The document discusses conventions of magazine front covers and contents pages. It provides examples of a music magazine cover and contents page that serve as templates. It then shows the student's preliminary front cover, contents page, and double page article spread and discusses how they follow or challenge conventions of real music magazines. The student works to incorporate conventions like prominent mastheads, cover lines, consistent color schemes, and representative photos, while also adding their own style. Spacing remains an issue to work on.

1. I N W H A T W A Y S D O E S Y O U R M E D I A P R O D U C T
U S E , D E V E L O P O R C H A L L E N G E F O R M S A N D
C O N V E N T I O N S O F R E A L M E D I A P R O D U C T S ?
Question 1

2. FRONT COVERS

3. FRONT
COVERS
The cover line defeats normal conventions
as its located above the masthead.
Masthead typically centred and located at
the top of the page
The cover lines enlighten the reader on
what the content of the magazine will be
about and artists names are in a bigger font
to draw attention of fans to encourage
them to read the magazine.
The lighting for the picture is bright and
the artist is pictured against a plain white
background. This allows the reader to fully
concentrate on the artist and as the
background is the same colour as the
clothes, it allows the artist to stand out.
The date line is incorporated with the
barcode and the price.
basic, memorable title
relating to music
Direct eye contact
with the audience
The artist is wearing
expensive, designer
jewellery which
represents his wealth
and is also what
artists in this industry
are seen wearing
This is a
collection of
cover lines
giving an
insight into
the content of
the magazine

4. MY FRONT
COVER
The cover line is placed
above the masthead
following vibe magazines
conventions.
The masthead is in a bold
colour, red to stand out
against the white
background
The main cover line is of
the featured artists name.
I placed this in a larger
font in order for it to
stand out more.
The background is a
gradient of a black to
white blend. It becomes
darker at the bottom of
the page
The artist is pictured in
accessories such as a hat and
jewellery. E.g. the ‘pinkie
ring’ featured which is
popular in the hip hop
industry
I have incorporated
the same style and
placing of my cover
lines . I have used a
bigger font for artist
names followed by
a brief description
of the contents of
their feature within
the magazine.
Direct eye contact
with the audience

5. front covers
 I based my magazine on the vibe magazine pictured
previously. I believe that the vibe magazine shows the
conventions of a true hip-hop/R&B magazine and
therefore in order to try make mine look professional, I
have almost used this magazine as a template for the
layout of mine.
 I have tried hard to follow the conventions of a hip hop
magazine by using clear mastheads, structured cover
lines and a main focus of a hip hop artist centre line.
 I also have incorporated a clear colour scheme of black,
white, grey and red throughout my magazine.

6. CONTENTS

7. CONTENTS
The contents page shows 4
pictures offering different
artists, scenery, shot sizes and
props. Each picture is presented
in a square form. Emphasizing
the organized look of the
contents page.
Cover lines are used for each
page number, followed by a
brief description of the contents
of each page highlighted.
Page numbers are clear and
consistent as they are all
presented in a red box with the
same white font for the
numbers.
All text about the content of the
magazine is in one place, neatly
on the left hand side of the
contents. This also contributes
to the structured layout of the
contents.
The colour scheme is
clear within the
contents page and very
simplistic colours such
as black, white and red
are used.
The masthead for the
contents page is clear and
still represents the
magazine as the logo is
positioned beside it clearly
to catch the readers
attention.
Spacing within this
page is key and this
is shown by the
structured layout
and the lack of
overlapping apart
from a small
animation linking to
a cover line.
The pictures shown link
to the content of the
magazine as artists are
pictured and then the
page number is placed
on the left hand side
describing their feature
within the magazine.

