2. My magazine provides a
representation of my target
audience, as well as other fans of
rock and metal music. As my
magazine has been designed to
appeal to these particular social
groups, it acts as a representation of
them and their interests. I have used
different shades of black, blue and
grey on my front cover – all colours
that my target audience said they
would like to see in a magazine
when they completed my target
audience survey. The colours were
also chosen for their aesthetic merit,
which I added to ensure the
magazine looks attractive to any
impacts it may achieve when placed
in public locations such as
newsagent shelves. If it did not look
attractive then people’s eyes would
simply glaze over it and they may
not even notice the magazine at all –
this would be detrimental to sales.
3. I have learned about and put
to use several written,
technical and symbolic codes
during the production of my
magazine. An example of this
is the mise en scene I
employed when I
photographed my subject. The
sunglasses represent my
target audience’s desire for
anonymity. Sunglasses are also
stylish among my target
audience, this will therefore
leave a stylish impression of
the magazine in their minds.
4. When I was taking the picture for
the front page, I made sure that
my subject did not look at the
camera. I also wanted him to have
his arms crossed. This leaves an
impression that the subject does
not want to be there and may be
in a mood – just like a real
teenager! Because of the
polysemic nature of these signs, I
decided my subject should wear a
neutral expression for the cover
page – this should help prevent
the sign being decoded incorrectly
and misunderstood.
5. The musician I chose to interview and put on the front cover is named Ricky Robson. I
think I have represented his personality well on the double page spread (dps) for a
number of reasons. Firstly, I have created a psychedelic pattern to go behind Ricky –
this represents his unusual personality. Secondly, in the image (on the dps), Ricky is
smiling – this represents his cheery disposition. Thirdly, his arm is resting on a guitar
amp – this represents his love of playing guitar and music in general. And finally, with
his left hand, Ricky is displaying the ‘Sign of the Horns’ – this represents his love rock
and metal.
