The Four F's of Magazine Design

1. FORMAT: Design choices that span every issue. These define a magazine's overall look and feel. These include the logo, cover lines, size of the magazine, department headers and other things that look the same each issue
2. FORMULA: This is known as editorial content (i.e. what's in the mag). The types of article, their length, departments in the front and back of the book (sections that are in the mag each time) all contribute to the formula.
3. FRAME: The frame is the standard size for outer page margins and gutters. Some magazines use the same margin width through the magazines; others vary the width, using tall top margins for features to set apart the well, for instance. The rule for using margins establishes consistency from issue to issue.
4. FUNCTION: The function is, quite simply, what a magazine is trying to achieve and the message it's trying to send.

Consistency - Magazine should have a familiar look each time
Unity - United feel to the magazine