The document describes the layout and design conventions used in the student's music magazine. It explains how thirds and a "Z" pattern eye movement were used to guide the reader's eye through the pages. Details are provided on image and text placement on the front cover, contents page, and double-page article spread. The student discusses challenges faced and changes made during the production process.

1. My music magazine uses thirds and ‘Z’ eye movement to guide the eye of the reader. On my front
cover, I have placed my header bar right at the top with the word ‘win’ in capital letters. This will
catch the eye of the reader and cause the reader to continue to read the rest of the header bar
which has competition prizes stated so will make the reader want to see inside the magazine and
buy the magazine. Below my header bar I have placed my masthead, which will be the next thing
that is seen by the reader. In front of my Masthead is the head of the model in my main image on
my front cover and on either side of them are the cover lines. The cover lines on the right side will
contain the artists name so that readers know exactly who I am talking about and are able to put a
name to a face. This is how I have used thirds. I used ‘Z’ eye movement by placing my masthead
across the top of the page, reader’s eyes will then move along it and go across to the first cover line,
they will the go across the face of the main image and to the next cover line, this will continue until
they meet the footer bar at the bottom of the page.
I tried to use this convention but, found it hard to
make the image cover the masthead because my
image was not big enough so I decided to have the
masthead over the model’s head a little bit.
I decided to also use a medium close-up
shot of my model on my front cover, like in
this real magazine.
In this
magazine the
artists name is
at the bottom-
right of the
page.
I challenged this convention by
placing the artists name next to the
model and instead put a puff. This
was because I wanted did not have
a puff at first so when trying to
place it this was the best place that
it looked.
This magazine has 5
cover lines and 2 of
them are on the
side that the artist
is facing
I used this convention by
also having 2 cover lines on
the side that the model in
the main image is facing, but
I only have 4 cover lines
surrounding the model so in
this way I have challenged
this convention.
I have challenged this convention because in my magazine I have added a header
and footer bar because my page was overcrowded with cover lines. Plus this is a
normal convention for a pop magazine which the magazine I was used did not do.
This magazine did not use a
header and footer bar

2. After
Before
I added a footer bar onto my front
cover so that I could put more
things on the page because it was
becoming too crowded at the top.
I have changed my main image from being behind the
masthead to being in front of the main image as much as I
can. This is because this is something that established Pop
magazines do, such as Billboard magazine, so I have decided
to uphold this convention, also because it looks better.
I have moved my cover lines further
down the page so that it could look
clearer because it looked too
clustered. I also changed the font to
Serif and Sans Serif fonts because
these are the fonts that are usually
used in established magazines, so
this is another convention I have
upheld.
I have added a puff to my front
page because the page looked plain
and I needed something to draw the
attention of my audience. I have
also used it because it is another
convention of magazines especially
Pop magazines, such as
Top of the Pops.

3. In my Contents page I have used ‘Z’ Eye movement in the sense that I have places aspect of my
content page in certain places. What I did was that I placed the title at the top so that it is seen first,
but I also placed my contents, by placing my editor’s note right below it so that it is seen right after
the title because it is what is most likely to not be read on my contents page so I put it somewhere
that it would be seen before other things. Below that is the ‘Features’ subheading which I have
placed here so that it is seen after the editor’s note. I have placed the image of the front cover and
the ‘News’subheading on the right side of the page so that they are seen after the contents. Lastly I
have placed the three images for competitions at the bottom to ensure that they are seen last so
that readers remember them.
From looking at other magazines, I
decided to use three images in
boxes, in a row, on my contents
page because this is something that
magazines such as, We Love This
and Billboard do.
I decided to put an editor’s
note on my contents page
because from looking at other
Pop magazines such as, we
love Pop; this is something
that they have done. In We
Love Pop they have also
placed it in the
With my contents I have split
them into categories such as
Features and News. This is
because from looking at
established Pop magazines, I
can see that this is something
that they have done because it
makes things easier for readers
to find what they are looking
for specifically.

