This document provides examples and analysis of magazine design conventions from various magazines. It deconstructs elements like front covers, contents pages, and double page spreads. The author notes conventions like using a single dominant image, color schemes, fonts, and layout of text and images. The goal is to understand how different magazines appeal to their target audiences and apply useful conventions to their own punk magazine. Key lessons include using images that represent the genre, bold colors and fonts, and featuring content clearly for the target readership.

1. Deconstructions

2. FRONT COVER

3. Northern Life is a good example of how a regional
magazine can fit a genre. The Magazine is called
‘Northern Life’ suggesting the genre is about lifestyle.
This would be shown by the green colour scheme.
Green has been used because it is a colour that is
often use to symbolise life and growth. You can also
tell the genre by the single dominant image used. It is
off a country house that borders a lake. The photo
shows a clever use of cinematography as you can see
the reflection of the country house on the river. By
doing these two things, without even looking at the
features of this issue of magazine I know that the
magazine is based on lifestyle. What this tells me is
that I will need to use obvious conventions on my
front cover that will make the genre of my magazine
obvious. By doing this I will show people who might
take an interest in my magazine that my product is
available to them. This is useful to me because
speaking from experience I understand how important
genre conventions are in reaching that preferred
target audience.

4. This regional Magazine front cover, by its title alone
makes it very obvious what the magazine is about.
‘Kent Life’ clearly shows that the region that the
magazine is set in is Kent, this would suggest to locals
and people interested reading about Kent that this
magazine is for them. Like the previous magazine, the
use of a single dominant image shows how life in Kent
can be. The image is of a lighthouse bordering the
coast, it looks pretty, suggesting the target audience is
off an older age bracket. I like the colour scheme of
this magazine as I think it suits the genre of lifestyle.
All the text used is white. This suits the genre of the
magazine because white symbolises purity. Combining
that with the image of the lighthouse it has a nice mix
that suits its genre. The content of the magazine also
fits the target audience suggested. The feature on
pubs is a suggestion that the magazine is aimed at
adults. I should take this into account when creating
my own magazine front cover by making sure the
features on my front cover not only suit my genre but
are aimed at my target audience. By doing this it will
increase the likelihood of my magazine hitting the
correct target audience.

5. A very basic example of a regional magazine front
cover ‘Cambridge magazine’. I really like how they
have used a single dominant image, the image is very
well thought out. Their outfit matches the setting and
they have made perfect use of natural light to make a
stunning photo. The magazine is also very clear on
what it is about, listing the topics in bold colours
under the magazine title. A positive to doing this i that
the magazine is made clear to its target audience what
it is about, someone who is not interested in any of
the topic would not waste their time on the magazine.
I should take this account when listing the features on
my own magazine, I should list the most important
ones that will make my target audience purchase my
magazine. Although the colour scheme for Cambridge
Magazine is not very bright, I think the font used is
very formal, suggesting an older target audience. I will
need to think about how the formality of my magazine
will reflect who I am aiming my magazine towards, if I
want to reach an older demographic of audience I
should be using more formal language.

6. CONTENTS
PAGE

7. Content page Deconstructions
It is difficult to find specific conventions of punk
magazine content pages due to there being a lack of
punk exclusive magazines. This music content page
has conventions that I could apply to my punk
magazine, specifically the use of a black and white
dominant image. I want to use black and white
imagery for my punk magazine due to the historical
representation of black and white within punk music.
This shows its suitability for my regional punk
magazine. I also like the use of the other secondary
images, I wish to use more than one image for my
content page, this will stop my contents page from
becoming very wordy, this makes my magazine more
suitable for my target audience as it is more digestible.
The colour scheme used in this content us very useful,
the only other colour used is red. Red is a
resemblance of anger and danger, descriptions that
suit punk music. Specifically anger, which is very
common amongst punk music, punks use anger in
their vocals to put across their frustration with
modern society.

