Evaluation question one

The types of conventions in my music magazine ‘Pop Mix’ genre is used in other pop magazines.

The first frame is the title of my music magazine ‘Pop Mix’. The title is usually placed in the top left of the front page because this is where the audience would look first so therefore they would instantly be informed in what the magazine is called. The font is 'a gentle touch' which I downloaded from dafont. I found this font unique and interesting and its sans serif which follows the convention of other pop magazines as they commonly use sans serif fonts. Furthermore the colour of my masthead is purple so this would easily attract the audience as they are girls and this colour is commonly associated to teenage girls. In my research I found out that the mastheads colours are bright and colourful and I think the colour purple portrays this very well so therefore fulfils the 'pop' genre.

The second frame shows the artists name 'Lola' this is spread across the front cover covering parts of the main image. Typically most pop magazines have the artists name here and it’s also in big writing, this shows that the person shown in the image are the main feature of that particular issue. The font is  'simplicity', this font is totally different to the masthead of my magazine which is ‘a gentle touch’. This font I believe stands out compared to the curley font which I have previously used on the front cover. This would make the artists name stand out as she is the most dominant on the page and is the main focus of the magazine.

The third frame shows an image of an I phone 5 which is linked to the puff which promotes a competition to win this particular product. I thought that this would be a good idea to use this on my front cover as it is a common convention in most pop magazines that there are competitions to win certain items. The fact that its a Iphone 5 would defiantly attract my target audience as they are at that age where they would want a really good phone so they can talk to their friends and use social networking sites such as Twitter and Instagram.  

The fourth frame is the text layout from my contents page. I have included page numbers and the description highlighting what is on a particular page. This is so the audience can easily identify what is featured on the pages. The layout of the page numbers and description is shown in two boxes placed next to each other. This also makes it easier for the audience to read as they are next to each other. If one was at the top of the page and the other at the bottom then this would create confusion and the page would appear to be messy and unorganised. Typically most pop magazines use this layout for their contents page.

The fifth frame denotes an image of the model which I used for my two page spread. This image is featured on the contents page. The mise en scene of the costumes and props show the genre of the magazine which is pop.  The model is looking directly into the camera and this shows that the artist is looking straight towards the audience which would then entice them to look at the magazine; this is common in most magazines as it is a technique used to grab the reader’s attention.

The sixth frame portrays extra features which would appeal to the audience and make them want to buy the magazine. These features are the twitter, instagram and facebook logo's.  I have placed these logos on the contents page because it will attract the audience’s attention this is because they would be familiar with these images. These social networking sites are very popular especially with the particular audience of my magazine which is teenagers. Most pop magazines use this because they would want the buyer to follow them on twitter, instagram and facebook to make their magazine more popular and well known. Additionally I have also placed the magazine’s website on the contents page. Whilst researching pop magazines I found that every magazine used their website on either the front cover, contents page or both. This is another way to make the magazine popular and well known and also an easier way for the magazine to communicate with their audience. Moreover the audience would be able to access the magazine online which would be easier and quicker rather than purchasing the magazine.

The seventh frame from the grid which I created is the strap line  'FREE! nail varnish and lipgloss'  this is placed on the front cover at the bottom of the page. I have included buzz words such as 'free!' to entice the audience as they would be automatically interested in buying the magazine if something it included a free item when you purchased it.  The colour of this strap line has a yellow background which would attract the audience’s attention as it is bright and would stand out against the other colours on the page. Commonly most pop magazines have strap lines as it is their way of convincing the reader to buy their product, so I have followed this convention.

The eighth frame is taken from my two page spread and it shows the subheading and pull out quote from the interview with the pop artist. The subheading is a common feature which is found on nearly all pop magazines. The subheading gives a clear summary on what is included in the two page spread whether it is an interview or a celebrity story. In my case I used an interview. I decided to do the interview because I think it is the easiest way to connect to the reader as they can gain deeper knowledge and understanding about the artist just by asking a few questions. The pull out quote 'I never imagined my life to be the way it is'  gives an insight to the reader of what is included in part of the interview. This would then help draw their attention as they would want to find out more about the artist. The pull out quotes used on most pop magazines need to be shocking and unusual as this is the key element which would grab the attention quickly and easily.   Moreover the pull out quote is in italics which is a different typeface with the other text used on the page so this would stand out.

Another key element which follows conventions of pop magazines is the colour scheme. The colour scheme of my music magazine consists of pink, purple, white blue and some yellow. These colours are bright and colourful so they would stand out. During my research process i found that pop magazines do not use just two or three colours throughout the magazine. Instead they use a variety of catching vivid colours which the audience would be attracted to. Whereas rock magazines commonly only use two or three colours which will contine to appear throughout the magazine. Furthermore the colours would typically attract my target audience as they are young girls and are commonly known to like these colours. Also whilst researching pop magazines I found that the colours of all pop magazines consist of bright pinks, purples and yellows so i have fulfilled the conventions of the genre.