3. Conventions of my music magazine – ‘Electro’
COVER PHOTO
Eye-contact-the audience is more likely
to feel a connection with the artist
Artist is in the centre of the page and
covers the whole page, this makes the
cover of the magazine look more
balanced with having the headline also
in the centre
The cover photo links to the headline,
the image is of the artist (Lucy T) so that
the audience can visually see and be
able to recognize the artist at a first
glance, without having to read anything
Nothing covers the artist’s face, I have
arranged the masthead to be placed
behind the head of Lucy T so that she is
the main focus of the page
The background is one colour so that
the focus is on the artist
4. MASTHEAD
I have located it across the top of the page so that if it
typically were to be sold on shelves, if the masthead was
put anywhere else, it would not be as visible
It is a different font to the other text on the page, this is so
that I can establish a recognizable font that is only
associated with my magazine, it almost acts as a logo
Fills ¼ of the page – it has to be the largest text on the
page so that the audience can clearly see the name of the
magazine
5. COVER LINES
On the side of the page, aligned left or right, so that no
text is covering the artist’s face which is generally in the
centre
There are margins on either side of the page so that the
text doesn’t look like it is falling off the page
The artist’s names are clear for the reader to see
6. HEADLINE
The convention of the headline is that it is:
The name of the artist in the cover photo – in this case Lucy T
It is the second biggest text on the page – which I have done to
make sure that because Lucy T is a new, upcoming artist, people
may not know who she is at a first glance so with having the text
big and bold (and in capitals) it ensures that her name is not
ignored
It also generally has a sentence underneath explaining either who
the artist is or why they are in the magazine (like the Rolling
Stone’s magazine above – I have chosen to use ‘The next big
thing’ and it links to her article about her becoming an upcoming
artist
7. SELLING LINE
The selling line is typically next to the masthead.
I have put it above the masthead and highlighted it in
bright yellow (same colour as the electronic stripe).
This is to make it visible and to stick to the house colours
but because it is in a much smaller font, it does not draw
away attention from the masthead.
9. FEATURES – WHAT’S INSIDE
The features column from
my magazine – the font I
have used is the same as
the text for the selling line,
keeping in with the house
style. The font for the page
numbers is bigger as they
need to be clearly and
easily seen
This is the features
column from mixmag
magazine. I used this
as inspiration for my
own features column, I
thought it worked well
as the page numbers
are clear and the titles
stand out from the
information underneath
COLUMNS
I used only two columns for
my contents page.
This was to ensure that it did
not look too crowded, but at
the same time I still wanted it
to look energetic – like
electronic music.
I think that if I had inserted
any more columns, it may
cause confusion with genres
such as it may portray rock.
I also used inspiration about
columns for electronic music
magazine contents pages,
from mixmag.
11. On the contents page, I have included one image of
the cover artist. The convention for images on the
contents page is that not all of them will be of the
cover artist which is why I have included an image of
‘Calvin Harris’, Reading festival and an image I took
in New York to show that this city is the best
destination right now to see electronic music.
With including lots of images, it makes the page look
fuller and more energetic which is what electronic
music portrays
12. PAGE TITLE – ‘CONTENTS’
• The page title, I used inspiration from the title of mixmag magazine. I took how it
was in the right-hand corner on top of the features column, the colours of black
and yellow tie in with the house colours of my magazine.
• The name of the magazine ‘Electro’ is also a convention of a contents page. I
have used the same font so that the audience do not necessarily have to read it,
they will just recognize the font from where they had seen it on the cover.
• The date of the magazine/issue number – it is smaller than the title and the name
of the magazine so that it does not draw attention away from what the page is
about. The reason I put the date of the issue on the contents page is so that the
reader can see what issue this was without having to turn back to the cover.
14. MAIN IMAGE
The main image is usually of the artist, in this case mine is of
Lucy T. She is covering all of the background, however her face is
the only thing that stands out. I have increased the opacity in
photoshop to achieve this.
I wanted the image to be of Lucy T because the article is all about
her. Especially because she is an upcoming artist, it is important
for her to be recognized by not only her music but what she looks
like as well.
15. A QUOTE FROM THE ARTICLE
Positioned to the left of Lucy
T’s face, in between her and
the article.
Topic of discussion – this could be a
page where every week, a new
upcoming artist is interviewed. It is at
the top right so that the reader can flick
the pages and see, without opening the
magazine fully
Web address – to find out
more information/subscribe
16. THE ARTICLE
‘Blurb’ - a little bit of
information to get a feel for the
article. This will generally be
the decider on whether a
person continues to read the
article or not
The blurb is in an orange box
to make the text look more
interesting and to stand out
from the article itself
Article is split into two columns
– like the contents page, easy
to read
17. TITLE OF THE ARTICLE
Colours are matching the house style of the magazine –
yellow/orange, black and white
I have used a rhetorical question, this makes the reader
wonder who she is and want to find out more about her. If
she is the next big thing then whoever reads this article
will have found out about her first.
18. Forms
The colour scheme of my magazine is black, white and
yellow/orange. Black and white are typically quite
sophisticated colours where yellow/orange adds the
brightness and energy that electronic music has.
I have used images – all taken by me, magazines have to
be printed so I have not used video clips or animation as
these would not be suitable
I have considered different fonts and have chosen ones
that are bold and clear to read, keeping my genre in mind
when choosing.
20. COVER
For the cover image, I
developed ideas from Rolling
Stone’s magazine and
mixmag.
I liked how the artist’s
name was very bold
and big, with a smaller
text underneath
explaining in a few
words a bit about who
she is. I used this idea
but changed the font
as Rolling Stone is not
for electronic music
I loved this picture as I think it
portrays electronic music as a
bit edgy. I used the electronic
stripe but kept the image in
colour as for a cover photo, I
think it worked better to have it
more eye-catching. In black and
white, it’s not as striking at first
21. Challenging conventions
The only convention I have not followed is that I haven’t
included a reduced version of the cover. I didn’t do this as
because my genre is electronic, it is not mainstream like
for example – pop, so it does not typically have to follow
all conventions.
Also the other electronic magazines, such as mixmag, do
not include reduced versions of the cover. This may be
because the artist on the cover is not always featured on
the contents pages. For electronic magazines, I have
found that generally the contents pages are about partying
or festivals and the music there, rather than one artist in
particular.
