1. Within the presentation I will be going through the
conventions which I used within my magazine
2. Within my magazine production, I managed to keep a consistent theme and house style. Within
my house style I thought about my target audience and tried to set my theme around them and
how they are portrayed within the media as the more rebellious type who are against society and I
think I achieved this across all of my pages creating a mysterious look and at the same time
catching my audiences attention. The colour scheme I chose also kept consistent through my
magazine production this made it more professional and more appeling to viewers of my
magazine. When researching into different magazines I came across Q magazine and also NME,
these two magazines would be what I based the theme of my own magazine around. To the right
of the screen you can see a copy of NME I liked how they presented their magazine and how they
caught the eye of their audience which in retrospect is the same as mine, I used a stamp like NME
which is on every copy however changing mine to AMP, both which are both acronyms, I think
going down the style that NME bring to the market with their main photo and article being the
biggest thing on the page is something that catches spectators eyes and helps keep the cover page
not to over crowded and with is much easier for my audience to follow . Towards the end of my
magazine production I focused on using some of the conventions which Q magazine focused on
using so I could have a more wider range of different conventions that would stand out on the
cover page.
House Style
4. Front Cover Page Conventions
For my front cover I chose to use a selling line which features a flash, I chose to use this as I
think it’s a great way to advertise what is within the magazine and it stands out to the
audience and influences them to purchase the magazine. I used the word ‘Exclusive’ as the
flash this shows the audience that its special to my magazine and they will not find it
anywhere else, I chose to use the selling line ‘what kind of rock star are you?’ as I think this is
what people who enjoy my genre of music would be interested in and something that is
unique to them. Because the skyline is at the top of the page it is in a primal spot and can not
be missed.
One of the main features about my magazine is the masthead as you can see from the NME
cover it is very similar to their masthead, for many years the NME stamp has been on every
copy of the magazine and that’s what I hope to achieve with my masthead. I chose the words
‘AMP’ which is an acronym for alternate music press, I based the words around my genre of
music as I knew AMP would have meaning to my fans and to musicians within indie music,
the words alternate music press is something I wanted my audience to notice as it gives them
a quick and brief overview of what music is featured within my magazine. I chose the colours
black and white to make sure that it was going to stand out big and bold and its something
that can be seen 10 feet away I wanted to achieve this by making the words Black and giving it
a white border as I think it jumps out of the page at the audience and makes them remember
the name. I also included the words alternate music press situated within the each letter, I
chose to does this as it shows the audience exactly what music they are to expect within my
magazine. I made sure that it was the biggest piece of text on the front page because it is the
most important and needs to be remembered as it will be on every copy.
5. For my main imagine on the cover page I chose position it within the centre this is to empathises the
importance of the main story within my magazine and to show to the audience that I feature a
exclusive interview with one of the most profound artists and this shows the audience that we take
the music industry seriously. I chose to use a depth of field photo for my main photo because I
think it is what will stand out to my audience and really create an impact on the reader as the photo
is kind of ‘in your face’ and really jumps out at you. I decided to demonstrate a older photo of the
lead artists as in my anchorage it says ‘From The Roots’ I chose a older photo to show what the
artists used to be before he put down the acoustic guitar and picked up an electric and joined the
indie music scene, I picked an older photo as I think this would interest my fans to read about how
far the lead singer of Pacific Flea has come and what he has gone through. I chose to only use one
photo on my front cover because I didn’t want to overcrowd the main page making it easier to read
and understand.
To go along with my image I chose to use the headline ‘Pacific Flea’ this introduces the main story
and I made sure that it was the second largest text on the page after the masthead so that it would
catch the attention of the audience I placed it in the hotspot of the page as it is the first thing that
the reader looks at within the middle of the page, I chose to use the colour white to make it stand
out on a darker background I also chose to have the out line of Pacific in the colour red as most of
my main cover lines and important information is in red I decided to show the importance of the
main article on the front page. I tried to achieve a unique look to my magazine and I think I
achieved this through my headline.
To keep with this unique look I chose to put my anchorage above my headline I chose the words
‘From The Roots…’ I did this because it goes along with my article meaning that it is going back to
artists earlier years and I think my anchorage gives this impression on my audience and tells them
what the article is about straight away. I think that the anchorage that I have chose will want my
reader to find out more and creates a mysterious affect and they will want to find out about the main
artists history.
I also included a teller under my headline so it would explain to the readers what exactly my main
article would include, I also used the word exclusive, so the reader feels special that they are one of
the first to read the interview.
Front Cover Page Conventions
6. My main kickers and cover lines are positioned to the left of my headline story and main
image I chose to do this as I wanted to keep focus on my main story, my kickers are very
important as they demonstrate other stories within my magazine and this will also be
very important to my readers as it gives them other articles and information to look
forward to, I chose a range of kickers from alterative rock to comedians as I think it is
important to have a range of different stories that will attract the reader to buy the
magazine. I chose to have white writing on black backgrounds as I think this makes sure
that the kickers can’t be missed this also is in consistently with my masthead. I made
sure that my kickers were in capital letters so it gives a bold approach and stand out to
the reader. Under the kickers I have situated my cover lines, I made sure that they are
noticed by changing the colour of the font to red, the colour red is a deep colour and
gives a sign of importance, the cover lines are very important to the front page as they go
under the kickers and describe the stories which are featured within the magazine.
