Evaluation - Question 1

Front Page

The media product I have created consists of a magazine front cover, contents page and a double page spread. I have followed several conventions of mainstream magazines; however some conventions have been challenged. I wanted to make a unique magazine yet also have a quirky edge, which I feel has not been notified in the media industry in the form of a magazine.

The name of my magazine is ‘Fabulous’ the origin of this was when I asked some people how music made them feel: exciting, wonderful and amazing were the main adjectives in which people felt while listening to music. The lexis ‘Fabulous’ may be associated with a glamour magazine or a style magazine, although it is a music magazine it does portray certain aspects of a fashion magazine. With celebrities being role models, or idols, due to their fashion sense, having fashion as a key theme throughout the magazine was crucial. The style of the magazine is young and idiosyncratic; which is the audience I am targeting.

The masthead I have created is bold and distinctive; the lexis ‘Fabulous’ is described as ‘almost impossible to believe’ which is why it is a great name for the magazine, as it has the most up and coming star of the 21st century involved in the magazine. My first attempt of creating a masthead looked like this; the idea that the out glow of white portrayed a sense of innocence, as children are sometimes known to be angelic and have a ‘bright boarder’ which preserves their innocence: this is once again juxtaposed as the female star on the front cover is partially naked, I thought this would be a risqué initiative however, I thought the use of red would work better as it was the same as the house style of red and black and orange I have used. 

The image used connotes the same style as my magazine; she is intriguing, preppy and captivating. The image used is a powerful image as the focus is on her eyes, yet the lack of clothes shows the beauty of her and other females. With the rising issue of young girls attempting to be slimmer like their idols, was an issue I thought about thoroughly. I decided against the use of a ultra tanned model, although she is slim, the use of only showing a small amount of flesh was not to attract consumers by her body but the mysteriousness of the model and her talents and not her assets as I chose not to airbrush or enhance the actual female body. Although being pleased with my images, they are not to the quality that huge media institutes have as there use of lighting and a higher resolution in the camera is not to the standard I used.

For the layout of the front cover I have followed the conventions in which mainstream music magazines posses. With the use of cover lines, main cover lines and puffs follow this convention. I have no challenged this convention as the consumers may not be liable to change. If the masthead for example was at the bottom of the page, then this may have looked strange as the attention will be brought to something else, instead of the name of the magazine being the main focus. Another convention I have not broken or challenged is the predominate use of the stars name being on the front cover; this enabled the consumers to recognise the celebrity if they are unknown to the mainstream music industry. Even if the celebrity on the front cover is internationally known their name will still feature on the front cover

The image of the right demonstrates some of the magazines I have analysed to show I have followed a convention of the position of the masthead. These are just some of the magazines I have looked at and all of them have the masthead at the top left hand of the magazine. Two of the examples I have used are music magazines, but have also included a mainstream gossip magazine because of my audience research before I started my design. from my audience profile most people read fashion and gossip magazines and I look this into consideration because I wanted to make something they where somewhat similar to so they would be attracted to the magazine.

I have also followed the convention of using puffs to entice my readers. The puff used on my magazine, corresponds with the theme of the issue of the magazine being based on music festivals. I adapted this convention as I wanted it to relate to my star. Most magazines will have a free download or a free CD: I have developed this challenge by having such a big competition advertised on the front cover. However I think this will be effective, instead of having a free poster or download I have developed the convention by telling the audience about competitions and prizes that may be one; this could be exciting for different readers, some may prefer to be able to have something free with the magazine like NME including posters and free CD’s. Like most music magazines my magazine offers a freebie with it, makes the reader feel like the magazine is good value for money they are gaining other benefits. In some cases some people may buy the magazine just for their freebies therefore I have used the best freebies I can.

For the layout of the front cover I have followed the conventions in which mainstream music magazines posses. With the use of cover lines, main cover lines and puffs follow this convention. I have not challenged this convention as the consumers may not be liable to change. If the masthead for example was at the bottom of the page, then this may have looked strange as the attention will be brought to something else, instead of the name of the magazine being the main focus. Another convention I have not broken or challenged is the predominate use of the stars name being on the front cover; this enabled the consumers to recognise the celebrity if they are unknown to the mainstream music industry. Even if the celebrity on the front cover is internationally known their name will still feature on the front cover.

The practice of using a barcode is a convention I could not object to. Although some magazines have the barcode on the rear end of the magazine, the most common is when it is on the front of the magazine. I have not chose to challenge this as when the consumer picks up the magazine, they don’t want be turning the magazine upside down and back to front in order to just find the price of the magazine. So I have included it on the front cover of my magazine, which is a convention I have not broken.

Similar to most mainstream music magazines, I have had a themed magazine. The theme being the summer period and Festivals being a highlight in the music industry; I have used this in every possible aspect. The (main top bit) explains to the readers that this issue of the magazine will be a ‘festival guide’ of 2009. I have also linked this with the puff, where the audience can have a chance at winning a ‘luxury tent’. The model credits also show that it is linked with the festival theme, by having two of the biggest festivals mentioned: Glastonbury and V-Fest. I have followed this convention as it is a great way to show the structure of the magazine and there are not just random pieces of information on the front cover. This shows that my magazine is articulate and may also relate to an older audience, because of the structure.

Here is an example of the similarities between ‘Fabulous’ and various other magazines.

Double page spread

My first attempt at creating a double page spread looked like this.

However I was not happy with this as the layout did not look like a magazine spread and I thought it resembled a news paper layout. I wanted to keep my double page spread simple so I followed the typical convention of a music magazine by combining a question and answer style interview with pictures.

The spread has two columns and has the convention of a music magazine by using main quotes by the artist in bigger bold writing to attract the readers to the most interesting points of the interview. The simple text used will connote modernity and simplicity along with sophistication. I have used Standard English language combined with colloquialisms to make the article seem friendlier and informal which is a common convention of magazines.

I have followed conventions of music magazines, the questions asked by the interview are in a different colour to differentiate the difference in question and answers, and I have also included paralinguistic features like laughing to have a more realistic affect. The main quotes that I think would entice the readers are in bold lettering; one of the quotes is to break up the text and another is to highlight her passion for music, as the image next to the quote is an image of her with a book full of music. I followed the convention because I think it looks nice and also because I wanted to make my magazine look realistic and thought that by having this I would be able to create that effect.

The image used on the double page spread, not only highlights that is a music magazine but shows the cover stars passion for music, by using those props. It also connotes the genre of music she is part off. The music book and the piano denote classical music; however the star is wearing joggings and is holding ray-bands which show her contemporary style.

The image on the right demonstrates the similarities with another magazine.

Contents page

I have followed the convention of a music magazine in my contents page, by having the cover star as the main feature of the magazine on the contents page. I have also used convention by having an editor’s note on the contents page; I have also followed the convention by having the websites email address, so people can contact the magazine if they have any queries.