2. Introduction
I have created a music magazine cover, contents and double page spread with the
name Fusion.
I definitely enjoyed doing the main task compared to the preliminary task as I had gained
more skills by then and had a good idea about what I wanted to do.
I also thought it would be best to do something where I can use my skills learnt on
Photoshop CS6 and Indesign to a high standard.
I was inspired by a range of popular music magazines such as Rolling Stone, NME, Kerrang
and Billboard and completed some research on the Contents, Front Cover and Double
page spread of all them to give myself some inspiration for my final product.
I bought some magazines and used pictures from the internet for others. I tried to
incorporate typical music magazine conventions when making my magazine. This was to
appeal to the target audience and meet their needs.
3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In designing my music magazine, I had to create a front cover, contents page and double page spread, I had to find some other well
branded music magazines to analyse forms and conventions in helping me layout the design and style of my own magazine.
I decided to look at KERRANG, NME and Billboard these magazine all centre around the type of genre of my magazine. Each
magazine gave me ideas and inspiration, I took a few of there conventions and structures and developed them onto the front cover .
The barcode is an essential Comparison with the Front Cover part of magazines. I included a barcode to make the magazine more
realistic; I created the barcode on Photoshop and I added number on the bottom; most magazines have numbers on the barcode.
Also, the central image is the most dominant feature on the front cover and is a code and convention of magazines, the pose and
effects I used show the superiority and powerful presence of the model.
Moreover, the cover lines are another code and convention of magazines, I used an exciting register and direct mode of address with
words like „exclusive‟, „preview‟ and „win‟ to attract and appeal the audiences.
The colour also essential part of magazines, I used a variety of shades of blue for my front cover and used a pink, black and white
theme for my double page spread and contents pages. I wanted to vary the colours so that the magazine isn‟t based on one theme
which would make it seem a lot less interesting to the consumer.
My magazine, however, does challenge the conventions by being a multi genre magazine. I believe that this niche gap would attract
an audience as niches are usually interesting for people.
4. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
I think that my media product represents artists that are confident in themselves, humble,
talented and content.
I wanted them to have this portrayal as I thought it would give off the right vibe to my target
audience and inspiring them through the images as well as one of the artists „Eloisa‟ is a guitarist
and there are plenty of amateur guitarists that want to make it into the music industry. I
therefore thought that by having a completely ordinary person entering the industry, it would
hopefully make the consumer believe that they could make it there as well.
I also believe that my magazine is perfect for people that want to discover new artists. For
example , the teenagers that walk around with guitars and hate „pop‟ and „rap‟ music would
probably be attracted to my magazine as they would probably want to escape the charts!
My media product is suitable for almost everyone as it doesn‟t have a clear divide into a
certain social class; teenage girls from all social classes will be able to relate to it, and therefore
want to purchase it. However, the price, £3.99, is a little up market but people who want to buy
the magazine would hopefully pay more for it.
5. What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and why?
I think Bauer magazine would be good choice of publisher as they are
one of the leading publishers for music magazines.
They also produce a wide range of media that targets both genders
and the different age categories.
As Q magazine is now a very well know magazine, it means that Bauer
could easily promote and advertise my magazine to the public and as
Bauer have such a good reputation it would give the magazine a
large demand, increasing the popularity.
6. Who would be the audience for your media product?
I would say that my media product represents both genders and all classes from the ages of
16+. I wanted to have this variety as it would mean that my magazine would generate more
revenue than if I had a smaller targeted audience and it would attract more attention as well.
The ways in which I made the magazine suitable for this target market is through having photos
of both genders, including artists like „The 1975‟ which both genders would be interested in and
also festivals which both genders would be interested in as well.
There are also aspects of my magazine that are aimed at men as well, for example whether
Green Day are splitting up. Green Day is a band that aims more towards having men as the
target market so I thought that it was suitable to add to the magazine.
I used fonts that were related to both gender, for example I used a font from „dafont‟ for the
masthead which I thought was a good to use as it didn‟t appeal to any specific gender, age or
class.
7. How did you attract/address to your audience?
I attracted my audience by using a cover picture that would stand out and grab your attention. The picture most definitely stands out
and the main aim is to make them buy the magazine because of the attraction to it, which is what I think I have done.
It includes a gigantic poster which is featured on the contents page. I think that the consumer would want to have this poster,
especially if their a fan.
I also included competitions and the „chance to meet the 1975‟. I think that these features would attract my audience as a fan‟s
dream is to meet their favourite artist. By giving them this chance it would hopefully make them want to buy the magazine.
The style of clothing of my artists suggests that they relate to the pop/indie genre and there is a hint of fashion which would naturally
attract consumers.
The masthead is big and the black/white font contrasts well with the white background on the front cover and double page spread,
therefore making it stand out more prompting the audience to attracted by it. The masthead also hints that it is a mixed genre music
magazine again attracting those who like a variety of genres. I also attracted the audience by making them believe they would miss
out on the “exclusive interview” with Eloisa.
The audience are addressed at the fact that the magazine uses a variety of images which emphasises that it isn‟t just aimed at one
age group but many that doesn‟t suggest a sense of dominance within the magazine. I
In a way it could be said that people are attracted to the colour scheme and the content of the magazine. I have tried to do this so
that the audience have content that they can relate and feel that there is an understanding .
I have used bright colours such as pink and blue, which are the most dominant colours, of which I have used for effect and I have not
only used it on my front cover but also my contents page and double page spread article.
8. What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this
product?
Throughout the project I have come across lots of new software and technology which I
haven‟t previously used such as Adobe Bridge, InDesign and Photoshop.
I have learnt about lots of new editing skills using these programmes by using tools such as
the magic wand tool and the lasso tool.
Learning how to edit images has proved very useful in this project and it will also help me
in the future.
As well as learning to edit images, using new programmes has given me knowledge on
how to construct a magazine.
Looking at existing products helped with this and I feel confident that in the future I would
be able to cerate another magazine from the knowledge I have gained.
9. Looking back at your preliminary task,
what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
Looking back on my progress from my preliminary product, I feel that my preliminary product has helped me in
many ways when creating my final product.
One major factor that my preliminary product helped me with was planning my time, for example when organising
when to take my images to allow enough time to edit them. However I had difficulty with some of the images I had
taken as they were hard to edit due to the background I used.
I think if I had taken into account the background of the images I was taking I would have been able to create
more unique shots throughout my final product.
Another major factor I discovered when creating my preliminary product was that fireworks is a much better
programme to use than publisher for final products as it creates a much more professional finish.
Although my preliminary product helped with the planning of my time I have also had to learn new things which
weren‟t covered in the preliminary products.
For example as the magazine was a school magazine I was only able to use 3 main colours to create a conventional
magazine whereas my music magazine I was able to be a lot more creative and pacifically target my audience. #
Overall I think I have improved significantly since my preliminary product and have created a much more
professional and creative product with the knowledge and experience gained.
