This document provides an analysis of magazine design conventions based on research. It examines the layout elements used in sample magazine covers and articles, such as mastheads, color schemes, images, headings and subheadings. The document also discusses which conventions will be applied in the design of a school magazine, such as using a main image, color scheme, masthead and puffs. Research on sample magazine spreads is presented, analyzing how they follow, develop and challenge conventions through elements like multiple related images and non-traditional layouts.

1. AS MEDIA
AS UNIT G321
FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO IN MEDIA
RESEARCH AND PLANNING
Candidate Name
Candidate Number
Centre Name
Centre Number
Samantha Ryder
4191
The Leigh Academy
61101

2. Main image
Draws attention to the
magazine and catches
peoples eye. It fills the
whole cover, to show the
importance of it.
Masthead
The logo for Q
magazine is placed at
the top, and creates
awareness of the
brand. Shows that the
magazine is unique as
the logo is exclusive to
the brand.
Main coverline/anchorage text
Tells you what the magazine is about and shows what the
main image is about. It clearly states who is in the image.
Colour scheme
The magazine consists of mainly three colours which makes it
seem simple, but effective. The use of these colours make the
magazine seem more professional as they stay constant
throughout the cover.
Coverline
Tells you about what else is in the
magazine by giving extra information.
Showing articles that can be found within
the magazine.
Puffs
It takes a quote or
piece of information
that is taken from
inside the magazine
and it is directed
straight at the
audience.
Slogan
It is located near the
magazine logo and it
makes the magazine seem
more professional.
Identifying magazine conventions

3. This magazine follows the
conventions of a magazine with a
colour scheme is because
everything matches, as they don’t
use many different colours. The
title follows conventions of a
magazine as it is located right at
the top of the magazine.
The skyline on this magazine
develops convention as it is in
different colours and it is not in
one shape. It may have been
designed this way to make it more
interesting to the customer buying
it also it could be to make a
certain statement stand out more.
This magazine challenges the
conventions of the proportion of
text to image because you can
see more of the people in the
picture than you normally would
and the text is mainly in one
place.
How magazines follow, develop and challenge conventions

4. Identifying music magazine forms and conventions
Record Collector is published by Diamond
Publishing.
Mixmag is published by Development Hell ltd and the
editor is Nick Decosemo.

5. Technologies
and processes
Physical technology
Modern cameras have a large amount of storage
depending on memory cards storage size. They can
take high quality photos and can clearly zoom in on
images to make the picture clear.
Studios are very equipped and use advanced
technologies such as light, monitors and screens which
help to produce high quality pictures.
Digital technology
Computer hardware is very advanced and many new
computers are equipped with the best software to help
with editing.
Memory cards can hold up to 512GB, all in different
sizes for the storage you require.
Software
The main piece of software that is used, is called
Photoshop. Photoshop is used to merge images
together and to edit the images so that they are left with
the picture that they want. The editing involves using
colours and cropping pictures to create your image.
Some examples of promotional software are electronic
billboards, that advertise different products.
Printing
Printing hardware is what we use to print out images
from computers. There are different sized printers
depending on the size of the mage you want to print
out.
Printing press is a printing process that is generally
used for large scale jobs, such as magazines.

6. Researching my preliminary exercise
The image has been placed in the center as it attracts
people to the magazine. The masthead is located at the
top of the magazine along with the slogan. The picture
slightly overlaps the masthead which is not always seen in
magazines, however some magazines do tend to place
the picture over the masthead. The magazine cover has a
colour scheme that continues throughout the whole cover,
in the masthead, the background and the text. The
coverlines are mainly located at the bottom of the cover,
and are all placed neatly together so that they are clear to
read and so that they don’t look out of place. The
magazine also has its issue date at the bottom, which
makes the reader aware of how recent the magazine is.

7. Researching my preliminary exercise
The masthead has been placed at the top of the magazine
cover, with the main cover image placed below it. The
picture and the masthead do not overlap as they are
completely separate to each other. The magazine cover
does not have a main cover line or a skyline and they also
have not included any puffs. The text that has been
included is all over the place in different fonts and colours.
The magazine does not have a main colour scheme as
multiple colours have been used.

8. Researching my preliminary exercise
They have used a similar colour
scheme for both the front cover
and contents page of the
magazine, this makes it seem
more effective because keeping
the colours the same make it
seem more professional. For the
front cover of the magazine they
have challenged conventions as
there is a lot of text being used
and there is not a main image for
the background, however they
have also followed conventions as
they have the title of the magazine
at the top of the cover. The
contents page follows conventions
as it has headings and sub
headings which make it clear and
easy to find different pieces of
information.

