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Magazine features
- 1. The ways inwhich my magazine use, challenge, and develop the conventions of real magazines
- 2. Buzzwords Direct mode ofaddress Cover lines Keycover line & modelcredit Price Banner Masthead Official info (Issueno, date, price) Keyimage gesture Contentsignifier Large numbers Pageexample Badge/flash– graphic feature Posterpreview banner website Publicationdate FRONT COVER – CONVENTIONS OF REAL MAGAZINES MAGAZINE FEATURES
- 3. These typesof wordsarecommonly usedby magazinestoencourage people tobuy the magazine.It offers morecontent fortheir money and informationthat theycannot find anywhere else Gives aninsight intothe content of the magazine The key coverline isusually a bigname, and uses thismain story asthe key sellerof the magazine The modelcreditworksasa type of captionforthe key image. Price Suggeststhat there ismore content Encourages people tolook inside,they will hopefully be hooked by the content on the page and buy the magazine Makes the word‘free’ more visible asit isinsidea graphic feature in a brightcolour Previewofthe posterusessynergy toencourage sales Gives examplesofmore content in the magazine Thisisan exampleof convergent media,print-basedmagazines arebecoming out-of-date,and somagazine companiesneed online content in ordertoretain a large readership, particularlymagazinesaimedtowardsyoung people. Publicationdate The directmode of addressin the key signifiercatchesyour eye whenthe magazineison the shelfand isa form ofcommunication to the reader; they aremore likelytosee it and, by extension, purchase it Bannersensure thatasmuch space on the cover isused as possible,it framesthe cover making itmore attractiveand highlightsthe synergy in the text The mastheadisa necessarypart ofany magazine, it isbigtoestablishthe magazine brand and rightacrossthe top in a colour thatcontraststhe background sothat itcan easilybeseen Thisinformationiskeyforany purchase, so isin a large fontunder the masthead where it can easilybe seen The gesture of the artistin the image is reminiscentof someone being caught in the act by the police. Thissuggests rebellionand mischievousness,which is stereotypicalof young artists.Young readersmay findthisappealing Suggeststhat the magazine has a wide amount ofcontent which encourages people tobuy/read it FRONT COVER – HOW IT USES CONVENTIONS OF REAL MAGAZINES MAGAZINE FEATURES The house style ofmymagazine isconsistent;thismeansthat there isa noticeable colour scheme (whichisbrightand unique), there isa consistencytothe fontswhich are used, and there are layoutdesigns which can beused on multipledifferent issuesofthe magazine, such asthe banners which framethe issue as wellas the masthead. I looked at a lotof mastheadsduring the research phase ofmy magazine, manytake up only a corner, likeQand NME, butI have decided touse the style of mixmag insteadas I thinkit looksbetterinmycase.
- 4. Primaryopticalarea Weakfallowarea Strong fallowarea Terminalarea Readinggravity Thisarea iswherethereading gravityofthemagazinebegins,and sothemain thingitcontainsisthe mastheadofmy magazine.Itis generallyimportanttokeepthisin theprimaryopticalareasothatitis fullyestablishedandeasilylegible. Thisquartercontains thesecond partofthemastheadandkey signifier,alongsidetheprimary opticalarea ofthemagazine.Italso hasthekey,officialinformation whichis importantforthe consumer. Thisincludestheissue number,thedateofpublication, andthepriceofthemagazine. Themajorityofthecoverlinesare sectoredinthispartofthe magazine.Thisiswherethe readinggravitynaturallyfalls,so talks aboutwhatisinsideofthe magazine.Likewise,thereisa previewofthefreeposterinside rightinthecorner, which encouragestheconsumertobuy themagazine withthethoughtthat theyare gettingmorefortheir money.Thisisan importantareaof mymagazine. Theweakfallowareacontainsthe keycoverlineandthemodelcredit, whichcaptionthekeyimageand tellthereaderaboutthemain articleinsidethemagazine.This sectioncanoftengounnoticed,soI havemadeitcontainthislarge pieceoftextsothatitisn’twasted. Italsocontainsthebarcodewhich isimportanttohaveonthefront coverofthemagazineforthesale, butnotnecessarilyimportant enoughtobeina strongarea ofthe magazine. Europeanreadersarenaturally inclinedtoreadpagesinacertain way,followingthe‘readinggravity’. Mymagazine usesthisbyhaving thetitleat thetop,andinformation incolumnsacrossbothsidesofthe page,concludingintheterminal area. Keyimage/signifier Theimageusesa directmodeof addresstohookthereaderintothe issue.The“caught intheact”gesture suggestsrebellionand mischievousnesswhichwillattract youngerreadersas theyare stereotypicallyrebelliousthemselves FRONT COVER – HOW IT USES CONVENTIONS OF REAL MAGAZINES THE GUTENBERG DESIGN PRINCIPLE
- 5. CONTENTS PAGE –HOW IT USES CONVENTIONS OF REAL MAGAZINES MAGAZINE FEATURES Pagetitle Twitterlink Pullquotecaption Photo Subscriptioninformation Editorial Pagenumber Pagenumber photocaption Photo Pullquote/photocaption Contentnumbers Flash Subtitle Label:Cover Story Website Content
