Question 1 of my music magazine evaluation

1. Q1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media products?
Evaluation

2. Magazine
Cover

3. The cover image on the cover of my magazine
features the artist that features in the main article.
The artist in the image is making eye contact with
the reader. This has been done so that he reader
feels more of a connection with the artist. Using
eye contact will make the reader feel like they are
being targeted; this could make the reader feel
like they should read the magazine.
I had also decided to make the artist have a glare
to her eyes. This has allowed the artist to look
quite judgmental. This is a positive thing because
it creates a much powerful link between the cover
image and the headline “She’s the queen of
judging”. This link makes the document a lot
better to understand and also will give the reader
a much better idea of what the article may be
about leaving them to want to read more.
The Cover Image-

4. I have placed the image of the artist in
front of the masthead so that the
readers main focus is on the artist. This
is important because the artist the
features in the cover image is who the
main article is based on so it therefore
gives a lot away about what is in the
magazine. Also the fact that the cover
image dominates the page can help
suggest the artists power and
importance- this is also shown through
the placement of the image being in the
middle of the page.
I have made the background quite
light- this has meant that the image
stands out a lot more than it would if
the background was any darker.

5. The Masthead-
The masthead is an extremely important feature to include on a music magazine. The masthead
is a way of telling the reader the author of the magazine- this can also be shown through the use
of a house style.
I have chosen to locate the magazine masthead across the top of the page because of the fact it
would be seen on shop shelves a lot better. In addition to this, if the masthead was placed in a
different place on the page, it will most likely not be seen by any customers.
The masthead fills around ¼ of the page, this is because the masthead is usually the biggest font
on the page. By using a large font for the masthead, it will enable it to be visible to the reader
and will therefore stand out very well.
The font I have used for my masthead has been used repeatedly throughout my magazine. I
have decided to do this so that it creates a more recognisable house style. The use of this font
also makes the document look more professional and also suits a bigger audience because its
not been directly at a specific audience.

6. Cover lines-
The cover lines on a magazine cover are usually used
to give the reader a brief insight to the stories that
feature in the magazine.
I have chosen to position the cover lines on the left hand
side of the cover page. This has been done so that they
don’t cover up the image of the artist that has been
placed in the center of the cover page.
When creating the cover page, I inserted margins
around the edge of the page so that the text is lined up
neatly and isn’t too close the the edge of the page.
The artists names that feature in the cover page have
been made quite large and both include a coloured
outline. This has been done so that they stand out a lot
and are visible to the reader.

7. Headings
The headline involves the name of the artist that features in the cover image which is in this case,
Emily Hendzel. I have put the headline in bold and made it bigger than the rest of the text so that it
stands out more and will become the readers main focus so that the artist will not be ignored as she
isn’t a well-known artist just yet. The colour of the text used was chosen based on a colour that
features in the cover image, this creates a link between the artist and the headline. I decided to add
a dark outline to the text so it stands out a lot more that it would have done originally.
I have included a brief subheading underneath the headline. I have done this in the style of a pull
quote. I have decided to do this because in other examples of already existing magazines, I’ve
found that it is an effective way of giving the reader a brief idea of what the article is about. The pull
quote that has been used isn’t a quote taken from what the artist has said but has come from
someone else. This has been done as I found it would have been a more effective way of portraying
the artists nature.

8. Selling Line
The selling line has been added above the masthead. I have decided
to do this as this is where the selling line would usually appear in a
music magazine. I have used a black font for my selling line as it
stands out a lot against the light background that has been used. The
use of capitals and an exclamation mark has been included in order
to emphasise excitement.
I have used the same font in my selling line as I have done for my
masthead and other features on my magazine cover so that it carries
a house style and links with the magazine itself.

9. Contents
Page

10. Headings
I have included four different headings in my contents
page. Each heading suggests a category for the
information below each one. The heading ‘main story’
includes all the main stories that feature in the magazine.
‘Latest’ includes information about the latest records and
CD’s in the current month. ‘Features’ includes the page
numbers for additional stories that feature in the
magazine and ‘news’ includes the latest news about the
music industry.
Behind each heading, I have included a coloured
graphic. This has been done so that each heading stands
out against the rest of the text. Each colour chosen is
different- this is to highlight a different topic has been
introduced. The colours used also help to create a house
style. The font I have used for the headings is the same
as what has been used in the title of the magazine as
this creates a house style and therefore a more
professional looking document.
The use of the different colours suggests that the
magazine is a POP magazine.

