Where did the ideas for my magazine come from?

Before creating the three aspects of my magazine, I researched existing music magazines and the cover, contents and double page spreads of them. The ideas for my magazine came from the existing music magazines I had researched and reviewed. I pointed out the positives and negatives and then decided which aspects of the magazines I would use as inspiration for my magazine and which aspects I would try and avoid when creating my magazine. I then created a questionnaire for my fellow peers to fill out on the existing music magazines I reviewed. I then used the answers/feedback to decide what sort of look my magazine will have. Looking at different magazines helped me in terms deciding whether my magazine will use standard conventions or not. I then decided my magazine will use standard conventions in some places as well as it having original ideas applied. My magazine will then have a unique interesting look of its own.

How did I incorporate or disregard conventions?

For my front cover I decided I would mix standard conventions with original ideas. I took inspiration from Vibe magazine and incorporated it in my magazine. Vibe magazine has the artist at the centre of the page as they are the main focus. The sub articles flow down the sides of the artist on Vibe's cover, this was one of the conventions which I used in my front cover. I done this so customer's do not get confused when looking for information on the front cover. Vibe also has articles above the artists head. This was one of the standard conventions I disregarded as I felt it looked unprofessional and messy. I kept my sub articles down the sides as I felt it looked more suitable and appropriate. Most magazine covers I researched had a maximum of three fonts on the front cover. I used five different fonts on my cover even though they are similar in looks. I disregarded this standard convention as I felt the five fonts I used were suitable and looked effective to customer's. For my contents page I used standard conventions and I took slight inspiration from the Vibe contents page. I had my artist feature on my contents page as she is the main focus of the magazine. Vibe contents page also had an artist feature on it. The layout of Vibe's contents I disregarded as it looked unprofessional and cramped in the space it was in. I instead used standard conventions for my contents page as it would be easier for customer's to identify the information they are looking for and will not confuse them. I also used standard conventions for my double page spread. After reviewing existing double page spreads, I decided that using standard conventions would make my magazine look more effective and appealing to the customer's; as the customer's themselves will be able to identify the information they are looking for more quickly without no confusion. So I had a picture of my artist on one page and the interview we done on the other page. This was the standard convention for a double page spread.

How successful was the final outcome?

I think the final outcome of my magazine excelled my expectations and looked very attractive and appealing to customer's. The cover, contents and double page spread all looked professional to customer's. After creating my music magazine I feel that my design skills and techniques have improved drastically from my preliminary tasks. I also have feedback of my music magazine from various people, the feedback is based on the overall look of my music magazine.

Raese said “ Your music magazine looks very professional and appealing, I would definitely be interested in buying the magazine if I saw it in a shop shelf “

Abdul said “ Your magazine is well laid out on the page, I like the colour scheme of your magazine which looks effective throughout the cover, contents and double page spread. Very attractive!.

”Elise said “ The overall quality of your magazine is of a very high standard. I like the colours you have used as they compliment each other. The only negative aspect of your magazine is the number of fonts you have used on the cover page. The number of different fonts should be a maximum of three”.