4. AfterBefore
I have changed the position of my
editor’s notefrom below the front
over image to the top left side of
the page so that it is seen more due
to the ‘Z’ eye movement technique.
I have moved the position of the contents on the
page and removed the ‘Quizzes & Competitions’
subheading. This is so that I could put my editor’s
note in the top left side of the page. Also because
after looking closely at established magazines, I
realised that they don’t have a lot of contents
listed on their contents page, t they don’t have a
lot of competitions in their magazines and in their
magazines there are not a lot of articles due to the
amount of advertisement in their magazines,
meaning that their magazines are not actually that
long or full, so all the articles and competitions on
my contents page were not needed.
I have added shapes with page numbers on the image of
my front cover which is on my contents page. This was so
that I would not have to put them on the Features or
News subheadings due to the fact that there was too
much on them. I have also added a Facebook and Twitter
address so that readers can follow my magazine on these
sites for publicity.
As well as having ‘Bubble Pop’ at
the top of my contents page, I have
also put the word ‘contents’ at the
top but below the masthead. This is
so that people know which page it is
but can also still see the masthead.

5. For my Double-page spread I have also used thirds to arrange my page and make it look clear, neat
and easy to read. On the left page my article is split into three sections, each section is headed with
a question which is in a different colour font than the rest of the text on my page. This is so that
readers can look at each section and decide which one they want to read first, this gives the readers
freedom because there is not specific order to read the article. I also have also used the ‘Z’ eye
movement technique again. I used it by placing the header quote at the top left corner of the page in
large text and in a different font. I have then placed my questions right beneath the quote. On the
right page I have placed the tour dates at the edge of the page so that it is seen after the article is
read as to not distract from the article. I have then placed a footer bar at the bottom of the page
with information on how to get tickets to the tour so that it is seen after the tour dates are seen. I
have then placed the website for the magazine at the bottom right corner of the page so that it is
the last thing that is seen.
I have used pull quotes on my
double page because this is
something that is used by most
magazines because it makes things
easier for the reader to read the
article and makes it look more
interesting. I have also placed them
in a bubble shape to coincide with
the name of the magazine
I have used this colour scheme because these are colours
that go with my genre of pop. I have used the pinkish-red
colour, taken from the colour of the model’s lipstick, to
highlight things such as the questions, and I have used it
for the quotation marks on the pull quotes to highlight the
pull quotes because it is a bright colours so stands out
against other colours well. I have used the light blue colour
for most of the text on the page because it is a basic colour
so does not really stand out. Lastly I have used the light
pink colour for the backgrounds of things like the footer
bar and the tour dates because it made a good base colour

6. In my magazine females are represented,on my front cover I have an image of a female and in the
image the model is wearing make-up which represents teenage girls because a stereotype for
teenage girls is that they care a lot about make -up and the way they looks, shaving the model wear
make-up upholds this stereotype. My model also has a fun and flirtatious face on which would draw
the attention of males due to the male gaze. On my contents page I have another image of a female
wearing headphones, in this image the model is wearing less make-up so looks more natural, this
challenges the stereotype of females in media, which says that to be attractive they have to wear
make-up to draw in the male gaze. The model is also fully covered in clothing which also challenges
the stereotype of females because there is no part of her body that is exposed apart from her
neck.On my double-page spread I have an image of a female smiling and having fun, this model is
the same model used on my front cover so she is wearing the same clothes and make- up.
The type of media institution that would distribute my music magazine would be an independent
institution. Because my magazine is new and I am an independent magazine, I would not have a lot
of money to pay a conglomerate institution to distribute it for me. This is where digital distribution
comes in handy because as an independent magazine with not a lot of money, an easy and cheap
way for me to distribute my magazine would be through the internet. If I were to put my magazine
on the internet for distribution it would cost less if nothing to do, which is convenient for more as an
independent magazine with a low amount of money because I would not have to pay for it. It would
also allow my magazine to reach global heights because the internet is all over the world, people in
different countries can also have access to my magazine. The Internet has things like social media
sites, which could come in handy for me as I could distribute my magazine on them for free, and
reach a wide audience. Social media is also useful for me because my target audience is young
people such as teenagers, and teenagers are always on social media and make up the vast majority
of social media users. I could also use the social media sites for advertisement and set up a website
for my magazine where readers could subscribe to my magazine, which would make money for me.
The audience for my music magazine is a mass audience because Pop is a mainstream genre and
which is why it is called ‘Pop’ which is short for ‘popular’. My audience would also be young people
between the ages of 10-20 this is because this is the average age range of people that listen to pop
music. Other audience members would be fans of pop artists, people who like entering competitions
and people who enjoy going to concerts. Before the production of my magazine I researched my
genre and put out a questionnaire to my audience on what they would like to see in my magazine. I
asked 15 people and the results of my questionnaire were:
1. Which title do you prefer?
All Pop 13%
My Pop 20%
Bubble Pop 67%
2. Which colour scheme do you prefer?
Bright colours 53%
Dark colours 20%

