Music magazine evaluation for my AS coursework

1. Music Magazine evaluation
Sam Knappett

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

6. Front cover
This Q magazine front cover is conventional in many ways. It
has a conventional masthead because it is normal sized, clear
and in the right position which is the top left of the cover.
Also, there are many cover lines which are easily noticeable to
the reader. They colours compliment the background, also it is
conventional because they are in the right position (which is
at the side of the magazine). The feature article photograph is
conventional in terms of how many people are present, like
many other front covers it is only using one person for the
picture. Also, the plug which is positioned at the top of the
page, is conventional in the way in which it is positioned, how
clear it is and what it is actually saying.
Conventional front covers
This NME cover is conventional in the way how the cover lines
are presented. They are clear, in the same colour scheme and
are at the side of the cover. Also, the headline for the main
article is conventional in the way it is presented. The colours
are in the same colour scheme as the whole front cover, also
the font is a lot bigger than the rest of the typography
meaning that they are trying to raise more attention to that
piece of information. The masthead is placed in front of the
feature article photograph, this is conventional because that is
how most mastheads are presented in various media
products.

7. Contents
Conventional contents pages
This contents page is conventional because it has an ideal ratio of
pictures to writing. The writing is clear and is laid out formally. The
pictures catch the eye of the reader but they do not completely
dominate the page. Also, the house style stays repetitive throughout the
page, in terms of the colour scheme not being broken.
This contents page is conventional in terms of the colours being
used and where the pictures are placed with the information
next to them. Unlike Q’s contents (above) this contents page is
rather informal, but nonetheless the pictures are conventional
because where they are positioned and the size of them.
Pictures on the contents will be bigger and some will be some
depending on if there is a big article or smaller article within the
magazine.

8. Double page spread
Conventional double page spread’s
This first page of a double page spread from Q magazine is conventional
in the sense that it has a clear headline to say what the double page
spread is about and a extended standfirst. This is conventional because
most magazines include a separate page for the headline and standfirst.
Also, the drop cap used is conventional because it is clearly bigger and
noticeable then the rest of the information.
This is conventional because it has various pictures
included in the double page spread with the two columns
of information underneath. Also it includes a pull-out-
quote, which can be used to separate the text of pictures;
in this case it has separated the pictures. The information
is written in columns which is conventional because many
magazines use that style to write their information. Also,
similar to the first page of the double page spread (above)
it has a clear drop cap which is larger than the rest of the
text.

9. Front cover
The cover lines on my front cover
challenge the conventions of normal,
original magazines because normally
cover lines are easy to catch the eye
and are positioned at the side of the
feature article photograph. Whereas,
I have placed mine at the bottom of
the page so that the feature article
photograph dominates the cover and
my cover lines are quite subtle, what
I mean by this is that they aren't in
the way and aren't obvious to the
eye of the reader.
Also, my cover lines do not catch
the eye like other conventional
cover lines in terms of their colour
and information. Conventional
cover lines have small information
and attract the reader via colour
and position. My cover lines are
presented very subtly, they have no
information apart from the name of
the artist.
Q magazine’s cover lines are
conventional in the way they are
presented, which is the position,
how much information is used and
how big it is and whether it catches
the eye of the reader.
My puff is developing the
conventions of other magazines
because it relates to the magazines
audience and the genre it is
representing, while still boosting the
magazines status.

10. Front cover - puffs
Here we can see that my puff develops conventions of real media
products because it is short, in the right position and helps boost
the status of my magazine. Like Q magazine, my puff is presented
below the masthead, but Q’s puff is projected by a black
background whereas mine just lays on the feature article
photograph.

