1) In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My media product is a music magazine which have been designed and targeted for young teenage girls. It is called Candy Music which was chosen because it is something they can understand and would appeal to them, many young teenage girls would be more likely to buy a music magazine if it was called ‘Candy’ rather than something like ‘Streetz’. The name of the magazine gives the connotations of something sweet and enjoyable which would appeal to my demographic.

To begin with I analysed two different music magazine front covers so that I could get an understanding of what the codes and conventions are and how I can begin to work on my magazine so that it looks like a real magazine. The first magazine that I analysed was NME.

There are some women that do buy this magazine but it is mainly aimed at men. 

I then analysed another magazine which I found online called ‘Rap-Up’.

Before I could even begin designing my magazine and creating it, I had to create templates for a front cover, contents page and a double page spread. Once I had done that I asked a few people to judge it and choose with ever one they like best.

Here are my templates for my magazine:

I then created a questionnaire and asked a few people to fill it out. Here is the questions that were asked:

Most of the feedback that I received showed that the most preferred template was the blue and pink one so I went with that. They said it stood out the most and the colours went well together. They said it was feminine but also not too feminine; it had a bit of a masculine edge to it because of the blue. They said it was good because it looked neatly organised and because of the columns, it easier to find what they’re looking for.

When asked if I should add any changes to the template the majority said that for the front cover, there needs to be more pictures and to limit the writing at the front. They said to include different shapes and make it more lively and playful. For the contents page, they said I might want to include something like a competition entry or a chance to win something.

When asked if the colour scheme appeals to them the majority said that the pink and blue go well together and are familiar colours for young girls therefore the girls will be able to relate to it and would find it attractive so that it increases the chance of them buying the magazine. They said it was eye catching and gave off a good vibe to the magazine.

When asked what else could be included in the magazine some of the suggestions were a chance to win something, games and quizzes, an agony aunt section, and exclusive interviews with celebrities to make the magazine more interesting and lively.

When asked if there was enough images or text and how it can be improved on the main thing they said was that it needs to be balanced out a bit more. Because it is aimed at young girls it wouldn’t be so bad to include more images than text.

I used qualitative data to help me get a better detailed understanding of what my audience want and their thoughts so far on my magazine templates. I interviewed people that were aged 14-16 because they were easily available at the time and represented my demographic.

One of the ways I have followed the codes and conventions of music magazines by having a large bold masthead on the front cover. I have chosen to do it in pink because using the research I have collected and the secondary data, I know that, that choice of colour appeals to my demographic. I have also included a photo-shopped, edited picture on the front cover of the magazine. The main image overlaps the masthead which shows that the person is big enough and well known enough to be able to sell the magazine with just the image on its own.

There are many magazines that challenge the codes of conventions and one of the ways that I have challenged and broken the rules and conventions is by including the masthead centre right instead of centre left which most magazines do. I did this because I wanted my magazine to be different, unique and memorable.

I have included the price of the magazine on the front cover. Because my demographic is young teenage girls, the price has been made to stand out and appeal to them by using an earpiece. It has been made to look like an explosion so that it is very graphic and grabs reader’s attention, telling them to buy it and showing that there is important information here. Using that shape is a way of using semiotics to create meaning and understanding. The typography used for the masthead was called ‘You are loved’. It is clear and bold and gives the impression that it has been stamped on. When people think of the concept of stamps they know that it can be a collectable and so using that effect gives the readers the chance and idea to keep the magazine and keep buying them so that you can collect them. It also suggests that it is something special so therefore worth collecting and that it has been ‘officially’ stamped just for them.

The image on the front cover has been placed over a white background which gives the impression that it has been done in a professional photo-shoot. I have followed and used the stereotypical convention of putting the main image on top of the masthead. It has been edited using Serif Photoplus X4 and picnik so that it appeals to the reader and my demographic. The person in the image was made to look directly at the camera so that it gives the impression that it is maintaining eye contact with the reader and looking directly at them which will help them feel more involved in the magazine and as if they are a part of it. This is known as direct address.

I have included the bar code on the bottom left hand corner which is a common convention for magazines and the website of the magazine with it which shows synergy. Synergy involves two different things or companies working together, in this case, the magazine and the website working together to promote each other.  As well as having the bar code at the bottom of the magazine I have followed the norm by including the issue number of the magazine under the masthead.

I have followed the convention of using a banner at the top of the magazine and developed this by using a banner at the bottom of it as well as the top. I developed it further by using the banner to advertise the free poster and free lip gloss that would be available with the magazine. This will help increase the amount of magazines sold because my audience will notice that on the shelf and so it needs to be something that would appeal to them and keep their attention. I added an additional incentive, a ‘Free GAMOUR GIRL Lipgloss!!’ and a ‘Free Justin Bieber Poster Inside!’ so that it appeals to other consumers as well.

The colour scheme I have used has been based on what my research and findings suggested. The most popular colour scheme for the front cover was pink and blue; therefore I tried to incorporate that into the front cover and the contents page. Another popular colour choice was red so I incorporated that into the double page spread.