11. Page numbers and
information
I have included page numbers in the contents page as the
reader will know what page the article is on and his will
save them having to go through the whole magazine to find
the page they want.
Next to the page numbers I have inserted a short
subheading that tells the reader what features in the article.
Both the page numbers and the subheadings are in the
same font as the headings. I have decided to do this as it
will make the page look more professional. Also, the font is
big and easy to read.
Underneath the subheadings, I have inserted a brief
description that would give the reader more of an idea of
what the page features. I have decided to use a variety of
different fonts here as it makes the contents page fun and
will also help to imply that the genre of the magazine is
POP. Also, some of the fonts chosen relate to the content
on the article page they are linked to e.g. page 24 I have
used a fun looking font to imply that the article isn’t serious
and is a fun article to read.

12. Banner
I created a banner to make the contents page look a bit more professional. I
got the idea of the banner from the music magazine Q however, I’ve changed
the design and style of my banner so that it fits in with my magazine genre.
The colour scheme for my banner was chosen based on the colour scheme
on my magazine cover. I decided to leave the space for my masthead blank
so that it would stand out more however, I chose not to put the masthead
across the whole of the page as I didn’t want it to dominate all of the other
main features. I thought this was a suitable place to position it because it’s
still noticeable but doesn’t stand out too much so that I would take the
readers attention off the more important features. I decided to stick with the
same font again because it’s easy to read and fits in with the house style of
the document.
I included the word ‘contents’ in the banner as it stands out and also it would
let the reader know what page they’re looking at.

13. Images
I chose the images based on the main articles in
the magazine. The bigger image dominates the
rest of the features on the document because it is
based on the main story in the article. The main
image is of the artist that features in the article and
this is also the same artist as the one the features
on the front cover. Both of the images link together
as the artist is pulling the same ‘judging’ pose.
The image that features underneath the main
image links to the second biggest article in the
magazine. I chose to contrast the subject of the
image to what has been written in the description-
‘People say she’s the celebrity cutie pie but some
may disagree’. The image was chosen to show
that the artist may have two sides to her.
The images are highlighted with the use of
coloured graphics. The colours used relate to the
house style of the document.

14. Editors note
I included the editors note to make
the magazine feel more personal.
The editors note shows a message
that the editor wrote directly to the
fans of the magazine. The use of
the editors note could help to
persuade the reader to read on.
I chose to do the editors note in a
different font to the rest of the
magazine as the note doesn’t really
link much to the content in the
magazine.
I decided to add an informal tone to
the note as it would make it feel less
serious and more personal and
aimed towards the audience.

15. Article

16. Heading
The heading of the article is traditionally the artists name who features in
the magazine article itself in this case, Emily Hendzel.
The text is normally the biggest font on the page; this is so it stands out to
the reader so they will instantly know who the article is about.
The colours used here are different to the colours used in the rest of the
magazine; this is mainly because of the different outfits that the artist is
wearing. This is a challenge against the conventions of a music magazine
as normally, all colours are the same throughout the magazine however,
mine vary slightly.
I decided to make ‘Hendzel’ a slightly smaller font in order to symbolise a
shadow effect; this creates a link with one of the pull quotes I have added
onto the article. However, I have made ‘Emily’ a darker colour as it is the
first name of the artist and will be how the artist is most recognised as.

17. Pull Quotes
The pull quotes were added in
order to give the reader a brief
insight to the text and what its
about. All of the quotes, apart
from the first one shown, have
been taken out of the main body
of the text in the article. The last
two quotes have been placed
against a graphic; his has been
done so that they stand out.

18. Main Image
 The main image is of Emily Hendzel who
is the main artist that features in the
magazine article. The image covers the
first half of the article page because my
intentions were to leave the other side for
text; this would prevent the reader from
getting distracted by the image when
they’re reading the text.
 I positioned the artist over the top of the
heading, this was so I could link the article
with the cover of the magazine. This
overlapping ide was also taken from an
example of an already existing article that I
had used for research. I liked this idea
as it allowed the image to stand
out a lot more and become more
profound.

19. Forms
Colour Scheme- the colours pink, burgundy, white and black run constantly
throughout the cover and contents page. The colours on every page have been
picked out depending on what colours feature in the main images used on the
page. I have used colours that would suit more of a female audience; this wuld
be suitable for my target audience. The colours are all sophisticated and will
therefore attract an older audience rather than being based around bright pinks
or similar colours that would attract a younger audience.
Fonts- I have use one font quite frequently throughout the whole of the
magazine- this appears in all of the headings on each page- this was done so
that I could create a house style for the document. I have, however,
experimented with a few different fonts on the contents page. Each font chosen
for the contents page was decided based on the type of article that they link up
to.