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How does ‘ ’ Magazine conform and/or challenge the conventions of magazine design?

Beat

The Front Cover!

Masthead

Cover lines

Lead Line

Banner

Vital Informatio

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Th

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Con

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Title

Feature Stories

Regulars

Editors note

Images

Masthead

Th

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Pag

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TitleStand

first

Lead

Image

Drop

CapPull quote

My magazine uses forms from current media, I have done this by including basic conventions such as:

The Masthead

Cover Lines

Lead Line

Cover Image(MediumClose Up)

These are all the features on the front page which are very similar to other magazines, I based my design on different magazines which I researched in order to plan a design for my own magazine. One of these magazines was ‘VIBE’ because the genre of music I wanted to base my magazine on, was very similar. I have also used similar colour schemes, and similar text throughout the magazine to retain ‘House Style’ which is often found in other magazines. On the front cover I used a lead line and a lead image that are related to each other as it is the main article within my magazine.Although, because my magazine is a new product, I have done some things differently and challenged the conventions, I have done this by using the colour Orange which is not very often found on magazines of this genre because it can be bright.

Front Cover ComparisonWhen looking for magazine design, I mainly used ideas from some of these front covers. As you can see I have mixed up many of the ideas to create my layout/design.

Here I have used the idea of a black and white photograph which connotes seriousness, because the lead line talks about having a challenge.

I used a very similar design for my cover lines as Rap Up’s because I thought they were fun and funky. It also helped me because I didn’t want my magazine to be too serious and boring.

My overall layout is very similar to this front cover because of the positioning on the main image and the cover lines. It also follows a strict colour scheme much like my magazine.


Title

Feature Stories

Regulars

Editors Note

These are all the features I believe are conventional to a magazine. I have kept the colour scheme of the magazine very well as it has maintained the house style, I have also used the same font as the front page and throughout the contents page. Although, for the editors not I have used a ‘Script’ font because this often seen in magazines because it wants to feel like the editor has handwritten their message.

I have also included the page numbers and a short introduction to the features, because these are exclusive therefore their importance needs to be emphasised. I have also placed the regulars on the other side of the contents page, but these have less emphasis because people who often buy the magazine know they are there anyway.

Contents Page ComparisonThe colour scheme, I believe

is very similar to the We Love Pop magazine because of the bright colours.

My title for my contents I believe is very similar to the contents title in rap up. This shows that I have used current magazine conventions.

When I was looking at ideas for a contents page, I have done the same as I did for my front cover and used many different design ideas from similar magazines to create a unique design.


Stand first

Pull Quote

Lead Image

Drop Cap

These are all the features on my Double Page Spread that I believe are conventional to magazines. I have tried to keep with my house style by using very similar colours. Although to add a bit of variety I use light blue for my columns to make the article stand out on the page. I have also put a border around the lead image to make it more fun and upbeat, which goes well with the rest of the magazine. I have also included a pull quote, which is very common in magazines and if the pull quote is interesting enough it will draw the audience in and they will want to read the entire article. At the beginning of the article I used a drop cap to put emphasis on the beginning of the article. To introduce the article, I used a standfirst which gives the reader a brief introduction into what the text is about, it also let’s the reader decide weather or not they wish to read the article/interview.

Although, I have also made my own features such as the ‘Did you know’ boxes because this will make the reader believe they know more about the person featured. Therefore it’s more personal.

Double Page Spread Comparison

Columns are very conventional within all magazines, therefore I decided to use them to create a more professional look to the DPS. The colour scheme and way the page is laid out is slightly similar to Rap up.

My double page spread was hard to design as not many of the magazines I analysed had design features which stood out for me.

Survey ResponsesI conducted a survey on

www.surveymonkey.com so that I could find out what people thought about my

magazine and what I could do to improve next time, overall I only managed to get 14 responses. Although, some of the responses we’re detailed enough so that enabled me to

understand what I need to improve.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/

Readership…The highest amount of people that reviewed my magazine were between the ages of 17 and 20. This is very similar to the readership I was aiming my magazine at.

50% of people are male and the other 50% are female. Although, this magazine is mainly aimed at females. I believe it is good that also Males have taken an interest.

Readership…

I also asked what other sort of magazines people read, according to my survey the most popular was the high end fashion magazine; Vogue at 44.4%. Which is good, because on my reader profile I said people who read my magazine are into fashion.

Magazine Evaluation…

I found out people thought my magazine was fun, bright, colourful, interesting and pretty. I believe this is a good response, because I wanted my magazine to be eye catching and if they believe it is colourful and fun, then it will be very eye catching and interesting to look at. No negative responses we’re given, so I don’t believe I need to change the general look of my magazine.


I also was interested to know what peoples favourite page of the magazine would be. The result shows that people thought my Double Page Spread was the best. Although, I thought my contents page was my best design. This therefore means next time I should try to improve the design of my contents.


To find out what people thought in more detail, I asked them to say what they liked about my magazine, and gave them a comment box to type their response. This has helped me to understand what the readership like about my magazine.

Some responses such as ‘I think the colour scheme is spot on’ tells me if I was going to do this again, I wouldn’t need to rethink the colours I used.


For some helpful criticism I asked for people to comment on what they dislike most about my magazine. Luckily I received some helpful, detailed feedback.

People have commented on the facial expression of my lead image on the front cover as being too serious. This means I could improve by having a model with a happier expression to keep in style of the rest of the magazine as it is meant to be upbeat.


As well as asking people what they dislike, I also ask them to comment what I could do to improve the overall look of my magazine so they would like it more. Again, I have gained some good advice. Such as; You could use more photos. I agreed with the comment as I believe my magazine lacks variety of photos.

Overall I think my magazine was successful, but I believe there are areas in which I could improve such as using more photos and taking more time on the overall layout of the magazine. I

could do this by taking more time on Photoshop, and concentrate less on the content and more on what people see. I would also take more time to research other magazines which

would be similar to mine. Again, I think I have kept the conventions of Professional

magazines by using different elements, and creating my own, new, unique magazine.

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