Kieran Raza evaluated their media product XM Magazine. They were inspired by the mastheads of Q and NME magazines. They used conventions from NME such as skylines on covers, banner boxes on covers, and presenting cover lines in a simple bold font. Images were presented similarly to NME with the main image on the right page and article on the left. Headlines were styled like NME in a bold sans serif font. Interviews were structured like NME's with questions in red and answers in black. The contents page and double page spread were also inspired by NME's conventions. Kieran learned Photoshop skills like using lines and frames, changing text colors, and selecting text

1. XM MAGAZINE
EVALUATION
By Kieran Raza

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products used?
XM
Masthead
I was also inspired by NME
Magazine masthead. In the
same way as Q, only
simple initials are used so it
Q Masthead can be printed large and
I created my Masthead, being boldly on the page.
inspired by the masthead for
Q magazine. I felt the bold
white font against a red
background, made it eye
catching and standout. I liked
the simple straightforward
title that meant I could make
it big and bold on the page.

3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products used?
I’ve used a skyline over the top of the
magazine, for the cover line “50 Best albums
of 2012” This convention is also used by
NME to highlight it is a “special edition cover”
Challenging the NME conventions, I used a
banner and a flash box in my front cover.
Another way my magazine has adopted a
similar convention to NME, is the way the
cover lines are presented. I used a simple
bold font with capital letters, to represent
the stripped back style of the magazine in
a similar way to NME. The ethos ofXM, is
My main image shows Lewis on his own, to represent him as that it is focused on just the music.
someone independent and to put all the readers focus onto Therefore I listed simply just the bands that
him. This is similar to the main image of Florence Welch in the featured in a similar way to NME.
NME magazine. However, my photograph represents Lewis as The cover lines surround the cover
someone that is light hearted and cheerful, whereas the photo image, and do not obscure the person’s
of Florence shows her as someone that is serious and face on the cover.
sophisticated.

4. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products used?
Bold headline
“Inside This Week” for contents
page. However, I decided to put a
different angle on it to change it.
I displayed the page
numbers in the
corner of the image
for each article, in the
same way as NME
I have used a
Similar grid like
Presentation to
NME magazine, in which
the headlines or pull
quotes from articles are
presented under articles.
I included a box encouraging
readers to subscribe giving
them the next issue
free, similarly to how NME
advertises how you can save I also included the Masthead on
money by subscribing.
my contents page, as an identifier.

5. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products used?
My double page spread, is also inspired by the design of
NME. Here the main image is on the right of the page
and the article on the left. This represents the artist as
someone independent and puts the reader’s focus on
only them. I Implemented this in my DPS, to show Lewis
as someone independent and to place the reader’s focus
more on him.
The headline on the DPS of NME is written in a bold
Sans Serif font, to stand out and make it appear more
simple. I have used this convention in my own
DPS, however the headline is a pull quote from the
interview rather than a title. This is to give a sense of
Lewis’s personality from the start.
Similarly to NME, my magazine has the main image of
Lewis facing the page of the article. This draws the
readers attention to look at the interview
NME magazine uses a drop cap, in order to
give a bold start to the article that stands out.
Similarly, I have incorporated a drop cap in my
DPS.
My article is structured showing the interviewers
questions and Lewis’s answers separately. The
questions are written in red, and the answers in black.
However, this is a different convention to NME but I have
done it like this to give a sense of a conversation in the
interview.
The body copy of the DPS, is organized into columns
in order to make it easier to read. This convention is
frequently used in many magazines, as it makes the
text appear simple and it is easier to read the article.

6. What did you learn from technologies from the process of constructing
this product?
For my contents page,
I learned about the use of
the line tool for
creating the grid like
structure for my
contents page
on photo shop.

7. What did you learn from technologies
from the process of constructing this
product?
Using these lines, I created a frame
for my contents page to be
presented on.

8. What did you learn from technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
Using the fill tool, I was able
to change the colour of the
headlines on my contents
page. I used the eye dropper
in order to make it the same
shade as on my masthead.

9. What did you learn from technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
• In order to create the headlines on my music magazine, I
had to use the website dafont.com
First I selected the font I
wanted to use, and typed in
whatever the headline was.

