2. IN WHAT WAYS DOES MY PRODUCT USE, CHALLENGE OR
DEVELOP FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF EXISTING MEDIA
PRODUCTS? FRONT COVER
My title, 'Envy', is situated at the top of the
front cover in a similar fashion to the majority
of magazines out today. Most magazines that I
had researched have their primary image set in
front of the title often overlapping it. This isn't
an issue as the buyers are familiar with the
brand and don't require its full prominence.
My magazine however, has the image a layer
behind the main text. I have done this
deliberately as I believe the bold font draws
attention upwards towards the face of the
featured artist.
3. The unimportant minor features such as the barcode
and pricing are situated in the corner of the page as
this formatting prevents them from covering up more
appealing features such as the primary image. This
technique of page structuring is used by nearly all of
the magazines I had researched. Therefore I chose to
employ it for my own design.
Another feature I chose to use on my front cover was
direct mode of address. This technique involves the
model looking directly at the camera so that the
audience can form a personal relationship with the
artist through eye contact, and in turn be inclined to
purchase the magazine. Almost every music
magazine uses this to create the prior mentioned
affect. It’s clear functionality helped me decide to
employ the method and use it for the majority of my
images, notably the front cover.
ENVY
KERRANG!
4. CONTENTS PAGE
1
2
3
4 5
1. The use of an editorial can be found in magazines such
as Kerrang. It allows the editor to directly address the
audience and give them an idea of what’s to come in the
future.
2. My research suggested to me that not every feature of
the magazine had to be listed on the contents page.
Main features and things that might seem more
appealing at a glance are written in this section to act as
pull factors. This technique is demonstrated in NME
magazine.
3. The use of images on the contents page not only
attracts fans of the featured artists, but it also breaks
the page down into a more visually manageable area.
Unlike any of the magazines I have researched, I have
chose to be consistent with the style of my photos. All
of the pictures I had taken were in black in white.
Personally I believe that this promotes a stylish and
retro theme that might attract a more sophisticated and
appreciative audience.
4. Brand reinforcement seemed to be present in most
music magazines I looked at. As simple as it may
seem, it helps remind the reader who produced the
item that they are experiencing.
5. Finally, I added an issue number and date to my
contents page. This is to add potential for collectors. The
dating enables every issue to be kept in order.
6. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
My image defies the idea put forward by Frederickson and Roberts that women are simply
portrayed as objects within the media world. The model is sat upon a motorcycle in turn
displaying a defiance to the masculinity of motorbikes. It does however portray an unnatural
pose and a stereotypically attractive female wearing to a degree provocative clothing. Although
present in all of my other photos, this particular image doesn’t contain direct mode of address as
the model is in fact looking down at the floor as opposed to into the camera lens.
Once again I have persisted with a minimal
colour theme. I believe that this defiance of
typical presentation adds emphasis to the
areas that do contain colour in turn making
them far more significant in character. In
addition to this, the size 50/50 split between
image and text helps make the page more
manageable. This technique is used in many
magazines to help reduce the possibility of
boredom when reading.
