1. Evaluation question 1
In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
s.f
2. Comparison
Large
masthead
Price
Dateline
Issue number
Price
Dateline
Issue number
Main Image
Main Image
Smaller
image on
cover
Image of boyband
along the bottom
Main Cover
line
Barcode
Barcode
Pug
Pug
Tag
Tag
Pull quote
Puff
House colour scheme: Pink,
Yellow, Black, White
House colour scheme: Pink,
Blue, White
White
background
White
background
Other cover lines
3. Front cover
• On the cover of my magazine, I tried to stick to conventions of other magazines. For example the top of the
pops magazine had one solo female on the main image, this could be to show the target audience as young
females. I think that the main image has to give the audience direct address in order to grab the reader’s
attention and it also gives a more personal feel. I have also used a smaller image on the cover to promote the
puff of the free posters, this is to attract the audience to the magazine, however this is something that the
top of the pops magazine has not done and I felt that it would be more appealing to buy this magazine rather
than another one of the same genre. The masthead on my magazine is large and covers the main image
slightly, this is as my magazine is new and the first issue, there is no brand identity and so the magazine has
to stand out in order to make the audience become familiar with the new brand. On the top of the pops
magazine the masthead is slightly behind and this is because it is already an established brand and well
known. This part therefore doesn’t really conform to that convention. I have also included a boyband as in
my research I found out that boybands are mentioned and included frequently in pop magazines as this is
what appeals to the target audience. As standard convention to most magazines, I have included the dateline
and other necessary objects like the barcode and price. When constructing my magazine, I tried to use as
many pull quotes and tags as I could to attract the reader and to influence them to buy this magazine. I also
used a plain background when doing my construction as I wanted the focus to purely be on the main image
and the cover lines, also the plain background helps to make the masthead stand out. I also found it essential
to anchor the main cover line to the main image as this would help to bring the whole front cover together.
For my genre of music, pop, unlike some other magazines, usually has smaller images of other celebrities to
make it stand out and attract a broader range of the target audience, for example if they didn’t like the main
image star, seeing an image promoting an article of another artist may influence them to buy it anyway. The
house colour scheme of my contents page is white (to make the colours and images stand out), pink (as this
is the stereotypical colour that stand out for girls) and blue (as according to my research questionnaire, this
was a colour that was most popular for this genre and so I listened to the research and included this colour, it
also contrasts nicely with pink to not make it too girly. Also on pop magazines, there is usually symbols or
little things that grab the readers attention and so I included a small circle saying ’50 chart songs to download
now’, the chart songs part appeals to my audience as most chart music is relating to the pop genre according
to my research into how many songs in the charts currently were pop songs.
4. Contents Page
Masthead Masthead
Editor image
and editors
note
Editor image
and editors
note
Images
Social media information
Sub heading
Images
What will be
appearing in
the magazine
What will be
appearing in
the magazine
House colour scheme: Pink,
Blue, White
House colour scheme: Pink,
Yellow, Black, White,
Turquoise
Sub heading
Title
Title
5. Contents Page
• For my contents page I have used the house colour scheme as the same as my
cover page, white, pink and blue to promote continuity in the magazine, which is
also done in other pop magazines, for example the top of the pops, however they
have added another colour, I decided not to follow this as it would have made the
page look too busy with colour. I have used the editors message to the reader and
also an image which is a convention in pop magazines, and therefore I have
followed this convention. I have included 3 sub images to the contents page to add
more about what is going to be included and it adds more interest to the
magazine. Other magazines have also done this which makes it a convention that I
have followed, however some others have included an image of the cover page to
the contents page and added arrows explaining each part and what it relates to, I
decided not to do this as it was mainly what another magazine does and I wanted
it to be different and slightly more sophisticated. The title on my contents page
says ‘contents’ and this makes it clear whereas others have changed the words
slightly, I decided to keep it simple as contents to make it the same as all other
magazines not just pop music ones. I have also challenged the convention of using
the Rule of 3rds, for my magazine, as I felt that the rule didn’t fit in what I wanted
it to without making it smaller and look different, also this rule, I feel is for older
audiences who may prefer structure to what they are reading. Although I have
kept some structure by keeping all the images to one side and in a row
6. Double Page Spread
Cartoon style
shape with title
Cartoon style
shape with title
Main image
Main image
smaller image
Article text with
different colour
text to
differentiate
Article text with
different colour
text to
differentiate
Masthead
House colour scheme: Pink,
Blue, White
House colour scheme: Pink,
Black, White
Drop cap
Plain white
background
smaller images
Cartoon style
shapes
Page numbers
Page numbers
7. Double page spread
• For my double page spread, I have accepted the convention of keeping the same
house colour scheme, this is a convention for most magazines, especially pop
music ones. I did this to create familiarity in the magazine and also to match both
the front cov3er and the contents page. I have decided to keep a white
background to make sure the text is easy to read and stands out, the colours used
for the text also helps it to stand out. I have also used the main image which fills
most of the right hand page, I chose the right page as it is what other magazines
have done and I didn’t want to challenge the codes and conventions. I have also
mad the image big to add a different type of shot, from a close up on the front
cover, to a medium shot, this gives a broader view of the main model. For the
actual article, I have used a question and answer style one, this style is very
popular amongst pop magazines as it makes it easier for the younger target
audience to read and it also gives a clearer layout. I have used a drop cap which is
a convention for all magazines, to mark the start of the article. I have also included
page numbers along the bottom, but that is standard for magazines to easily find
the page or refer to a page. For the title, I was going to make it standard, which
meant not including shapes of any sort, but after referring back to my research I
found that most of the titles for pop magazines were large and fun, so I decided to
add a different, more fun type of text and a heart to give a comical feel to the
double page spread. Also on the double page spread, I added accent of little
symbols like flowers as I had seen this with other magazines and it would be
appealing to the target audience, also.
