1. As part of my AS media coursework, I decided to design a magazine with
the genre of Rap & RnB.
My magazine is targeted towards both genders, male & female aged 16-25.
This is a genre that may seem to target only males, but after a researching
into the demands of young adults, I found out that rap & RnB is popular
between amongst both genders, aged between 16-25.

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
My media product uses develops and challenge forms and conventions of real media products as I have
researched into current magazines available in the market. I have paid careful attention towards every feature
such as the layout and the positions of central image and then developing them into my own unique designs. Two
of the current music magazines that I analysed were ‘XXL’ and ‘VIBE’. I was able to see what types of different
colour schemes, the magazine layouts, and the central image. I also found out that the positioning of the central
image on the front cover is very important to make it eye-catching and attract my audience. The Conventions I
followed are:
Outline A bold masthead-
Central image the XXL has placed it
Central image
masthead over the central
image and vibe has
placed it behind the
central image.
Colour
scheme
The artist is
making eye
contact
Colour
scheme
Name of
artist on front
cover
A bar code with
price

3. My music magazine cover:
Bold masthead
with outline,
Name of artist behind the
on front cover central image,
which is seen hence following
on both XXL the convention
and VIBE of VIBE.
Artist making
eye contact, as
seen in VIBE
I have used and XXL.
a cover lines
with a colour
scheme
The use of a bar code with
the price following the
convention of every
magazine.
The use of a central image
which is a convention shown
by every music magazine. In
particular I noticed this in
VIBE and XXL.

4. Content Page:
Bold Masthead which
matches the central
image. I have followed
VIBE’s content My content page
this convention from
page VIBE.
VIBE has used a Central
image and I have
followed this convention
as well.
Features of the
magazine, VIBE has
done this and so
have I in my music
magazine.

5. Masthead
Vibe’s double page
spread:
Bold
headline.
Full
bleed
image
Article
with
columns
Date,
Nice simple look, plain website &
background, yet still page
appealing. number.

6. My double page spread: Masthead
Pull out
quote, a
convention I
noticed in
XXL.
Full bleed
image,
following
the
Interview
convention
sectioned in
of VIBE.
columns,
following the
convention
of VIBE.
Date, website &
page number a
convention I
followed from
VIBE.

7. Advertisements:
Logo of
the
Logo of
company.
the
company
Central images
of model
Central image of advertising the
the model adidas clothing.
advertising the
work.
Logo if the
company
Central images
of model
advertising the
Ralph Lauren
clothing.

8. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents a particular social group as I have focused on the language, the
clothing and the layout. I have done this to meet the demands of my target audience, as these are
the main features that appeal to them.
Furthermore, in most RnB and hip-hop magazines we generally see the stereotypical black or white
artist , I have acted differently upon this, I have used an Asian artist and so this highlights that my
music magazine is multicultural and so targets all individuals of every race and background.
My artist is making eye
contact. It as if he is speaking
with the audience through his
eye rather than his mouth.
However the artist is showing
a bit of mystery. I have done
this to attract my target
The body composition audience.
of the artist shows a
The clothing used are update
rough, but confident
clothing that my target
look. He has his chest
audience would wear.
out and head very
Snapback hat, Varsity Jacket
slightly bent back.
and Gucci belt.

9. The language I have used also shows that my
media product represents a particular social group.
The use of informal language highlights this, the
use of slang and short and simple sentences is one
of the main features to show this. My target
audience is a young audience of 16-25 year olds
and after doing research into the type of language
used in such magazines, I have established that
current magazines such as VIBE & XXL use short,
snappy lines as this is what appeals to the younger
generation. I started off my magazine with a
biography of my artist but I felt that this was not the
type of content that the younger generation would
read and I changed the content on the double page
spread to an interview, with sharp, short sentences
that keeps the audience in gripped.

10. What kind of media institution might distribute you media product and why?
After researching into media publishers, the two that I felt were best suited for my magazine genre was
Bauer and IPC. One of the main reasons why I felt this was because they are huge publishing institutions
that advertise in cross media through various ways, such as radio broadcasts, the internet, television and
magazines.
IPC media group produce magazines based around sports, upper class women and fashion. They have
also produced one of the most famous music magazines ‘NME’. However, it seem that there magazine
are more focused around fashion, hence aimed more towards women aged 24+.Bauer media group
produce magazines for women such as ‘More’ and ‘Heat’, however they have produced magazines such
as ‘Q’, ‘Kerrang’, ‘Golfer’ and ‘Car’. Therefore they clearly target both genders, male and female.
Moreover Bauer Media also have other multiple media channels including , Kiss 100 and 4Music.
Thus I feel that Bauer Media might distribute my media product as they aim more towards both genders,
male and female. Also the fact that they are a huge publishing institution , so my media product would get
maximum publicity and huge sales. Furthermore, the fact that Bauer Media also have other multiple media
channels such as KISS100 and 4Music, my magazine can be promoted through them. Another key
reason why I feel Bauer Media would be the correct Media institution is the fact that my music magazine
is aimed at a very niche target audience and I feel that Bauer Media will be able to distribute my magazine
across London within areas such as Croydon in South London, Harrow in Northwest London and Ilford in
East London. In addition to this, Bauer Media being such a big media institution that my media product
could also be distributed globally in countries such as USA and Australia.

11. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my media product is clearly aimed towards a young age group of 16-25, this
group would come between the social grade C-D. The reason being is that it has a overall cheap
cost of £2.99 and so is affordable for this age bracket.
Moreover, my media product is for both genders male and female. My media product seems as if
it is more for males, but it is aimed towards both genders. I have done this by using neutral
colours such as grey and white, these reflect colours upon both genders. In addition, I have
mentioned about a female artist on my cover lines as well and so highlighting the fact it is
targeted at both genders.
In addition I have used a male artist on my cover and this a key feature in attracting both the
male and female audience . Other males will look at the male artist as a role model, they may
look up to him and feel they want to be like him as he represents the image youngsters wish to
have. His body posture and tilted hat aid in representing this image. The presence of a male
also attracts females as he his a good looking artist and so attracts females attention.
Many people may feel that my target audience is very niche compared to audiences of other
genre, but I feel that if my magazine was distributed I would have consistent readers and so
even though my target audience is small I know I would my magazine would sell and there would
be regular readers buying my magazine regularly and therefore there would definitely be an
increase in profits.

12. How did you attract/address your audience?
I used various ways to attract my audience including through the central image on the front cover, the
use of a colour scheme, pull quotes and the language used.
The use of vibrant The eye contact shows the
clothing, attracts the artist is communicating to the
audience as it audience with his eyes, but he
shows a lively is squinting which shows a
atmosphere. form of mystery which leads
the audience wanting to
explore his mystery.
This is the type of
language spoken by my
target audience and so
the use of this language
appeals to them.
Youngsters nowadays
communicate with their
friends with this form of
language and so the use
of this type of language
builds a form of
relationship with the
reader. Hence attraction
my target audience.

13. The use of a colour scheme keeps
a nice flow to the magazine as
well as highlighting key
components of the magazine,
such as fashion, artists present in
the magazine and my featured
artist.

14. The use of a pull out quote that my
artist Moezi uses. It pulls the reader
into the interview as it makes the
audience wonder what exactly the
pull out quote is implying. This I feel
is one of the most powerful elements.
My artist’s name ‘Moezi’ has the
colour scheme of Moezi’s varsity
jacket, purple and yellow they are
bright lively closers, this keeps a
continuous flow to the magazine and
it also helps people remember the
artist and the magazine. It also
makes it stand out as it is a vibrant
colour scheme and it is different and
unusual and making it very eye
catching.
Again I have used a vibrant
colour, red from my artist
Moezi’s jacket, I have matched
Moezi’s jacket with the colour
scheme of the contents page. It
gives a flow to the magazine and
keeps the reader in gripped.

15. What have you learnt about technologies for the process of constructing this product?
I used a number of different technologies, many that were second nature to me and some which
were alien to me. The most common piece of technology I used was Internet Explorer, which
aided in my research massively. With the use of the internet I used the search engine, ‘Google’. I
was able to use Google without any difficulty as I have used it a numerous number of times,
Google provided me with the exact research I needed instantaneously.
A couple of the URL’s I used are:
http://www.vibe.com/ Helped me look at the different colour
http://www.xxlmag.com/ schemes and central image
positioning.
http://www.nme.com/ - helped me see the contrast between
different genres.
Moreover, another piece of technology that was new to me was taking first hand images with a
professional camera, alongside lighting and background. However I was able to grasp it very
quickly, as I took many photographs and I analysed the different photograph angles used in a music
magazine.
Furthermore, I also used technology such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. We were
advised to use InDesign and so I used it, however I designed my masthead using Photoshop as I
was more familiar with it and I also used Photoshop for any cropping done. Hence, I felt Adobe
Photoshop was a much easier program as I was already familiar to it.

16. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to
the full product?
When I started my preliminary task I had to design a college magazine, I felt this was a stepping stone for me
to learn how to develop simple imagery and text into a magazine. I learnt how to design a masthead, cover
lines and positioning the central image. I found this helpful as I learnt how to design a basic layout first and
then when it came to my music magazine I was more confident and had high command on designing the
magazine.
In addition, when designing my front cover, I was able to play about
with the colour scheme in the preliminary task to see what colour
schemes were best suited and I was able to see what language was
used for specific target audiences. In my preliminary task the language
I used was very simple as it was targeted for college students whereas
in my music magazine the language I used was more specific to the
social group I was targeting. Also when it came to designing my music
magazine cover, I was able to give my magazine a much more
professional look.
When I started my contents page in the preliminary task I used a very
unconventional look, but it gave me an insight of what is conventional
in a music magazine and what was not. In preliminary task, the
contents page was very basic, however it enabled me to design a
much more complex and conventional contents page for my music
magazine. the use of a professional camera in my preliminary
Moreover,
task was an important feature. In conclusion, I felt I learnt new
things, from progressing from my preliminary task to my full
product. This was because not only did I learn from the
preliminary task, but I learnt more as I excelled through my
course.