Evaluation Question 5

1. ‘Stringed’ abides by a number of codes and conventions, which help to make it attractive to
the audience. These not only appeal to the target audience, reformers and aspirers/social
climbers, but also to other audiences. Examples of these include, using a model and acoustic
guitar on the front cover.
The image to the left depicts the front
cover of “Stringed’. The basic colours
used - white and black - mean that
the magazine could attract any
readers from within the acoustic
genre. Additionally, the subtly colours
of the sunset in the image give a very
warm feel to the magazine.
A basic, informal typeface is used.
The use of sans serif juxtaposes the
serif font of the title to give a mix
between formal and informal modes f
address.
The varying fonts are very
conventional to all music magazines,
so will help ‘Stringed’ to fit in with the
acoustic genre. This will, therefore
mean ‘Stringed’ will be more
attractive to the target audience.
The location is nothing special, so
the audience could relate to being
there.
The image to the right depicts the contents
page of ‘Stringed’. The colour scheme is
carried through to this page, along with the
typefaces. This, again, is conventional of
most music magazines, especially those from
the acoustic genre.
The use of pictures on this page is very
conventional, and gives the reader an idea of
the articles within the magazine. This could
attract readers.
The large page numbers also make it easy
for the reader to navigate around the
magazine, along with the theme of only
featuring the main articles on the contents
page.
Next to each number are the title and a brief
description of the contents. This gives the
reader a basic idea of what’s in the article.
The contents of the articles are also based
on the audience’s core interests.

2. The intended message is to reflect the relaxed but meaningful style of acoustic music
using written and visual aspects of the magazine. This also links to the basic values
of this audience, which seem to be mostly having a positive attitude towards
everything. An example of this is the DPS article, in which the ‘artist’ is presented in a
positive light. Giving a magazine meaning is an effective way of keeping an audience
interested, in the case of ‘Stringed’, a positive atmosphere is built throughout the
magazine through the subtle use of colours.
‘Stringed’ is relevant because it uses a simple colour scheme, an informal layout, and
informal mode of address. This is conventional in this genre of music and is also the preferred
style of the audience, mentioned earlier.