Magazines typically
follow conventions in order to ensure a successful magazine; these conventions
consist of a masthead, a dominant and sticking cover image and an attractive
colour scheme that consist of no more than 3 colours; all of which create the
format of the magazine. Additionally, typical magazines include a memorable
sell line, which is the function of the magazine, and cover lines, which construct
the formula.
I chose to
follow the main conventions throughout my magazine in order to attract my
audience as the conventions would create familiarity.
Masthead
The
masthead of a magazine is located in the top few inches of the cover; this
allows it to be easily seen when on a crowded news-stand. I chose to use a bold
black masthead as this would allow the masthead to remain identical throughout
every issue therefore making my magazine easily recognisable to readers (see
figure 1).
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| Figure 1 - Resonance Masthead |
I chose to use a sans serif front for my masthead as this
made the title bolder, additionally sans serif fonts create a modern feel that
was necessary for my magazine genre as I focused on following modern trends. By
choosing a black, sans serif masthead I created a bold and recognizable brand
for my magazine that would attract my target audience of 16 to 21 year olds.
At first my masthead
was very different. Originally, the name of my magazine was ‘Fix’, however I
changed this to ‘Resonance’ (meaning “a quality of richness or variety” and “the quality of a sound
that stays loud, clear, and deep for a long time”; therefore, portraying the
genre of my magazine) as when asking my target audience, I found that
they felt that the word ‘Fix’ connoted drugs and therefore appeared to suggest
an indie genre. Additionally, the word ‘Fix’ did not fill the cover (see figure
2) and so I chose a longer word that was more aesthetically pleasing.
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| Figure 2 - Original Masthead |
Cover Image
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| Figure 3 - Original Cover Image |
The cover image is an important feature of the magazine as
it is the first thing that the audience sees, therefore it gives the first indication
of the format of the magazine. Consequently, the image must be striking and
attractive to the audience to grasp their attention in a short space of time.
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| Figure 4 - Edited Cover Image |
A typically
convention of music magazines is to use eye contact on the cover image, I chose
to stick with this convention. Eye contact from the featured artist evokes an
attachment with the audience, as a result the audience are more likely to
purchase the magazine. In addition, it was important for me to include an image
that had eye contact (see figure 3) because my issue focused on one artist with
the main feature article being an interview. Because of this my image is
successful as it connotes a feeling of vulnerability and truthfulness that the
audience would expect from the interview.
In
order to make my magazine image striking I used the colour red on the models
lips and nails. The colour red is a bright colour and so would attract
attention, additionally, red connotes love and allure and so signifies to my
audience that this artist is love and popular within the music industry. When
editing my image, I chose to enhance the colour red (see figure 4) to create an
interesting and striking image.
Colour Scheme
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| Figure 5 - an example of a '3' colour scheme used in a music magazine. |
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| Figure 6 - Final Contents Page |
Because of the use
of red in my cover image I chose to use red throughout my colour scheme, by
using the same colour as seen on the model I created continuity and allowed me
to establish my houses style clearly for the audience. A convention of
magazines is to use 3 colours as to not over crowed the page (an example of
this is seen in figure 5). Because my target audience of aspirers wanted a
minimalistic cover (due to their orientation around the attractive appearance of products) I chose to include this convention in my music magazine
therefore, I only used red, black and white on my cover and throughout my
magazine. Because the colour red was the boldest colour, I used it to draw the readers’
attention to certain articles and information. For example, in my double page
spread (figure 6) I chose to make the article title and the pull quite red in order
to create a more interesting layout and draw attention to these two features.
Sell Line
A sell line, or selling line, is a short description of the
main marketing point or philosophy of the magazine. The sell line gives the
audience an indication into the function of the magazine and can be used to attract
the reader. I chose the sell line “Intune with the music of today” as it indicted
the purpose of my magazine, which is to feature the changing trends of music.
By using “music of today” I ensured that my sell line could be used throughout
every issue as it didn’t specify one genre; this was important for my magazine
as it showed popular music of the time, therefore allowing the genre of my
magazine to change along with popular culture.
Cover lines
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| Figure 7 - An example of cover lines used in a music magazine. |
The cover of a
magazine features cover lines, inform the audience of the formula of the
magazine.
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| Figure 8 - My magazine cover |
Typically, a music magazine has a lot of cover lines on the
cover (see figure 7) as this allows them to inform the reader and therefore attract
the reader’s attention resulting in the purchase of their magazine.
I
chose not to include a lot of cover lines in my magazine as my target audience
wanted a minimalist cover. Therefore, I chose to challenge conventions and have
less cover lines. In order to make my cover attractive I chose to replace
multiple cover lines with a large main cover line (seen in figure 8) which
clearly indicated the main focus of the issue. I feel that by doing so I made
my cover simple and effective in quickly informing my target audience of the
contents of the magazine.
Conclusion
Overall, I feel that my magazine is successful. By following
conventions, such as using a sell line and including a striking image, I have
created a professional looking music magazine that will attract audiences in a effective
way. By challenging conventions, much like RayGun does, I would be limiting
myself to a niche audience and consequently making my magazine less successful
as I aim target a mass audience. Therefore, by following conventions I have
created a distinguishable magazine.
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