Xm magazine evaluation

XM MAGAZINE EVALUATIONBy Kieran Raza

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products used?

I created my Masthead, being 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.

I was also inspired by NME Magazine masthead. In the same way as Q, only simple initials are used so it can be printed large and boldly on the page.

XM Masthead

Q Masthead


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 about XM, is that it is focused on just the music. Therefore I listed simply just the bands that featured in a similar way to NME.The cover lines surround the cover image, and do not obscure the person’s face on the cover.

My main image shows Lewis on his own, to represent him as someone independent and to put all the readers focus onto him. This is similar to the main image of Florence Welch in the NME magazine. However, my photograph represents Lewis as someone that is light hearted and cheerful, whereas the photo of Florence shows her as someone that is serious and sophisticated.

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.


I have used aSimilar grid likePresentation 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 money by subscribing.

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 also included the Masthead on my contents page, as an identifier.


I included the masthead on the contents page, to act as an identifier. This challenges the convention that NME does not have the masthead.

The headline “Inside This Week” is used in my magazine, similarly to NME. However, NME has theirs aligned centrally while I have put mine going across. I felt this gave it a more bold appearance, and made it stand out even more.


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 readers focus on only them. I Implemented this in my DPS, to show Lewis as someone independent and to place the readers 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.

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.


In my survey, when asked what publication it reminded them off, a majority of them said “NME” Magazine. This is what I based the design on, and shows I am successful in designing it in a similar manner

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.


Using these lines, I created a frame for my contents page to be presented on.


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.


• 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.


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.


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.

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.

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.

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 +

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.

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 allot 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.

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.

What I’ve Learnt since preliminary taskI 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.

Xm magazine evaluation

Documents

nme conventions

nme magazine

media product use

cover image

q magazine

design of nme

contents page

magazine ina similar