11. Front cover – Mastheads & Feature article photograph
I made my feature article photograph black
and white to add to the effect of the group
and to project the colours of my magazine
(red, white and black). This is challenging the
conventions of other magazines because not
many magazines make their feature article
have a black and white effect. Also, my
feature article photograph includes 7
people, this is challenging the conventions
of other magazines because most magazines
only use up to 5 people for their
photograph. For example, The Source only
use 3 people for this edition of their
magazine, it is very unlikely that you would
see a feature article photograph include 7
people in it.
My masthead doesn’t challenge
the conventions of real media
products because it is clear and in
the position that all mastheads
are. It covers the top of the front
cover, similar to The Source
(bottom left of slide). The colour
scheme does not break
throughout the masthead, neither
does the font or size of the
masthead. My masthead is quite
conventional because of the
colours that are being used (bold
red being projected by black and
white).

12. Contents
My contents is very informative,
compared to The Source and XXL,
this type of contents is challenging
the conventions but when
comparing to Q Magazine, my
magazine is developing the
conventions. (The Source contents
above)
Also, my contents only uses
two pictures because it is
dominated by information.
Although, these two pictures
are still obvious to the eye
and dominate the contents in
terms of catching your eye.
This is challenging the
conventions because most
contents do not present as
much information as I have
nor are there little pictures,
most pictures completely
dominate a contents page of
real media products.
My contents breaks my magazines colour scheme
(red, black and white) by using blue. This is
challenging the conventions of real media products
because most magazine stick to the house style of
their magazine.

13. Contents
My magazine is challenging the conventions
of other magazines because of the amount
of information I have given on the contents.
I have done this because comparing to my
front cover, I needed to include information
to inform the audience and get them
interested. My contents and front cover
contrast in terms of information given.

14. Double page spread
My double page spread is challenging the
conventions of real media products because
there is only one picture used, whereas most
magazines use more than one picture. Also, my
picture is the background, there isn't a box
projecting the text, it goes back onto the picture.
This again is challenging the conventions
because most double page spreads have white
backgrounds to project the text.
My double page spread is not separated by two
pages, what I mean by this is that there is no gaps
between the double page, most other conventions
have text on one page and a picture or pictures on
the other page. Also, my text is not separated by a
pull out quote, I have included a pull out quote but it is
at the top left of the page, it isn't used to break up the
text. This is challenging the conventions of real media
products because pull out quotes are mainly used to
break up the text. Q have used pull out quotes to
break up the text (above).

15. My double page spread is not conventional because it doesn’t change its style from the front
cover. What I mean by this is that the picture is very powerful and has a ‘no nonsense’ feel to it.
It is there and straight away catches the eye of the reader. It keeps the house style of the
magazine. This isn't conventional because other magazines would change the style of their
double page spread to change the feel and mood of the magazine. So, for example they could
include more images and change the font and colour scheme. Q magazine is an example of this,
their double page spread is conventional in terms of changing the feel of the page and adding in
more pictures and changing the colours.
Double page spread

16. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?

17. My media product represents a certain social group through its
feature article photograph. The hand gestures, poses and clothes
that they are wearing represents and focuses on an urban type
social group. It represents people who like rap/hip-hop music and
people who follow what rap represents and stands for. Which is
to break the rules, be interested in a certain fashion and give off a
rough, urban impression. That is what my magazine does. The
clothing being worn gives off that urban impression, the hoods
and hats are what the target audience wears plus the rap/hip-hop
stars. The hand gestures are very important in terms of
representing the certain social class that I targeted because they
are similar to what they actually do, also represents what they
stand for (west coast/east coast etc).
Also, my masthead and puff represent my targeted social
group because they are phrases and terms used within the
genre. They can relate to it because they are terms that they
understand and use.

18. Contents
The picture I use of that person smoking
represents my social group that I'm targeting.
This is because it gives off that urban, rather
bad attitude that rap creates and represents.
The social group that I target will appreciate
this picture and it will catch their eye because
they can relate to it, because it is something
that is common within this genre.
The Source have represented their targeted social
group through using jewellery. The jewellery will
attract their social group audience because this type
of clothing/fashion is used within this genre and it is
something they can relate to. Whereas I have used
smoking and the use of a hat for my targeted social
group to relate to.
I have also represented my social group that I have
targeted by having pictures of people from a black and
white background. This represents my social group
because this genre attracts all races. My magazine is
attracting people from a black background and at the
same time people from a white background.

