3. MASTHEAD
• Large, bold serif style font
• Positioned at top middle of page to draw the eye of the
audience and give instant recognition of the producer
reinforcing brand awareness.
• Placed under image – suggests importance of celeb being
featured, and also implies confidence in readers to be
able to recognise the brand even with part of it covered
up.
Examples in existing media:
4. MAIN IMAGE
• I used the convention of airbrushing and enhancing the model on photoshop in
order to make her look more appealing to the target audience
• Medium close – up of the model, conventional
• I also followed the convention of having the main image shot in high key lighting,
and also in colour as opposed to black and white.
• Direct mode of address creates a personal relationship with audience = uses &
grats
• Image suggests that the model is an icon/celebrity – star theory (Dyer)
promotes an image of a person as a selling point in a production. This will appeal
to hegemonic youth, they may feed into this ideology as they are stereotypically
more interested in celebrities.
Examples in existing media:
5. SELL LINE
• I chose to use a conventional sell line, relating it to my
magazine in order to inform the audience what is included in
my magazine (uses & grats)
• I used a contrasting colour to my background in order to
conform with the house style but also as an attempt to make
it stand out.
• I’ve challenged a convention by making my sell line the same
font as my masthead, as the magazines I’ve researched have
made it a different font, in order to differentiate them from
eachother.
6. ANCHOR TEXT
• I’ve placed text around the page in order to inform the reader as
to what’s inside the magazine, this is a very common
convention. Hermeneutic codes are created here as it
encourages audiences to read on.
• Tag lines draw the readers attention to the contents of the
magazine, and the use of local locations (Dreamland) creates a
regional identity with the audience.
• White font and slight drop shadow is used in order to make the
text stand out over the image.
• Word ‘exclusively’ makes the reader feel that they’re getting
more with this issue and creates enigmas (Barthes).
Examples in existing media:
8. FONTS & FEATURES
• Short and snappy insights into articles offered. Allows for range of
needs to be covered, also informs reader (uses & grats).
• Serif font, due to being more subtle and cared for which reflects
the ideologies of the audience, in turn reflecting their preferences
and beliefs of how a contents page should look.
• Black font contrasts to white background which makes it easy for
the audience to read, common convention.
• Simplistic layout makes it easy for audience to find and locate their
individual needs (cognitive needs).
Existing media using columns similar to mine:
9. IMAGES
• I followed the conventions of using images to break up the text on the page. The
images themselves conform to conventions also, using a variety of shots, with
close ups, and pictures of settings. I also used conventions such as high key
lighting, which allows my audience to visualize the relevant article, creating more
of a meaning and relationship to the audience.
• Uses & gratifications – image of the local area creates a regional identity
amongst audiences, the images have Barthes connotations of a regional product
which is the preferred reading
• Direct mode of address in pics creates a personal relationship with the reader,
encouraging them to read on.
• I challenged the traditional conventional layout of contents pages that I’ve
researched, I think that my layout is more unique than most, as the photos are
cut to allow for text, and there is no page number, social media links etc.
Common conventions in existing media that I have challenged:
10. ROWS & COLUMNS
• Organized text allows for easy reading, as being clearly accessible can
lead to fulfillment of individuals needs, also informs the audience (uses
& grats)
• Tabs separating each section are conventionally larger which I went on
to replicate in my own production as it clearly distinguishes articles from
each other.
• I have followed the convention of making the title bold, and the
description of the articles in normal text, to highlight the importance of
the title to the audience and also split up the text.
• The simple layout of columns is often used in regional magazines to
keep the page looking neat and aesthetically pleasing for the reader, and
makes it easier to navigate – So I’ve decided to do that in my production.
11. NUMBERING
• Numbers lay on the left of the page, in a structured vertical
line, which is conventional as seen by the images of
examples. This allows for easy navigation to fulfil individual
needs, also informs them (uses & grats).
• Placing numbers over images is also a common convention
that I’ve found, it links the images with the articles and informs
the reader what page they’re on so I followed that convention
in my production.
13. MAIN ARTICLE
• I stuck with the common conventions of regional magazines of
having an editorial page with text written by the editor to
readers. This creates a personal relationship between the editor
and the reader (uses & grats).
• This uses and conforms to hegemonic norms, so conforms to
my audiences beliefs making it more reliable to them.
• The use of a drop cap is a common convention that I used, it’s
eye-catching and stands out from the rest of the text.
Similar examples in existing media:
14. EDITOR’S PICKS
• In the regional magazines that I’ve looked at, they take the image
for products such as make up and perfume from the products
websites, instead of take the photos themselves. I decided to use
this convention in my production as I think that it looks more
professional and neat.
• I found an editor’s column in only a few regional magazine editorial
pages that I looked at, it is a lot more common in fashion
magazines, however I still decided to use it as it allows the
audience to build a relationship with the editor (uses & grats)
15. IMAGES
• The main image I used is a colourful image inside
Dreamland, giving the reader a sense of location – the
text on the page is written about Dreamland, which is a
conventional method used to keep continuity.
