The document discusses how the author's media product both follows and challenges conventions of real music magazines. It follows some conventions, such as using an abbreviated title like NME and keeping basic information like the title and barcode on the front cover. However, it challenges conventions in several ways. It uses non-traditional colors and dimensions. It does not include images of people, which breaks conventions around character representation. The interviews are written in a less structured way than a question and answer format to give more context and personality. Overall, the author aims to both follow and progress conventions to create a simpler and more unique product.

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

2. There already is a wide range of conventions
established within the music magazine institution.
Many of the conventions apply generally to
industry or a genre within the A lot them apply to a
genre or representation group and so conventions
can differ widely between two magazines. For this
part of the evaluation I’m going be comparing and
contrasting with NME and Ray Gun. Both of
which, have established, followed and progressed
conventions within the direct area Rock
magazines.

3.  NME: New Music Express is a British music
magazine first published in 1951. As the name
suggest, the magazine was created to follow the
genres of popular music developing within the
music industry.
 Ray Gun: Ray Gun is an American music
magazine first published in 1992 and
discontinued in 2000. The magazine was used a
typographical convention destroyer, the
magazine was more of a piece of art than a
readable text.

4. The title “The Musically Alternative” for my magazine came from pure thought, with
no design conventions in mind, but maybe emphasis of being an “individual” within
alternative rock. The title itself is meant to be taken ironically/sarcastically and is
very much a comment on two elements of the music industry. Firstly, in a non-
sarcastic way, calling my magazine “The Musically Alternative” puts a clear label on
my magazine as not being about popular culture/music, alienating an audience who I
weren’t targeting. Secondly, in a sarcastic way, it’s a comment on the meme of how
people in the rock music industry try to define themselves as idiosyncratic when
they’re clearly following conventions. So in many ways I’m being iconoclastic, trying
to sarcastically destroy/progress conventions.
The shorten version of title, TMA, took direct influence from NME. After I thought of
the title and realized it was too long, I simply shorten it. Doing this meant I was
followed established conventions of the industry, although concept of acronyms
weren’t invented by the New Music Express.
The title appeals to my target audiences – So it
works. The irony of title might be lost on some
people.

5. For the design of my magazine I create some house-style/design rules to follow. Based partly on
conventions, and on elements that worked in some of my experiments for this project and past
projects I’ve done. The design rules can be seen here: House Style Rules Creating a design model
allowed my work on the magazine to be consistent, even though I went against my own rules
sometimes. The rules are pretty much blanket statements, that are too vague to go directly
with/against conventions. The colour rule, expressive purple with contrasting black-and-white, is a
good example of rule what has enough context to challenge conventions. Magazines such as NME
and Ray Gun have the freedom to use any colour, but as I’m a very visual person (in terms of pure
colours) I wanted my magazine to have a clear colour scheme. Black-and-white representing the
plainness and directness of tone in the magazine. With the purple representing the expressive side
and not so direct sarcasm used. This in many way just plainly ignored convention, as I created/”made
up” a design rule which didn’t have much background in other music magazines. One way I directly
went against print convention is how I made the dimensions 1:1, and not A series ratios. I did this
purely to make designing my magazine simpler digitally. The images I used also in many ways went
against convention. I almost completely ignored the concept/convention of characterisation within
media, by not including images of people. I did this because the ideology (my ideology, ideology of
my direct target audience) is going against the whole hyperreal status given to people (Pop stars
being compared to jesus, ect.). Images are key to the hyperreal status. So I took picture how the
artists point-of-view. The feature of that issue of my magazine is about “Zachary”, and the picture on
front cover is my second favorite spot in kettering. This also applies to content page image (a photo
of my bag) and the inside the piano (I play time to time) image on double page spread. This is not a
direct personalization of that issue of the magazine, but more pictures related to music given slightly
more contexts.

6. The layout out of my magazine didn’t really go against
conventions. Although it followed simply design
conventions on the front cover: the title being at top of
the page, barcode in corner of the page and sub-title in
more-or-less the center page. All these are basic
typographic magazine design conventions that
followed, but also in ways progressive by taking a step
more in simpler. In other words, these conventions are
used to tell the reader what the magazine about, I
simplified this by only putting basic information on
cover magazine. This is similar what Ray Gun has done
(can be seen next side).

8. The way I written my interview challenged many
interview/texts conventions. Many magazines use a
simple question and answer format when interviewing
artists, which have no personality at the slightest. I
challenged this by making my double page spread
interview more a monological recount of speaking to an
artist. This was done by recalling a question, stating the
artist answer then giving out-of-quote contextual
feedback. Over all giving a lot more information to the
reader without making it any more complex then
question and answer format. With added peak how
giving more personal arty feel.