The document provides details about the personal learning and reflection of codes and conventions for magazine design. It discusses key elements like the masthead, cover images, contents pages, double page spreads, and audience research. The writer learned that eye-catching mastheads, central cover images relating to the theme, minimal text on spreads, and featuring popular artists are important design techniques. Research showed the target audience prefers indie and drum & bass music and would spend £2-3 on a magazine focused on these genres.

1. Personal Learning and Reflection

2. Front Cover I found out that most magazine covers used large, bold text for their masthead that usually spans across the whole of the front cover, making it stand out more an therefore follows codes and conventions. It’s vital that the masthead fits in with the rest of the front cover and the theme of the magazine, for example; if the colour scheme consists of black and white, it would be good to use a red masthead in order for it to stand out. Also, if the magazine follows a rock, grundgey theme, it would be good to have a masthead that follows this theme (e.g. A masthead that looks as if it has ripped edges).In order for the masthead to stand out even more, it could be placed in front of the main image, however if it is a well established magazine, this wouldn’t be necessary. Also in order for it to follows codes and conventions and to stand out even more, the masthead should be the biggest text on the cover. I’m going to use this knowledge for my own masthead by using the elements of a masthead that make it stand out the most, so my masthead would be one of the most eye catching things on the cover. Also, I plan to create a decorative, unique masthead (e.g. One like the Rolling stone magazine), so it is more identifiable. I have learnt that other than the masthead, it would follow codes and conventions to make the main image and main headline the things to catch the audiences attention the most, and to have it placed in the very centre of the cover with the text placed around it. Usually, the main cover image is a picture from a photoshoot, so the mise-en-scene has been constructed in order to fit the theme of the magazine. For example, if the magazine has a black and white colour scheme the person/people will be wearing clothes and make-up that will suit this colour scheme (e.g. Black and white or one main colour that is bright and will stand out from the black and white). Also, the lighting should fit in with the mood of the magazine (e.g. Harsh, darker lighting for a rebellious, aggressive mood. Bright lighting for a more fun, light-hearted mood). The clothing should also fit in with the theme of the magazine, so if it was a heavy metal magazine, the band featured would be wearing wristbands, leather jackets and studded belts, whereas if it was a clubbing magazine the artist would be wearing bright, neon clothes. I will use this knowledge in order to make my main image fit the codes and conventions and by making fit into the indie genre. I think that making the text colours follow a particular, simple colour scheme makes the magazine more attractive, as opposed to using a range of different colours, which ca n look quite tacky and be overwhelming. Some magazines use a particular marketing technique, in which they use opposite colours (e.g. Orange and blue), which is proven to make things stand out more. Most magazines use the same font type throughout the front cover, which makes it look neater. Magazines usually include a fairly small amount of text, so that the cover doesn’t look too crowded. Also, some magazines use an outline around their text, which makes it stand out more. I also like the way Kerrang magazine highlights a band’s name in a puff, which draws the audiences attention to it, especially if they like that band. Also, I like the way Spin magazine uses text that looks as if it’s been hand written, which makes it look more young and fun. I will use this knowledge to make my text stand out as much as possible, whilst following a specific colour scheme.

3. By including a barcodes, issue information and price in the same place (usually bottom corner) follows codes and conventions, therefore I’d do this for my front cover. A list of bands/artists running along the side of the cover follows codes and conventions and is used to draw the audiences attention and tempt them to buy the magazine, especially if they’re interested in the bands/artists listed. I think this is a very effective technique to use, which is why I would include it on my front cover. It follows the codes and conventions by advertising the inclusion of freebies on the magazine cover, as it is a good way to tempt the buyer into purchasing the magazine. I would definitely use this on my cover, especially from experience that I know freebies are a good way in attracting you to buy a magazine, as sometimes I’ve actually bought a magazine just for the freebie. Some magazines include smaller images that relate to the puffs on the cover. I think this is a good idea, but may make a magazine look too crowded if too many images are includes, I think that 1 – 3 images is acceptable. Buzz words such as ‘plus’ are commonly used on front covers and consist of capital letters/ bright, bold text/ in a textbox. I think this is a good way of drawing the audience in, as the word tends to jump out at you.

