chris haylett's AS media blog

         

CONVENTIONS

Conventions are an important thing to consider when designing any media product. They make a media product recognisable. When I started designing my music magazine I had to consider what the conventions were for magazines, these are things such as the masthead this is the main title for the magazine. There is also a picture located normally in the centre of the front cover. The picture is normally a medium close up of a person. There are also many cover lines on your generic magazine cover. They offer you an insight into the things you will find inside the magazine to get you to pick it up and buy it. You also have the main cover line which normally relates to the picture in some way, this is normally a lot larger than the other cover lines so it is easier to identify it with the picture.  

There are also many forms of conventions to follow when making a double page spread article. Firstly there is the article itself which is the body text of the pages, it is normally separated into a layout of gutters which split the text into thin columns on the page.  It is also conventional to use a drop cap at the start of the article to indicate where to start reading.  These pages also contain pull quotes which are enlarged pieces of the article which are chosen to get people to be interested in it. A main part of it is also a large picture which takes up a fair amount of the spread.

The type of genre I chose for my magazine was hip hop/R&B.  When I was planning my magazine, I looked at many different types which are already around to try and inspire me and give me ideas for my final pieces. For the front cover for instance I took a liking to a magazine called vibe I liked the type of picture which was on the cover and I also liked the fairly simple but structured layout.

I also used the picture on the right hand side to inspire me for idea of my double page spread I liked the way it was laid out with all text on the right side while the pictures and the title are on the left hand side.

CONNOTATIONAL ANALYSIS 

Cover page

·         My cover page has its masthead located at the top of the page above the picture to help illustrate to people what my magazine is called. It is bold to help stand out and for people to easily read it.

·         It has a picture which takes up most of the page which is a medium close up of the person who is a part of the main cover line of the magazine.

·         The page also has many other cover lines which are located on the right or the left side of the picture which is centrally positioned this is to keep with the main structure of the cover in giving it that neat look.

·         The final things at the bottom of the page are the bar code and date line which are located in the right hand bottom corner of the page this also goes along with the neat look I am going for with the cover.

Contents page

·         Firstly the contents title is located on the left hand side of the page with along with the logo of the magazine. The reason for this not being central is that you can see the picture which is located directly bellow

·         I also decided to locate the text and the picture of an act to be located in the bottom half of the page. This allows for the reader to be able to see the background of the music stage and then to still see the text clearly bellow that.

·         Using the contrast of a blue background with yellow text works well as the text stands out extremely well from the background.  

Double Page Spread

·         The text of the article is located on the page on the right hand side.  I have set it out by dividing it into two separate gutters, this is a typical convention when making a double page spread article in a magazine.

·         I also have managed to put two pull quotes from the article onto the pages one on the left hand side and one on the right. These quotes are a different colour so they stand out and allow you to get a taste of the article.