Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge conventions of real media products?

I have adhered to conventions when creating my cover, as I have placed the mast head at the top of the page so it can easily be seen on the shelf, and the audience can recognize the magazine from just seeing the top of it, if it is resting behind others. I have developed the convention of placing the model over the masthead, as not every magazine does this. I feel like I have created a minimalistic cover that focuses on the model, as she is important and a big star that the audience should recognize, and want to buy the magazine just because she is on it.
Minimalistic covers are a convention used by Clash magazine, and when creating my magazine I took inspiration from their style. I have also taken the idea of having a model with red hair on the cover, as it makes the model exciting and the image striking - catching the audience’s eye.
I have also used writing that stands out against the background, which is a convention of magazines, as the audience needs to be able to read what is inside the magazine. I chose the font Bebas Neue for my mast head as it is bold as stands out against the purple background. I have then also used Everafter for the anchored text on my front cover, as it is different and quirky, like the text on the front of Clash Magazine.
Also sticking with the theme of Clash's colour palette, I have used a purple background for my front cover that compliments the outfit that the model is wearing to make my magazine look modern and fashionable, as well as adhering to the vintage theme I set at the beginning of my project. I found that most magazines adhere to a three colour palette, and when designing mine I chose to use white, purple and the pink featured in the models outfit.
I have addressed the rule of thirds and I have centred the model, as well as writing in both of the outer thirds. This makes the magazine looks professional, as well as allowing it to be minimalistic, as Clash magazine often does this. The fonts also ensure the reader can see what's inside as the font makes the writing easy to read and simple.
A stereotypical contents page is busy, filled with what's inside and images of new and well-liked bands, however I didn't want to adhere to this style as I feel it's too busy. When completing my contents page I took inspiration from this contents page from Fader magazine, as it is simple and clear; it uses one main image and then has only two columns of writing. When completing mine I chose to use three columns of text so less white space is visible, and i have included two photos, one of my cover model and one of the artist 'Gigi' to include more detail into my contents. I have included more information on the contents page to show the readers what else is inside which is a convention of other contents pages from magazines like Q.
However I feel I have challenged conventions of straight columns on the contents page by using centred text and three central columns it makes the layout more simple and shows the white background more, making the text stand out - yet whilst it is symmetrical.  
I have also added some variety in my magazine by using two different images that don't look similar, to show the different artists in the same music genre, and this conforms to conventions as magazines display the best artists no matter what they look like.

The left hand side of my double page spread challenges conventions as usually one photo is used of the artist or band, and this fills the whole A4 side; however with my magazine I chose to create a photo montage that has been done before by magazines such as allure (Zooey Deschanel http://hollyarmitagelccw13.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/possible-layoutidea-for-photos-of-model.html) to add a quirky feel to the artist and the magazine itself. I think because this style of double page spread is different to others out there, it provides a fun and exciting feel.
I have also used the interview technique which is used in most magazines to tell the audience about the artist, from the artist themselves. I have laid the interview out in two columns instead of the conventional three to create a simpler layout and to ensure the text can be easily read. I used font size 9 in order to write the most amount of words that would fit onto the page, as this means the interview is more in depth and the audience can find everything they need to in the interview. Upon my audience research I found out what kinds of information the readers like to find out when reading an article, and I then included them when writing the interview. I have included information on the artist such as stories from touring, where they've come from, where they get their inspiration from and who their influences are.
I have also created an album cover as the conventional magazine element of having an album to promote in the magazine is both visually aesthetic and also gives more depth to the artist and their background/career.

I chose to use medium close up's of my model to display her face/torso as that is one conventional pose used within magazines. Another convention is a mid-shot however I didn't want to show that much of her body on the front cover, as I wanted the image to focus on her striking features (eyes, hair). I used a mid-shot on my contents of 'Gigi' as I wanted to vary the images and have the two models in different poses, as to have everyone in the same pose wouldn't look right and isn't a typical convention of a magazine. I also wanted to portray the idea the two artists are different, as female artists are often compared to each other. By giving them both a different style and a different pose, it shows how their personalities and careers are dissimilar. The outfits are different also, as one dress was bought in a charity shop, and the other from Topshop and both look different on the models. Hazel Grace is wearing outfits inspired by casual themes and music artists such as Florence Welch, whereas Gigi is wearing a playsuit that can be classed as more fashionable as modern music artists wear similar clothes.