• I edited all my images by turning up the contrast and
vibrance so that the images appeared more eye catching
and more intense
• A close up of the editors is usually placed next to the text
or below it. I have included one next to my text to inform
the reader and fulfill their needs (uses & grats).
• The images conform to conventions as they were short
in high key lighting, doing this helps the audience
visualise the relevant articles, which creates more of a
meaning and relationship with the audience.
16. LANGUAGE
• The way I conformed to codes and conventions was the use of
sensationalism. I did this by including a quote from a famous
person which would directly impact my audience. This would
create a buzz around the text further on in the page in order
to keep the audience involved and satisfied.
• Furthermore, I added a formal style to the way I wrote to
create a sense of relationship to the audience in turn allowing
them to further interact with the text.
18. MAIN IMAGE
• Brightly lit image – conventional. The high key lighting
draws attention to the model’s clothes and face, this could
possibly give the producer the preferred reading they would
want as it makes the audience more likely to buy their
products.
• I challenged the convention of using direct mode of address
in order to emphasize the clothing and not the models face.
• According to the aspirational theory, the target audience
may aspire to look and feel like the model presented in the
advert due to buying the product advertised. To comply to
this convention I took the image at a low angle in order to
make the model look empowering and confident. I also
airbrushed his face to convey the model being flawless.
19. STORE NAME
• The store name is bold and has a modern font type,
suggesting the products sold are modern. The white colour
of the text and boldness allows the audience to read it
clearly and it stands out against the rest of the page
Examples within existing media:
20. CONTACT DETAILS
• I followed the convention of displaying the contact
details of the brand. This would appeal to the target
audience as it offers them useful information for them to
‘check out’ the store. This links with the uses &
gratifications theory as the target audience can gain
information from this advert.
Similar examples within existing media:
22. BILLBOARD
When researching, I found that billboards aren’t that common for regional magazines so it
was hard to create a billboard mainly based on codes and conventions, however I did find
one for the resident so I used that as a reference.
However, I wanted to make my billboard a different style than the
Resident’s in order to appeal to my audience more, so I also looked at
fashion magazine adverts in order to gain more of an idea as to how I
wanted my billboard to look like.
23. TEXT
• I put the logo as the biggest font on the page, this
helps to catch peoples eyes and create brand
awareness which is a common convention that I
found when researching magazine billboards in
general. The fact the logo is the same font as the
magazine masthead creates a stronger brand
image and links the two elements together.
• Masthead is larger than the other text which
alleviates importance.
• Sell line gives an indication of the content of my
magazine, which fulfills cognitive needs (uses &
grats).
• The fact that I’ve included ‘available on the app
store’ appeals to a hegemonic young adult
audience, due to their stereotypical interest in the
internet.
24. LAYOUT
• As there aren't many billboards made for regional
magazines, it was more difficult to establish the codes
and conventions for them
• Due to this, I chose to stick closely to the residents
minimal text design, as it seems efficient in attracting
attention by not bombarding the reader with text and
only including what’s necessary - I found this to be a
common convention within all magazine billboard
adverts.
• By placing an image of the magazines website and
hard copy, it implies that the same information can be
found on a variety of different platforms, this can
create a wider audience and keep readers up to date
between issues.
26. HOME PAGE
• Firstly, I conformed to typical conventions by having the masthead at the
centre top of the page. This allows the audience to clearly recognize who the
product is produced by and therefore begins to build on brand image.
Furthermore, having the tab section lying underneath is conventional as it
allows the audience to seek specific details about a topic. (Cognitive needs
– uses & grats)
• A social media tag at the top attracts a younger audience and keeps the
audience interactive, this is a common convention of magazine websites.
• Another common convention is a subsciption box on the home page to build a
more permanent reader base, I developed this convention by also adding an
image above it of the current months hard copy, in order to link the elements
together and create a stronger brand image in doing so.
• As in other magazine websites I added images with links to articles at the top
of the page to make it aesthetically pleasing and interesting to look at. It also
makes the reader more likely to read the article if they’re attracted by the
image – This is another common convention that I have found.
• Advert is included down the side of the page as a form of revenue, common
convention in regional magazines – most websites are free to use so adverts
are common ways for the magazine to make money, due to the high amount
of website visitors they generate
27. GALLERY PAGE
• Both hyperlinked pages have the same header as the home
page, with the masthead and a tab section so that the
audience can easily navigate around the website (uses &
grats), and it also reinforces brand awareness by having the
masthead at the top of every page – this is a common
convention in magazine websites that I have researched.
• The images in the gallery page show an array of content,
using a wide rand of models – appealing to a wide range of
people. It includes landscapes, portraits, close ups ( using
direct mode of address which creates a relationship with
the audience – uses & grats) and long shots.
• Some images are features on other parts of the website
and some are new – conforms to Neale’s theory that
‘pleasure is derived from repitition and difference’.
28. ARTICLE PAGE
• Layout of the article conforms to conventions – plain
background with black writing makes the text easy to
read.
• Reviews of dreamland down the side of the page is a
development of a reviews tab on a website
convention. Let’s the audience read real reviews about
the subject of the article.
Similar examples within existing media:
