When creating my magazine pages, I had to think very carefully about mode of address which is how my music magazine uses codes and conventions to be presented and perceived by the audience. Genre would greatly affect the mode of address e.g. if I were creating a classical music magazine the pages would look elegant, refined and somewhat mature. However, as I chose to create a magazine centred around rock music, my pages could look rougher, messy and almost thrown together. Also, details about my target audience would affect the mode of address. For example, using results from my survey would influence my choice of colours, format and images as I wanted all of these conventions to successfully entice my audience.
The codified conventions I used were chosen specifically to appeal to my demographic. My colour scheme was red, blue and black. I chose red as it is used in a lot of prominent magazines such as 'The NME' and 'Q', I also decided on using blue and black along with the red due to the advice of my focus group. They felt that the two colours complimented each other nicely and would fit in with the rock vibe I was trying to project. The fonts I used were simple and bold. They were quite striking which would appeal to teenagers in a defiant or rebellious phase or who are simply looking to stand out from the crowd and be different. Also, the images I used were carefully chosen as I wanted the reader to aspire to look like the model and to aim to have his attitude and talent, thus meaning he had to look aesthetically pleasing.
I tried to keep all my pages similar in order to portray a strong brand identity. Each page has two red banners running across the top and bottom of the page in order to express a sense of continuity. The colour scheme is also consistent throughout and I have used similar hues for each colour to ensure that they are visually pleasing.
The magazine 'Kerrang's masthead is made to look cracked and jagged which fits in well with the fact this the name was inspired from the sound a guitar makes when all the strings for a chord are harshly played. This puts further emphasis on the idea that this is a rock magazine and is thus made to appeal to rock fans. Also, the style is quite unique meaning that it can be easily recognised and used further to represent the 'Kerrang' brand. Furthermore, the choice of white is quite wise as this means that Kerrang can freely use dark colours on their front cover knowing that the masthead will still be clear.
The NME's masthead has been created to be quite bold and striking given the vibrant red colour used and the two outlines of white and black. The NME's colour scheme centres around the three colours used in its masthead which helps to tie in all aspects of the front page together. The typography used is known as Serif which gives the magazine a slightly youthful look, making it seem sort of carefree and relaxed which the audience wants from an entertainment magazine.
Q magazine's masthead uses the same shade of red as the NME which instantly in the audience's subconscious brings to mind that the two are quite similar in the type of music they feature and who they are aimed at. This is a bold yet uncomplicated masthead. The unique flick of the 'Q' helps to reinforce the brand identity and ensure that just from this single letter 'Q' magazine can be recognised. The simple name 'Q' shows maturity suggesting that the demographic for this magazine is an older, male audience.
My masthead is most similar to Kerrang magazine. The typography I used is one that's style is reminiscent of the 70s punk era. It brings to mind the idea of cutting out individual letters from headlines in newspapers in order to string a sentence together. This typography was mainly enforced by the 'Sex Pistols' who were an English punk rock band responsible for instigating the punk movement in the UK and thus inspiring many future punk rock and alternative artists.
The main convention that I have challenged is the use of photo shop. I did not want to drastically alter the images of my model as I wanted my magazine to be mainly about music rather than beauty. I felt it was better to deliver the truth and an in-depth coverage of music rather than a modified version of this. Also, the rock audience do not aspire to the levels of glamour seen in other celebrity based magazines so my decision not to create overly hyper real representations is entirely consistent with my demographic's expectations. Using photo shop I merely brightened the images slightly and toned down the shadows. Then on publisher I used a setting in which I turned up the saturation a little to give my images a more professional, polished feel, so even though they were only slightly manipulated my images are in some ways hyper real.
The use of mise en scene can mainly be spotted on my double page spread. It is a formal convention to have an image filling up an entire page of a double page spread so I positioned my main image on the right page yet still kept another column of text on that page as well in order to show that there was so much to say about this artist that I had to use more space which is not commonly used for text. I gave the image a black border that was broken up by white dashes and used copied in images of black tape to position on the edges which made the image appear as though it had been stuck down haphazardly. I felt this portrayed the rock genre quite well as it gave my magazine a rougher, more chaotic, almost punk-like quality.
Also, I only used red and black on the double page spread to show that this article would be to the point, honest and filled with emotions such as anger or passion. The use of my quotes help to give the reader an idea of what to expect from the article, so those were chosen carefully and worded particularly to pique the reader's interest. The image used on the contents page is one of my model sitting down cross legged on the floor. This represents a relaxed atmosphere and gives my model a chilled out, hippie type of vibe. He also appears quite humbled as even though he is very famous, he still just wants to sit on the floor for a photo shoot rather than posing with any gimmicks or props i.e. guitars etc. This gives the effect that the model is quite informal and conveys that he is not so caught up in the fickleness of fame.
On my double page spread, the use of a notepad in the top right corner used to deliver key facts about the artist, gives a scruffy feel to the page. It makes it seem as though a page has just been torn out of a book and used to scribble words upon. The font I used for the notepad is one that could be thought of as someone's messy handwriting which enhances the random edge of my magazine; this reinforces the personal mode of address that I am trying to portray. A few magazines have been seen to do this so it is not extremely uncommon yet it is not completely expected of a double page spread.
I have had to use language that would mainly appeal to my demographic of male teenagers and so chose buzzwords for the front cover based on this premise. Also, the names of bands or festivals on the cover were specifically chosen to entice the reader as most teens who see their favourite band’s name on a magazine cover would perhaps buy the magazine more out of loyalty to the band rather than the magazine. Thus, putting a very famous band's name would usually ensure more sales as they would have a large fan base.
My front cover is not particularly unique as I have followed the expected design and form mostly seen in other music magazines. I have used one main image and no supplementary images as I want all the attention to be on the artist taking up most of the space. The feature articles are all positioned around the main image which is typical. However, the banner going across the main image with the words 'THE TRUTH' is something different. This is the cover article which is about the artist on the cover. The words 'the truth' are written in white inside a black textbox. This makes it seem as though the truth is very black and white and also as the model is trapped behind the truth, it can be assumed that by giving the public the truth he is releasing himself from feeling so trapped. Also, the barcode is in the expected place, as is the masthead, and banners which are used to maintain brand identity and advertise more of what is inside the magazine.
The form of the contents page is a little different than normal. The title 'Contents' is written down the left hand side of the page in big, bold, red letters and the text is all in one column in the centre of the page yet separated by different headings such as 'Features' etc. This text goes between white or black as due to the position of my image it is sometimes difficult to read the words clearly. I wanted to make the text as easy to decipher as possible because the contents page is from where the reader navigates the rest of the magazine. I made the image big enough so that it could be used in the background and then positioned it towards the right with some of it behind the text. I also had to feature an anchor which is a convention of contents pages as it shows from what article the picture relates to and what page that particular article is on. Also, an editor's note is a typical convention and is sometimes accompanied by a photo of said editor. However, I felt that by including another photo it made the page seem too cluttered and complicated which is not what I wanted so I left the note in a simple black box written in a white typography in order to make it easy to read against the image/background.
The magazine 'Kerrang's masthead is made to look cracked and jagged which fits in well with the fact this the name was inspired from the sound a guitar makes when all the strings for a chord are harshly played. This puts further emphasis on the idea that this is a rock magazine and is thus made to appeal to rock fans. Also, the style is quite unique meaning that it can be easily recognised and used further to represent the 'Kerrang' brand. Furthermore, the choice of white is quite wise as this means that Kerrang can freely use dark colours on their front cover knowing that the masthead will still be clear.
The NME's masthead has been created to be quite bold and striking given the vibrant red colour used and the two outlines of white and black. The NME's colour scheme centres around the three colours used in its masthead which helps to tie in all aspects of the front page together. The typography used is known as Serif which gives the magazine a slightly youthful look, making it seem sort of carefree and relaxed which the audience wants from an entertainment magazine.
Q magazine's masthead uses the same shade of red as the NME which instantly in the audience's subconscious brings to mind that the two are quite similar in the type of music they feature and who they are aimed at. This is a bold yet uncomplicated masthead. The unique flick of the 'Q' helps to reinforce the brand identity and ensure that just from this single letter 'Q' magazine can be recognised. The simple name 'Q' shows maturity suggesting that the demographic for this magazine is an older, male audience.
