Deconstructing My Media Products

After the completion of all three of my media products, the front cover, contents page, and the double page spread, I have decided to deconstruct each one individually as to evaluate the successes of my codes and conventions. This will then allow me to easily complete my evaluation questions that answer these successes in appealing to my target audience of older teenagers. 

Front Cover:

To begin, my front cover (above) was something I carefully constructed after investigating professional magazine covers so that it would apply and not challenge conventions of real media products to an extent. Starting with my main image, I selected this particular photograph with my model looking directly at the camera as to create an engaging level of eye contact, drawing in the consumers to want to look at my magazine. Her hair positioned to the left hand side of the page allowed me to place text layers over the top, whilst allowing me to keep her strong expression uncovered on the right side. Looking back at my flat plans I can now see that I have kept the actual main image in relative similarity to the original planned photograph. 

As for my title itself, I chose 'Fusion' after presenting three original names to my target audience through the form of a questionnaire/survey and receiving 60% of people with this magazine name preference. I couldn't help but agree with this feedback as I feel it definitely captured my idea of Pop/Rock as a genre and would appeal to many people within my target audience as it was not gender specific. 

Next, the masthead was something I came up with after experimenting with different fonts until I eventually found 'HolyScriptacular'. I felt this would make a good masthead for my magazine as the rounded text worked particularly well my title of 'Fusion' as the elongated 'f' added a wholeness to my cover and was not as harsh as some capitalised fonts I had previously discovered; this fun and playful title will not only appeal to my target audience of mainly females of the older teenage bracket, but also fits in with my genre of Pop/Rock as it carries the appearance of Pop with a name connoting Rock. Against the darkness of my model's hair, and contrasting with my uses of bright colour, I left the masthead plain white as I felt this would create a clean, simple, and readable title that would appear professional on the front cover. 

My tagline I designed to fit above the cover itself in a black banner style rectangle. The simple and readable text of 'THE UK'S GREATEST MUSIC MAGAZINE 2013' would help to sell the magazine by advertising its success, and I believe worked well in it's particular position.

The coverlines were particularly important for me as I realised their impact on the audience that decided its ability to sell from initial research into front covers. Professional magazines offered brightly coloured coverlines with catchy articles and artists featured within the specific issue. Therefore, when it came to creating my own, I went for a bright but dark purple colour as I felt this would remain interesting to both genders whilst also being eye catching. Using a simple, capitalised font (Myriad Pro) that could be readable and informative, I included the featured artists within my magazine in a white text that contrasted the purple background.

Similarly, for my secondary image and 'puff' - a device that helps to draw attention to and promote certain elements in the magazine - I included bright colours of purple and a white glow. In this case I created a competition to interest the readers by presenting the prospect of winning tickets to a famous concert, within a black circle with capitalised, white, attention grabbing text. 

As for my main featured artist, Emma Lauran, I chose to include an italic, lowercase, and interesting font of 'DearJoe5' because whilst contrasting the harder coverline text, it complemented the rounded masthead. This time using a deeper purple/berry colour, I edited the back shadow effects and increased the depth from the background image itself, creating an almost 3D effect. The tagline for the featured artist itself in the same font but italicised, left white made a roundness to the magazine as aspects of white were now equally positioned all over the page.  

The barcode I placed in the bottom right hand corner of the cover, a popular position in most music magazines I have previously investigated as it does not cover any necessary aspects of the page and left a professional finish with the date, price, and contact information. Lastly, the inclusion of a small, black doodle swirl in the top left hand corner added a touch of fun and personalisation that would appeal to my target audience and possibly challenges conventions of real media products within this genre as this level of professionalism would not be challenged by doodles.  

Contents Page:

For my contents page, I made sure to research professional examples already on the market (here and here) so that I could understand these arguably more complex codes and conventions. Starting with the main image, this time I included a black and white photograph of my model in an outside setting. Not only would this create interest for the readers who may be used to the simple indoor, white background, photoshoot style image, but it leaves a professional looking finish. The model is here looking over the right whilst holding a guitar, highlighting the musical aspect of her career, and wears simple, classy clothing that presents young adults in a positive and professional light. 

The masthead in this case was something I wanted to present in a separate section of the page, as I found most real media products sectioned off their contents pages as well. Using a black rectangular shape, I included the 'logo' of 'Fusion' to maintain a house style, contact information, and finally the 'CONTENTS' title. I made sure to colour this with the same purple/berry shade that would tie in with my front cover, whilst using a white outer glow and bevelled effect to allow the text to stand out. 

As for the three white text boxes, I used a simple layout with easy to read text as planned in my flat plans. This follows the main conventions I have found in real contents pages as readers can effortlessly navigate through the magazine. Furthermore, the message from the editor that I previously wrote adds a personal touch that will connect with the consumers.

Finally, the 'Emma Lauran' coverlines in the bottom left hand corner will further advertise the article whilst rounding off the page by filling in the last available space. 

Double Page Spread:

Looking lastly to my double page spread, I have used a medium close up shot of my model for the main image with a cheerful expression to engage the audience. From my initial deconstructions of real media products, particularly double page spreads, a main image has been used to fill up a whole page, establishing the artist and making the consumers want to read on. My masthead further enhances this with the bold purple colour that maintains a house style in relation to the purples used on my front cover and contents page. 

The short description above the article provides a simple introduction with a professional layout, leading on to the 3 columns of text. A question and answer format was something I made sure to include as it is a convention nearly always used in magazine articles and I feel works well with this type of artist. My secondary image in the bottom right hand corner with a handwritten style font signature adds a personalised touch that will appeal to my target audience of young adults that may appreciate the change from professionalism. 

To continue, the masking tape design feature in the left corner attracts the eye and sells the article further by highlighting an interesting quote from the interview. Finally, the same doodle from the front cover has been featured in opposite corners of the double page spread to maintain the house style and complete the page by adding small decoration and creativity.