19. Double page spread
Similar to my front cover, my picture here
is representing social groups that relate to
this type of clothing and also who place
themselves in areas such as these. It is
clear that four of them have their hoods
up while two of them are wearing hats.
This is representing people who wear this
type of clothing. A more urban, non-
formal individual. The area is obviously by
a building (brick walls) this is also
representing certain social groups
because it attracts people who are more
outgoing or spend their time round areas
similar to this, it is portraying rough, rural
areas.

20. What kind of media institution might distribute
your media product and why?

21. Music Magazine publishers
My magazine would be distributed and publish by Bauer
media company because, Bauer only covers Kerrang and Q
magazine in the UK. Q is a magazine that relates to pop,
indie and many more genres. Kerrang represents rock,
heavy metal and all the different genres of rock. Whereas
my magazine is relating to the hip-hop and rap genre of
music. My magazine would be ideal to Bauer because there
isn’t a magazine that represents this genre in the UK. Also,
Bauer doesn’t publish a rap/hip-hop magazine. So, this
means that they could be entering a completely new market
in terms of who would buy the magazine. Rap/hip-hop is
very popular within the UK, so Bauer would be successful if
it published and distributed my magazine.

22. Music magazine publishers
Harris Publications publishes for XXL magazine, it is based in
the United States. But, my magazine is ideal for this
company because even though it relates to the same genres
of music as XXL, it is based in the UK so they can be entering
a new market and new buyers. My magazine would be good
for this publishing company because it focuses on up-
coming artists, it has its own unique style of how to present
its information; it is very formal. It also target young working
class adults, it represents an urban society. This would be
ideal for Harris because it is in some ways different to XXL in
terms of what it is presenting.

23. Music magazine publishers
IPC Media publish NME magazine, this company is ideal for
my magazine because NME is the only music magazine it
publishes and distributes for. My magazine would be ideal
for this because it covers the rap and hip-hop genres in
music, it relates to a different audience than NME does. This
means that IPC Media can expand their company because it
will be going into a new market. Also, my magazine is more
subtle than NME, it still has the same effect but it is more
formal rather than informal.

24. Music magazine publishers
My magazine will be distributed and published by Bauer.
This is because this company doesn’t publish a magazine for
this sort of style. What I mean by this is not it is formal
unlike Kerrang, also my magazine targets a younger
audience who are in an urban society whereas Q targets a
more widespread audience and a society who is
sophisticated. Also, like I said this company doesn’t publish
for a magazine which represents rap and hip-hop as their
genre. So, this will increase their money because they are
going into a new market with a different audience as to
Kerrang and Q magazine.

25. Who would be the audience for your media
product?

26. Target audience and genre
My target audience for my magazine is mainly for people aged between 15-25, it is aimed at mainly males
because rap and hip-hop is a masculine based genre. My magazine targets people who live in urban, rural
areas. This is because of the typography I have used throughout my double page spread and contents. Also,
because of the clothing and hand gestures used in my pictures that I have used. This is the reason why I have
targeted teenagers and young adults because men and women can relate to this type of mode of address. My
magazine includes a certain colour scheme because it only represents three genres of music (Hip-hop, rap and
R&B). It doesn’t give a range of different colours and feels because it is singled down in terms of the genres.
My magazine targets all ethnic and racial groups, rap is a widespread genre in terms of what ethnic group it
targets. So, for my magazine it relates to every race.
The audience for my magazine is younger males and females. Rap and hip-hop focuses on both genders, mainly young adults.

