EVALUATION Q1: 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge and conventions of real media products?

At the start of the coursework I analysed a well known music magazine called’ XXL’, as I was planning to do a R&B/Hip hop magazine it was important to analyse a similar genre magazine to identify what it is that makes the magazine that type of genre. I explored the conventions of a music magazine and how they were typically presented. In my analysis I pointed out the denotations and connotations of the cover and what they could represent. In my magazine cover I have used many similar conventions to attract my audience so it could be identified as a typical music magazine.

For my main image I featured an image of a young girl as an out-breaking R&B/Hip Hop artist posing with attitude and confidence. The image is a medium close-up in the central of a black background to create a sense of her being the main person that the audience should concentrate on and take more notice of. By placing her in a dark background it signifies that other artist should be aware of them such as the XXL magazine I analysed of Eminem where he is also placed in a dark background in a spotlight. This is a common convention because magazines such as XXL and Vibe centralize the artist in their magazine and to also promote them because they bring something new to the scene. As a competitive genre you want to show the artist on the front cover off, therefore this is a typical convention I have used in my music magazine.

I have used a large, bold masthead in the top middle of my front cover which takes up from the left to the right. By placing the masthead the way I did makes it visible to attract the audience by being the lead to the magazine. I could say I challenged this convention because a common convention for masthead would be on the top left side of the front cover. However my magazine could still be recognise from the boldness by the audience which reflects the personality my magazine obtain. My masthead is simple in capital block, sans-serif letters and in pure white that is similar to the vibe magazine masthead which has that powerful sense to it not being too overpowering.

Furthermore I have used cover lines around the main image on the front cover as a typical convention in magazines. My cover lines consist of different sizes, fonts and colours to represent the different subjects and articles the audience could expect from the magazine. I didn’t want the cover-lines to empower the image therefore they placed around the image. Cover lines are common in all types and different magazines to promote and show what it consists of.


I have also used a puff on the top right of my front cover in a bright colour with a big ‘WIN!’ so it can draw the audiences attention to the competition or prize which they may be interested in participating. Puffs are a common convention in magazines as it attracts the reader to purchase the magazine more and the thought of winning a lavishing prize they can’t turn away. This may make the audience feel as if the opportunity comes once in a while therefore they would want to buy the magazine quickly.

My barcode is placed on the bottom right in the front page which is conventional in real magazines. I have also put the website to my magazine on the side of it which is optional as I would like to have more interactions with the audience of my magazine. This will make the audience feel a part of a social group.

In my contents page I have followed the conventions by writing out the contents vertically, I did this because it is simple and easy to find and read what you’re looking for. I did not want anything too complicated as this was only the contents page where the audience will come to look at to search for the page they are interested in. I included all the contents number and cover-lines from the front page because it could have been something from the front page that caught their attention. I also tried to colour co-ordinate it with the front page so it looks like it belongs in the magazine, I used shades of blue, yellow, grey and black. Blue and yellow stands out from grey and black therefore I wanted it to have that vibrant, bold effect to reflect what my magazine is about.

For my double page spread I used 1/3 of the page for the article and 2/3 for the image. For the main image of the double page spread I used two image of my ‘upcoming artist’ seen on the front cover in a sassy, confident pose and on the right on the spread I did a little interview with her. I could say that most parts of my magazine follows many of the convention of real magazines because I want it to look like a music magazine and to be able to sell and market it and therefore the appearance of the magazine is something we should take extra consideration on as it reflects on what it is about.