My media studies class and I have been focusing on researching and analyzing the masthead typography of magazines regarding our magazine genre. With this knowledge, we explored fonts for our magazine masthead; my masthead is titled “Ready, Set, Bake!” Typography consists of designing text to create unique, readable letters. This includes, but is not limited to, font size and color, leading, and kerning. Fonts are essential for conveying specific meanings and emotions and determining the readability of text, depending on the type one chooses. A masthead is another significant factor in magazines since it sums up the purpose of one’s magazine and intrigues the audience to continue reading.
Analyzing the masthead typography of magazines, such as Louisiana Cookin, is essential for comprehending its brand identity and brand image. This magazine’s color palette is mainly green, purple, and gold. These colors are associated with Mardi Gra, a holiday featured in the magazine’s recipes; green, purple, and gold symbolize faith, justice, and power, respectively. As for the font type, “louisiana” is a sans serif font, and “cookin’” is a serif font, with neither bolded nor italicized. The slang in “cookin” connotes informality, friendliness, and the language customary to Louisiana. Likewise, replacing the “i” in “cookin’” with a ladle visually hints to its audience that the magazine genre is Cooking, Food, and Beverage. Considering these factors of the masthead, Louisiana Cookin creates a strong brand identity through slang and word choice. Since the recipes are specific to Mardi Gras and Louisiana (where this holiday is widely celebrated) and the tagline mentions authenticity, the magazine wants the audience to recognize that it is an authentic source of Louisiana recipes. The audience may perceive this magazine to be positive and uplifting due to its vibrant color choice, creating a strong brand image.
The Brilliant Baking Magazine uses unique typography techniques to effectively convey messages to its target audience—such as emotion, brand identity, or brand image. Employing a predominantly black, neon blue, and coral color palette attracts its reader's attention and reflects cheerfulness. Regarding the font types of the masthead, “brilliant” and “magazine” are sans serif fonts and are not bolded, while “baking” is a serif font and is bolded; neither are in italics. The magazine further utilizes graphics to convey its focus. The oven mitt on either side of the masthead connotes its genre—Cooking, Food, and Beverage—since it is customary to use such cookware while cooking and baking. Emphasizing “baking” with a coral-colored horizontal line above and below gives contrast from the black lettering and easily depicts the magazine's theme. Factors such as the word choice, “brilliant,” in the masthead create a strong brand identity since it establishes credibility and the skillfulness of the author. Such word choice is persuasive and prompts the audience to feel that Brilliant Baking Magazine is a worthy baking magazine, thus creating a strong brand image and the audience’s perception that they are reliable.
The following are five serif fonts of my magazine name:
1. Falkin Serif Font (Regular Style, Regular Italic Style, Bold Style, Bold Italic Style)
2. Vacer Serif Font (Thin Style, Light Style, Book Style, Regular Style, Bold Style, Black Style, Fat Style)
3. Panforte Serif Font (Light Style, Light Italic Style, Regular Style, Regular Italic Style, Bold Style, Bold Italic Style)
4. Crispy Food Font (Regular Style)
5. Brampton Serif Regular Font (Regular Style)
The following are five sans serif fonts of my magazine name:
1. Voltdeco Font (Thin Style, Thin Italic Style, Medium Style, Medium Italic Style, Extra Black Style, Extra Black Italic Style)
2. Tackerlen Font (Regular Style)
3. Happy Lucky Font (Regular Style)
4. Sweet N Sticky Font (Regular Style, Oblique Style)
5. Crispy Tacos Font (Regular Style)
My favorite of the five serif fonts is the regular (first) variation of the Falkin Serif font. I like this particular font due to its clear lettering, allowing for an easily readable masthead. The Falkin Serif font is neat and elegant as well; not only are the letters evenly spaced and have straight lines, but the strokes add a sense of professionalism. These attributes create a pleasing-looking masthead and are suitable for the mood I aim to express in my magazine.
My favorite of the five sans-serif fonts I researched is the Happy Lucky font. This font is whimsical and playful, which suits the tone of my masthead—especially with the exclamation mark in my title and “ready, set, go” being a common saying. The Happy Lucky font also appears handwritten, implying a sense of casualness and informality.
Overall, masthead typography is necessary for adding details to a magazine and effectively depicting meaning(s) to an audience. In light of the mood I intend to imply in my magazine, my favorite serif font is the Falkin Serif font, and my favorite sans serif font is the Happy Lucky font.
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