I used a graphic feature to display one of the main features about my magazine, I made
sure that it would stand out next to my main headline, to make sure that it was bold I
chose to keep with my house style and just like my cover lines I chose to make the
graphic feature a bold red, this making it important and something that readers will be
excited to see.
I wanted to make sure that my secondary lead stood out of the page and to make sure
that my readers knew that it was the next big story within my article I decided to place it
within a white box next to the ‘Rated’ feature, I did this so it would stand out next to the
five stars, this influences my readers to look at this after the main feature, I purposely
placed it in line with my headline as I think this will catch the eye of the reader and make
them more intrigued. I chose to change some of the colour within my secondary lead to
red to show its importance, it makes it more eye catching and keeps to my constancy
within my house style
Front Cover Page Conventions
7. I chose to use a plug within my front cover, I chose to include one as I
wanted something that would really help with selling the magazine,
including a plug shows my audience what will be included every month
from music festival news and subscriptions this will intrigue my audience
and make them feel like they want to buy a copy each month.
Within my front cover page I have chose to use 2 flashes, one in the menu
strip and one in my selling line, I chose to position them here because I
think it really promotes everything that my magazine has to offer to my
reader, I used the words Exclusive and Plus, these are common terms
which are used in flashes, I chose to use the colour yellow for my flashes
because the colour yellow is bright and joyful its something that will
stand out and will promote the main articles within my magazine.
I featured a menu strip on my front cover to show my audience the
different types of bands that will feature within my magazine, I chose to
use 5 different bands because I wanted to supply to a wider audience and
showing them what I have to offer will catch their attendance and will
stand out to my competitors.
Front Cover Page Conventions
8. Contents Page Conventions
Masthead
Section Headers
Navigation Panel
Page
Numbers
Main Feature
Editorial
Date and issue
number
Feature shot
Section Header
Page
Numbers
Inset panel with
special features
9. Contents Page Conventions
As you can see from my contents page that I have stuck with the same colour theme and house
style from my cover page, I chose to do this as I thought it would look much more professional
and organized and fit in with my house style. I made sure that everything was neat and tidy and
easy to read, this sets a more comfortable and appealing look on my magazine, I included a
editorial as I think it is something that helps the reader get a better out look on the producer of
the magazine and makes them feel like they are apart of AMP.
I included my masthead again as I want my readers to become more brand aware of my
magazine and I think plastering it where I can will help the magazine become more recognizable.
I chose to use a navigation panel to show what the features of my magazine are I based my
navigation panel like the one from Q magazine, I laid it out so that it had a more professional
look and wasn’t too compacted, I chose to place it on the left hand side of the page because we
read from left to right I thought it would make much more sense to place it on the left hand side,
I decided to use white for the basis of the navigation panel as I think this is more eye catching
and stands out to the audience.
I used section header as I think they jump out the page at the reader and helps them find what
they are looking for. I used a red background with white writing as I have made red the most
important colour of my magazine I knew that having my section headers in red would attract the
attention from my audience and from this they would take a look under the section headers and
that is something important I wanted to achieve. I put the titles of the section headers in capitals
making it one of the biggest texts on the page so it was easier for my reader to find what they
need.
I chose to put my page numbers in red this sticking to my theme of the colour red being the
important colour and attracting the audiences attention, this makes it easier for the audience to
read the page numbers of the different articles within my magazine. I made sure that for my
main articles I enhanced the size of the numbers to make sure that they would stand out to my
audience and grab their attention
For my main feature I wanted to pick a picture that was something different to any other
magazine I chose to go with a photo of a girl on a sofa with the caption ‘The Next Big Thing At
Home’ I chose to go with this as I think it is something that really offers uniqueness to my
audience and something they would be interested in seeing as it isn't something they see in
every magazine and will want to read more on the subject and get to know the artist first hand.
10. Page Numbers
Pull quote
Pull quote
Main image
Masthead with flash
Graphic Feature
Drop Capital
Headline
Double Page Spread Conventions
11. The first thing that I chose to include within my double page spread was my
masthead, I chose to include this so I am following my theme of including my
masthead where I can, to make it more brand aware to my consumers. I also chose
to include a flash just below my masthead with the words ‘Exclusive’ I did this as I
think this will imply to the reader that they will hear this interview first in my
magazine and they feel special as they are one of the first to get an insight into the
artist
The biggest writing on the page is my headline, I chose to put my headline in white
with a back shadow, making it pop out of the page and grab the audience attention,
as it is the biggest piece of text on the page it will stand out and it gets straight to
the point of what the article is about.
To the left hand side I used a pull quote, I included this as I think it gives the reader
a small snippet of what is included within the interview and intrigues them to read
more. I also put the pull quote in red to signal that it is important and grabs the
audiences attention, this also stick to my house style.
For my article I used a drop capital to start off the interview and I also made sure
that the colour was red, this will stand out to the audience and they know where
the interview starts. It shows that the magazine is professional and formal.
For my main image I wanted to create a unique look, I had my model stand on a
white wall and hold a card between his teeth with casual clothing, this gives my
artist a laid back look and the fact he has a card in his mouth is something different
and is not going to be in any other magazine, my audience will applicate this as
their personalities can relate to these images which I have take. I used a card as it
relates to may topic, ‘Ace Or a Joker?’ I chose to use a graphic feature as I think it
asks the question without asking it and it’s a good way of getting across what the
article is about.
Double Page Spread Conventions