My masthead is most similar to Kerrang magazine. The typography I used is one that's style is reminiscent of the 70s punk era. It brings to mind the idea of cutting out individual letters from headlines in newspapers in order to string a sentence together. This typography was mainly enforced by the 'Sex Pistols' who were an English punk rock band responsible for instigating the punk movement in the UK and thus inspiring many future punk rock and alternative artists.
The main convention that I have challenged is the use of photo shop. I did not want to drastically alter the images of my model as I wanted my magazine to be mainly about music rather than beauty. I felt it was better to deliver the truth and an in-depth coverage of music rather than a modified version of this. Also, the rock audience do not aspire to the levels of glamour seen in other celebrity based magazines so my decision not to create overly hyper real representations is entirely consistent with my demographic's expectations. Using photo shop I merely brightened the images slightly and toned down the shadows. Then on publisher I used a setting in which I turned up the saturation a little to give my images a more professional, polished feel, so even though they were only slightly manipulated my images are in some ways hyper real.
The use of mise en scene can mainly be spotted on my double page spread. It is a formal convention to have an image filling up an entire page of a double page spread so I positioned my main image on the right page yet still kept another column of text on that page as well in order to show that there was so much to say about this artist that I had to use more space which is not commonly used for text. I gave the image a black border that was broken up by white dashes and used copied in images of black tape to position on the edges which made the image appear as though it had been stuck down haphazardly. I felt this portrayed the rock genre quite well as it gave my magazine a rougher, more chaotic, almost punk-like quality.
Also, I only used red and black on the double page spread to show that this article would be to the point, honest and filled with emotions such as anger or passion. The use of my quotes help to give the reader an idea of what to expect from the article, so those were chosen carefully and worded particularly to pique the reader's interest. The image used on the contents page is one of my model sitting down cross legged on the floor. This represents a relaxed atmosphere and gives my model a chilled out, hippie type of vibe. He also appears quite humbled as even though he is very famous, he still just wants to sit on the floor for a photo shoot rather than posing with any gimmicks or props i.e. guitars etc. This gives the effect that the model is quite informal and conveys that he is not so caught up in the fickleness of fame.
On my double page spread, the use of a notepad in the top right corner used to deliver key facts about the artist, gives a scruffy feel to the page. It makes it seem as though a page has just been torn out of a book and used to scribble words upon. The font I used for the notepad is one that could be thought of as someone's messy handwriting which enhances the random edge of my magazine; this reinforces the personal mode of address that I am trying to portray. A few magazines have been seen to do this so it is not extremely uncommon yet it is not completely expected of a double page spread.
I have had to use language that would mainly appeal to my demographic of male teenagers and so chose buzzwords for the front cover based on this premise. Also, the names of bands or festivals on the cover were specifically chosen to entice the reader as most teens who see their favourite band’s name on a magazine cover would perhaps buy the magazine more out of loyalty to the band rather than the magazine. Thus, putting a very famous band's name would usually ensure more sales as they would have a large fan base.
My front cover is not particularly unique as I have followed the expected design and form mostly seen in other music magazines. I have used one main image and no supplementary images as I want all the attention to be on the artist taking up most of the space. The feature articles are all positioned around the main image which is typical. However, the banner going across the main image with the words 'THE TRUTH' is something different. This is the cover article which is about the artist on the cover. The words 'the truth' are written in white inside a black textbox. This makes it seem as though the truth is very black and white and also as the model is trapped behind the truth, it can be assumed that by giving the public the truth he is releasing himself from feeling so trapped. Also, the barcode is in the expected place, as is the masthead, and banners which are used to maintain brand identity and advertise more of what is inside the magazine.
The form of the contents page is a little different than normal. The title 'Contents' is written down the left hand side of the page in big, bold, red letters and the text is all in one column in the centre of the page yet separated by different headings such as 'Features' etc. This text goes between white or black as due to the position of my image it is sometimes difficult to read the words clearly. I wanted to make the text as easy to decipher as possible because the contents page is from where the reader navigates the rest of the magazine. I made the image big enough so that it could be used in the background and then positioned it towards the right with some of it behind the text. I also had to feature an anchor which is a convention of contents pages as it shows from what article the picture relates to and what page that particular article is on. Also, an editor's note is a typical convention and is sometimes accompanied by a photo of said editor. However, I felt that by including another photo it made the page seem too cluttered and complicated which is not what I wanted so I left the note in a simple black box written in a white typography in order to make it easy to read against the image/background.
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