Question 1

Olivia

FRONT COVERConventions

MastheadIn my magazine cover I have used a masthead on the top left corner. This is use of a convention of real media products because every magazine uses a masthead. The reason for this is for readers to recognise the brand and makes it easy to find on a shelf along with other brands. Since my magazine is new, I need to make my brand well known so a good way to do this is having a masthead that stands out, which is what I've done. It fits in with the rap identity because it’s gender neutral and fairly plain, but bold.

MastheadA way I challenged the conventions was by keeping my whole masthead in sight. A lot of well-known magazines usually put their main shot over the masthead, but because it is my first issue I made sure the full masthead can be seen so I can establish my brand. This helped my magazine because it allows the reader to see the full image/person in order for them to get an idea of what my magazine is like and what it represents (rap).

SloganThe purpose of a slogan is to capture the attention of the audience it is trying to reach. It is often written to be memorable/catchy in order for a consumer to associate the slogan with the product it is representing. My slogan is used to make the purpose of the magazine clear to the reader. “The UK’s freshest hip hop magazine” states that it’s a UK based magazine, it brings all the newest news, its genre is hip hop and it’s a magazine.

Main ShotI have used a main shot which is also a common convention. This is used so the reader knows what the main feature is, and also sets the mood/genre of the issue because the person’s facial expression and posture can tell the reader a lot about them. In my main shot we can see that the model has a straight face (often called the poker face) which rappers use in order to make themselves taken more seriously. The clothes she wears also represent the “unpresentable” image rappers are sometimes given. The baggy trackies and checked shirt show that she is individual.

ColoursI used 3 main colours in my cover – red, black and grey, which is another common convention used to create a style for the issue. For example, my colour scheme presents quite an urban theme. I used a variety of fonts throughout my front cover which is another common convention of a magazine. This is used to make it interesting for the reader to look at and allows certain sections such as the cover line to stand out with bigger or bolder fonts. The colours represent rap because upon doing research I found that a lot of rappers use these colours in album covers. For example, Kanye Wests “Yeezus” album.

Cover lineThe main cover line on my cover meets the common conventions of a magazine because it the boldest piece of text on the page (other than the masthead) and it also sits on top of a banner which makes it clear for the reader to see what this issue of the magazine is mainly about. My cover line is representative of rap because it stands out and the bold/modern fonts suggest a “careless” attitude of the artist.

Date, Issue number and PriceI put the date, issue number and price on my magazine which follows the common conventions of a magazine, which allows the reader to know how recent the magazine is and the price is an indication of the magazine quality because the more expensive it is, the better quality it’s likely to be. I placed the barcode, price and date in the very right corner of my magazine because this is what most magazines do and it doesn’t distract the attention away from the features and other information I want the reader to look at.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADConventions

ColumnsI used common conventions in my double page spread because I used 3 columns. This is usually seen in professional magazines because it makes the page look organised and it’s easy to see what direction to read in.

Double PageOverall, it didn’t challenge any conventions. It has page numbers and the logo in the bottom corner of the pages, a large photo of the artist on one page and 3 columns of text on the other, with a large title and subtitle at the top.