8. Content page Deconstructions
This content page is of a much different style
to the other two used, this magazine features
a much larger image as its dominant image. I
could use something very similar for my
magazine, linking back to the use of black and
white imagery within punk music. I think that
use of the prop, can of spray paint, is very cool
and shows the rebellious side of punk music as
a scene, I could try and incorporate something
similar into my magazine. I like the colour
scheme of yellow on the right of this magazine
due to it being very bold and compliments the
dominant image very well. I would use this for
my magazine however at the moment I like
the idea of sticking to a black and white colour
scheme. I particularly like the fonts and text
used for this contents page. The font is very
blocky and looks structured and smart. It is a
font I would like to take inspiration from due
to it being more complimentary than eye
catching, the main focus is still on the
dominant image.

9. Content page Deconstructions
This punk magazine is a good example of how my magazine
could look. Following my preference of being a pure black
and white contents page. The contents page looks very
wordy, which I am not a big admirer of, with only a small
single image being used. I prefer bigger, more dominant
images being used on contents pages, like the previous
contents page being deconstructed. I prefer this as I think it
makes the contents page look more punk and edgier. The
major positive with a wordy contents is that it lays out
exactly what is going to be in the issue for the reader. This
issue of PUNK magazine is very large therefore would
contain a lot of information. Putting this information across
effectively can be difficult if your trying to make your
contents page look attractive to your target audience.
Personally I feel that PUNK magazine does not do a
particularly good job in making its contents page look
attractive. Although easy to read, I think this page looks
very dull. I like that it keeps to punk DIY ethics of being
black and white, stripping all emotions away from the page.
However they do not find a good mixture between punk
ethics and making their product attractive enough for their
target audience to buy.

10. DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD

11. This double page spread is a good example
on how I could be using a dominant image to
create a visually pleasing magazine. The
example image shows how lighting has been
used to emphasis A day To Remembers facial
expressions. The bulk of the text is built
around the photo with the page title being
curved around the band and the text curving
around one of the members. I will think
about this when creating my double page
spread. What I have learnt from this example
is the image is the most important part and
the base of the page when editing, meaning
everything else like text can be built around
the photo. This will give me the desire to take
the perfect photos for my magazine due to
the importance they will have on the visual
aspect of my magazine. I like the colour
scheme of this double page spread, it allows
the pages to be easily readable whilst still
carrying an edge to the page. The colour
scheme combined with the image makes it
look incredibly smart. I will be using this as
inspiration when creating my double page
spread.

12. The two most eye catching features of this
magazine are the gory title and the gothic
make up worn by the musician. The theme
for this double page spread is clearly
gruesome gothic. I like how clear the
conventions have met the genre of music.
Again I should be keeping this in mind
when creating my own double page
spread, especially how mise-en-scene has
been used. I need to be using Mise-en-
Scene to make it clear what the genre of
my magazine is. Like this double page
spread I can also specific fonts to show
what genre my magazine is. I will be
looking for a font that is recognisable to my
audience form a quick glimpse, that will
catch their attention. This is what they
have done here, if a gothic metal fan
glances through the magazine and see the
word ‘Darkly’ printed in blood splatter over
a wall they will be much more inclined to
take further look in the magazine. Meeting
the correct conventions is something that I
need to nail when creating my double page
spread.

13. This double page spread example is from
a regional magazine and is a much more
formal example . The colour scheme has
made the magazine easily digestible for
the audience. The image and headline
used make it obvious that the feature is
an interview by footballer Alan Smith. I
really like the inclusion of a fact file with
a red background. Not only is it visually
pleasing but it also highlights important
information to its audience. The main
thing I can take from that inclusion is that
it is different. It gives me inspiration to
make my magazine different to others.
Like the fact file I also appreciate the
inclusion of an image of Alan Smith in the
middle other article, I think it looks
visually pleasing. Before I analysed this
double page spread I much preferred the
idea of only having one image on my
double page spread, However since I
started analysing this double page
spread, a secondary image is definitely
something I will consider.

