1. Q1. IN WHAT WAYS
DOES YOUR MEDIA
PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR
CHALLENGE FORMS
AND CONVENTIONS
OF REAL MEDIA
PRODUCTS
2. MAGAZINE AND
ANCILLARYMy magazine includes and conforms to general forms and conventions of original and
traditional media products.
Masthead: I have based my masthead from vogue and ELLE magazine, as these two prints
are hugely popular within the fashion realm. The impact of the large masthead with a simple
font allows the title and the magazine look effective, as this allows it to be simple but
traditional and therefore effective.
Costume and Props: With my products being fashion based, costume was vital. With
obviously not being able to be on the level of the likes of vogue, however, I still manipulated
and used aspects and examples of fashion in my costume, which allowed my models and
images to fit within my genre, and therefore conform to traditional media conventions.
Fonts and Style: I have tried to base my style on various other fashion magazines. In terms
of fonts, most fashion prints take on a simple effect of a font, and it tends to take on less
vibrant or flamboyant styles, which reflects the professionalism of fashion. I have tried to
keep mine quite neutral but with some personality so that the text did have a fun
perspective.
Mise en Scene: In terms of mise en scene I have tried to conquer a look that represents the
aesthetically pleasing effect that fashion magazines tend to show. Even though these traits
may be stereotypical standards or aesthetics that the industry has decided, it still has set the
bar for most prints, and because of this, I have tried and showed this in my designs. As for
the performance, I wanted to get across a fashionable and sleek look within the models and
my images. I did this through use of poses and facial expressions. I also wanted to get this
across within the layout of my magazine. For this, I looked at my inspirations like Vogue and
ELLE magazine, and looked at how they presented this effect. From this I knew that the
performance of the models were extremely important to represent an image or style. These
expressions consisted of quite neutral looks, or a smiling and happy look. I have
incorporated both of these in my work, which successfully shows and represents my chosen
industry.
Layout: I have tried to aim to replicate the layouts of the fashion magazines ELLE and
Vogue, as both these take on a sleek professional look. I attempted to recreate the layout by
creating similar composition of the two professional prints and almost matching the colour
scheme of the pages. One main issue of this was trying to recreate Vogue’s ideas of a
contents page, which is definitely an effective choice, due to its minimal colour or features,
which made it difficult to create independently while still attempting to make it look
professional. Overall, I believe I managed to show basic instinct and ideas of an original
fashion magazine layout, and still making it eligible for my target audience.
Genre: When thinking about genre, I tried to include subjects that I found common in other
existing fashion products, and tried to fit this in within my written content while also making it
regional and interesting for the reader. As I have focused on fashion, my written and visual
content connate to traditional conventions and indicate the ideas of fashion and beauty, like
the way my images and models show examples of popular fashion culture, and how my
content fir the typical register of a normal magazine.
Written Content: Written content was especially as important when trying to challenge
forms and conventions of real media products. I had to initially get across that the magazine
genre revolved around fashion while keeping it regional and also taking styles from any
normal but professional print magazine. I believe I have excelled in this in all my products, as
I have included register that describes and demonstrates the industry of fashion, which
therefore allows readers to connect with it and notice its genre and purpose. Through all of
my products, I have described and presented this in different ways, to fit the criteria of each
purpose of the page, but at the same time giving the reader appropriate information for what
they would find in a fashion regional product
3. EXAMPLES
I have challenged forms and conventions here by replicating a pose, which connotes the fashion industry due to the
fact that the Forever 21 brand supports the fashion genre, and takes on quote a girly but professional look for the
product.
Masthead: I have replicated the masthead from the rest of my products to carry on the house theme, and
show professionalism. It is simple but creates a strong effect on the page without taking away too much
attention from the image.
Dominant Image: I made a similar effect as the Forever 21, in the way that I have created a mirror or
reflective effect, which resembles the fashion genre successfully, as the focus is on the outfit, which voices the
idea of fashion in my products, especially through the body language and positioning of the hands.
Subheads: I love the effect of this which is featured to the sides of the dominant images and below the
masthead. It is perfect for the billboard, in the way that it gives just enough information for a consumer so that
they could understand the genre and idea of my board and products.
4. EXAMPLES
Here I have shown an image on the left of
a section of vogue’s contents page, and
to the right is my contents page. This
clear presentation shows that they are
almost identical within their layout and
their colour scheme. By doing this it has
allowed me to create a more professional
and effective page, as it familiarises with
Vogue.
Articles: I have designed the style of these articles so that they resonate with
Vogue’s own design, which reminds us of the fashion genre as it is such an
iconic magazine. I have also kept a similar colour scheme that matches with
Vogue but also with my own personal layout. I have also out in a lot of detail with
the descriptions of the articles, as man y other existing prints do this, not only in
the fashion genre.
Images: I added a small sub image on this page of a beauty product, as this was
another popular convention of a contents page. I edited this image so that it was
high quality and looked professional on the page. By having this sub image, it
accompanied the dominant image, so that the dominant image didn't’t look
secluded.
Layout: I made sure that I took a lot of ideas of layout and design from Vogue as
their contents page is beautifully organised and set out. I think I managed this
successfully, and created a organised and effective layout so that it would look
aesthetically pleasing for the reader, which is another huge target or convention
for many print magazines.
5. EXAMPLES
This is the top of my website compared to Vogue. I have tried to keep similar traits like colour and
font, while also keeping a similar layout. By doing this I have pulled off a sleek and original look.
Masthead: Again, I have tried to set my masthead so it has a successful impact on my
consumers, and hopefully carries a resemblance to Vogue’s website masthead. I believe that
mine is bold and easy on the eye and not too cluttered. It is shown in black, which is original,
professional and classy, and has just the right elements to raw enough attention to it.
Subhead: Again, I have tried to show a similarity between my subheads on my website and
the subheads on my billboard, to represent my house theme on my products. This is also a
traditional conventions to use as the consumer can grasp the point in the website without
having to scroll or look around the website.
Layout: The layout of my full website is is sleek and takes on a modern effect. This works
well with the genre of fashion, as fashion itself is always updated. I have added conventions
such as images, digital art and written context, which were all designed and set out to look
aesthetically pleasing.
