6 b magazine conventions

Identify, analyse and

evaluate:Conventions,

Design and Audience

1) Find a music magazine cover and, using Powerpoint, insert arrow shapes to point at anything on the cover that is:

a) A typical thing that you see in magazines (but without labelling the same sort of feature twice!)

b) A particularly good way of attracting your interest

2) Consider in pairs what each of your labels does. What is their purpose? Why are they there?

• Now take a look at the next slide. Using ‘insert-textbox’ see if you can add labels that match up to those on the next slide…

• Here’s a test…• See if you can identify the same

conventions on the next slide.• Once done, try to explain in pairs

what the purpose is of each of these conventions.

Masthead

Caption

Secondary Leads

Flash

Graphic Feature

Selling Line

Banner/PlugFeature

Article Photo

Kickers

Cover Lines inc. pull-quote

Headline

Anchorage

Plug

Menu Strip

Bar Code

Date Line with web address

1 .The main featured image takes up the whole page and covers the kerrang! Logo a little bit this works and help it sell because it make the image seem more important than the magazine its self.2 .All of the colours are based around white red and black and theses colours are the best combo of contrasting colours that you can get making the who cover stand out. 3 .Also because of there being a colours scheme of those 3 colours the little bits of yellow stand out even more and this show the free things or added bonuses in that issue4 .The font are basic font but sometimes in italics the main headline is in white surrounded by a white text boxed in red which allows the plain texted font to stand out and give lots of impact, because the fonts are quite plain they are made to stand out by the colour of the text and the background that they are on. The main mast head is giving a feeling of the type of features my might be displayed within the magazine, the thing that makes it seem like that are the jagged font making it look rough and the lines though it make the jagged text look cracked and it makes it seem like the magazine will display from genres between rock and metal

• Now download resource 6B (students copy) and try to find some more music magazine covers that look very different from your first one. Working in a group, share (and compare) what you find out about which technical terms are being used on these pages. Try to answer:• Which conventions are most common?• What page design styles are used (compare them)?• What are the strong / weak points? • What have you learned about magazine conventions?

• Take note of any skill you would like to use to improve your pages next time.

• Using your chosen page, try to identify the house style and take notes.– Do any colours predominate?– Which fonts are most commonly used and what

are they used for?– What has been done to display the photography

and why?– Looking at the way the different features are

displayed using colours, graphics, fonts etc., how are they separated into categories in terms of importance or function?

– What has been done to the text and images to keep the design style consistent?

Copy your chosen page onto a new slide and split it up into the grid system as shown on the next slide.

Compare your page within a group of 3-4

• What trends do you observe?• Are there any pages that are markedly

different in their layout?• Is there any ‘dead space’?• Why are the separate features placed where

they are? Could some features have been moved elsewhere?

• What are the most important influences in determining where everything else goes?

The main featured image the person is looking directly at you, and his expression is that he is having fun so this suggest that in the magazine there will be some stories that are going to be humorous and, some that are going to be fun to read.The top middle third is used to interfere with the masthead and it follows on a little to the left and right thirds. The kickers are on the right instead of the left like kerrang! usually have I think this is because the headline looks better with the image facing the way it is and there is a gap on the right middle third left for kickers.

• What type of world is the magazine inviting you into? What does it suggest about the lifestyle that its reader desires? On a separate slide, take notes of any of the following:– Looking at the feature article photo, do the subjects look

directly at you (this is called direct mode of address)? What sort of character do they have? What sort of relationship might they share with the potential reader?

– Is there a common type of language used (colloquial, humorous, chatty etc.)? Does this work with the images?

– Are there any ‘enigmas’ (something intriguing that is not fully explained) in the text or images?

– Do any of phrases tell you more about the relationship with the reader? Does it rely on the fame of the bands or use rhetoric e.g. What next for _____?

• Having looked at these, take a look at the following student magazine covers and decide in groups:– How you would rank them 1-8 (1 being the

best).– How many marks out of 10 you would give

them for: Use of conventions. Design (use of space, grid system, fonts, colours,

size of elements, overall blend and authenticity). Audience attraction, target audience and

function.

• Which order?• Marks for

conventions, design & audience attraction?

• Why did you make these decisions?

• What were the critical factors?

• Crash• Faction• Amp• Glitz and Glam• Unplugged• Northern Soul• Xisco• REM

Nominate a student to answer the following questions. Each question must be asked three times and the same answer cannot be given twice. Those who answer the last question can nominate the next student.

Name three magazine conventions (x3) Give a design tip (x3) Give one way that magazines

communicate with their audience (x3)