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How Does My Magazine Challenge The Typical Conventions Of A Double Page Spread?

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How Does My Magazine Challenge The Typical Conventions Of A Double Page Spread?

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The inclusion of a crown watermark can be seen as a challenge to typical double page spread conventions. Most double page spreads have their article against a plain background in order to make the text more clear and visually appealing to read. However, I wanted to stress the "Royalty" aspect of my magazine in my double page spread, as I had done in both my front cover and contents page. I felt the best way of doing this was to include a subtle watermark of a crown behind the main portion of my article. I ensured that the watermark would not hinder the visibility of my article by making the watermark a shade of grey that compliments the background colour whilst also following the colour scheme of my magazine. I also ensured that the watermark would not be visually broken if the double page spread folded. Many professional magazines, such as Billboard and Q, all ensure that the fold within a double page spread doesn't hinder the visual aspects to the page.

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How Does My Magazine Develop The Typical Conventions Of A Double Page Spread?

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How Does My Magazine Develop The Typical Conventions Of A Double Page Spread?

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My Box-Out could be seen as an example of how I developed a typical convention of a double page spread. Firstly, my box out is larger than a regular box out found on double page spreads. I did this as I wanted to immediately cause curiosity around this convention for the reader. The very nature of the Box-Out - "Fan Q&A" is a development in itself as allowing fans to interact with a double page spread is something that is rarely done. I did this as I wanted a greater sense of interaction between my magazine and the readers.

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How Does My Magazine Use The Typical Conventions Of A Double Page Spread?

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How Does My Magazine Use The Typical Conventions Of A Double Page Spread?

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My Double Page Spread has a clear main title running across both pages. This is a common convention used on many double page spreads which, in turn, makes it appropriate for me to follow it. Obviously, my double page spread has an article which is separated into different chunks of text - all of which are the same width. This convention is universally used which makes it of great importance in regards to my own double page spread. If I hadn't followed this convention then my product would've had very little resemblance to that of a real double page spread - thus making my product have no resemblance to real double page spreads in the market. My product also has a stand first which introduces the article. This is a very common convention as every article needs a good introduction to draw people in, thus making it beneficial to me to follow this convention. I've also included a by-line which credits the photographer of the main image. This convention is used quite regularly in Double page spreads and gives off a more professional nature and realistic aesthetic, thus making it incredibly beneficial for me to use. Standard conventions such as a Main Image and drop cap were also used to flesh out my double page spread. My double page spread was built around the main image, thus making the positioning of the image extremely important. Other magazines, such as Billboard, use the convention of main images to great effect due to the quality and professional nature of the images used. My Double Page Spread also follows other common conventions such as a pull quote. The pull quote is taken directly from the article itself, which is what all experienced and successful magazine conglomerates do. By doing this myself, I am allowing my media product to be more inclined with real authentic products, thus fleshing out my double page spread. Another frequently followed convention on a double page spread is to follow the same house style that is present in other aspects of the magazine - such as the front cover and contents page. I feel I have used and followed this convention to great effect as there is clearly synergy between my three media products. This can be seen in the Frequency Masthead, Contents Title and Double Page Spread headline. All of these conventions use the same font which, in turn, shows a synergistic relationship between my three media products. I have also stuck to a certain monochrome colour scheme which, when combined with the house style of my products, shows and consolidates that these three products are from the same magazine.

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Ø  A Large image consisting of the corresponding artist

Ø  A Pull quote taken directly from the article

Ø  Drop Cap (s)

Ø  By-Line to credit the photographer

Ø  An article in columns that are all the same width

Ø  A main title (Bleeds onto next page)

Ø  Stand First- Introduction to article

Ø  Same size text for article – font size 11 generally

Ø  Use of page furniture for audience interaction

Ø  A house style that is similar to that of contents page and front cover

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How Does My Music Magazine Challenge The Conventions Of A Contents Page?

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How Does My Music Magazine Challenge The Conventions Of A Contents Page?

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My contents page also uses the “Contents” title to challenge the typical conventions of a contents page. It does this as I chose to include my “Royalty Edition” pug from my front cover and implement it onto the “Contents” title. Very rarely do contents pages use the same pug that was featured on their front cover. I chose to place the pug onto the letter “O” in the “Cont” section of my title. I did this as I wanted to reinforce and consolidate the Royalty aspect of the issue. Through challenging this convention it has helped reinforce the royalty aspect of the issue.

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How Does My Music Magazine Develop The Conventions Of A Contents Page?  

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How Does My Music Magazine Develop The Conventions Of A Contents Page?  

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In regards to developing conventions, my contents page develops the typical convention of using a “Contents” title. It does this by having the title split into three different sections consisting of “Cont”, “Ent” and “S”. This is quite uncommon in music magazines, thus making it a development of a typical convention. I chose to develop this convention in order to give my contents page a unique flair.

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How Does My Magazine Use The Typical Conventions Of A Contents Page?

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How Does My Magazine Use The Typical Conventions Of A Contents Page?

