Monday, 14 December 2009










This is my final magazine front cover























This is Content page.















































This is my double page spread.






















This is my last page of my double page spread



The double page spread that I analysed was taken form a German magazine.







This double page spread is taken from a magazine and is about a band. This is an article about the band and not a interview which is quite common in double page spreads. From looking at the double page spread the reader can immediately notice that there is no colour used on the double page spread however this works well and the reader is still interested in the article. You can also see the image is bigger and overlaps onto the second page and takes up most of the room. Also there is less text and more images. There is also a little pop up box with a picture about the main artist this takes away from the other text and does not let the reader become distracted as it is neatly boxed therefore the reader is not drawn to reader the other text. Also you can tell the genre of the this magazine by looking at the clothing worn by the artist and also the types of instruments they are holding in the image you are able to tell by all of this the type of genre and also the target audience can easily recognise if they will like this magazine.


The second double page spread.



This is my second double page spread. From looking at the double page spread you can tell that an interview style double page spread. The page has fewer images and more writing but the writing the broken up by images of the band and also by quarter of the page being black and the rest being white this breaks up the page and separates the interview from the general information about the band. The colour of the font used is red to show what the questions are and the black is the reply this makes it easier to see the response of the band. There is also quotes taken from the interview and put across the page this lets the reader see what kind of responses the band have given and also allows the target audience of the magazine the opportunity not to read the interview if they don’t like the response, however the quotes could make you want to read on aswell.



Contents pages


This is a contents page from a magazine for the genre of R&B. The contents title is written so that it does not go fully across the page but however you are still able to make out what the title says. The magazine might have written contents like this because it is unconventional and also so it would take up little room so they could have a large image of an artist without it being overtaken with the title. Also the by not using a background the colour on the back of the page the audience can easily make out the written detail.
Also the magazine have used the rule of thirds on the contents page by not centring everything in the middle but instead by spreading it out onto the sides in order to appeal to there target audience more.



The second content page I analysed





This is also quite similar to the above content page with the image however this content page is very unique. For example no where is there written content page however by the layout of the page you can tell it is one and also the image has anchors something which is more common on the front page. However this makes this content page very good because it gives it a fresh look and therefore the target audience is more likely to read what’s inside the magazine. Also this content page has a skyline again something which is uncommon in a content page. Also the magazine has followed a certain colour scheme that is probably taken off the front page this is known as the house style. The use of the gold gives the magazine an expensive look and shows the magazine is aimed at a certain audience.


One of the magazines I looked at was a popular American magazine called Vibe.

This is an example of one of Vibes many front covers.


This is an example of vibe magazine with Ciara as the main image on the front of the cover. The fonts used on this magazine are very bright and also the background works well with the lighter blue although the normal convention of a magazine use a maximum of 2-3 colours this magazine has used 6 but this makes it stand out more and also the different colours are used to show the different events and artists going on. There is also a skyline on this magazine compared to a gossip magazine the skyline featured in this issue of VIBE magazine is of an artist in a gossip magazine the skylines tend to be more about free holidays.


Another magazine I looked as was Rap UP magazine this is a mix R&B but also includes some Hip Hop artists.



This magazine is called Rap Up magazine. From looking at the front cover you can instantly tell that it is an R&B magazine because of the main image and also because of the straplines around the image. This magazine has only used a two colours on its front page and has also used no more than two types of font this is important. The magazine has also got a background colour that works very well with the colour of the font. Although the main image is on top of the main title you can still tell that this is a Rap Up magazine because of the U having an arrow at the top you can still make out the name of the magazine. The image also follows the rule of thirds as a result the reader is drawn to the main image and then the straplines.
Research

To insure that my magazine followed the conventions of an R&B magazine, I did a number of questionnaires and also annotated other R&B magazines. I asked a number of pupils in my class a series of question regarding colour scheme and main images that they would find on an R&B magazine. This helped my make a decision on an image that would be suitable for my magazine and it also helped me choose appropriate colour scheme for my target audience. By analysing existing front covers and double page spread of R&B magazine I was able to get an insight into the convention of a R&B magazine.
This is the result of my questionnaire.

What do you think is the most common colour to appear on an R&B magazine?
Red and black I I I

Pink and blue IIII

Green and yellow

Other I

What type of image would you expect to see on an R&B magazine?
One big image IIII

Lots of little images I

Mix of both III

Do you listen to R&B music a lot?
Yes IIII III
No I

Would you like an R&B magazine that tells you about the artists and what they are upto?
Yes IIII
No IIII

From this you can tell the most popular selection of colours is the pinks and the blues or the black and red. And when asked about the type of images they would find on a cover and inside a double page spread was of one artist on the cover and an even amount of text and images to give it a fair balance.



This is my final cover for my school magazine and also my contents page aswell.















This is my final content page.

School magazine







Research
In order to have a school magazine that actually looked like one I researched some from other schools. I looked at the Lordswood magazine. I annotated some past magazine made my by students in order to see the conventions and also to see what improvements I could make to my school magazine in order for it to look professional.