The document discusses the conventions and design elements used in the creation of a music magazine mock-up. It addresses how the magazine both follows and challenges conventions. Key points include using an unusual front cover image that avoids eye contact to highlight obscure music, including regular and featured content, and having a unique cover and color scheme for each monthly issue designed by a competition winner. The goal is to reveal obscure music that is underrecognized while conveying a message of individuality.

1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA
PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE
FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL
MEDIA PRODUCTS?
Question 1 of Evaluation

2. MY AIM
My aim for this magazine was to make it look appealing and striking to the reader’s eye.
Strik·ing (adj): Attracting attention by reason of being unusual, extreme or prominent.

3. CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC MAGAZINE FRONT COVER
Short, memorable title;
“Vibe”
Clearly seen subject, eye contact
Price
Large, dominant image of one of the
main articles of the magazine
Eye-catching
colour scheme
Quote
Barcode
Website

4. CONVENTIONS OF MY FRONT COVER
Barcode
Short, memorable masthead title,
“Obscure” in the font Permanent
Marker. This gives the audience an
idea on what the magazine is about –
that it consists of obscure,
autonomous music that doesn’t get
the recognition that it deserves.
Striking image that goes against
the conventions of a normal
magazine. The subject is avoiding
eye-contact with the reader – this
highlights the fact that ‘obscure’
music don’t get enough time in
the limelight.
Dateline – the month and year of
publication, alongside with price
A border around the main image
reminds the reader of a polaroid
image; this hints at an older
audience.
Eye-catching colour scheme;
pink to represent the survival of
the indie-rock genre, and yellow
to lift the reader’s spirits.
Cover line involving a number to
suggest that there is a lot in the
magazine.
Cover-lines use a variety of different fonts
and colours to make them stand out. The
most important information is in pink and in
either the font Norwester or Ultra, whereas
explanatory information is in white and in the
font Arimo.
Image in the style of ‘The Scream’
by Munch, this makes it look like an
illustration.

5. CONVENTIONS OF A CONTENTS PAGE
Image of
the front
cover
Page
Numbers
Issue
number
Sub-headings to
provide a category
for a magazine. For
example, “features”
and “regulars.”
Chronological
order
Short sentence to
summarise each
article
Biggest image
equates to
biggest story
Clear, simple
colour scheme
to avoid
distraction
from the
contents page.
White background,
so text is easy to
read
Website
address

6. CONVENTIONS OF MY CONTENTS PAGE
Editor’s letter
Circular frames to give
the magazine a retro
feel.
Biggest image equates to
biggest story.
Sub- heading,
“Features”
Sub- heading,
“Regulars”
Issue Number
White background to make the text
easy to read and to create a balance
between all of the colours.
Subscription information/
offers as a from of
incentive.
Page numbers
Short sentence to
summarise each article.
Photo of Editor

7. CONVENTIONS OF A DPS
These two examples of a DPS are
what I based my own double
spread on; they are my style
models. I followed model 1 in
terms of language, and I followed
model 2 in terms of presentation.
Large image on
the right to go
against
conventions,
paired with
direct address to
entice the reader
into reading the
article.
Subject’s name in a clear,
prominent font to make it clear
that the article is about them.
Simple layout
Text put into columns
to make the text tidy
and more easy to read.
A drop cap to inform
the reader where to
begin reading.
Colour scheme
Main image
usually on
the left.
By-line to give credit to
photographer etc.
1
2

8. CONVENTIONS OF MY DPS
Main image on the right;
direct address as the
subject is looking into
the camera – this
persuades the reader to
read the article
Quote to break up the
text
By-line to give credit to
photographer and model
Text divided into columns
to make it easy to read
Heading in the font
Special Elite to give it a
typewriter effect
Illustration of a sunset to
emphasise the pun of ‘Lavender’s
warning’, when it should be
‘Shepherd’s warning.’ It may even
be the cover of an EP.
Simple Layout
Name of magazine, issue
date, and page number
Clear ideology
of a rock star
Black and white
image
Contrast against colour to suggest that it’s
okay to be different and to ‘stand out’

9. HAVE YOU KEPT THINGS THAT THEY USE? OR HAVE
YOU ADDED ELEMENTS OF YOUR OWN?
There are two important goals when designing a
magazine cover; the first is to attract the potential
buyer’s attention and the second is to express the
content or theme of the magazine. Design a cover that
achieves both of these goals and it will significantly
increase the chances of the ultimate goal – a
consumer purchase. I believe I have done this with my
magazine design. I have followed some of the
conventions of a music magazine, but if I am honest,
most rock magazines are very niche. However, I have
stuck to a particular house style to make sure that my
magazine is appealing to my target audience: 16-25
year old females and males. Looking at the front
covers of Kerrang! It is clear that they use their house
style effectively – each issue seems to have a
prominent colour of red and yellow. These colours
connote danger and a rebellious, hazardous feel which
is what Kerrang! wants it’s target audience to aspire
to. The masthead also shows continuity in each issue,
although it may change colour, it is always the same
size and style.