27. How I attracted my audience – front cover
I attracted and addressed my audience on my
front cover through the feature article
photograph. The clothes and hand gestures used
attract my audience because it is a common and
well known to this targeted type of social
group/audience. The hand gestures used by the
two people (2 from left front row and top right)
address my audience because they are
communicating with the audience and
performing a gesture that is well known to them.
The person who is pointing into the camera (3rd
from left front row) is addressing my audience
because it is almost as if he is interacting with the
audience himself, he is pointing right into the
camera which obviously makes the audience
think he is pointing at them. The clothing used is
very influential in terms of addressing and
attracting my audience because they are types of
clothing that my audience would wear and be
attracted to. The hats and hoods used attract my
audience because this is the type of clothing
associated with the genres I am addressing also
the audience who are interested with the genres.
My masthead is very influential in
attracting my audience because the
phrase ‘Don’t Front’ is used within my
target audience and also within the
rap/hip-hop genre. My audience can
relate to my masthead because it is a
phrase that they understand and have
knowledge of. It is used within social
groups that my magazine is trying to
attract. The phrase means to not lie, or
to not make something out that you’re
not.
Similar to my masthead, my puff attracts
and addresses my audience because it is a
phrase used within the rap/hip-hop
genre. Which means that they are
comfortable with the phrase and
understand what it means. The phrase
means that our word is true, it is bond.
We are not lying and are true to our
word.

28. How I attracted my audience – front cover
My front cover does not include many cover lines nor do they
convey a lot of information, it only presents the name of the
artists that are featured in the magazine. This attracts my
audience because I am targeting people that prefer a bigger, ‘no
nonsense’ feature article photograph rather than focusing on
cover lines and how they are presented. My cover lines are
associated at the bottom of the page, out of the way of the
feature article photograph. Also, my cover lines are attracting
my audience because they are presented in a formal manner.
They are in line, are not ‘in your face’, they are clear on the page
but do not present themselves like Kerrang. Here we can see
that Kerrang have presented their cover lines in an in-formal
way, standing right out to the reader and are interfering with
the feature article photograph.

29. How I attracted my audience - contents
I attracted my audience through my contents by
being consistent with my house style. What I
mean by this is that I kept the colour scheme
from my front cover. Also, I attracted my
audience by the pictures I used. The main picture
is of a person smoking, with a hat on, with his
hand in his pocket and by a brick wall. This
attracts my audience because they can relate to
the clothing (hat) presented as it is normal within
the genre I am relating to. Also, the smoking and
the stance that he has (hand in pocket) portrays
the ‘bad boy’ feel that is given off by rap/hip-hop,
my audience can relate to this because it is
something they are used to .
Also, the second picture I have used attracts my
audience because it is of someone who is black.
This attracts my audience because the genre
attracts people from all races, so including
someone from a different background and of
different race attracts my audience because it is
something they can relate to.

30. How I attracted my audience – double page spread
Similar to my front cover, I have attracted my
audience through the clothing of the people
in the picture on my double page spread. The
hats and hoodies used will make my audience
relate to the picture because it is the same
style and sense of fashion used within the
genre of rap/hip-hop. Also, the hand gesture
used by the person (far right) attracts my
audience because, similar to the fashion
presented, it is something that is used within
the rap/hip-hop genre and it is something
that my audience will use and understand.
Also, my double page spread is referring to the house
style of my magazine through the colours used. This
page is keeping the colour scheme of the magazine
(red, white and black).This will obviously attract my
audience because it is something they associate with
the magazine and it is something that is key and
obvious.
I attracted my audience by the typography of the double page
spread and the mode of address. The double page spread is written
in a formal manner, which is the magazine’s style. Also, the double
page spread is communicating with the audience through the way
the people in the picture are posing and where they the picture is
taken. It is behind a brick wall, which is suggesting that it is in a
rural, urban area. Which of course attracts the audience because
my target audience is based in those type of society's. It is
something they can relate to.

31. How I attracted my audience – double page spread
I have attracted my audience by the picture I
have used. What I mean by this is that I have
chosen to only use on picture to dominate
the page instead of using more than two. I
have done this because it projects the
picture more and makes the audience focus
on one picture and the text. Also, similar to
my front cover it is a ‘no nonsence’ picture, I
have done this because I want the audience
to only focus on one dominant picture.
Which I believe will attract them.
Also, the way I have placed the headline,
standfirst and pull-out-quote will attract my
audience. Because they are at the top of the
page and not effecting the picture nor the
information at the bottom of page, I believe
the audience will be attracted to this
because similar to my front cover, it leaves
the focus onto the picture. The cover lines
on my front cover are positioned at the
bottom of the page, out of the way so that
the audience can focus on the feature article
photograph and headline.

