2. What have you learnt from your front cover analysis,
How will you use this for your own front cover?
My front cover analysis has taught me what my audience look for in a
magazine. It is conventional to have a big central image, Coverlines and a
masthead that stands out, therefore these are essential to add to my
magazine. It is common to have the artists looking into the camera to create
an impression of direct eye contact with the audience, forming a connection
between the audience and the magazine so I will apply this to my cetral
image. Bright colours like yellow are used to capture the audience’s eye. I’m
going to use this in my ‘Flash’ and ‘Buzz words’. A lot of colours used come
from the masthead to show that the contents come from the magazine
company. The layouts are all pretty similar, with the Masthead at the top, the
central image covering the entirety of the page, etc. I will stick to these
conventions to give it an authentic style, making it look more like a real Music
magazine. I have gained many ideas which I can use for my own magazine and
make it look as good as I can make it. I will use the element I discovered on
this task and interpret them into my own magazine, hoping it will impact on
the effectiveness of the magazine.
3. What have you learnt from your contents page
analysis, How will you use this for your own contents
page?
From my front cover analysis, I have learnt that it is conventional to have
images, page references and graphic features to make the it look realistic. I
have also learnt that having a decent amount of detail on the features is also
necessary as it gives an insight to the articles, possibly tempting the reader to
look at it. I plan to put the conventional elements above into my own
magazine, as I believe it will make my own music magazine look a bit more
authentic. As my magazine is aimed at a unisexual demographic, I would like
to avoid making it at all biased to one gender, therefore my colours and layout
will aim to be considered suitable for both male and female. I feel that I
should leave my background for this plain, as I this is how the majority of the
magazine contents pages I have analysed have been left, thus influencing me
to follow the top-selling trend. I aim to separate each feature with a line to
create a distinction and keep a thematic colour throughout the magazine. For
the white gaps left, I will come up with a unique idea to fill it (with some form
of decorative graphic, keeping to the style of the magazine)
4. What have you learnt from your Double page spread
analysis, How will you use this for your own double
page spread?
In my analysis of the DPS, I have found that conventions such as cap locks,
large central images, distinctive body copy, a bold artist name, an
occasional callout and the odd graphic feature are usually within the
contents of the article. I will use all of the above elements to make my
magazine realistic. The images usually have some form of prop or
indication of their genre, but I am going to deviate from this convention,
as I wish to make my DPS unique. I am simply going to have two artists on
their own sat in a calm and beautiful environment to be different. I
noticed the use of photography effects on the images, therefore I am
going to make my image black and white because this will be familiar to
my chosen audience, as they are teenagers that commonly use the effect
for their own images, creating a relation between the audience and
magazine. The artists name is usually eye-catching and matches their
images, therefore I will do the same with my magazine. This task helped
me to understand what I am looking to include in my DPS.
5. What have you learnt from the questionnaire and focus
group? How will this feedback affect your product?
The questionnaire results established that I should aim for 16-18 year olds (male
and female) into alternative music. The theme colour should be red and
should be liked by both genders, so that the magazine isn’t at all biased
towards a certain gender. Black and white will also be included, as they are
also mutual colours with no biased or connotative meaning in this situation. I
can imagine that males are more likely to buy the magazine, as females would
be preoccupied with other magazines, but it will stibb be aimed at both (60%
male, 40% female). The name should be ‘IA’ (‘Inside Alternative’) literally
meaning what it says it is. It should be detailed but informal with images
appealing to the audience, as my focused demographic prefer images to text.
The text being informal will create another connection with the audience, as
they it will feel like the magazine is talking to them rather than at them. The
text will be white with a black outline, again sticking to that colour scheme of
Black and white. It also makes it clearer and distinctive, making it easier to
read. I aim to make it a weekly frequency and a £2.50 charge for it, as that
would be considered a relatively below average amount to pay for a magazine,
giving ‘Inside Alternative’ magazine the edge.
