Conventions

Page DesignOn most music magazines the layout is the first aspect you look at and notice first, so this is why a magazine like Billboard or NME is a top quality magazine, as they have found a layout that fits their house style and they keep it the same each issue, this creates a sense of identity and as a result, they can advertise their magazine and sell it just from the layout, because people will look at it and straight away know what they are talking about and which magazine it is. Most music magazines have a large image of an artist or band, depending on the genre of music. This is what people look at first and this is what attracts people to buy it. They then have the masthead at the top of the page, either in the top left hand corner or big enough to fit across the whole page. This is because they use the left third technique, which is when all the information they want to be read is placed on the left third of the page, as this is the way people read (left to right) so if all of the information is on the left, it gets read and taken in. Cover lines, cover stories and features are also placed on the left third. These are written in large, bold and bright fonts, so that they get noticed and intrigues people to what’s in the magazine.

GenreDepending on the genre of the magazine depends on what layout they have and mode of address they use. For example Billboard is hip-hop/new music, so they have a bright style of magazine, which is what the people who buy the magazine like. In the genre they aim at there is more artists rather than bands, so each issue there is a single artist in the middle of the page. They use the same font for all of the cover lines and cover stories, this is so that they get identified and then they create a house style, which they can keep each week. The magazine can be based around the genre, so if it was indie/alternative, the colours would be darker and the images would have different mise-en-scene, props and setting. Where as a hip-hop magazine, is bright and the images used have the complete opposite of what an indie/alternative has.

Mode of AddressMagazines use mode of address to create a mood and tone of writing. Billboard has a calm, friendly and nice style, this is made by the amount of text used, the way they are wrote, what’s wrote about and the images used. When people buy a magazine, they want to be able to read it and switch off from everything, so this is why the magazine needs to create a style that the audience would be able to do that with. They also want to enjoy reading it, so if they find it hard to read, due to the amount of text, they will be deterred from buying it again.

How I used Conventions in my MagazineI designed my magazine around hip-hop magazines’ best aspects. E.g. the title was similar to billboards, the image used, was in the same style as all of the magazines I looked at, the colours were from a range of magazines. All of my text is on the left third, which is like most magazines, this is where all of my main articles have been mentioned, so that people are interested and will hopefully buy it. My image is offset from the centre, so takes up the right hand side of the page and then comes onto the left side; this is so that the artist is noticed and is the main aspect of the cover. The masthead is across the top of the page and part of it is behind the artist’s head, this is so that the masthead is noticed and seen easily, but the artist looks powerful. The main colours I have used are red, black and white, this is because they stand out from one another, but go with each other. The fonts are different, but they are masculine and feminine depending on the sex of the name, e.g. Marvin Weathers (masculine) Ella Elliot (feminine).