32. What have you learnt about technologies from
the process of constructing this product?

33. What have I learnt about technologies – front cover
I started off making my feature article have colour, but I wanted
to change it to black and white. I done this by clicking on the
effects on the side of the page. I found the ‘black and white’
effect (black and white apple) and dragged it over onto my front
cover (bottom right), from here it made the feature article
photograph black and white because before I had clicked the
black and white effect I had selected the layer for my feature
article photograph (below).
This is my finished front
cover with the black and
white effect.

34. What I have learnt about the technologies – front cover
I created the background for my cover lines by
drawing two black boxes, obviously one bigger than
the other. I performed this by clicking on the square
tool (above) which means a box. I drew the box by
going onto my front cover and holding the mouse
until I needed to stop.
I added to these two boxes by creating two dashes
so I can separate each cover line. I did this by
drawing 4 lines with the line tool, then I made them
stand at an angle so it looked like dashes. I
performed this by clicking onto the line tool
(below).

35. What I have learnt about the technologies – Front cover
What I did to make my masthead, was go onto ‘Urban Fonts’ on the
internet and find a font that I thought was suitable and attractive for
my magazine and its genre. I used the ‘colleged’ font. From here, I type
in ‘Don’t Front’ (name for my masthead) and then copied and pasted
this onto a blank file on Photoshop next to my front cover file.
This is what it looked like when I copied
and pasted the font onto a blank file.

36. What I learnt from the technologies – Front cover
To make the font the colour I wanted, I had to select the text on that file and
then fill the font in with the paint bucket tool. When I finished colouring my
font, I clicked on the text and then dragged it over to my front cover. From
this I had to make the layer be infront of the feature article photograph, this
is so that I can actually see the masthead because otherwise it would be
positioned behind the feature article photograph.

37. What I learnt from the technologies – Front cover
I learnt quite a lot in terms of
knowing how to copy and paste
fonts onto my page and making
them visible on the page, changing
the colour and mood of a picture
and knowing how to create a
background for my cover lines. By
doing this on my front cover I set
the foundations for the knowledge
of knowing how to create my
contents and double page spread.
The other aspects of my front cover
were quite simple and basic in making.
For example, creating the text for my
headline, date and puff. Also, placing
and positioning my barcode was quite
simple because all I did was copy and
paste the picture and click on the layer,
put it in front of the feature article
photograph layer and then position it
where I wanted it to go.

38. What I learnt from the technologies - Contents
I created all the boxes on my page by using the square tool in
the tool box, similar to how I used that tool creating the
background for my cover lines on my front cover. Obviously, all
the boxes on this page are different sizes but It was still the
same technique.
For the boxes at the side of the page with a rounded edge,
I used the same tool as the box tool. But, I changed the box
tool to the ‘rounded rectangle tool’. It is the same when
using the box tool, I measure how big I wanted it to be on
the page and the positioned it into the place I wanted it to
be in. Also, the same as the other boxes I made the text
box layer be in front of the box and rounded rectangle box
layers.

39. What I learnt from the technologies - Contents
For the headline of my contents page
and the ‘DF’ symbol that has been
carried on from my masthead, I have
created a border around the textbox
and box that I have created. This was to
continue the house style of the colour
scheme of the magazine, also to
emphasize the pages headline; which is
of course ‘contents’. I did this by
creating a box and then adding a
border to it.
I created the border by clicking on the layer of my box,
then clicked on ‘edit layer style’. From here this box
loaded (right). I made the red border by applying
‘stroke’, from here I made the opacity ‘100%’ and the
size ’10%’ and then obviously made the colour red.

