Evaluation question one

1. In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
QUESTION ONE
Made by: Jasmine Gilbert

2. The addition of the magazine’s logo in my DPS is quite
unconventional for a music magazine. However, I really liked
the way it looked in the men’s fashion magazine “DA MAN”. It
also helped to fill in some of the empty space at the top and
be symmetrical with the ‘New Artist’ banner on the right side.
DPS
I decided to have a small quote on top of the main image layer.
This is a feature regularly used in magazines such as “Q”,
therefore by having it in my own product, I am able to conform
to such conventions. Another “Q” feature which I really liked
and decided to replicate was the pattern made by x’s. This is a
very nice detail which just adds a bit of creativity to the double
page spread and gives it some variety.
I also included a large main
quote which fits into the
centre of the article text.
While typing out the
article, I made sure to have
the text wrap around the
quote to make it stand out
even more and not overlap.
The stand first introduces
the article with some of
the important information
highlighted in light blue.
The main image might be
seen as a subversion from
usual conventions as I resized
it so that it does not take up
the whole page. This allowed
me to add in the title ‘Going
Seventeen’ which overlaps
the image and interrupts the
bottom line of the page. I
think this was a good choice
as it made the DPS more
interesting and aesthetically
pleasing, especially with the
mixture of serif and sans serif
fonts. This feature is more
common with magazines
such as “DAZED”, however as
this magazine regularly
features music artists, I think
it is not too unconventional
to include it.
With the photography, I took mise-en-
scene into consideration, making it
conform to the R&B genre.. The model
wears clothing e.g. a denim jacket that is
usually associated with my chosen genre
and the fashion of young people in this
decade, who are my target audience.
The bottom of the page is conventional
with the magazine issue month included
and the page numbers. This has also
been replicated in the contents page as it
forms part of the magazine’s house style.
Drop capital
The neon style of this font
matches the main image
and matches the modern
appearance of the genre.

3. FRONT COVER
The ‘+’ is a very popular convention
of R&B and Hip Hop magazines such
as Vibe and XXL. This was a feature I
really liked when analysing one of
Vibe’s front covers and so I used it
here as well.
The model I chose for the front
cover follows along with what you
usually see on a magazine as the
R&B genre is mostly dominated by
male singers such as The Weeknd
and Bryson Tiller. However, it does
challenge the norm in some ways
as it is an Asian Male that I have
used and this demographic is not
usually seen on the cover. I
decided to do this as many of the
people involved in my survey were
Asian therefore my magazine will
appeal to them as well. It also
aims to break stereotypes of this
social group.
One of the most common features of a magazine front
cover is to have the model cover part of the masthead.
I have conformed to this through Photoshop editing to
give the same effect.
“Q” was very useful as an exemplar
professional product as it includes
many genres which do not have
specific magazines. For my genre of
Alternative R&B, there are not many
magazines that are made just for the
genre, therefore it was difficult to
find any direct inspiration. However,
this is also a benefit in a way as it
means that my magazine is a niche
product which could give it a unique
selling point. “Vibe” was also helpful
even though it is for Hip Hop as this
genre is closely linked to Alternative
R&B with many rappers being
involved in both.
By having the fonts in red,
black, white and blue, I was
able to make it match with
the mise-en-scene of the
model. I decided to match
the colours rather than
choose opposites as the
clothing already stood out on
the page.
This choice of shot is quite popular
in many magazines. I think this mid
shot was great for emphasising the
model’s power and dominance.

4. CONTENTS
On top of the images, I have
included the page numbers
to the articles associated with
each one. This is seen in
nearly all music magazines,
regardless of genre,
consequently I also chose to
put this into my contents
page. It helps consumers with
accessibility and ease of use.
Another interesting feature I have seen in other
magazines involves making the model stand
out from the image through editing. Even
though this is not a usual convention, it is a
great addition that works well to make the
main image appear to be an important article.
The Contents Page title has
the issue month included
and the issue number can
also be seen on the first
page. I have also made it
the largest font on the
page as this is traditionally
done on every contents
page.
For the Contents, I used
models of different races and
genders in order to show the
diversity of the genre. This
subverts conventions as R&B
magazines usually consist of
mostly black or mixed race
black singers and rappers.
In conclusion, I think that my product does fairly well to replicate real life music magazines by using many
conventions that consumers are familiar with. However, some areas can be improved such as the placement
of the image descriptions which looks slightly unnatural. I also think that my genre is not as clear as it could
be, therefore I would like to improve this and do even further research into what makes something ‘look
R&B’. My house style is not very obvious either but I am sure this would improve if I were to keep
attempting in future. Even so, I am happy with the overall look and what I have managed to achieve.
The ‘Every Month’ section
details all of the magazine
information such as
subscriptions and
competitions. Along with the
special features, these two are
usually seen in any contents
whether its music or another
lifestyle area.
The layout is quite
traditional for a double page
contents with a large main
image on the first page and
smaller secondary images
on the second page. It is
much easier for consumers
to read the page when it is
laid out in a normal fashion.
However, I could have used
just one large image as I
have seen in other
magazines but this would
require a very famous
celebrity.