7. Light colours 27%
3. Where would you prefer barcode to be?
Top left 14%
Top right 14%
Bottom left 36%
Bottom right 36%
4. On the contents page, where would you prefer the contents
Right 43%
Left 50%
Centre 7%
5. Where would you prefer the main image on the Double-page spread?
Centre 76%
Left side 12%
Right side 12%
6. What would you prefer the double-page to be like?
An interview of a ‘fake’, new band 53%
An interview of a ‘fake’ existing band 47%
This information helped to plan for my images as well as plan how to set out my magazine.
The results made things easier for me in production, because they are my target audience; I
had an idea of what they would like and what would be good for my magazine and make it
look like an actual pop magazine.
In my header bar I used the word ‘win’ to attract my audience. This is because the word ‘win’
suggests that there is a prize involved and would make readers want to read on to find out what
prizes are on offer to win. In my music magazine I also made it seem like the artists were talking to
the readers by using quotes that were addressed to the interviewer. I also used a rhetorical question
in one of my cover lines because it addresses the reader directly. To attract male readers I used a
female model due to the male gaze theory. I made the model wear make- up and a made her have a
flirtatious look on her face so it looks like she is flirting with them. I have also used prizes such as boy
band merchandise and freebies such as posters and make-up to attract the female audience. This is
because of the stereotypes surrounding females, especially teenage girls, to do with boy bands and
make up. On my contents page I have used 3 images of prizes to be won to attract the audience so
that they can see what they can win. On my front cover I have also used words such as ‘Backstage’
and ‘Exclusive’ to attract my audience because the word ‘exclusive’ gives the meaning that it is just
for this magazines so they have to buy it to know, otherwise they will not find out anywhere else.
The word ‘Backstage’ gives the meaning that the reader can go behind where they are normally
allowed which gives a sense that they are getting to do something they are not usually allowed to do
and that it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. On my double-page spread I have used a main quote

8. to attract my audience; the main quote is used to allow the reader to know what the article is mainly
about. The main quote used in my magazine is, “My solo career bombed, so a band seemed right.”
This will draw in the attention of the reader to the article, because they would want to know the
story around the quote which they would find out in the article. On my double- page spread I have
also used pull quotes in bubbles to attract the audience to the article, the pull quotes are used to
highlight important and interesting things that are said in the article, the reader will see them before
they read the article and want to know why the person has said this. In one of my pull quotes I have
used the quote, “It was flattering but awkward at the same time.” I use this as a pull quote because
the reader would want to know what was ‘awkward’ and ‘flattering’, because they will read my
magazine for surveillance, and inter-personal relationships so will read the article so that they can be
‘in the know’ and be able to discuss it with other people.
Once I started producing my music magazine, I was using Photoshop but found it difficult to use
because if I had made mistakes or wanted to change something or move an object , i found that I
was only allowed to undo once otherwise I had to delete what I had done and start all over again. I
then decided to use InDesign instead which I found easier to use at first because I could undo more
times than once and also I found that it was easier to place images in but found that I could not edit
my images in it so I still had to use Photoshop to edit my images. I then began to find InDesign
annoying and difficult to use so I moved back to Photoshop. When editing my images I had to use
the Magic eraser to delete the green screen. This meant that I had to zoom into the image as to not
delete any part of the image because some green parts were very close to the image. When
From my preliminary task to my full production I have learnt to edit my images in Photoshop, which
is something I did not do for my preliminary task. This is because in my preliminary task I did not
have a green screen, I used my phone camera to take my images and they were not planned, and I
also edited my images in preview. Whilst in the full product I actually had a green screen, I used a
better and more professional camera, I planned my images so was able to have props and make-up
and I was also able to edit my images in Photoshop. I have also learnt how to use audience theory,
uses and gratifications and forms and conventions effectively in my product because in my
preliminary task I did not really use them the only thing I used was the ‘z’ eye movement technique.

9. Throughout the production of my music magazine I changed many of things. These include:
Making the text on my header bar larger
Integrating the text on my double page with my image
Making the columns on my double page spread smaller- make the page look clearer
Changing the fonts on my front page to sans and sans serif fonts
Adding a by line on my double-page
Adding a web address underneath my masthead
Changing the image on my front cover- did not coincide with my double-page
Changing the side that the three images on my content page where- from the right side to
the bottom
Changing the image on my double page- so that I could put it in the centre and have the pull
quotes in her hand
I also had to retake some photos