40. What I learnt from the technologies - Contents
The process of making the main picture on my contents how I
wanted was this. I opened the picture on Photoshop, it opened at
the wrong angle with bricks that I did not want in the actual
picture that would be on my contents.
I clicked on image to rotate and crop the picture. From here I had
a separate copy of what I wanted on my contents. I then, similar
to my feature article photograph for my front cover I dragged the
picture onto my contents file and created a layer on that page.
Obviously I changed the size of the picture to fit where I wanted
to put it.
I did exactly the same for my other picture on my
contents page. Making a separate copy, rotating
and cropping the picture.

41. What I learnt from the technologies - Contents
From my contents I learnt how to crop and rotate a picture and then
place it onto my file with my work on. Also, I learnt how to create a
border by using the ‘edit layer style’ tool and ‘stroke’ tool. Also I
successfully learnt how to create boxes and rounded rectangle
boxes.

42. What I learnt from the technologies – Double page spread
I created the lines to separate the interview by using the
‘line tool’. But, to get the lines in line and of equal height I
used the ‘grid’ tool that is on ‘view’ on the tool bar at the
top of the page. The grid tool made me position my lines
accurately. I also used the ‘grid’ tool to help me position
my text boxes equally and accurately.

43. What I have learnt from my preliminary task
These are my front cover and contents page for my school magazine that I made before I
started my music magazine. From making these two pages I have learnt a lot in terms of
knowing how to work Photoshop and what looks good and what doesn’t. Also, I have learnt
how to base what my magazines appearance and content from what my target audience want.

44. What I have learnt from my preliminary task – Front cover - Mastheads
The first thing I have learnt from my school magazine was that
where to put my masthead and the size to have it. The masthead is
the title of the magazine and its purpose is to be large, loud and
noticeable for the audience. It is meant to be one of the main
reasons why people by the magazine.
My school magazine has a small masthead and is positioned at a
angle. ‘Neal’s corner’ is not a different colour from the cover lines, it
is only a different front. The size is small and not very noticeable.
Also, it is at an angle and not right in the top left hand corner of the
page (which is conventional) nor is it going across the top of the
page.
I have learnt from this to make the masthead
clear, noticeable and in the right position. Here
we can see that the masthead dominates the
top of the page, it is a different font and colour
from the rest of the page. Also, its size is
projected by a slim black and white border.

45. What I learnt from my preliminary task – Front cover – Cover lines
I learnt from my music magazine where I should position my cover lines,
what font they should be, what colour they should be and how big they
should be.
The cover lines on my school magazine’s front cover are very large and in a
way disrupt the feature article photograph. They do this because they are
actually crossing over to the middle of the feature article photograph, this is
where the main focus of the picture should be. Also, the font and colour
used is very plain and not very attractive. They do not relate to the house
style in anyway because the font is different and the colour is different to
the masthead and puff. The yellow ‘exclusive’ is very irrelevant and looks
pointless. This is because that is the only yellow used on the page, and the
mix of yellow and red isn't very aesthetically pleasing.
I have used a different approach in terms of cover
lines on my music magazine front cover. My cover
lines are associated at the bottom of the page and
do not disrupt the feature article photograph in any
way. I have learnt that my cover lines should fit the
house style of the magazine, my cover lines fit the
colour scheme and they are the same font used in
the headline and puff. Also, the colour and font is
aesthetically pleasing whereas my school
magazine’s cover lines were not. They do not look
like they are floating on the page, this is because
they are within a background (black box) and
separated by red dashes. Overall I have learnt that
my cover lines should not affect the feature article
photograph, they should fit with the house style
and should be presented in a smart, formal manner.

46. What I learnt from my preliminary task – Front cover - puffs
My music magazine’s puff is quite obviously wrong. This is
because it is positioned right across the face of the person in my
feature article photograph, also it is completely disrupting the
picture and affecting the viewing for the reader.
Also, it is projected by a black border, which makes it quite hard
to read and understand. Essentially it is irrelevant, to long and in
the wrong position.
From this learnt how to structure my puff, where to position it
and also to make it readable. I made my puff short and snappy
(what it should be like). I positioned the puff under my masthead
and out of the way of my feature article photograph, in terms of it
not disrupting the picture. Also, I made my puff fit the magazines
house style, it fits in with the colour scheme which is red, white
and black.