4. Contents Page By splitting the page listing into categories and ordering them in numerical order follows codes and conventions and it makes it easier to find a specific page. It’s also conventional for the page listing to list downwards on the left side of the page and to be titled with the band’s/artist’s name, so the audience can find an article easier. Some page listings can be quite hard to read as the listings are too close together or the text is too small, therefore I will make sure not to do this, so my audience won’t be put off by the page listings. The title of the page usually says ‘contents’, however some magazines challenge conventions by either including just the magazine logo as the title or something like ‘what’s inside’, in my opinion, I’d rather follow conventions by having the title as ‘contents’. Also, magazines usually have the contents title as the biggest, boldest text of the page. The main article of the page conventionally dominates the page, as it includes the largest image and one of the largest texts. The main article usually relates to the front cover image and headline of the front cover and the article included on a double page spread. Also, the main article commonly includes a brief description of the article, plus the page number it will be on. I will definitely follow the codes and conventions , as I think this is the best way of encouraging the reader to read the main article. As well as the main article, contents pages usually include featured articles. These are made of smaller images with an attached page number. This is a good way of drawing the reader’s attention to particular articles, plus it makes the contents page more interesting. Magazines always have a specific colour scheme for the contents page, which usually consists of just a few colours, so the text isn’t too difficult to use. I think this is a good idea, because by including a range of different colours usually makes a contents page look quite tacky. An editorial is usually featured (normally at the top corner). The editorial uses a chatty, informal mode of address and tells the reader about what’s in the magazine and advises them on the best articles. I like the idea of including an editor’s note, because the fact that’s it’s written in a chatty tone, it helps the reader form a bond with the magazine, as the editor addresses the reader as if they are their friend. A note about subscription is usually featured at the bottom of the page, and tempts the reader into subscribing by showing that it would be cheaper for them to do so. I think this is a good way of telling how many loyal fans the magazine has.

5. Double page spread There is usually only one picture featured on a double page spread, which tends to span across both pages, which I think is a really good way of catching a readers attention. However, sometimes more than one image is including, but they’re usually small, but I still prefer the idea of using just one, large photo. I like the idea of including a black and white image, combined with a bright coloured text, as I think this really draws people in. Conventionally, the image is from a photoshoot , which I prefer as opposed to an image from a gig. The title is always the biggest, boldest text of the page, which really catches your attention, and therefore I will use this on my double page spread. I’ve seen magazine that use very decorative titles, I like this idea because I think it’s a good way of making the double page spread look more interesting. There is usually very little text on a double page spread, normally about small two columns. I think this has been done so it doesn’t look too crowded. I quite like the minimalistic look, as it’s not too overwhelming. Also, It is very conventional to use a drop-cap in the text, which is usually a different colour to the rest of the text, and therefore stands out. Most magazines use a simplistic colour scheme (e.g. Black, white, pink), which I think looks very effective and professional, as opposed to using a range of different colours. In one of the magazines I studied, they featured the logo of the festival the featured band /artist are playing at in the top left corner. I will use this on my double page spread, as it’s a good way of promoting the festival, and also the type of festival shows what kind of genre that band/artist fit into.

6. Audience Research I found out that the favourite music genre amongst my audience was indie and drum and bass, which could be because the image associated with these genres are popular with young people. The magazine in which my audience would most like to buy is NME, probably due to the fact that it targets a mass market, but mainly features rock genres and is very good at meeting the constant needs and demands of their audience, therefore they are a very popular magazine. The band that was most popular with my audience was Mumford & Sons, which I’m very pleased with as they’re one of my favourite bands. I think Mumford & Sons appeals to my audience as they’re a fairly new band who have released an album that has actually need nominated for album of the year, therefore showing how popular they have become. The type of websites that my audience are most likely to go on are social networks, which Iexpected because social networks are hugely popular, especially with the younger generation. Also, social networks are a great way for people to find out about music, as a lot of bands have fan pages which feature information about songs, gigs etc. The amount that my audience would be most likely to spend on a magazine is £2-£3, which I expected, because young people are especially looking for good, affordable magazines. My audience preferred to physically buy their music as opposed to downloading it, so maybe I could include voucher’s/discounts for HMV in my magazine. My audience spend between £5-£9 on music per month, which shows that music is important to them, and they are prepared to spend at least £5 a month on their favourite music, therefore this relates to my idea of including vouchers/discounts for HMV, allowing my audience to purchase even more music. The main cover image and story is the thing that attracts my audience most to buying a magazine, which I expected because these are the things that catch your attention the most initially when looking at magazines. My audience likes to listen to music on their iPods and like to watch music on YouTube, which shows me that they want to listen/watch music on demand. My ‘find your tribe’ results came back as ‘indie’, which is the genre I wanted to mainly base my magazine on, as this is a genre that is very popular with the younger generation, also you can have various types of indie music (rock, pop, folk etc)