10. HAVE YOU KEPT THINGS THAT THEY USE? OR HAVE
YOU ADDED ELEMENTS OF YOUR OWN?
For my magazine, I plan that the masthead will always be the same size and style for each issue, but it can
change colour according to how the winner of the ‘Design the Front Cover’ competition designs the front
cover. The frame of Obscure will be consistent in each issue too - the front cover will look like a polaroid
image to make the magazine much more distinctive. It is an extra wide frame to draw attention to the
central image – therefore, the front cover will have vast amounts of blank space to prove the mantra ‘less is
more.’ Regarding the front cover’s image, it was taken in a natural light as I wanted to portray a realistic and
down-to-earth mood, but then I edited the pictures by putting an application effect on them to make them
look ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch. This made the image look like an illustration which isn’t something you
see too often in magazine design. The model on the front cover avoids eye contact – I find that this intrigues
the reader to read the magazine much more than a model keeping eye contact. Also, it adds a sense of
quirkiness and eccentricity. With my contents page, I have very much followed the style of Shindig magazine
– I love the retro mood and style that this magazine portrays with it’s block colours and circular shapes.
Additionally, I have used many different fonts to give the magazine a variety. Lastly, for my double page
spread, I followed the layout of an article about one of my favourite singers, Maggie Rogers. The main
images are in black and white to demonstrate to the audience a nostalgic feel, to suggest that there is a
backstory to the subject in the article. For the images of the illustrated sunset, I brought in my own
illustrations to make the magazine much more personal and something that the reader can relate to.

11. THE FORMAT OF MY MAGAZINE
For my magazine, I have decided that the format would be something a little different, to give my
magazine a more refreshing feel;
•For every monthly issue, the front cover is unique. This comes about through a competition where a winner
is selected to create Obscure's cover under the advisement of a specialist team which includes graphic
designers etc. I was inspired by the famous art director, David Carson, of the alternative music magazine Ray
gun. The innovative magazine design of Carson led him to create a very unique magazine each month; "the
result was a chaotic, abstract style, not always readable, but distinctive in appearance."
•The colour scheme changes for each issue too, therefore, this means that the masthead and all the cover-
lines are a different colour for each month. This allows me to manipulate the themes for each issue
according to the four seasons of the year - for example, if the magazine is a December issue, I may decide
that the colour scheme will be dark colours like purple, black and blue. In my opinion, I think this makes the
magazine much more excitable to read and it gives the reader an excuse to find it in the supermarket. For
this particular issue, however, I knew I wanted to use yellow and pink as my colour scheme as they blended
well with the front cover image, which is the style of ‘The Scream’ by Munch.

12. THE FORMULA OF MY MAGAZINE
The formula of my magazine is to have regular content that appears in every issue, and then feature content
that may only appear in one issue. The whole idea of the contents within the magazine is to make sure that
is engages the reader.
•Regular Content - The editor’s letter, the ‘Meet the Team’ page, a review article of quality vinyl records, and
the interview with the monthly competition winner are always at the front section of the magazine for each
issue. However, on the other hand, other regular contents like the gig guide, reviews and competitions, and
an exploration of unseen albums are towards the end of the magazine. This level of consistency contributes
to the magazine’s formula, consequently making it much more appealing to the reader as it’s something that
they can rely on.
•Featured Content – this includes articles of varying themes and types. For example, there is an article titled
‘Evergreen Tracks and Killer Snack’ which, of course, features Christmas snacks and songs that never get old.

13. THE FUNCTION OF MY MAGAZINE
The function of my magazine is to reveal obscure music that do not receive the recognition that they deserve
to the public.
The message that my magazine is trying to stand is that it’s okay to be different and to stand out – it’s okay
to be a ‘flamingo in a flock of pigeons.’

14. THE FRAME OF MY MAGAZINE
The frame for the front cover is continuous in each issue – it is quite wide too, to emphasise the main image.
In all the other pages in my magazine, there is a pink line (the colour can change from issue to issue) above
the page number, date etc. to separate information on the page.
Margins are very important in publication design as they decide upon the necessary dose of white space
your product will have, and in each issue of my magazine the margins may change as I want each issue to
appear innovative and creative. On my double page spread, I have chosen to have three columns with a lot
of white space which gives the reader a sense of comfort and belonging.