14. BILLBOARD

15. This is an example of how I can use music
advertisements to influence me on how I will advertise
my magazine. This was an advert poster released by the
band The Prodigy for their upcoming album Invaders
must die. The goal of this advert was to reach as many
people as possible, in order to achieve a high album
chart finish, the album went on to top the album chart
in the UK, this was their third UK number 1 album. This
advertisement focuses on showing who the band is.
This would work in favour of the marketers as The
Prodigy we’re already a big album in the UK. The font
used had a lot of consideration put into the advert. The
title of the poster is the bands typical font, this would
be easily recognisable to The Prodigy's fans. I can use
this as inspirations for my magazine and billboard due
to it showing how a music product can be converted as
a way to market that product. Like the advert I will
need to use a bold title, to catch the audiences
attention. I will also need to use an edgy image in order
to appeal towards the right target audience and make
my magazine fit the Punk culture.

16. Another example of how a music product can be
advertised to hit their target audience. I will take what I
learn from this advert and the previous ones and use
what I gain when creating my billboard. This example is
closer to home as it is an advert from pop-punk band
Green Day. Green Days font is used and is the most eye
catching feature of the advert. I will use this idea of
making my masthead the most eye catching feature of
the billboard, it will reach my target audience very
quickly. ‘Green Day’ is followed by the album name.
Although my product is different I can take inspiration
from this and under my masthead I could potentially
use a slogan. A slogan will be helpful in making my
target audience remember my product. I can also take
the use of multiple images away from this advert,
however I feel that due to my advert being a billboard I
feel that a single dominant image will more likely catch
my target audiences attention.

17. This is an example of how a billboard can be used to advertise a global product. In this
example, the film Ted. The billboard is very clear on the product it is trying to sell to the
public. The colour scheme is very clear and is relevant to the franchise. The title is obvious
and easy to read, with the date of its cinema release under the title in a different font,
making that clear. The only other example of the use of green is for the words “Family Guy”
this is useful and something I can learn from. By making the people known to the fact that
‘Ted’ is created by the same creators of Family Guy it instantly tells people who enjoy family
Guy that this might be a film that they would enjoy. Although I can’t directly copy what they
have done I can take inspiration from this method differently. For example, I could list
featured bands on my billboard or I could list features that are in my magazine. This would
show my target audience what my magazine is all about. The inclusion of my website will
also be useful, it will allow my audience to see all three of my products..

18. WEBSITE

19. The most interesting thing about the Northern Life website in my opinion is that the colour
scheme is actually vastly different to the magazine that I analysed. I don't like this as a brand, I
feel that the colour scheme should remain the same throughout all of a brands products. I think
this because it makes the brand more recognisable to its audience, it’s easier to tell that the
product are all connected. I will ensure that I do this when creating my website, because I want
my brand to be easily recognisable. One thing I would like to take from this magazine is how
atheistically pleasing it looks, it looks incredibly smart and very easy to navigate through. That’s
how I want to be able to describe my website after I have created it and will work to create a
product that does that.

20. Unlike the last website, this website does look like its magazine ‘Kent Life’ I have already said
how important it is for the website to carry over the brand. This is something I would more likely
aim for in this regard. However, I actually think that this website looks ugly, with two
advertisements of its own product it is clear to me that the website is only there to promote the
magazine as oppose to creating a new source of local news and information. I don’t agree with
using a website primarily to promote the main product of the magazine, I feel that the website
should make a better effort in showing its self of instead of showing of its magazine. Personally, I
would like to find a balance. I want to promote my magazine from my website but I also want
my website to contain quality content where my audience would actively seek that content.

21. I really like the colour scheme of this website example, this is my favourite of the three regional
magazines websites. The colour schemes makes the stylish font used for the title stand out a lot,
this is important as it will make the target audience remember the franchise ‘Cambridge
Edition’. The font used also looks very unique to the product. I think the font plays on its regional
factor. Cambridge is known for having one of the worlds most respected Universities, because of
this a fancy stylish font is used suggesting sophistication. I should really take that into account
when creating my magazine, I need to link my conventions to both genre and regional impact.,
this would give my local target audience pride for my magazine due it to promoting their local
county in a positive manner.