8. MY
CONTENTS
PAGE
I have placed a mast head of the
contents page at the top of my page-
following conventions, however I have
slightly broken conventions by
choosing to place my masthead
towards the left of my contents page. I
believe placing it there with the
magazine logo adds diversity whilst
still having aspects of a conventional
contents page.
My contents page is structured. I
believe there is a good use of space,
and I have used faint grey lines to
segregate different parts of writing
and the pictures.
I have also used cover lines for each
page number, briefly describing the
content of each relevant page. I have
placed the cover lines in a larger and
different font to the description in
order for the page titles to stand out
and catch the readers eye.
I have followed the conventions of
keeping my text in one section of the
page. This contributes to the
structured appearance of the contents.
I have only included 3 photos,
I have tried to incorporate
different shot sizes, artists.
effects and scenery. Within my
photos I have tried to
represent the different styles
of hip hop- such as the
glamorous side for females,
the ‘criminal’ side shown with
the smoking artist and the
business side shown with the
artist pictured in a suit.
Like the exemplary Q2
magazine shown
previously, I have
used a clear colour
scheme which is
consistent with the
colour scheme I have
used throughout my
magazine.
I have used a red
rectangle/square
with white font
for the numbers
for all my page
numbers. This is
consistent and
allows it to stand
out.

9. CONTENTS
 I chose to use a Q2(rock genre) music magazine as
my template contents to follow as I found that after
in depth research that hip hop magazines don’t
normally have a detailed contents page with a variety
of pictures within them, this is a convention of hip
hop magazines however for this task in particular, I
felt as though I needed to show different shot sizes
within my pictures and a more generally
conventional magazine contents page.

10. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

11. DOUBLE
PAGE SPREAD
The artists initials are pictured
in big font and two different
colours, which are the colour
scheme of the whole page as
there is a prominent consistent
use of black and yellow, even
within the written article.
A close up shot is used of the
artist in which he is directly
facing the camera and smoking.
The smoke is effective against
the black background and is a
pose that represents many
factors of the hip hop industry
such as the smoking aspect that
many artists actively partake in.
The artist is also styled like a hip
hop artist with the use of a
popular hat- still fitting in with
the pages colour scheme of
black and yellow.
The magazine logo can
still be recognised at
the top right hand
corner of the page
A subtitle is included to inform readers as to
what the article may be about, conventionally-
magazine place an outrageous statement there
to encourage readers.

12. MY
PRELIMINARY
DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD
My cover line for the artist is in
a large font with shadowing so
that it stands out against the
grey background
My picture of my artist looks
professionally taken, however I
feel as though it comes across as
slightly boring as there is not
much going on in the picture or
the background
My article fits into this page
much better than it does on my
final double page spread. This is
due to spacing.
Overall I find my page looks
well structured and laid out.
However I have not chosen to
proceed with this double page
spread as my final page because
it lacks any appeal to the
readers and may come across as
slightly plain or boring.

13. MY DOUBLE
PAGE SPREAD
I have stuck to the previous magazines
conventions by using an overlapping
title of just the artists initials.
I have also used a sub title/cover line
for the article in a slightly larger
font, encouraging readers to read onto
the article, as it gives them an insight
into the interview.
My artist is also pictured smoking
which is stereotypical in the
industry, therefore fitting in well with
the hip hop/ R&B genre.
My colour scheme stays consistent
throughout as we see here the same
initial colours used of red, black, white
and small parts of grey.
My artist on the front page
corresponds with the artist featured
on my double page spread. This
follows conventions of a music
magazine as their main feature in their
magazines are often displayed on the
front of their magazines in order to
catch readers and potential fans’ eyes-
making them wanting to read the
magazine. Evidently I have struggled with spacing in this page and as I have tried to
incorporate all of my article within the article, there is a lack of space and the text
almost overlaps the cover line of the artists name.

14. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
 I feel that I have stuck to the conventions of a double page spread article in
a hip-hop/R&B magazine as they are often simplistic with a clear colour
scheme which is reflected in mine.
 I have also only chosen to use one picture within my double page spread
article as this also follows conventions and the picture in particular I have
used is based on the vibe magazine double page spread article shown
previously, both reflecting what readers expect to see from artists in this
industry.
 I have been unconventional in the fact I have used a subtitle/ cover line that
is at the bottom of the page, in a different lay out to a normal subtitle for a
magazine article. I have chosen to do this as I find it stands out more and
the use of colour and shape within the subtitle is more likely to catch the
readers attention.
 I have struggled with the spacing of my double page spread and although
my final double page spread does appear slightly crowded, I find that
readers would be more attracted to reading this article as opposed to the
preliminary article’s layout as that appears lack luster and plain.