The document summarizes the key aspects of constructing a magazine for a target audience. It discusses designing elements like the masthead, keywords, headlines, and covers to attract readers. Images, formatting, and featured artists are chosen to represent the target social group of young adults interested in music, fashion, and culture. Technologies like computers, software, cameras, and photo editing sites were essential to the process of designing and constructing the magazine product. The author learned more advanced design skills that made the final magazine more visually engaging compared to their initial preliminary task.

1. The evaluation
By Eve Lakatos- Yarde

2. URBAN: The Magazine

3. How does Urban use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
Masthead
Ticker tape
Date and
price
Colour scheme of
red
Key words:
Exclusive and
exaggeration
Key words:
Insider
knowledge
Barcode
and link
Headlines to
website

4. The Masthead
The masthead is the 2nd main feature of the front cover, as it takes up almost a quarter of
the page. On most of my examples, the masthead is covered by the main photo, this is
because the magazine is an established brand and consumer would immediately
recognise the magazine. The masthead should be short and catchy and use colour
throughout, as it makes it stand out more. For my masthead, I picked a
short word associated with the r’n’b/hip hop music scene. I also used the three primary
colours: red, yellow, blue and kept the red as a prominent feature through out.

5. Key words
Keywords are important as they draw the reader in and also insinuates that the reader
is getting exclusive knowledge. This gives the reader a sense of being in a group . The
keywords I have used are; ‘exclusive, official and top ten’.

6. Headlines
The headline is the main convention that will entice the reader to buy the magazine.
Depending on who the magazine is for the style and layout will be very different. The
headline is usually the main featured artist, so has to be an artist the suits your
magazine’s audience. The headline has to be clear and easy to read.

7. Contents Pages
Quirky layout of the
title
Full length image, of
featured person
List of features in the
magazine, in a set line

8. Red colour scheme Contents Page Clear sub
headings
Clear title
Pictures of
other
featured
artists
Date, website and
page number are Clear page label
institutional Picture of main/
conventions front cover artist

9. Double page spread
Quotes from
the interview
Differentiation of
text, to show
interviewer and
interviewee
Full page picture
of interviewee

10. Double page spread
headline
Album
cover and
track list
introduction
Promotes
artist’s
upcoming cd
Red colour
scheme
Interview
quotes Varies
images of
Water marked artist
background photo Makes the
Makes other background
images more more
prominent interesting

11. How does your media product represents a particular
social group?
What social group does urban represent?
The social group my magazine represents is young adults, the
majority of them will be students either at college or at university.
Many of them will have a part time job, to make them
independent from ‘mummy and daddy’. They will prefer the
luxuries of life, such as smart phones, up market branded clothes
e.g. supreme hats, Fred Perry, vans and original adidas. Girls will
have a similar style to boys, with same style hats and jumpers
but will make it more girly with elaborate nail designs and
costume jewellery. Geek glasses, shirts and baseball jackets are
also significant style features.

12. How does your media product represents a particular
social group?
How do you represent this social group?
My social group is fashionable, interested in new music, attractive and confident. The way
I’ve represented them is through the language, images and fonts I’ve used.
Headphones
Facial expression
Represents
interest in Approachable and
music; new calm
and old.
microphone Target may aspire
to look and be like
this
Symbolises artist
talent
Similar
Holding the microphone style to
casually, laid back, similar Baseball
target
to attitude and life style of jacket
audience
target audience

13. How does your media product represents a particular
social group?
Urban magazine compared to a real magazine; Vibe.
Similarities Differences
•male cover •Facial expression
artist •Pose of artist
•Long mid shot •Colour scheme
•Barcode •background
•Masthead
•Ticker tape

14. What kind of media institution might distribute you
media product and why?
My magazine is aimed at both males and female aged 16-24, and could become a
very popular, mainstream music magazine brand. As it could be sold as a
mainstream magazine, I think Bauer Media or IPC could distribute it, as they
distribute mainstream music magazines such Q and NME.
As well as being in printed format, I would have a web edition and as its quite a
high-end brand, maybe host/sponsor urban music awards ceremony, this could
feature artists that have been published in the magazine and also give readers a
chance to come along.

15. Who would be the audience for media product?
Name: Yasmin Name: Jermaine
Age:16 Age:17
Favourite artist: Drake, The Favourite artists: Tyler the creator,
Weekend and Nicki Minaj J.Cole and Ed Sheeran
Favourite clothes brand/ shop: Favourite clothes brand/shop: vans,
converse, bank, top shop and Fred Perry and River Island
H&M Favourite film: Get rich or die trying
Favourite film: Adulthood and
4,3,2,1

16. How did you attract/ address your audience?
I used black font for my
masthead as I felt it would
stand out more against my
white background. Also
the use of colour in it, is
very contrasting and will
Featured artistes- I help the reader recognise
have used artists that it for future copies.
I feel my audience will
like and will also be
interested in so they
will want to buy the
magazine
Price- I would
say £2.99 is a
reasonable
price for a
Keywords-these help monthly
attract the audience, by magazine.
showing they're getting
an ‘exclusive’ product

17. How did you attract/ address your audience?
Page numbers-
make the
magazine more
Constant use of reader friendly as
red theme- this they can
just gives the navigate quickly
reader some and easily to
familiarity to the articles
magazine and
also stand out on
the white
background
Main artist photo- this is used
to give the reader sustained
focus on the main artist, so
they know directly who the
main article is about

18. How did you attract/ address your audience?
Constant use of Quotes- adds to
red theme and the intimate
same font- detail of the
familiar to the artists interview,
reader and also also gives hints
is very clear and at what the
easy to read readers can
expect the
interview to be
about
Background image- adds a
edge to the magazine and
makes it more interesting to
look at

19. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
I learnt how to use
serif page plus. This
software was very
new to me, as had I
never used it before I
started my
preliminary task.
Using this software, I
built up my
masthead, and article
and also used the cut
out tool to crop most
of my pictures.

20. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
I learnt how to use
picnik, a online photo
editing site . I had
never used this site
before but it was
quite easy to navigate
around.. On this site,
I edited all my
pictures, by using
various effect and
editing features,

21. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
Computer- this was an essential Camera- this was also essential, as
technology tool as I could not have I used it to take all my pictures. As
constructed my magazine with out. it was a good quality camera, it
On my computer I had all the meant all my pictures were clear
different software that I used to and crisp, so not blurry.
construct my magazine and also
uploaded my pictures onto it, so I
could edit them.

22. Preliminary task compared to main task.....
I feel like my preliminary task was very basic and was too rigid. Most of
the text was set in a boring straight line and the font choice was very safe,
as I didn’t take a risk to make it a bit more creative. In my main task I
learnt to use a variety of images as well, this made the magazine more
engaging for the reader.