Front Cover:
I believe that a big, bold mast head
and a striking main image should be the two key
areas to focus on, as they say a lot about the magazine, as well as making
engaging the audience more effectively. Therefore, I will try and ensure that I
consider that fact when it comes to making my front cover. In particular Q's and NME mast head caught my attention as they were striking
due to the use of colour and font they used. Even though the majority of the
magazines I have analysed have had contrasting, bold
colours, I think I
prefer a muted colour palette, with only a few bright colours highlighting the
key features, as I believe that less is more and with too many colours, the
page will look cluttered and messy! With fewer colours, especially used for the
cover lines, they will complement each other
better as well as them being easy on the eye. I could try to keep to a conventional 3 colour scheme depending what working with the
background I end up choosing. I will also try to incorporate a simple yet
effective front cover, meaning that I need to have the right balance with not having
too much text on the page, as it could detract from the main image. Throughout my analysis, I noticed that all the
front covers main images had their models
giving direct mode of address, which helps
to engage their audience to buy their magazine. This to me is a clever concept
and convention that I would like to incorporate in my magazine. Not only this,
but a mid shot is usually used on the front cover, and normally positioned
centrally, so the text can go around it and stand out on the page. I think I
will stick to the mid shot on the front cover and play around with it, seeing
if it looks better on the left, right or central. The use of a burst, on the front cover, seems consisted on each
magazine that I have deconstructed and therefore, I think I shall stick to this
convention when producing my final front cover.
Contents Page:
Out of all the contents pages I have analysed, I particularly like
Q's, as they have a simple and neat layout, which I found was the most
effective. Each contents page was different to stand out to their target
audience and I believe that with a simple, yet effective design for my contents
page will appeal to my target market. Some magazine, seem to try and fit as
much as they can in, which I think can confused the reader, not being sure
where to look first. Also, a plain background, clear layout of text, a prominent
photo makes a more effective contents page in my opinion. Additionally, I will
ensure that I include page numbers in my
contents page, as they help to navigate and locate a particular article, the audience
wants to read. Another element that seems to be conventionally included in
magazines, are mini pictures, as well as a main
image on the contents page. Therefore, I believe I should stick to this
convention.
Double Page Spread:
For my double page spread, the textual analysis and comparing
what typical conventions I could find in each magazine really helped me develop
my ideas for when I begin to create my magazine. I think overall, I preferred Top
of the Pops double page spread as its layout would appeal to girls (which are
my chosen gender for my target market) more than Q's and NME's. What I predominantly
liked the most, was the main image covering
both pages and having an interview of the band they were talking about. As I am
of the age I would like to aim my magazine at, I would like this sort of
feature as it is more appealing than a chuck of text on a page with a few pictures. I
will ensure that I take into consideration that this example of Little Mix's article
is written for Bubble Gum Readers and I will
therefore, ensure I use language that appeals to my age group chosen. I really
liked the idea of using drop capitals like
in NME and Q, as it is easier to the audience to navigate to the start of the
main text of writing. Even though my favourite double page spread was Top of
the Pops, they didn't use drop capitals,
which I think could have made the text stand out more if they had included it. However,
the use of different colours used for the questions and answers would be a good concept to contain, which I may decide to include on my double page spread.
Furthermore, the use of the pull out quotes from
the text enlarged, which therefore takes up a lot of space, I like too as this
acts as a device to lure the reader in, encouraging them to find out more. When
it comes down to choosing my font,
I think a sans serif font used for the
double page spread will add a sense of informality, keeping a
casual conversational feel to the magazine, as well as presenting it as
new and modern publication. Page numbers,
will definitely be included on my double page spread, as without them the
audience would spend a long unnecessarily amount of time looking for the specific
story.
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