This document discusses how the media product, a music magazine called Pyramid, uses and develops conventions of real music magazines in its design. It has a close-up front cover image that challenges conventions by having the subject look away from the camera. It uses a single bright color like indie magazines. There is limited catchy text on the cover following conventions. The masthead is centered at the top like other magazines and the name Pyramid references the music scene and targets hipster fashion trends.

1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media products?
Front Cover

2. Front Cover

3. Image
My central front cover image follows the conventions of other music magazines in the
way that the front cover image is a close up shot; however my magazine is trying not to
be too mainstream so I developed this convention by having the person in the image
look away from the camera. This helps portray the fact that my magazine is different
from others and that it features some well-known artists alongside some undiscovered
ones by not just following other larger, popular magazines.

4. Colour
The colour scheme for my magazine only features 1 main bright colour (light
blue) this is because my magazine is trying to appeal to an indie/alternative
audience who would like and take pleasure from the fact that the magazine
doesn’t adhere to conventions of using a colour pallet. This follows the
convention of indie/alternative magazines as I didn’t want to step too far
away from the genre and use multiple colours as this would make it look too
much like a pop/mainstream magazine.

5. Mode of Address
On my front cover there isn’t a lot of text to read, and when there is its pretty short and snappy. I
chose to do this as too much text creates a messy looking front cover and wouldn’t appeal to my
audience, who are younger and want to read something short and fresh.
I added a few ‘inside’ jokes in my coverlines that relate to the bands which my audience would
get if they are familiar with the artists, this was to connote a sense of fun to the magazine that is
otherwise fairly serious which is meant to relax the reader further. Another thing I added was
alliteration in the sub-heading which I noticed a lot of magazines do to make them catchy.
Overall I think the mode of address in my front cover uses the typical conventions of a magazine.
I did this as I didn’t completely want to separate my magazine from other popular magazines by
having very little coverlines. However some indie magazines do, do that so mine fits in between
the two.

6. Masthead
When carrying out research for my magazine I found that nearly all of them had a
bold, white, masthead like The WIRE magazine below, the masthead was always
positioned at the top of the page, central or in the top left corner, and that the
name of the magazine was usually short or just one word like WIRE, CLASH, The
Fly etc.
I chose the name PYRAMID for my magazine as pyramids and triangles are quite
frequently featured on fashion worn by hipsters who I am trying to target as my
audience therefore it will attract them in.
Another reason I chose the name PYRAMID is because it connotes what my
magazine is about; the small bands starting out at the bottom [of the pyramid]
and bigger bands who have already made it to the top of the indie music scene.