Main Task: Evaluation Question 1

I started a project in media to analyse an existing magazine in order to see how magazines present their magazines in order to attract their target audience. My music magazine presents the different forms and uses of conventions from present magazines in order to make my magazine more urban and look more realistic. The conventions I have used in my music magazine gives my magazine a more professional effect, one convention I have used to create my music magazine is a large eye catching masthead at the top of the magazine in order to gage the attention of my reader, as the masthead is bigger and more eye catching than the rest of the font, it stands out from the rest of my magazine. This convention shows a correlation between my magazine and a real magazine. I have created my own Masthead using the Text tool and also the stylize and wind tool, the stylize tool helped me to create the wind effect behind the “INDUSTRY” font. Using the wind tool makes my magazine different and also will attract more customers as it is original and different to other magazines. The font used was a sans serif font to make my music look more modern and also the use of wind in red will give it that unique look and also it correlates with the genre I have chosen to do (Hip-hop).
A selling line is another convention which I have used to make my magazine look more professional. This convention is used by well known magazines such as “Vibe, XXL” etc. as it is used to help sell the magazine and also attract audiences, also it explains points on what the magazine is about and acts as a way of promoting the magazine. As my magazine is a Hip-hop magazine, my selling line is used as a way to communicate with my audience and also attract them but it also ensure that it keeps the focus and the genre of my magazine. My selling line is “UK’s best selling Hip-Hop Magazine” this helps focus on the genre of my magazine and will attract my target audience.

Another convention I have used to help make my magazine more realistic is the use of a barcode, selling price and a dateline. As professional magazines normally have their
In order for me to be able to fully attract the attention of my proposed audience, I have to use engaging cover lines which are another form of convention that is usually used in a magazine. the use of cover lines gives an insight to the audience about what might be featured in my magazine, this convention also helps to attract audiences as they are short and snappy, colourful and very eye catching especially if there are primary colours used to create these cover lines. I have used the same fonts for most of my cover lines but have made them vary in size to give it more of an eye catching effect, however my main cover line is used in a different font which I downloaded from dafont.com, this is a different font as it is made to stand out from the cover lines because it is the feature of the magazine. As shown in most magazines, the cover lines are usually vertical and are normally placed on both sides of the magazine. In my magazine the cover lines were also spaced out so that one side of the magazine doesn’t look too busy and so that every cover line is clear and in an orderly form in order not to fall too much away from the image.



Another popular convention used in a music magazine is the use of a medium close up as the dominant image, in my magazine I have decided to also use a medium close up as it makes the image stand out more and gives it a more professional look. Also, the way in which the model is standing posing and the props used all help create a good effect as it appeals to the genre of my magazine and also I feel it is suited for my target audience.


My contents page has also followed the way conventions of real life magazines are actually used. To create my contents page, I have included a couple of images as images are a widely used convention in real magazines; this is a form of illustrating what other issues will be discussed in the magazine. In order to attract my target audience I included pictures that are eye catching but also revolve around my chosen genre. I have also added articles and issues that correlate to the front cover to give a sense of continuity; this will help keep the reader entertained and make them want to read more of my magazine.

I also included categories arranged vertically around the page to give a more structured feel to my magazine; I have also chosen to do this as it is a popular convention used in most music magazine as it makes it look neat and more organized. I have a main image of my artist in my contents page to give continuity in my magazine and I also have different images in different parts of the page but keeping my magazine structured makes it look more organised, I have done this to make my magazine more original and different from others.
To carry on the continuity in my music magazine, my double page spread uses and develops conventions as in real life. I used a simple colour scheme in correlation to my front cover but different from my contents page. I have used the orange from the clothing of the artist to create the overall look of my magazine and I have also used this for the font. I believe this continuity creates a modern and professional look. Also, I have arranged my article into two columns of questions and answers from the interview based on my artist “Solo” including a headline and stand first. I have made the masthead big and bold so that it stand out and it is eye catching, I have also added a drop capital to make the magazine more real and look more urban. The range in colours used makes the article stand out and I think that this appeals to my target audience and is attractive.