For my magazine I created an Indie/ pop magazine that relates to teenager girls mostly but men can also buy this magazine. The target audience for the magazine is ages 13 to 18.
Conventions
I found out that the conventions of an Indie/ pop magazine have many conventions in common. I related my magazine to magazines such as Q, NME and other magazines that have this genre because they have the same genre as my magazine. The conventions that a Indie/ pop magazine use are:
Front page:
· An ordered layout
· A main image in the middle, usually a celebrity
· Cover lines around the celebrity image relating to the genre
· Hot spots usually of the main image
· List of band names relating to the genre in the corner
· Dark colour scheme to relate to the genre
Contents page
· Ordered layout but containing lots of information
· Images of article celebrities
· Simple background
· Image of main article
· Message from the editor
· Image of front cover
Two page spread
· Multiple images of celebrity
· Other albums or artists you may like
· Simple colour scheme
· Different colour scheme to the front page and contents page
· Pull quotes and a stand first
· Name of the celebrity in the middle
Front page
For the cover of my magazine I made sure that I used a celebrity image. This is so it means that the audience will recognise them and therefore want to buy the magazine to find out what it is saying about the celebrity that they recognise. I made sure this image was in the middle of the magazine so that it could be the first thing of the magazine that the audience sees and therefore this is likely to make them want to buy this magazine. I then made sure that the cover line that related to this image was larger than all of the other cover lines and also in a different font that made sure that it stood out. I made sure this happened so that once the target audience had seen the image, they could see the cover line next to it and be able to relate this to the image to get an taste of what the article is going to be about and therefore this will make them want to buy the magazine even more. The next thing I done was make sure that all of my cover lines related to the magazine genre of indie/ pop but also making it slightly feminine due to the fact that my target audience is more female than male. For example, “MUSE – New Album Preview” This relates to the genre as MUSE is a popular indie band. However I added more personal articles to do with the actual life of an indie/ pop artist rather than their music. Other cover lines I used were “Katy Perry – I like to make a statement.” This tells the audience that they can learn about not only music and backgrounds but also fashion and more feminine topics which mean that the target audience are likely to read this. The next thing I added was a list of band names. This helps towards the target audience as it means that they can understand what kind of artists and bands are going to be in the magazine. I added this to the bottom of the front cover as this means that it is not the most important item of the cover but it is one of the last things that is seen in the route of the eye to make sure the target audience remember what kinds of people are going to be in the magazine which will therefore make them want to buy it. I then added a pug which has an offer for free posters of other artists and bands that can relate to the genre. I added this so that the audience would get slightly more excited because they get free posters and so I made sure this is at the end of the route of the eye. Therefore it is at the bottom of the page in the right hand corner. I made this the last part to give the audience something to look forward to when buying the magazine.
Contents page
For the contents page of my magazine, I added an image of the front cover. I done this so that the audience would be able to look onto the contents page and be able to find out where in the magazine their favourite articles would be. It also means that those who look onto the contents page will be able to see this image and be able to familiarise themselves with the actual magazine. I then added a message from the editor. I found that this was very conventional in music magazines. I added this message to make the audience more comfortable with the magazine as by writing this paragraph, it makes the audience feel like the editor is actually talking to them and therefore making it seem like the magazine is made just to suit every individual. I added this to the left on the red part of the page to make it stand out against the red background and therefore it is clearly visible, however, it is not as visible as those in the centre of the page and also the images. I then added clear headings for each section. I made this font similar to the fonts on the front to be able to allow the audience to familiarise themselves with the overall style of the magazine and therefore link this to the genre. I also added these headings to be able to make it a lot simpler for the readers and also to make them able to go to the section they want to read them the most. I then added images of the main articles, I done this because it can allow the readers to be able to familiarise themselves with the main articles. For example, if the reader saw the image of the celebrity on the cover, then saw a different image of the celebrity on the contents page, it allows the reader to remember why they were going to read the magazine in the first place, this means they will not lose interest. The other image I added to show that it is not only just about this one article but that the magazine contains a wide range of articles and so I added this image at the end of the route of the eye to be able to advertise other articles and therefore as it is at the end, it will be fresh in their mind after reading the main article. I added certain headings such as “Gigs and festivals” as this means that it can relate to the genre of the magazine as indie and pop bands are most likely to perform at these kinds of events. It also gives them hope of more information and even chances to get tickets. I added the heading of REVIVAL in the same font and colour as the cover as it therefore allows the readers to again familiarise themselves with the magazine title and so they are more likely to remember the magazine due to repetition and therefore they are more likely to buy the magazine again and again.
