The document summarizes a presentation analyzing the front cover, contents page, and double-page spread created for a music magazine. It discusses design elements and conventions used on each page. Key points include using bright colors to make the front cover stand out, including social media links and a lower panel on the front cover and contents page for organization, and placing the title and artist name prominently on the double-page spread to draw attention. Conventions from rap magazines were considered while also adding original and challenging elements.

1. By Kamar Ali

2.  In this presentation I will be looking at the
front cover, contents page and the double
page spread that I created for my music
based magazine.
 I will be analysing all the pages and how
these pages use, develop and challenge
original conventions of magazines and in
particular rap magazines as this is the
genre of the magazine that I created.

3. I will be going through each page and
highlighting each feature and stating why I
included that particular feature, what
inspired me to include that particular
feature and while doing this I will be going
back to the conventions of rap magazines
and comparing.

5.  Here is the front
cover I have created.
As you can see it is
eye catching, as the
colours are bright
and I have done this
to make it stand out
against other
magazines within the
shop.

6.  This is the title, as you
can see it stands out
against the rest of the
magazine, and this has
been done to make the
title stand out make the
magazine look unique.
As you can see the text
is large compared to the
rest of the text on the
page and the colour
stands out against the
images.

7.  Also as you can see
the title is tilted to the
side and this
challenges the main
conventions or rap
based magazines in
particular, because
they usually have the
title horizontal at the
top, and mostly from
left to right (where the
barcode is)

8.  Asyou can see the
barcode is located at
the top of the page,
and I chose to put it up
here, as it is out of the
way from the main
bulk of content on the
page which means it
doesn’t distract the
viewer from looking at
everything.

9.  And the barcode
placement challenges the
conventions of rap
magazines because
usually it is located at the
bottom of the page either
on the left or the right, but
as I said earlier I placed it
their as it was out of the
way but still the barcode
needs to be present on the
magazine to make it look
professional.

10.  As you can see the date
the magazine was
released and the issue
number is located under
the barcode. Now in most
magazines the date and
issue number are usually
located on the contents
pages; but on other
magazines (not just music
based magazines) these
details are present on the
front page underneath the
barcode.,

11.  Which I feel is a good
addition as it lets the
reader know how old
this particular issue is
without them having to
open up the
magazine, plus it gives
them a sense of what
issue number this
particular magazine is.

12.  The main article title is stated
here, and as you can see it has
been placed so that the faces of
the artists in the image are still
visible. The text ranges in font
sizes and colour, and I did this to
highlight the main part of the
article (in yellow) with some of the
less important text in black and
considerably smaller than the
main title; and the artists name is
in large text, but is still black. This
means that all the audiences
attention will be focused on the
yellow text and the image on the
page before they even start
reading into what the main article
is about.

13.  Usually the main article within
a magazine is highlighted in
the front page in eye catching
text which is about the same
size as the magazine titles
text; I have avoided this
particular convention because
I feel that the magazine title is
important and should stand out
due to it being like a ‘branding
label’ on the magazine, plus I
want the viewer to first look at
the title of the magazine before
then looking at the image
followed by the main article
title, and it has been placed in
such a position to make this
possible.

14.  Here is the panel section that
was one of my own ideas, as I
felt when magazines had
‘other articles ‘ named all over
the page and there was no
order to the front covers which
made them seem ‘messy’ and
un professional to me.
 I decided to introduce a panel
at the bottom of the page,
which would contain all the
‘other features’ of the
magazine including other
important articles within the
magazine as well as
completion information.

15.  The inclusion of this bar also
means that this section is almost
separate to the rest of the page
and all the text is not spread
around meaning that the majority
of the audiences attention will be
on the image rather than the text
spread around the page.
 This bar is something that is not
seen in other magazines of this
genre and I obtained the idea of
this bar from a newspaper as I felt
that I gave order to the paper and
allowed for the focus of the main
image on the paper as well as
keeping the content on the page
‘neat and tidy’ meaning that the
front cover will maintain a
professional look and feel.

16.  The main image located on the
page is supporting the main
article and is a image of ‘Rizzle
Kicks’. As you can see it is the
only image on the page and
has been made large and
centred on the page meaning
that it will be one of the first
features of the page which will
catch the audiences attention.
I have also added a artistic
effect to this image to give it a
‘cartoony’ look and feel making
the image look like it is part of
the graffiti wall in the
background.

