3. Masthead
Large, bold, serif font, capital letters,
behind image. The colour of my
masthead matches my colour scheme.
The name is instantly associated with
music, this creates brand awareness.
Other magazines that follow similar
conventions include:
4. Main Image
Mid- shot, using direct mode of address this
creates a personal relationship between the
model and the audience (Uses and Gratification
theory). The lighting is makes her face clear. The
model is in the same age bracket as my target
audience (16-25), therefore they can relate to
her. Her facial expressions doesn't express a
specific emotion, which could creates a sense of
mystery.
5. Anchor Text
The artists name is big and has the same font
as the masthead. It introduces the main
image and artist for the magazine. It also
fulfills cognitive needs (uses and gratification
theory). By having the name of the artist on
the front cover catches the audiences
attention and might make them want to read
it more. This features in other magazines
including the ones below:
6. Main Cover Line
Having a cover line is a convention a lot of
other magazines use. Due to me not having
a tag line I felt that my cover line would have
to stand out and make up for that fact. I
placed it under the masthead so people
would see it easily and the font colour is
simple and goes with the colour scheme of
my magazine.
7. Date and Issue
Number
I felt that the date and issue number was a vital
part of a magazine to give it a sense of realism and
lets the reader keep up to date with the other
issues. This would then hopefully entice the reader
even more.
9. Masthead
Large bold text, eye catching and stands out on the
page, informing the reader what is on the page. It
uses upper case lettering which is convention and
placed at the top left hand corner which is also a
convention. In keeping with the colour scheme.
Other magazines that follow this convention is:
10. Date
Informational (uses and gratification theory),
keeps regular readers up to date, by placing at
the top of the page means people notice it
straight away, bold but small text, contrast
colour to background.
11. Columns
I used columns on my contents page because I
think it looks organised and people can clearly
see what articles are in the magazine. They
were a common convention when I researched
magazines. Easy for the audience to see what
there needs are, they also include the page
number in the columns.
12. Images
All the images of the models on the contents
page are medium long shot, I used the other two
because I didn’t want this page full of models
and people so there is now a variation on the
page. The other pictures shows that the
magazine is music based because there is a DJ
set and concert picture. They are all aligned with
no overlapping which makes it look more
professional.
13. Numbering
Big numbers, stands out, easy navigation, appeals
to a young audience, creates shortcuts, informing
what is included inside (uses and grats), not
overpowering.
14. Social Media Links
When I was doing my research I couldn't’t find a
magazine that had this feature, so I decided to
add it into mine because my target audience is
teenagers and young adults. So by adding this
in it will make them interact more with the
magazine because most people these ages have
at least one social media account. This follows
the uses and gratification theory because the
audiences cognitive needs are being met due to
this feature. It also means they can keep up to
date with other issues and therefore creates a
customer base, I am reaching my readers and
marketing the magazine effectively.
15. Page Number and
Magazine Name
Page number is informative (uses and
gratification theory), the magazine name is
also right of the page number this creates
brand awareness and professional
consistency. Magazines that follow this
convention:
17. Main Image
I used a medium shot, I thought this was the best to use because it would be seen the most eye
catching and I makes the direct mode of address more enhanced. (uses and grat). I also found that
medium shot was a convention in most magazines. But my image takes up more than half the page,
which is unconventional of most music magazines. Except for Billboard, they often use this type of
layout which is very effective.
18. Anchor Text
The anchor text introduces the artist and the image, it entices the reader as it is informative
(uses and grats). The font is the same as the front cover and contents. By having quite bold and
eye catching it almost works as a title. I placed it where it is because it’s the first thing the
reader would see. The colour is red, I choose this because it goes with the image as the only bit
of clothing she is wearing that has colour is the red in the jacket.
19. Pull Quote
The pull quote is an insight into the article and rest of the page, it creates engagement and
questions which then creates a personal relationship with the reader (uses and grats). I used a
different font differentiation from normal text and anchor text. Having a pull quote is
convention of most magazines that I looked at. This is shown at the examples below.
20. Columns
When I did my research into magazines I found that the typical convention was to have the page
divided up into three equal sized columns. So my design is slightly unconventional but I choose to
do it like this because my page is slightly different to most magazines, but by having two columns
I think it still looks tidy and organised also it gives the page a professional look to it. Each
question in the interview is split into separate paragraphs which adds to the professional look.
21. Page Number
The page number is informative (uses and gratification theory). The font and size follows
the other pages. Also by having it their it makes the magazine look more professional.
Magazines that follow this convention:
