Codes and Conventions By: Iman Nadeem Zoqi

Clothes Clothes featured are a mixture of traditional and modern

fashion trends. The embroidery may be heavy or light. A wide range of different coloured fabrics with different types of stitching techniques are shown. 

Setting Most shoots are set indoors within a professional studio.

Extravagant backdrops and wallpapers are used in the background to set a lush atmosphere. Some shoots take place outdoors with a blooming garden as the location.  

Shot Mid Shots or Close Ups are the most frequently featured

on the cover. Some magazines also include full body shots.

Hairstyle Most models are styled in buns and braids, Usually traditional hair

accessories are also used such as "matha pati", "bindiya" or a crown of flowers. However, for many modern attires, straight or curled hair is the norm.

Makeup The more extravagant the clothes the heavier the makeup.

Special focus is on innovative styles of eye liner and mascaras. Lipstick and blush colours keep changing with contemporary fashion trends. Nude makeup is an upcoming trend that is increasingly being used in the styling of many models.

Accessories Most accessories are in traditional gold and silver with heavy jewels

encrusted inside. Necklaces, earrings and hair barrettes are most prominent. Colourful sturdy jewelry can be seen but is rare. However, there are many instances where jewelry is minimum or not worn at all.

Facial Expressions Models are usually portrayed with a smile or a grin. However, to induce the

element of power and regality a solemn or scornful expression may be used. The model is also usually looking directly in the camera, so it seems she is making eye contact with the audience.

Body Language Some model's body language is casual and others formal,

depending on the type of clothes they are wearing. Many models pose in a way that shows off their clothing from the best angle.

Lighting A lot of magazine's images are shot in studio lighting when a harsh or

spotlight is needed. However, many pictures are also taken outdoors using the light from the sun to take natural and airy photographs.

Props Props are not normally used, with more focus on the clothes and

model. However, some magazines may follow a theme which makes use of specific props.

Colour Schemes The colour schemes change according to the main image but

mainly use dark colours which give an overall royal effect to the magazine. Spring collection magazines however, use lighter colours to seem less heavy.

Masthead The masthead is mainly written using sans serif fonts but serif fonts are

also common. Many masthead are from edge to edge yet some are smaller. For some brands, the colour of the masthead remains the same for every issue, while others change it according to the cover image. Different issues place the model over or under the masthead. Most magazines keep the same font across different issues.

Puffs and Pugs Puffs and Pugs are not that common in these magazines unless

the magazines are promoting a certain object or is a special issue.

Typography Mainly a combination of serifs and san serifs are used for the cover lines and

anchoring texts. Different sizes and colours are interchanged according to the importance of the article. The fonts are easy to read and in contrasting colours so they don’t merge in the background. Breaking conventions, some covers of Sunday magazine have no text on the cover page.