creative critical reflection

1. How does your product use or challenge
conventions and how does it represent social
groups or issues?

2. Front cover
The name of my magazine (ATTIRE) is very conventional
for a fashion magazine and it also reflects the sub genere
which is clothing and styling.so the name of the magazine
clearly depicts what the magazine comprises of.The mast
head is big ,bold and streaches from edge to edge. The
colour I chose for mast head is black as it gave a very bold
look and goes with the theme.

3. Like most of the front covers of fashion magazines,
my main image is the mid shot of my model. This
shot helps to portray the expressions in a better way.
In addition my main image is in the center of the
cover following the custom.
The mast head covers my models forehead, which is
yet again conventional for some fashion magazines.
In most of the magazines the model has a strong
eye contact with the camera, addressing the
audience but I challenged this convention as my
model is not facing the camera. I used this shot as it
looks more natural and different.

4. For most of the magazines Buttons are mostly
placed at the top left or right corner of the
magazine. They usually display a promotion
from the magazine's edition. The prizes
available are objects that are of interest of their
viewers, like makeup, clothes, sale offers,
posters,etc. , they further attract the attention
of the audience.
Another convention that I followed was
adding a pug to my cover. For my button I
used the hot pink color as it goes with my
colour scheme, furthermore so that the pug
gets the attention of the audience a. The
text on the pug tells about the article
featuring shops of multiple brands. This
gives inentive to My target audience who
is looking for styling makeovers, to buy my
magazine.

5. Cover lines are the lines of text that are located on
different points on the magazine, giving readers an
insight of the contents in the magazine so that the
audience picks up and looks inside the magazine.
Conventionally the font and color of the cover lines can
be same or different however similar fonts and color
schemes are usually prefered.
challenging the conventions I used four different fonts for my cover
lines. Engravers MT, cooper std, eras bold ITC and Perpetua titling
mt. because unlike most magazines, different fonts are used to
make the magazine look more interesting and gives us the liberty
to experiment with a different range of colors following a color
scheme to give a bit of emphasize on the cover lines. The font size
is smaller that the mast head following the conventions. Fashion
magazines use a colors scheme for the text in coordination with
the model and the background. I used only three colors for my
scheme, black, white and hot pink. This makes my cover looks
more sophisticated and it balances the over all image of the
magazine.

6. Almost all of the magazines have a barcode on
either right or left bottom. Following the
convention I placed the bar code on the bottom
right of the magazine to make my magazine look
more authentic.

7. Contents page
Just like in the contents page of most popular
magazines I have added the magazine’s name on
the very top. Then I added contents title along
with its issue date both with the different colors.
Which helps to differentiate between the title
and the isse date.

8. Conventionally there is One main image relating to
a feature article
The text on the contents page has the same, simple
color scheme as the front cover which is black with
hot pink.
Contents are written in the same conventional way,
with 2 or 3 words which could be the artist’s name
or a text with the article’s name. Furthermore there
are subline to give more specific detail about what
the articles are all about.
As in other magazines of similar genre I have also added
pictures of other fashion accessories in the bottom.

9. One of the conventions of a
contents page is dividing the
contents into categories and
headings used to identify each.
I challenged this conventions by
not dividing mine into categories.
According to me this gives my
magazine a much simple pattern
as it shows that everything in this
magazine is just about clothing
and styling which is the main
theme. This makes my magazine
more specific for my target
audience.

10. Double spread sheet
The double spread sheet I created is
very conventional as it comprises of an
interview of the model who is our
cover star.

11. Conventionally in a double spread sheet a
single image or multiple images could be used.
But the images should be large covering at
least 50 percent of the area. They can be
placed on various points all over the sheet,
there is no formal format for the arrangement
of these pictures.
Following the protocol I used two images for my
double spread sheet. Both pictures are of the same
model, who’s interview has been featured. In the first
picture the model is facing the camera making a
direct eye contact with the audience while the other
is a candid keeping it natural. I made sure that both
images I used are large enough and cover a
maximum area.

12. Following the convention a quote from the interview
is presented as the headline, which is placed by the
picture and is used in the text.
The drop capital is used at the start of the interview
so the reader knows where to start from.
I included the introductory paragraph about the
celebrity( stand first) . As Some readers may not be
familiar with the celebrity in the image, therefore
introducing them would save some readers not
knowing who they were reading about.
I arranged the text is into columns, usually 2-4
columns are made. This makes my text appear tidy
and organized.
My double page spread also includes by-lines, which
are put under the images to give credit to the
photographer and writer.

13. Social groups represented
My magazine represents the social groups as young women and teenage girls who
are one way or another associated with fashion. As you can see the cover lines and
main content revolves around issues in the fashion world such as what to wear and
styling solutions for every seasons. In addition it also tries to resolves the issue of
whom to follow as the “ultimate Fashion Figure" all these represent the fashion world
in a positive way, as it shows that fashion helps you groom your personality by
making the right choices about your clothes. It shows and what you wear is really
important as it makes up your impression.
Another social group being represented is the elite class as only they can afford the
liberties to enjoy such luxuries. Most of the brands mentioned in the magazine are
quite expensive and are out of the reach of the lower and most of the middle class.
The representation of upper class is strongly portrayed by my main
image because the magazine is completely based on western attire and not the
traditional attire of Pakistan which is only popular in upper class.
My model also represents a young adult who is in her early 20's and this shows that
the magazine is for young adults or teenage girls.
Some how my magazine also represents that minority who is interested in western
attire as in Pakistan the eastern attire is more popular but the western attire is
gradually gaining recognition due to the western media and other sources like the
magazine I just created.