17.  As fat as the conventions
of images on magazine
front covers go I feel that
mine ticks all the boxes, as
it is a large image on the
page which is a mid body
shot of the artist (or in the
case of my magazine
artists) and is the centre of
attention on the front cover
as well as being a suitable
supporting image for the
main article within the
magazine

18.  I feel that my front cover is professional and looks good,
it has all the main conventions of magazines as well as
being able to maintain some of the main conventions of
magazines within the same genre as itself. I feel that the
magazine front cover will appeal to the target audience
because it is eye catching and bright, but not so much
that it looks childish. I also feel that the colours used in
the main text on the front cover as well as the image are
eye catching and represents the magazine as well as the
social groups within.
 I feel that the front cover has a certain order to it, as
everything isn’t scattered around the page and
everything has been ‘sectioned’ in a sense which gives
the magazine front cover a professional look without
spoiling the overall look and still maintaining its appeal to
the target audience.

20.  Here is the contents page I
have created for my
product, as you can see it
contains all the article titles
on one side of the page, as
well as social features, and
similarly to the front cover
there is an image of an
artist which supports
another main article in the
magazine which is in larger
font compared to the rest
and which isn't in the table
of contents.

21.  This is the main bulk of text on
the page, and this is what
makes the contents page, in
this text there is information on
all the articles in this particular
issue of the magazine. I have
used the same type of font that
has been used on the rest of
the magazine and I have
highlighted the page numbers
in yellow for two reasons: one,
to match the colour scheme of
the overall magazine and two,
to make the page numbers
stand out so someone who is
reading will be able to see
which articles are on a
particular page.

22.  The placement of the main
bulk of text has been
placed on the upper left
side of the page as after
looking into the
conventions of music
based magazine I found
that most rap based
magazines have their
contents section here, and
this was constantly seen in
a variety of different
magazines so I felt this
was a convention I had to
use in my product.

23.  Here is the transparent panel,
which was also seen on the front
cover; on this page it contains
social features which expand the
audiences experience as they will
be able to go online and connect
to my magazine in many different
ways and keep up dated with
what is happening with the
magazine as well as information
on what may be upcoming in the
future. I have decided to include
these features on my contents
page for reasons explained as I
feel this is a great addition and
the audience will feel more
connectivity with the magazine
and they will be able to stay
connected.

24.  Once again I have included
website information on the page,
and this has been done so that
the audience can go on the
website to look at more articles
and other things such as order the
next issue. I have placed the web
address in a ‘out of the way’
place, as I feel if I had put it
anywhere else it would have
made the page look ‘messy’. I
have made the font look yellow
here as this stands out against
the background and also makes
the text eye catching; I have also
made the text the same size as
the ‘contents’ text at the top of the
page so this shows that this
information is as important as the
contents section.

25.  This image matches the
conventions of music based
magazines because it is a mid
body shot, and the image is the
main focus of the page, as well as
being supported by a title; and all
these points are covered by most
rap magazines as you will find
that in most rap magazines you
will see an image of a artist on the
front cover. On the next slide you
will see the contents page that
mine took its inspiration from as I
felt that the image and the layout
of this particular contents page is
of good quality and I wanted to
replicate it in my own style in my
magazine, and as you will see my
contents page has taken note of
most of the conventions of this
particular magazine.

26. I have followed the
conventions of rap
based magazines
here, as there is
always a web address
either on the contents
page or the front
cover, and I have
included it on both
pages, while being
able to keep the
information out of the
way.

27.  The main image on the page is
a mid body shot of the model
with his hand on his chin and
in this particular image the
model is ‘pondering’ at the
camera. This image is
supported by the ‘Guess who’s
back?’ title which is another
main article within the
magazine which I felt had
great importance but not as
much as the main article, so it
is displayed on the contents
page, which is usually the
second page viewed by the
reader.

29.  Here is the page number section
of the page, as you can see the
colours used on the page number
are completely different to those
colours used in the magazine,
and this has been done to make it
more clearer to the reader about
what page number this particular
page is. Also this challenges to
conventions of magazines
because in most magazines (as
well as other products such as
books etc…) the page number is
located at the bottom left or right
of the page, I decided to put it
here, as this is different and gives
my magazine its own futuristic
look and feel that is different to
others.