47. What I learnt from my preliminary task – feature article photograph
The feature article photograph on my school magazine is very plain and
boring. What I mean by this is that the background is a light grey and only
has one person crossing her arms. Of course crossing her arms in a formal
manner but the picture is cut short at the bottom so you cant actually see
her crossing her arms properly. The feature article photograph isn't very
attracting to an audience and doesn’t really relate to the audience, besides
the fact that she is standing in a formal stance.
The feature article photograph for my music magazine is a
much better improvement from my school magazine. What I
mean by this is that the surrounding and environment for my
picture is attractive and it relates to my magazines audience.
Also, the picture is non-conventional meaning that it is
different and maybe something different for the audience,
possibly making it more attractive. The poses and clothes
that they are wearing are clear and it really addresses and
attracts the audience, whereas for my school magazine you
can barely see her crossing her arms. Also, the black and
white effect added to the feature article photograph adds to
the front cover being more attractive and pleasing.

48. What I learnt from my preliminary task – Contents - information
The contents for my school magazine is very boring, plain and not
attractive. The information is limited and doesn’t expand the reader’s
knowledge of what is in the magazine.
The contents doesn’t give the audience a lot of information about the
other pages in the magazine. The contents should be a very important
part in playing how to attract the audience because that is where
they can see what else is in the magazine other than the feature
article photograph. It is supposed to give them a brief inside of what
is to come. The information for each page presented is only two lines
long and not very helpful. Also, the text is not centred, it is positioned
at the left of the page; making it now very attractive.
From my school magazine contents, I have learnt how
much I should include in terms of information, where to
place it and how to make it look attractive. I have
included a lot of information for every page that I am
presenting, also they are positioned in a ordered and
formal manner. Making it more attractive for the reader
and more engaging. Also, I have made the numbers for
the pages bigger and in a different font. This is so that it
is easier for the readers to check the page quickly,
whereas on my school magazine contents the numbers
for the pages are small and not clearly visible for the
reader.

49. What I learnt from my preliminary task – Contents - Pictures
It is quite obvious that on my school magazine contents there is only one
picture, which is very small and doesn’t really have any effect to the page.
The contents is dominated by information, it doesn’t have an equal picture to
information ratio.
My music magazine contents includes two pictures,
although there is more information than pictures on
the page the pictures still in a way dominate the
page. Especially the biggest one, this is because it is
in the middle of the page and it is the first thing that
the reader will see. The pictures are relevant to the
page because they are pictures from two articles
inside the magazine. I learnt from my school
magazine that I should make my pictures relevant
and visible to the audience. Also, I learnt that the
position of the pictures are important in terms of
attracting the audience.

50. What I learnt from my preliminary task – Contents – house style and appearance
The house style for my school magazine is broken during the contents.
I mean this in terms of the colour scheme, the colour scheme is red
and white. During the information ‘exclusive’ and ‘free pencil case
inside’ are two completely different colours to the colour scheme.
Both of these make the page look unattractive and are unnecessary.
The ‘free pencil case inside’ is blue and looks completely out of place
and makes the appearance look awful, exactly the same with
‘exclusive’ which is in yellow.
The overall appearance for the contents is very boring and plain. The
border is red, which is not measured accurately, and the main
background for the page is just plain white. There is no tone or style
added to the page, making it unattractive.
The house style throughout the contents for my music magazine
is kept the same. The colour scheme is not broken, the
information uses black and red and the page has some white
involved. The only time it is broken is the blue box at the bottom
right of the page, but the purpose of this is so that the writing is
visible to the readers. All the colours used are relevant and
complement each other, they all make the page look attractive.
The appearance of the overall page is effective. The information
is presented in accurate, formal columns. Every box and line is
measure correctly and the border round the headline of the
page is relevant, attractive and has been measure correctly.
Also, the ‘DF’ at the top of the page boots the page’s and
magazine’s status because it is a shortened version of the
masthead of the magazine.