- 6. CONTENTS PAGE –HOW IT USES CONVENTIONS OF REAL MAGAZINES MAGAZINE FEATURES Thisfollowsthe house style ofthe front cover, and tellsthe reader thatthisisthe contents page Readersin thisgeneration willknow thatthe ‘@’ symbolsignifiesa Twitterlink,which willappeal especiallyto young readers The photo iscaptionedwith a pull quote taken fromthe inside,thisis used tohook the reader’s interest and make themreadthe restofthe article Thisphoto linkstothe page number in itscorner, which advertisesthe content ofthe page Magazinesoften offer subscription dealsto people who buy their magazines; thisoffersthem a subscription which isimportantas it ensuresa regularreadershipof the magazine. Allmagazineshave an editorialin them, and a lotput these on the contents page. This isa message fromthe editor, tellingthe readerabout the content inside. Each page isnumbered sothe readercan keep a trackof what page theyare on and can followthecontents list.This isan extremely importantfeature. Also,the magazine name isrepeated withit tomake it more aestheticallypleasing Thisphoto istaken fromone ofmy photoshoots, linkingto one ofthe articlesinthe magazine and encouraging people toread it The photo captionadvertisesthe content and attractspeople toread it Each page ofcontent isgiven a page number asinall magazines, and this goes up to120 asit isdesigned tobe a monthly magazine soneeds a lotof content. Thisflashencourages the readerto lookat thisarticle,and makesit seemimportantwhere it may be otherwiseignored. Thispart of the content formedia is labelled‘cover story’so thatthe reader knows where toturn toinorder tofind the main articlewhichisadvertisedon the front cover, mostmagazines use someform of label forthe cover article. Printbased magazinesaregoing out ofdate with the eraof Web 2.0, soit isimportantto includelinkstoonline information.Also, thisencourages a readership ofyounger people. The subtitlesshow the reader where to findcertaintypesof content, includingfeatures,articles createdby experts, and reviewsof existingmusic. The photo iscaptionedwith the page number sothe readerknows what article the photo linksto Colours and typographiesused around the page followthe same house style asthose used on the double page spread and on the front cover. Gives a titleforthe content and a shortexplanation
- 7. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD– HOW IT USES CONVENTIONS OF REAL MAGAZINES MAGAZINE FEATURES Pullquote Image Pagenumber Masthead Keysignifier Photocredit
- 8. DOUBLE PAGE SPREADI – HOW IT USES CONVENTIONS OF REAL MAGAZINES MAGAZINE FEATURES Thisisa quotefrom the articleonthe next page which can be usedto hook the readerinto exploring the article.It usesstrong andinformallanguageto hookthetarget reader– youngadults. Thisisanotherimage from thesame photoshootof my artist, which highlightshis significancein thisarticle. Thedoublepage spread runsover two pages, so therearetwo page numbers.Like onthe contentspage, the mastheadisalsorepeated to make thesecorners lookmore attractiveand to establishthebrand. Thisintroducesthe article, puttingit asit is.The same font asthemastheadonthe front cover is usedagainas part of thehousestyleof my magazine Thekey image onthispage hasbeeneditedusing photoshopsothat thebackground hasbeenremoved but theartistandthe shadowremain,allowingfull emphasisto be given to his gesturecodes. Realmagazinesuse photosfrom various differentphotographers andhave to give them credit for thephoto.I have donethishere, althoughallof the photos aremy own. Introductorydoublepage spreadsarenotalwaysusedbeforekey articles,butdo helpgrab attentionforkey pagesinside.Thisis a techniquethatI spottedin Qmagazine, notablyin thosethatI analysedduringmy market researchof doublepagespreads, andis somethingthat I thought my magazinecouldbenefitfrom.
- 9. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD– HOW IT USES CONVENTIONS OF REAL MAGAZINES MAGAZINE FEATURES Kicker/Pullquote Enlargedletter Text (in columns) Pagenumber Interviewquestions Pullquote Photocaption Convergentmedialinks Pullquote Image
- 10. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD– HOW IT USES CONVENTIONS OF REAL MAGAZINES MAGAZINE FEATURES My magazinekicker is alsoa quotefrom the actualarticle, it introducesthetext with an immediatelyhooking linethat will ensurereaders An enlargedletterto start the text ishow many forms of print-based mediawork Text isgenerally presentedincolumnsin articlesin magazines,it is neatandeasyto read Pagenumbersleadon from thepreviouspages andmake it easierto find thisspecificcontent Interviewquestionsareina differentcolourthanthe main text andin a differentfont, Dimitri, the samefontas the masthead,thismakesthem clearlystandout Thispullquoteisbigger, in a differentcolour, andgiven a backgroundcolour sothat it iseasilylegibleandlooks good aspart of thearticle Thephotois captionedto give it context andto fit it intothe article Mostartistsusetechnological convergencein thisera in order to sellandadvertisetheirmusic via technologicalconvergence. Providingtheselinksto social mediaplatformsiscustomaryin magazinestoday. Thepull quoteis anotherinsight intothe articleto make people want to readit Thefacialexpression andposein thisarticle suggestscheek, which youngreaderswill like (stereotypically). A pull quotebeing usedas a kicker is somethingthat I spottedwithinQ magazine, which inspiredhowI have mademine here. Themain image onmy doublepagespreadbleedsacross bothpages, which servesto fullylinkthem together.The housestyleis consistentthroughout.