For my two page spread I added a stand first. I added this as it meant that the reader could have a small description of the article which means that it gives the readers a taste of what is going to be in the article to make sure that they know what they are reading. I added this at the top left corner so that it is the first thing, alongside the title that is seen whilst on the route of the eye and therefore this paragraph will draw the readers in. I then added a box to the bottom left hand corner of other artists and descriptions about them which therefore relates to this article. This box is example of what the reader will also like if they like the artist in the article and so this advertises other artists that are also in this magazine or will make the readers want to continue buying this magazine to read about the new artists. Due to the fact that this box is for newcomers, it means that if they buy this magazine then they are likely to know about newcomers before the other magazines and so this also advertises the magazine. I added this in the bottom left hand corner as it is seen after the article which means that once the reader has read the article they can then see the box full of newcomers that they will also like and therefore this will make them want to read on to find out about other artists they may like. I added pull quotes on the images and in between the article to draw the reader in to therefore want to read the article. This is because if they see the pull quotes that stick out from the article they can get an insight on what will be in the article and so this will force them to want to read it to learn more. I therefore added the pull quotes in a different colour to be able to stand out against the article of just black. I also added a pull quote in the image to be able to draw the reader in whilst looking at the image. I added a mature layout of strict columns in order to be able to add a more formal tone to the article which means that it is easier to read as it does not look confusing and also it means that readers are likely to read it if they see it as formal rather than cluttered and messy which also goes along with the indie genre as most articles are not cluttered but more organised. I then made sure that the colour scheme had darkness to it even though it is targeted at mostly females; I made sure the colour scheme had an indie theme to it and so I made it a dark blue, however I added the orange to make it more feminine. I added three images in the two page spread, two of which are similar to the front page. This is because I wanted the audience to see the cover, then go to the article and see similar images to be able to recognise the celebrity and therefore want to read the article as they remember them from the cover. I then added a different image in the middle to show that they are not just from one photo shoot and also to get a different side of him.
I chose to compare the cover of my magazine to the indie magazine Q. I chose this magazine as it is most like my magazine and has the same genre. Some similarities of the magazine are that they both use similar colour schemes such as red and black. This is because the dark colours link in with the genre of the magazine and therefore can relate to a similar target audience of indie readers. It also has a main image in the centre of the magazine and as you can see both images are wearing very dark colours and therefore can also relate to the genre of the magazine and can also go together with the colour scheme of the magazine. Another similarity is that the main article has a cover line that is larger than the other cover lines and therefore stands out more. This is used to be able to draw the readers in by being able to see the cover line of the main image before the others and therefore if they see the main image and then the cover line about one of their favourite artists they will want to buy the magazine to read this article. Some differences about the magazine covers are that I decided to use more cover lines. Another similarity between the two magazines is that they both went for a simplistic and more formal layout rather than cluttered. Therefore they both contain less cover lines and more images and larger text rather than more cover lines and less images. Another difference between the two magazines is that whereas my magazine has only two images, one large and one small, Q focuses on more images and fewer text whereas i used more text and only two images.
For my contents page of my magazine I compared it to Q magazine contents page. Some similarities between the two are that they both involve an image of one of the main articles. However this image is different to the one of the cover. Another similarity is that the article names and numbers have the same colour schemes as the cover which helps to show recognition of the magazine style and genre. They also have headings for each section of the page for example, features, reviews and regulars. Some differences of the two contents pages are that I added an image of the front cover in the contents page and this is also to show recognition. However Q magazine added a larger image of the main article band rather than adding lots of little images. Therefore they focused more on imagery rather than information and I added more information and cover lines rather than images.
For my two page spread I also compared my magazine to Q. Some similarities of the two magazines are that they both use images of the celebrity. These images are both very large. However Q have again focused more on imagery rather than information and dedicated a whole page just to one image. Rather than on my article, I added a few smaller images and therefore focused more on text. A similarity of the magazine two page spreads are that they both used a kicker to therefore get the readers interested in starting to read the article. Whereas the colour scheme of Q is the same throughout a lot of the magazine articles, for example red and black, I chose to add a different colour scheme for my two page spread, for example blue, orange and white. I made sure this was a different colour scheme to show a different side of the magazine and also simply to make a change. Rather than Q likes to add a regular scheme throughout the whole of the magazine. Another similarity of the magazine is that they both have a much organised layout rather than being cluttered. This is because it needs to be able to draw the right kind of readers in.
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