I decided to use the basic conventions of a magazine rather than challenge them considering my magazine is un established. However, because acoustic music is a fairly niche genre (when doing research, I struggled to find many acoustic magazines), I felt that I could be creative and add details such as the flower pattern, that you wouldn’t normally see in any other music magazine.
I found the deconstructions of existing magazines very useful, as I was able to take into account the conventions that work, and those that don’t. It made me realise that in order to have a successful magazine, I needed to follow the essential conventions that people recognise. When evaluating my deconstructions, I established that a plain background, clear text and prominent image make the page simple but effective. I feel that I have incorporated all of these things into my front cover. It took many attempts to get the right image, as I knew that it was one of the most important features of a magazine. I focused on making the mise-en-scene relevant to my genre of acoustic music and took the photos outside in the sunshine, to create that relaxed vibe that the music represents. I also didn’t want to stage my shot too much, as I wanted to make it look as natural as possible. There is direct eye contact which is another convention, and also rather than posing, I am smiling in the photo, giving the magazine a light-hearted friendly feel. The blue sky in the photo acted as a good background for my text. The cover lines are the basic conventions of a magazine, so I thought appropriately about the tone I should use to attract my target audience. I made the cover lines as simple as possible, making the audience want to find out more. The editorial profile on my contents page has a chatty, familiar mode of address, which is also conventional.
The colour palette I used is an example of resonance, as not only does the purple/red colour fit in with the bracelet in the image, it is also quite feminine, connoting that the magazine is aimed at females. I’ve established the house style throughout, by using the same colours and fonts in my contents page and double page spread. I wanted to experiment with different fonts to create more variety in my magazine, so I have used a mixture of clear, simple fonts (particularly for my cover lines and double page spread) and ones that look more handwritten – for example in my editorial profile, making it look more personal.
As I’ve already mentioned, I added a flower pattern which is new and innovative. This is part of the house style as it runs throughout my magazine. I wanted to make it look like they had been drawn on, making it seem quite personal. Flowers also connote nature and femininity, suiting the genre of music I’ve chosen and appealing to my target audience.
I have also taken into consideration the ‘golden line’ which I recognised as an important feature when doing my earlier research. The Masthead is the top left so it is the first thing the reader is drawn to. I used two different fonts within my masthead, so that the A became a star. This is symbolic of the name of the magazine, i.e. aspiring to be a star. I used the star as my logo which became part of the house style, running throughout the magazine. The eye then follows an almost zigzag pattern from the image to the cover lines. I made ‘Naomi Rose’ a larger font so it is more attention-grabbing, as it is the exclusive feature in my magazine, luring the audience in. The bar code is in the bottom right corner, as it is the least important feature that the eye sees. However I also considered that this corner is the last thing the reader sees so I placed the web address here, making it more memorable. This reflects the direction of new media production, by making it multi-platform.
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