EvaluationAnastasija Kuznecova

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms

and conventions of real media products?

Front Cover

My music magazine follows most of the conventional codes that are formed by other magazines within the industry, meaning that I use features and techniques that are

standard for magazines to adopt. These conventional aspects of my magazine include the masthead(figure 1), which is positioned on top of the page, a barcode(2) in the bottom left hand corner, price and issue number(3) which are on top of the barcode, cover lines(4) on

both sides, and a central image of an artist (5).

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The masthead is the largest font on the page and is put on the top as people usually start reading from top of the page. This means that the title will be the first thing they will read. The magazines I analysed had a smaller masthead compared to mine, which was red and put in the left upper corner (Figure 1&2). I on the other hand had it across the top of the page because my title is longer and the font would had to be much smaller if I should have placed it in the corner (3).

Real music magazines have a title with only one solid colour, but I challenged this conventions and used both red and yellow. The writing is in two shades of red, while the arrows behind are only in one. I chose these colours because they are conventional for most music magazines, and because the arrows looked better with a yellow colour than black or white. The red colour was taken from the artist's lips and then I made it darker, while the yellow was from the flower crown. The cover lines were in this colours as well. The arrows behind the title is a standard shuffle button, which you will find if you go on music playlists, and that's why I used them. The masthead is placed behind the artist. That was to emphasise the artist and also because the audience will know what magazine it is even though a little bit of the writing is not showing. The magazines I analysed had this convention as well.

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I have placed my barcode in the bottom left hand corner (figure 3) because I wanted it to be the last thing a reader would see. This is a bit different compared to the magazines I analyzed. Both Q (1) and NME (2) had their barcode in the right hand corner, plus it was rotated. I didn't put it in the right corner since the barcode would have collided with the cover line.

The magazines had their price and issue number underneath the masthead (4&5), while I challenged these conventions and put it over the barcode (6). This was to make it appear more clearly.

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For the colour scheme I chose to use yellow, red, black, and white, which are conventional colours for music magazines. As previously mentioned, the red and yellow colour were taken from the main image and made darker. This was to avoid getting bright colours. I also used them in cover lines, except one word: America. I made it in a bigger font and used an American flag as background to make it stand out from the rest.

I made sure that the artist's name, 'Lacey', was bigger than the rest of the cover lines, so the attention would be on her. This is a conventional code which is both used in Figure 1 (Coldplay) and 2 (the Killers). The middle part in the main cover line, 'takes over', is put over 'America' to emphasize that Lacey is taking over the US.

Both of the magazines had a banner on top and along the bottom of the page. I chose not to have any because it didn't suit my front cover. My masthead, compared to Q and NME, was across the whole page and if I had a banner above it it wouldn't have looked good. The reason I didn't have a banner along the bottom was because my main cover line was quite far down, and if I moved it upper, it would have looked messy and not orderly.

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Figure 2:

I used a medium shot (figure 3), which is similar to the main picture in NME (2), only that I had one image instead of three. I also had a girl as a model as it appeals to a female audience, but also suits the male readers. The model fits the Male Gaze, which makes the women readers aspire to be like her and the male readers be attracted of her looks.

The model looks straight into the camera, as Brandon in the middle picture in figure 2 and all the members of Coldplay in figure 1. This is to make ''eye contact'' with the readers and draw them into the magazine. The images in all the three magazines were taken in the studio, which makes the front cover look more elegant.

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I made sure that my model had fixed her hair and put on make-up before the shoot. I also photoshopped the light and contrast, to make her skin and hair appear darker and more tanned. This made her appear more healthier. A lot of magazines, especially the ones which uses female models, photoshop their models so they appear slimmer. I did it as well by making her stomach a bit smaller, her neck a bit longer, moving the collarbones a bit down and making her face smaller. The photoshopped picture appeals more to the Male Gaze than the original image.

Original: Photoshopped:

Contents page

My contents page has all the common themes found in a music magazine: headline (figure 1), pictures (2), text with a brief synopsis or quotes which gives you a bit of information what the article will be about (3), and page numbers (4).

It also uses three of four of the colours on my front cover, which shows that I stick to the colour scheme. Instead of using yellow, I used blue to highlight important names or words (5). The reason I didn't stick with yellow was to create some variation and also because several of the pictures I used contained something blue.

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The layout for my contents page was inspired by NME (figure 2). I chose it since it contains more pictures, which I think attracts my audience more than lots of text (figure 1). It also allows the readers to see the most important articles, which will appeal to them if they like the artists.

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I divided the page in three columns in Indesign by using the ruler and adding guides. The middle part was bigger than the two on the sides, which were the same size.

This is similar to NME magazine (figure 2, last page). The reader pays more attention to the articles in the middle and it highlights that they are more important.

I also made sure that the pictures and text were on the same line on both of the sides since it makes the contents page seem organized and clear.

My headline was really similar to NME (figure 2) as I think it sounds more interesting and suits more to my audience than just writing 'contents' as in Q magazine (1). I decided to make it a bit funnier and write 'shuffle', which is both my magazine's name and can mean sliding along. My research showed me that my main audience are teenagers, so I assume they would get it.

