps to take whenever they are traveling. I had a surf contest back in November to kick off the whole idea of the magazine and am planning to do a little surf series in the summer.

How are you managing your circulation and distribution?
I send them out with anyone and everyone who travels up and down the east coast. I do most of the distribution myself... It's fun going to drop them off everywhere because you get to see people's reaction and how much they like the magazine. Every time I go into a shop the workers are always like "Is this the next issue? We are ready for it!" I am hoping to print 2,000 more copies with every issue and cannot wait to expand!

What tips can you give others on getting their first issue produced?
Network, network, network! Any and every tip someone gives you - write it down. It will all add up and help you in the long run. And just love what you do. It’s so cliché, but so true. If you love publishing this magazine, you will never give up and that's what's important.

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