My Music Magazine Conventions

My music magazine conventions

Holly Peacock

Front CoverMasthead

Headline

Anchorage

Feature article photoBanner

Selling line Graphic feature/flash

FlashKickers

Cover lines

Barcode

Date line

Menu strip

Graphic feature/plug

Plug

On the front cover of my magazine, I decided to use most of the typical and general conventions which most magazines use too. I believe that this is the basic requirement when creating a magazine in order for it to look professional and appealing to the eye of the audience. For example, on the headline I used a simple one of just the artists name. However, I extended the top of the ‘T’ making it look much more complex and appealing. It is useful to have a simple and bold headline in order to catch people’s attention. If it was a lot of writing it would mean reducing the size and it can lose its effectiveness to the audience. Moreover, another thing I did with the conventions is by inserting the most important part of the page – the main feature photo directly in the middle. I avoided putting any other images or text on it though to maintain the importance and once again get the audience’s attention. This is due to the fact that it is the most important thing on the page, therefore meaning it needs to be highlighted and initially the first thing people see when they look at the page. Furthermore, I included flashes and plugs as I feel that it is a great way to get attention as it gives a wider insight into what is included in the magazine and also it would be enticing to people to buy the magazine as people enjoy free things, especially to concerts for this general music genre. I included plain and simple kickers on the cover of my magazine so people can quickly glance at the information before reading this. It also prevented removing the importance of the main feature photo with excessive text. Despite this, I made the cover lines longer, giving a brief description of what the article inside would be about. People can decide if they are interested in actually purchasing the magazine due to the content listed on the cover. Additionally, I also added a large and plain masthead. This catches peoples eye and represents the brand of the magazine, so people would recognise it due to the reputation. I made this large, covering almost half of the page as it needed to catch people’s eye. I added a dateline and a barcode too, as I felt it made the magazine look much more professional and realistic. It was also informative to the audience, working as a guideline to what issue it was etc. Information was highlighted due to the different segments of importance such as the kickers/cover lines featuring the most important information after the main feature article on the left third. This is as using the rule of thirds, the most important information is always listed here, generally with magazines. Then, also the information of the selling line and also the menu strip. Overall, I feel that the conventions which I have used contribute greatly to the magazine and make it very appealing to the eye, making people interested. The image includes the artist looking expressionless to the camera drawing the audiences attention to the page. It also compliments the genre of the music magazine as the artist is following the theme of their clothing and general attitude to life, giving them an automatic connection.

Contents

Front cover copy

Signed editorial

Main feature (with inset picture)

Section header

Date line

Page numbers

Subscription box

Section headers

Numbered itemised list

Navigation panel

Border/diver

Flash

Masthead

For the contents of my magazine, I pretty much followed the same route as I did when creating my front cover, however, I used them in different ways for effect with placement and different meanings. I placed the masthead once again in the left corner which reinforced the idea of the brand of the magazine and its importance. There was also a subscription box placed on the bottom of the page to entice people to buy the magazine, giving them a one-time offer. This would get more reliable and returning customers. I used a list for my band index to give people a further and overall glance at what is included in the magazine too. This informs them of what they can expect to see included here. Furthermore, I added an editorial with a signature and photograph to give a description of what the issue includes. This can show people if they’re interested and what once again, they would expect to find in the issue. The editorial was used to make it look more professional and also informative. This meant that unnecessary information was avoided on the contents page. It also prevented white, dead space being on the page. The contents page is the busiest page as it is used as a navigator, so having white space would make it look bland and dull if I included too much of it. However, the white space around the text is used as a ‘boarder’, which can be used as a guideline when reading the page. A flash is yet again included to entice people and show them how much more they’re getting for their money. I thought it was suitable to add a main feature photograph right in the centre of the page as it indicated that this was the most important factor of the issue. It was also a change from text, making the magazine versatile so the readers didn’t have excessive amounts of text to read as they would soon lose their interest in it. The brief description of the main feature article includes a background insight of the artist and what the article is about. This can make them decide if they’re interested in reading this section or not. I believe that the most effective part of this page is the navigation panel on the right hand side which includes page numbers and what the part is about. Not only this, but it is all sectioned off with different section headers, so people can easily find the parts of the magazine they want and that most interests them.

Double page spreadDropped capital

White space

Background photo

Borders/divers

On my double page spread, I included various different kinds of conventions which I combined from different kinds of magazines such as NME, Q Magazine and Rolling Stone etc. The border/diver situated on the top of the page is used for appearance purposes making it look much more appealing with the design, but it also sections off this article from the rest. This page follows the general house style of my magazine with the colour scheme and the layout too. The image background colour compliments the image and the page overall as it makes it stand out over everything. Not only this, it is in context as it features a ‘poster style’ photograph of the subject. This is effective as it highlights the feature and the text too. When typing the article, I used a dropped capital, highlighted by red. This was as it made it stand out from the rest of the text, indicating where the text begins. The name of the artist is used as a heading for the page showing what the article is about and also has a teaser underneath which shows what the article is going to be about so people can read. Moreover, there is also a splash which promotes the artists upcoming album. This would appeal to the audience as it enhances the page with extra photographs and also makes the magazine much more professional looking. Quotes are highlighted and bolded to make them stand out. This is as it highlights the importance of the specific part of information, so people notice it as one of the first things on the page. The article follows the information, which is quite long. However, informal language and humour is used here to make it interesting. It also fits in with the typical style of this music genres audience, so they can relate to it and have a connection with the magazine. The image features the artist looking up, expressionless to the camera implying that the magazine is ‘cool and careless’. This reinforces the idea of the music genre it is included in and appeals to the audience. The artist is looking up and straight forward, which makes the audience focus on this specific point, drawing them in to read the article. The white space used on the 2nd page is used as a border to highlight the article and stands out from the rest of the page. It sections off different parts of information, making it effective. The white space compliments the use of the conventions of the page, making it all fit together and giving the page a break from being completely busy, so the audience can actually focus.