9. Which forms and conventions will be used in my magazine design and why?
-I will use a masthead at the top of my page and it will be above the image, possibly overlapping it.
-I will have a colour scheme for my magazine cover, mainly consisting of black, white purple and pink.
-I will have my main coverline over the top of the main image.
-The main image will be the background for the whole front cover of the magazine. The main image will
involve one of the schools students.
-I will also use puffs to make specific information more noticeable.
-I will also include the schools logo on the cover.
I have chosen these specific design elements for my magazine because I feel that they will all work well
together which will make the cover seem more professional also I have decided to have a main colour
scheme so that everything is consistent. The reason that I will use one of the schools students for my
covers main image is because I want to make the magazine as relatable as I can towards the students
who will read it. I will include the schools logo on the cover so that it is clear to whoever reads it that all
information is related to the school and that it clearly shows who the magazine is aimed at.

10. There are subheadings linked to every
page to tell you what articles they are
talking about on which page.
Researching my main task
The picture is a full shot of one of the
bands featured within the magazine so
that you can see there hole bodies.
The main heading for the contents page are
in different colours than the main text as it
shows that the text are about different
things.
There is also a small review on the page to fill
up space as it is not a main article. However
it gives opinions and information on a chosen
artist about either a new song, music video or
album that they have recently released.
They have stuck to a colour scheme of mainly
black, white and red as they are colours used
in the magazines logo also the have used this
colour scheme as it keeps it simple and they
are colours that work well together.
The text borders around the image making it
look neat and professional as everything is
organised on the page in a particular way.

11. Researching my main task
They are advertising the magazine to try and fill up
space and to catch your attention as it is located right
at the front of the magazine this is because it is in a
place where people are most likely to see it.
The headings and subheadings are in bold to
make them noticeable as they stand out more.
The heading gives information about the
image above it and there is also a little
paragraph relating to the image and heading
to explain what is happening.
The image shows a shot of the band
‘Kasabian’ who are mentioned in the heading
and paragraph below. It shows an image of
what happened to make the reader more
aware of what has gone on.
The colour scheme mainly consists of the
colours black, red and white as they are the
colours that are used within the logo, also
its because these colours mix well together
and make the magazine seem more
professional.
They have laid the information out about
different pages under subheadings so that the
reader can easily find out what page number
the article is on.

12. Researching my main task
There is a main image
covering a whole page of the
double page spread which
showcases an image of the
person that the article is based
on. The image shows a picture
of the persons full body so that
you can see them clearly.
The name of the artist in the
image is located on the same
page to make it clear who the
picture is of.
In the article the questions
from the interview are in a
different colour text so it is
clear what has been asked.
Also specific statements
made have been highlighted
yellow to show that they are
important comments.
There is a heading for the article
which highlights one of the main
statements that the artist has made
within the interview. This shows the
importance of the statement as it is
clearly shown in large text at the
top of the whole article.
There is a smaller box
image located within the
article which relates to
something that has been
talked about or is related
to the artist in the
interview.
The colour scheme
for the double page
spread is a mix of
white, pink, black and
yellow. This makes it
vibrant so it stands
out to the reader.
This magazine
follows conventions
as the main article is
on one page of the
double page spread
and the image is on
the other side of the
double page spread.

13. Researching my main task
The main colour scheme for this
double page spread consists of
red, white and black. They have
also incorporated the colour
scheme into the images as they
all have a black and white filter
applied to them. The red and
white text stand out on the black
background and make the article
more eye catching and attractive.
The main image involves a
medium shot of the lead singer
of the band which is being
spoken about in the article.
There are also smaller images of
the other band members and an
image of all of the band together.
All of the images have a black
and white filter applied to them
so that they match the colour
scheme.
The main heading is a quote that has
been taken from the interview. This
makes the article stand out more as it
gives a bit of insight to what they are
talking about. The heading is in different
colours to make it more eye catching
and it is so they can highlight certain
words within it.
There are some key facts about the
band highlighted within the article to
give the reader a bit more information
about who they are.
This magazine double spread
develops conventions as it still has
the basics of a main image on one
page and the article on the other.
However, there is more than one
image included within the article
which develops conventions.
Within the images included on
the double page spread there
are little blurbs of text
explaining who is in the picture
and what they are doing.