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My contents page has page numbers that contain a small caption of what the page consists of. Both the page numbers and captions are situated in columns – a convention that is almost universally used in all contents pages. If I had chosen to not follow this extremely common convention then my product may have looked to unusual and not relatable to a music magazine. I also included a “contents” title on my page which, although broken down, is still a convention used in almost every contents page. I also included “Main Features” and “Reviews” sub headings to show the different sections within my magazine. This is another typical convention of music magazines, so was beneficial for me to include it. This convention is particularly used in magazines such as Billboard and Q – both of which specialise in the genre of pop. I also used a clear house style that was present on my front cover in which I continued onto my contents page. The page numbers are white in colour and all use the same font whilst the captions are all in a standardised font and are black in colour. My subtitles however both contain a small, red frequency line which, in turn, helps reinforce my brand identity. This is another typical convention found in most music magazines. My main artist from my front cover also appears in my contents page in another mid shot image. On the bottom right hand side of the page contains the page number of the corresponding artist, in which the text “Exclusive” clearly empathises the importance of the artist within this issue. Having the issues main artist on the contents page is quite a common convention in music magazines, as well as having the artist’s page number enlarged and next to the image. I followed these two common conventions due to the relevance they have in pop music magazines. Another convention I followed was including various contact information such as an address and website URL. These are common among contents pages due to many magazines wanting a strong relationship with their consumer. This, I feel, was a good reason to follow this convention in my own contents page.

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Ø  A list of page numbers corresponding with the articles they contain

Ø  A main image (s) consisting of the artists within the magazine

Ø  A contents title

Ø  A house style to reinforce the brand and its ideology

Ø  A mixture of features, reviews etc.

Ø  Contact info such as website, address etc.

Ø  Text arranged in columns next to page numbers

Ø  A small editors welcome

Ø  Some reference to magazine name

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How Does My Music Magazine Challenge The Conventions Of A Front Cover?

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How Does My Music Magazine Challenge The Conventions Of A Front Cover?

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Overall, my front cover was fairly straight-forward in regards to it following the typical front cover conventions. There was, however, an exception to this in which I challenged the typical conventions of a front cover. In the bottom left hand corner of the cover, I included the logo of the 2017 Brit Awards in which I modified slightly to become a strapline. Very rarely do front covers use other logos, which in turn makes what I did a challenge of a convention. I decided to include the logo due to the sheer relevance the 2017 Brit awards has in regards to my genre of pop. Many pop artists feature in the Brit Awards, thus making it applicable to include in my front cover.

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How Does My Music Magazine Develop The Conventions Of A Front Cover?

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How Does My Music Magazine Develop The Conventions Of A Front Cover?

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Although a typical convention, my starburst has been modified to develop the typical conventions in regards to a front cover. My starburst consists of four different colours and two different fonts, as well as an image that was drawn by myself – a crown. This amount of detail is very rare in a starburst which in turn makes it a development of front cover conventions. My starburst is an integral part of my product as it reinforces the “Royalty” aspect of the issue. This was the reason I decided to include a lot of different fonts and colours within its design.

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How Does My Music Magazine Use The Typical Conventions Of A Front Cover?

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How Does My Music Magazine Use The Typical Conventions Of A Front Cover?

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My front cover uses a variety of the typical conventions commonly found on a front cover. Firstly, my masthead “FREQUENCY” is large, bold and is situated at the top third of the page. Its design makes it memorable and it is the backbone of my brand ideology. Other pop magazines such as Billboard situate their masthead in the top third of their page, thus making it a common convention. In regards to my main image, I have used a mid-close up shot of the featuring artist. Most music magazines tend to use this kind of shot with their own featuring artists, as it gives off a more personal insight into the artist. My main headline “KING” is another common convention as most music magazines tend to have their headline as the name of the featuring artist. The headline is both bold and capitalised which is common among other music magazines such as Billboard. This is, yet again, another convention that I am following in regards to my own music magazine. My straplines are situated to the left and right hand side of my main image and my pug is situated in the top right hand side of the page. Straplines are almost always situated to the left and right hand side of front covers and is a convention that is rarely broken. This in turn makes it more appropriate for me to follow this convention. Typical conventions such as a barcode, price and a date & issue number have all been implemented in my front cover. These conventions were vital to follow as without them my magazine wouldn’t of looked professional due to the necessity these conventions have. A prominent house style is also present on my front cover. This is most evident in regards to my straplines as they are use the same font and colour scheme. This is a convention most followed in pop magazines due to the need of reinforcing a brand ideology. My white straplines help give off as sense of professionalism, something that would not have been achievable without following the typical conventions of a front cover. I also included a QR code at the bottom right hand corner of my cover with the caption “Win Tickets To Glastonbury”. This competition-like feature is common is music magazines- especially those within the genre of pop. This in turn made this convention beneficial to follow due to presence it has among my genre.

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Ø  A bold, memorable Masthead

Ø  A barcode to create a more professional and realistic feel

Ø  Price to inform the reader of the cost

Ø  Issue Number/Date to show the reader how new the issue is

Ø  A present house style to reinforce a brand and ideology

Ø  Pug/Starburst to make certain information stand out

Ø  Banners to show important names and/or events in a list-like format

Ø  Pull quotes/lures to spark an interest within the reader

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Conventions allow magazines to follow a certain format which gives them a basic outline in which to build their media product. Through following conventions, magazines can look more professional and appealing. However, challenging and developing conventions can sometimes give a magazine a more original appeal, thus separating them from other typical media products.