10. What did you learn from technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
I then copy and pasted
the screenshot into
Photoshop, and
selected the text in a
box. Then, I clicked
select inverse under
the select tab.

11. What did you learn from technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
To get rid of the white
background, I clicked “select
colour range” and selected
the white area. Then I
pressed delete and I was left
with the headline I would
use on my front cover.

12. surveys
• In order to get audience feedback, I used the website
Surveymonkey.com.
• I created surveys for my DPS, Front Cover and Contents
and shared these using Facebook.
• Links:DPS- http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FCZHDL6
• Contents- http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/75HWZLJ
• Cover- http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3LYZRM9
• Audience Research-
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/F3LN3BL

13. Media Institution
• The media institution I think that would
be most likely to distribute XM
magazine, would most likely be IPC
Media. They deal with over 60 iconic
media brands across multiple platforms;
however I think it would be most suited
because it is the institution that
distributes NME magazine. Also, my
survey results indicated that many
people I asked do not buy music
magazines and therefore if the articles
were posted to the internet, the
readership may be greater and better
suited to my target audience.
Another institution that could
distribute XM magazine, is Bauer
Media. This is because they deal
with more music magazines than
IPC such as Kerrang, Q and Mojo
magazine. These magazines have a
similar ethos to that of XM of giving
their views on just the music without
influence of any other factors such
as appearance or popularity.

14. Who would be the audience?
• My main target audience for the magazine, is those ages
16-25, with a roughly even ratio of Men to Women.
My audience feedback
survey, indicates that a majority of
those think the audience would be
aged 17-25. The percentages for
audiences ages 26+ is
considerably lower, with only 1
person saying that they think the
audience would be aged 30 +

15. Who Would Be the Audience?
• Before creating my magazine, I created a reader profile
for the sort of reader I would think would buy the
magazine. 65% of the people that did my survey said
that they mostly listen to Rock and Indie music. I think
they would be likely to buy XM magazine, as it contains
many articles on in independent and lesser known artists
that they would be more likely to listen to. Also, 41% go
to gigs 2-5 times a year. XM contains information on
upcoming tours and festivals that their favourite artists
are playing a, and therefore will want to buy the
magazine to have all that information in one place.
The readers of XM will most likely be those that want to
be one step ahead when it comes to music, and be
onto the next big thing. They will constantly check up on
the latest bands and releases, to catch on the it before
it becomes big.

16. How did you attract/address your audience?
• As the magazine deals with just the music and nothing else, I designed XM to
have a stripped back and basic feel to it. I used simple sans serif fonts that
stand out on the page, but aren’t too complex or extravagant. The audience
will be more attracted to this style, because they are reading the magazine to
find out news about bands and artists and may not be interested if it is over
stylised or has a lot going on with it.
• Many of my images were taken at various gigs I have attended. The focus on
live music appeals to the audience, as they will want to read about recent
gigs from their favourite bands and singers. The appeal of reading about
artist’s gigs is that they will get to know more about them in a live setting so
they can decide if they want to go to their shows.
• In my survey, I asked what people thought a reasonable cost would be for the
magazine. 80% said they would pay £1- £3, therefore I decided to make the
price £2.50. This is the same price as in NME magazine, and suitably fits in
the price range that is ideal for my target audience.

17. How does your magazine represent social
groups?
This is the mood board I made
for my CD cover pre production piece, that was
made for a similar genre of music XM might focus
on. I have tried to incorporate some of these
elements into XM Magazine.
For example, I thought the audience would enjoy
attending live gigs. So I included imagery and
articles about gigs and concerts.
The styling of Lewis in my main image and cover
image, also correlates with the social group XM
would appeal to. In the photos he is wearing a
simple hoodie and tee shirt, casual cloths that the
readers might wear out or to gigs.

18. What I’ve Learnt since preliminary task
I have made many improvements since my pre
production task of my college magazine. Comparing
the two projects, it is evident there is a better sense
of placement of elements on the page. The design
looks neater and more professional. I’ve also made a
better use of imagery and have a better range of
photos that are much higher quality. I also think I
have more of a sense of relating to what the reader
would appreciate in my music magazine, than I do in
my College magazine.