30.  I think that my contents page is professional and is suitable for
the target audience; it includes all the main conventions you
would expect from a rap based magazine contents page as
well as the main conventions of magazine contents pages in
general. The image used is of good quality and is the type of
image you would expect from a magazine such as mine.
 I feel that I have got all the right information on my contents
page, such as contents, connectivity features, website,
secondary article and a image; as well as including my own
design features.
 I have taken inspiration from a contents page that really
caught my eye and I aimed to follow the conventions that this
particular contents page set and reproduce them while adding
my own style to the finished product.
 I feel that my contents page is of high quality, and since the
draft stage of this project the target audience who have gotten
involved have liked my ideas for the contents page.

32.  This is the double page spread I have created for my product. As this article is
based on the hip-hop duo ‘Rizzle kicks’ I have gone with the same theme which
was present on the front cover, and I have once again used bright but not child
like colours as this is what this particular group is about. As you can see there are
all the normal features you would come to expect from a double page spread
within a rap magazine which follow the conventions of magazines; and in other
cases I have challenged these conventions and made my double page spread
look different and exciting, which is what the target audience want.

33.  This is the title section of the double page spread, as you can see the
artists name is at the top of the page in the largest writing on the page,
then underneath the image of Rizzle Kicks is the article title as well as an
introduction to what the article is about. I did this because when someone
looks at the page I want them to first look at the title which would
announce that it is Rizzle kicks, then go onto focus on the image before
reading the article title followed by the introduction section and then the
article.

34.  I have also done this because it moves away from the more traditional
convention which would be the title at the top of the page, followed by a
introduction underneath the title, then the article over both pages. Also
with the re arrangement of the title section of the double page spread it
gives my double page spread that futuristic and innovative look that my
front cover/contents page deliver. I have also made sure that the main title
and the artist title are in yellow, meaning that they stand out to you more
when you view the page.

35.  Above the main bulk of text there is a quote which indicates one of the ‘best bits’
of the article, and gives the reader a good idea of what the article is about; I have
added this in to the double page spread because it is a regular convention found
in a lot of magazines, not just rap based magazines and quotes are usually used
for something memorable within a article and I felt that this part was emotional
accomplishment and I felt that this quote should be stated. The quote is in yellow
font so it stands out against all the normal font, but I have kept the text size small
so that it doesn’t take anything away from the title or the main image located on
the double page spread.

36.  This is the main bulk of text, and as you can see I have kept it all on one page,
and this was done so that the image of the artists would stand out and be given
more attention and I also wanted to keep all the text on one page and not over
two pages as this can sometimes end up being messy and will give the final
product a un professional look. I have also done this to support the title layout with
the artists name at the top and the article title near the bottom of the first page.
The text has been split into two columns and is in a size which is easy to read. A
lot of magazines follow the same idea that I have used where the main image will
be on one page and the main article would be on the other, as this means that you
can get all the text onto the article without taking anything from the image

37.  Here is the main image which is used in this article, as you can see it dominates
most of the first page, with the article title taking up the rest of the page. The
image is a mid body shot of the duo Rizzle Kicks and it is a suitable image foe this
particular article. A lot of magazines follow a convention where the main image on
a article is dominating most of a page and text is present on the other, and this is
the convention that I mainly followed, but I added my own look and feel to the
page with the placement of the title under the image and if you look it gives a
poster like impression as the image is dominating and then the text supporting the
image is below. The background is also suitable as this is the same theme that
was used on the front cover and so I wanted to carry this on to maintain a
professional look and feel to the magazine and this article.

38.  I feel that my double page spread has been made to a professional
standard and will appeal to the target audience; I implemented all the
main conventions for rap based magazines into my double page
spread and I have also challenged some, as well as adding my own
style into the pages.
 I feel that the presentation of this particular page is great and I feel
that the organization is good as everything seems to have been
placed in the right spot. The title placement is interesting as it is not
something seen often in magazines and goes completely against the
standard conventions of double page spread, but it is factors such as
this which give my product that unique look and feel which other
products don’t have.
 I feel the article has been presented well and the text is easy to read
as it is not to small and it is against a slightly transparent panel to
make sure that the background dose not out shade the text making it
impossible to read.
 The image has been placed well, where it is in a position to be the
centre of attention of the page without being anything to extravagant
and this image follows the main conventions such as mid body shot,
dominate most of a particular page and be related to the article.