The font is quite simple and easy to read. It is the biggest writing on the page and is put in bold, which makes it stand out. It is also put on top of the page, as it is the first thing a reader will see.

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Q magazine included their masthead twice in the contents page: in the left corner near the headline and in the second most noticeable title (figure 1). NME didn't include it at all. I chose to put it in the bottom left hand corner as it will be the last thing the readers see (2). It is not that noticeable, but it still shows that this is Shuffle's contents page.

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Q magazine had a long list with page numbers and text (figure 1), but my magazine and NME both emphasized our images. We still had a list, which NME called 'Plus (2)', while I decided to write 'Read more' (3). My box was in red to make it more noticeable and to have the repetition from my colour scheme. The text in the box was right-aligned, as it was on the right side of the page.

My audience research showed that many readers use social media, therefor I included a Facebook link, a Twitter and an Instagram username to the magazine's page (blue box). I also put their icons so the readers could understand which page and apps the link and username belong to. Neither of the magazines I analyzed showed any signs of social media on the contents page, which shows that I challenged this conventions.

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I used quite big images as I think my audience will be more attracted to them than the text. I used different shots and angles. The photographs were of different artists, both girls and boys. They were also taken in different locations: in the studio, outside and indoors. This is similar to NME (figure 2).

Most of the pictures suited their text. Example: the image of the girl with the ukulele, with the text “My first ukulele is still my favourite”. The photograph of the artist in the bottom left hand corner, with the text “From the streets to sold out gigs and festivals”, was taken in a street which also suits the text.

I included a picture from a concert, in the bottom right hand corner, since it shows live performance and attracts a lot of readers. All the pictures had a stroke because it enhances the transition between the images and the background.

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One of the conventional codes in music magazines is to have a quote underneath the main pictures, even though Q (figure 1) doesn't have it. This is to grab the reader's attention and tell a bit about the article and even what it will be about.

I had a quote underneath all the pictures except one where I had a competition instead. This is also to grab the reader's attention and make them interested in the article as almost everyone likes to win things.

Double page spread

My double page spread has all the common themes found in a music magazine: an image of the artist which spreads across almost a whole A4 page (figure 1), a headline that grabs reader's attention (2), an article or an interview which is put in columns (3),drop caps (4), and page numbers where I also put my masthead (5).

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My layout looks a lot like NME's double page (figure 2). We both have a negative space on the left page before the text, which I think makes the pages look sophisticated and elegant. The main image is on the right. NME has the image across the whole page, while I put mine in line with the text as I think it makes the pages look more organized. Having an image across the whole page is a conventional code for music magazines, which you can also see in Q (1). The double page I analyzed for Q seem to have a page, or more, before these two as the text doesn't start from the start.

The colours I used were black, white and blue, which shows that I followed the colour scheme from the contents page. In the beginning I also wanted to use red, but I changed my mind in the process as I think it would have been too many colours. The blue was taken from the artist's shirt, which was also similar to artist's eye colour.

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I divided each page in three columns in Indesign. The interview was put in three of them, while the headline and the lead paragraph were put in two. The reason I chose to put in in two columns was to give the text more space, and it also makes the page look more elegant. The lead paragraph in NME's double page was put in two columns as well (figure 2, previous page).

One of the conventional codes in music magazines is the using of drop caps, which attracts the audience and structures the text . Both Q (figure 1) and NME (2) did this, so I decided to put one in mine as well. My interview wasn't that long, so I only had one. This is similar to NME, but Q magazine had two as their text was longer and was probably about several topics.

All the three magazines used a simple font which makes the text look sophisticated and easy to read.

Q's double page doesn't seem to be the first pages in the article, and therefor we don't see the headline. NME's headline was across both of the pages (4). I couldn't do it as it then would have collided with my artist's face, and it would also look messy (5).

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As the magazines I analyzed, I put page numbers in the bottom corners. The numbers were small so they wouldn't take away any attention from the main article. Q magazine (figure 1) only had page number on the right side of the double page spread, while NME (2) and mine had in both. I also put my masthead next to it, which is similar to figure 1.

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The main image in the article (figure 3) was taken in the studio and it was a medium close up as the photograph in figure 1. I think the picture and the whole article looks more professional when the image is taken in the studio than outdoors.

Both figure 1 and figure 2 are in black & white, which makes them look sophisticated. My plan was to have a black & white photograph as well, but I changed my mind as it looked better in colours. The blue shirt emphasized his eyes and it suited the blue headline.

Lady Gaga is highly sexualised in figure 1, which is usual when photographing women, but not that often with male artists. Therefore I wanted him to look 'chill' and accessible to the target audience. The male readers could look up to him and maybe get inspiration for clothing style, while the female readers can imagine meeting boys like him in college.

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I photoshopped the light and the contrast in the picture to make his skin appear more tanned. That made him look more healthier, and the colours on his shirt also got brighter.

As previously mentioned, most magazines photoshop their models slimmer, which I did a bit by making his neck longer and his face smaller.

Original B&WPhotoshopped

I made sure that the article included quotes from the front cover (figure 1) and contents page (2). This is a conventional code for magazines as you can't pretend somebody said something they didn't.

My article was in a casual writing style because it is aimed at 16-24 years old who will not be interested to read a lot of formal text.

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