2. Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
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3. Front cover
With my front cover I chose to keep it very conventional, whilst mixing
ideas I had gathered from research into both regional and fashion
magazines. With the masthead I made sure it was the largest font on
the page as well as being heavily contrasting against its background. I
used a next art light font for the masthead, keeping it clear and easy
to read whilst looking nice and professional. I kept to the convention
of a one line title just to keep it all in one place and to help make it as
clear and easy to read as possible. I also made use of the convention of
having the region name in the main title of the magazine. This is so the
audience can automatically see where the magazine is based and saves
any possible confusion. I took the idea of shooting a location for the
front cover and added in a model to not only showcase the area but
also still stick to the fashion aspect of my magazine that I wanted. The
model I used was also instructed to look straight into the camera lens
as I wanted to keep the aspect of direct mode of address to really
connect with the reader. I also asked the model to wear something
different that will make a statement for the front cover. The choice of
outfit fits very well with the loud colours and complimenting pieces. I
kept to the common convention of using high key lighting as it really
brings the best out of the image. I used adobe lightroom to then
enhance a few colours, desaturate others and overall just clean up the
image so it looks as best as possible. The template I used for the front
cover was heavily influenced by a personal favorite fashion magazine
of mine called ‘HYPEBEAST’. I followed some general conventions from
that magazine whilst also interpreting common conventions from
regional magazines. I added the issue number in the top right corner so
collectors can keep them in order and easily find the issue they are
looking for. For the anchor text I listed off the name of the image,
making it more identifiable for the reader, as well as added numerous
names of people included in the magazine to make it more appealing
to the target audience. This helps to not only give more of an insight
into what’s inside the magazine but will also engage with the reader
more as they can read about the people they are interested in, which
seems to be a huge common convention as to why people read
magazines. I feel that just listing the names of the people inside the
magazine will make the reader curious as to what information there
could be inside the magazine about each person, making the reader
want to find out more. This supports Roland Barthes: Enigma Code,
which leaves the audience curious and makes them want to read on
and find out more. This too is a very common convention of most
magazines in general.
4. Contents
To start with I made sure once again that the magazine logo was
the largest text on the page, as well as being placed at the very
top of the page to show importance. I then chose a slightly
unconventional layout of my pictures to create a modern look as
well as make it aesthetically pleasing for the reader whilst still
keeping them relevant to the articles in the magazine. I kept the
pictures separate from the text which was organized in columns
underneath the pictures. This is more conventional in regional
magazines as it keeps the page looking neat and tidy as well as
keeping up with the aesthetic standards that I had achieved
throughout my production. It also makes it easier for the reader
to find exactly what they need and to navigate their way through
the magazine. I also stuck with the house scheme for the
magazine, using minimal amount of colouring and keeping it
professional. Short and sharp sentences were used to describe
each piece of content. These were used to give the reader an
insight and to keep them informed which also references the uses
and gratifications theory. This is a common convention in most
magazines let alone regional magazines so I thought it would be
sensible to include this kind of layout and presentation. I also
made sure I used a clean and clear black font to contrast against
the white background whilst still being clear and easy for the
reader to read. The addition of page numbers was also a very
common convention in all magazines as it makes it extremely
helpful for the reader to navigate their way throughout the
magazine.
5. Editorial
Large titles are very often used in magazines to show where the
importance is. I chose to follow this convention closely
throughout my magazine which is evident on this page. It helps
the audience to automatically identify the subject of the page.
The use of this on the editorial page also creates more of a
personal relationship between the writer and the reader as it
seems more direct and personal. This also supports the uses and
gratifications theory. I made the addition of a picture from one
of the photoshoots just to break down the page a little, so it’s
not all text and also to make the page more aesthetically
pleasing as a whole. I also thought the addition of an editors
favorites section would be a nice touch as it gives the reader
the sort of idea as to what the editor likes/wears and where to
find the items. This is quite conventional in regional magazines
so I decided to add the fashion aspect to it and list a couple
items. I stuck to the convention of having a letter from the
editor to the reader included in my editorial as it again creates
more of a personal relationship between the two. This uses and
conforms to the hegemonic norms thus making it more relatable
to them. I also adapted the common convention of having a
small picture of the editor along with a signature and social
media links to give the wider option of interaction to the reader.
This also helps to engage with the younger aged people from my
audience as they are generally more likely to engage via social
media.
6. Advert
For my advert I kept to the common convention of very little
text and let the product advertise itself. I included the key
information on the product, basically just saying what it
is/what it does and where you can find it. I kept the location
local to the region of the magazine where anyone can access
the product (central London). This links to the uses and
gratifications theory of gratification surveillance as the
audience is gaining information. The brand logo is also the
largest text on the page and heavily contrasts against the
background to help it stand out and catch the eye of the
reader. With this it makes the advert instantly identifiable. I
stuck with the common convention of including the
address/location of where the reader can purchase the product
making it easily accessible fro the reader. I used high key
lighting which in itself is highly conventional as it brightens up
the whole image, showcases more detail and makes the
product that little bit more aesthetically pleasing for the
viewer. I also edited the photo using adobe lightroom to
enhance clarity, brightness, saturation and sharpness to add to
the aesthetics of the image to really attract the reader.
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7. Website
I again stuck with the most popular convention of
magazine websites and kept the title as the largest text
on the page. This shows its importance as well as
catches the eye of the reader/viewer. I also made use of
the social media icons to appeal to the younger users
and also to increase interactivity. I made use of the
hyperlinks for the most necessary topics. This makes it
easier for the user to navigate their way throughout the
site. For everything else there are pictures for each
article as you scroll down the page. These are
accompanied by short and snappy titles that will help
the reader to find exactly what they want to read. The
pictures make the website look so much more
aesthetically pleasing and if the reader likes the pictures
then they are more than likely to click on them and read
the articles. In terms of the colour scheme I followed
similar conventions of magazines like The London
Magazine and Vogue. I done this by keeping a very clear
and contrasting black and white colour scheme. I also
found that it made the pictures really pop as they were
the only real addition of colour to the website.
8. Billboard
When it comes to regional magazines, there aren’t
many that use billboards to advertise their product.
However, some of the worlds most popular fashion
magazines such as Vogue and Elle have been known
to use billboards as a form of advertising for their
magazine. So I used some common conventions from
those billboards along with some general
conventions of billboards as a whole in order to
create mine. In the presentation of the billboard I
chose to include several devices of which can easily
access my magazine/website on. This shows that
anyone can access it at any time, making it nice and
easy for the audience to stay in the loop. Making the
magazine available on multiple platforms helps to
create a wider scope of activity and appeal to a
much larger audience. As with most billboards I
chose to keep it very plain and tidy. This includes
one main colour scheme with a plain background
and a short and snappy message. Finally I made sure
that the magazines logo was the largest text on the
billboard as that will be the first thing that catches
peoples eyes.