When you look at young girly magazines you usually find them packed with lots of information and games and they are made to look very bright and colourful. I have developed this further by using layering and cramming lots of cover stories and features especially around the main image which is really common in music magazines. Using the heart has also made my magazine more appealing to my demographic and it is very child like so they can relate to it.

I have also included many life style elements to my magazine because when I did my research I found that is what really appealed to my demographic and all the girl magazine that I saw online included many of these. My demographic will get bored of just hearing about the music and lose interest therefore I thought it will be better because the life style elements that I included will keep them interested and will appeal to consumers.

I also had to create a contents page for my magazine and had to follow different codes of conventions for it. But before I did this I analysed two contents pages so that I could get an understanding of what to do and how to begin.

The first contents page that I analysed was from the magazine NME: 

What’s also interesting about this contents page is that NME has included a info box at the bottom left corner where they are offering something. They are trying to get readers to subscribe by offering them a chance to save money. This is a good idea because it appeals to their own demographic but maybe not for me as saving money will not be such a big issue to young teenage girls. They also used synergy here by telling the readers to go to a website or calling them for a chance at saving £45. And, teenage girls are less likely to subscribe as it usually involves using a credit card which they will not have access to themselves.  

Another magazine contents page that I analysed was from VIBE. One of the things that I found very interesting about this magazine was the way the model crosses her leg to make the letter ‘V’. This is really effective as it reinforces brand identity in an interesting and unique way. The heels she wears show connations of class and power. The colour scheme works really well here, the use of black white and grey create elegance and a modern look which looks bold and interesting.

For my contents page in my magazine I had to try and make it so that it appeals to my demographic and one way I did this was by keeping the same colour scheme from my front cover and my contents page. This shows continuity and the readers will be familiar with the colour scheme and recognise it and links the two pages together.

The same font and typography was used for the title of the front cover and contents page and the same colour was used for it. I did this to help link the two pages together and reinforce the idea that this is still a very bright playful magazine for young girls. The background was ideally supposed to be all one colour, pink, but it didn’t look interesting enough and looked plain. I then decided to add a white strip to it which also helped give a divide between the pictures on the right hand corner and the cover stories and features on the left corner so that it was clear which is good because my audience are young and so this would help them understand it better.

The pictures were placed on the right hand corner and at an angle to show that it is playful and original and unique. I used a lot of different shapes in the magazine because out of the research that I did I found that a lot of the girl magazines had a lot of images and shapes in their magazine and I followed this convention. The playful hearts represent the youth and my target audience will recognise with them and can probably relate to them. It is something young and playful and makes the magazine more appealing and interesting to them.

The writing on the left has been placed in an organised way and in the right order because my audience is young they will find it easier to understand and it will be clear for them where to go if they want to read that particular article. I split the features and interviews in separate boxes so that it is easier to read and understand. I also followed the convention of placing a page number next to the image so that the readers know where to go if they want to read about that person. I followed my template as much as I could by including the title on the top left corner, images going down on the right hand side and included the interview and feature stories in boxes on the left.

I was also required to make a double page spread for my magazine. Before I could begin work on my double page spread I analysed a double page spread from NME.

 I used my template and this example of a double page spread from NME as a base to start on my own double page spread. I first edited the pictures to make them look more ‘attractive’ and stand out more. The backgrounds were kept white because the article was about the artist having a photo-shoot in the interview and it helps represent the artist as someone new and fresh to the music industry, therefore their life is a clean slate, white and ready to be filled with colour and writing.

I tried to include lots of images in my double page spread because when I did my research, a lot of people mentioned that they would like to see a lot more images. This is good because it will appeal to my demographic as they will like to see images. I included an interview in my double page spread because my audience will be more likely to read an interview instead of a long dull article. With an interview they will not lose focus or interest.

I decided to change the colour scheme to red and blue because that was the second most popular colour scheme that my volunteers picked out. I did this to have something different in the magazine so that it gives it a little bit of edge. A lot of magazines seem to do this as well. 

I used the same type of font and size for the title for the double page spread, this helps create a link between the other pages and creates an identity. Readers will see it and recognise that it belongs to ‘Candy Music’ magazine. I also placed it in between the two pages and on the picture so that it links the two together and acts like a bridge. 

The main image was made to look like its 3D and standing out. I thought this would be a really cool and fun and interesting way of displaying the image. The image has been used to follow the ‘Male Gaze’ theory because the camera looks down on her and she is seen playing with her hair. The clothing she is wearing helps represent youth.

I decided to add a new artist section below because I found that a lot of magazine’s seem to do this. It was made to look like a post-it-note, something the reader would feel like they can jot the artist down. You usually write something important on post-it-notes for you to remember and the reader will recognise this and feel that the artist mentioned is important enough to remember.

I followed the convention by making the first letter of the introduction section bigger than the rest. This is very common for many magazines as it grabs the reader’s attention and shows them where the article begins. I included a bubble with a quote from the interview in there as well so that it grabs the reader’s interest and gives them a little example and taster of what the article will be about.