2. Page Design
On most music magazines the layout is the first aspect you look at and notice
first, so this is why a magazine like Billboard or NME is a top quality magazine,
as they have found a layout that fits their house style and they keep it the
same each issue, this creates a sense of identity and as a result, they can
advertise their magazine and sell it just from the layout, because people will
look at it and straight away know what they are talking about and which
magazine it is. Most music magazines have a large image of an artist or band,
depending on the genre of music. This is what people look at first and this is
what attracts people to buy it. They then have the masthead at the top of the
page, either in the top left hand corner or big enough to fit across the whole
page. This is because they use the left third technique, which is when all the
information they want to be read is placed on the left third of the page, as this
is the way people read (left to right) so if all of the information is on the left, it
gets read and taken in. Cover lines, cover stories and features are also placed
on the left third. These are written in large, bold and bright fonts, so that they
get noticed and intrigues people to what’s in the magazine.
3. Genre
Depending on the genre of the magazine depends on what layout
they have and mode of address they use. For example Billboard
is hip-hop/new music, so they have a bright style of magazine,
which is what the people who buy the magazine like. In the genre
they aim at there is more artists rather than bands, so each issue
there is a single artist in the middle of the page. They use the
same font for all of the cover lines and cover stories, this is so that
they get identified and then they create a house style, which they
can keep each week. The magazine can be based around the
genre, so if it was indie/alternative, the colours would be darker
and the images would have different mise-en-scene, props and
setting. Where as a hip-hop magazine, is bright and the images
used have the complete opposite of what an indie/alternative has.
4. Mode of Address
Magazines use mode of address to create a mood and tone of
writing. Billboard has a calm, friendly and nice style, this is
made by the amount of text used, the way they are wrote,
what’s wrote about and the images used. When people buy a
magazine, they want to be able to read it and switch off from
everything, so this is why the magazine needs to create a style
that the audience would be able to do that with. They also want
to enjoy reading it, so if they find it hard to read, due to the
amount of text, they will be deterred from buying it again.
5. How I used Conventions in my
Magazine
I designed my magazine around hip-hop magazines’ best aspects. E.g.
the title was similar to billboards, the image used, was in the same style
as all of the magazines I looked at, the colours were from a range of
magazines. All of my text is on the left third, which is like most magazines,
this is where all of my main articles have been mentioned, so that people
are interested and will hopefully buy it. My image is offset from the centre,
so takes up the right hand side of the page and then comes onto the left
side; this is so that the artist is noticed and is the main aspect of the
cover. The masthead is across the top of the page and part of it is behind
the artist’s head, this is so that the masthead is noticed and seen easily,
but the artist looks powerful. The main colours I have used are red, black
and white, this is because they stand out from one another, but go with
each other. The fonts are different, but they are masculine and feminine
depending on the sex of the name, e.g. Marvin Weathers (masculine) Ella
Elliot (feminine).
