Main Task: Research Into Existing Products

Front Cover:

 

In order to create my final cover, I have looked at the different conventions of a magazine i.e. the layout of both 'Rolling Stone' and 'Q' in order to make my magazine look professional and visually appealing.

For my cover, I looked at the placement of different cover lines, where it became evident  were usually placed on the right-hand side of the magazine. In addition they are usually similar colours or colours taken from the main image in order to compliment its appearance. Similarly, the chosen fonts reflect the personality and genre of each artist featured, i.e. Adele is more formal and acoustic shown by the use of serifs, whereas Robbie is more informal and fun as shown by the sans serif font, similar to that in a comic.

Contents Page:

 

By looking at contents pages, I was able to look at the different features of a magazine, looking at regular articles and the placement of different images.
For my contents page, I have used a conventional layout, similar to the contents pages above, using my main image to dominate the page. I have also considered the use of a 'Subscribe' box, conventional to encourage sales at a discounted price.



Double Page Spread:

 

 

 

 

 For my double page spread, I have used a 'drop-capital', conventional for a double page spread, to draw the readers attention to the start of the article. The drop capitals used can be seen at the start of each paragraph in order to break up large amounts of text. On the other hand, the Lady Gaga, and Lana Del Rey double page spreads have enlarged letters in the background of the text in order to reduce white/empty space. Conversely, it can be perceived that the bold letters reflect the bold personalities.

The Florence Welsh article breaks away from conventions as the double page spread uses an image that covers the whole of the two pages, yet filling the empty space with the start of the article.