Evaluation: Question 1

In what way does your product use, develop or change forms and conventions of real media products? 

Both my cover and contents page change the normal forms and conventions of a magazine. My contents page because it is unlike many contents pages. The reason I decided to make the contents page vastly unconventional was because it would make the page unique and unlike the majority of most contents pages that you see; it also gives the magazine a 'personality' of its own. 

My front cover is also unconventional as it's supposed to be a special edition version, and therefore I was going to make it simplistic, but I decided against that as it looked too plain. In the end I decided to make the main image of the cover placed more to the right instead of in the centre like on most magazines as I thought this made the cover look more interesting. I also made it so the main cover line stands out and was bigger than the masthead; this was so people could instantly see that that is the main article of the magazine, as well as showing that it's a special edition magazine. To counteract the fact that the main cover line is bigger than the masthead, I made it so that it was eye-catching and could still be easily recognised as the masthead by making it a colour that would stand out and putting it where a masthead is usually placed. All the conventions and forms of my magazine are a lot like those of Kerrang! and Rock Sound, as those were the two magazines I used as a guideline for making and designing my own.

Evaluation: Question 7

Look back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full project? 

Through the progression of the project I learnt a number of skills; I learnt the basics of InDesign, and through the process of me making my designs for my music magazine, I noticed that I was learning more about InDesign and with me experimenting more with the many tools of InDesign, I could change the layout of my designs, as well as experiment with different styles and formats. As I went along, I also changed my designs significantly, this was because I started to look at other magazine formats and conventions for inspiration to see what I could add to make mine better.

Also, through the progression, I changed many things in the magazine; from the beginning to the end of the process of the project my ideas and designs had changed drastically as I realised things that I'd like to changed, and decided there were ideas that I had come up with that I didn't really like in the end. For example, I was going to make the main cover line of my story about a band splitting up. In the end I decided I preferred the idea of the magazine being a 'special edition' magazine dedicated to something. In the end I decided to use the band breaking up idea for my double page spread which in my opinion worked a lot better.

Evaluation: Question 3

Evaluation: Question 2

Evaluation: Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product? 

My media product is aimed towards the same sort of people that the magazines Kerrang! and Rock Sound aim for, this is why I used both of these magazines as the basis for my own. It's also aimed towards people from the ages of 13 - 25, as well as people that would like to know about the latest gigs, read live reviews of the latest music videos and albums, and up-to-date information on some of the biggest bands/singers. This was why I decided to make it so the magazine is a monthly edition and therefore each edition has the recent information from the month just gone. To make sure that my magazine reaches the target audience of someone from the early teens, to mid twenties, the price of the magazine is around £3 as this is the average price for a newspaper, therefore within the price range of the intended audience. Overall, the main audience for my magazine is people that are dedicated to music and want to know all the gossip and main news about some of their favourite bands/singers.

Evaluation: Question 5

Evaluation: Question 6

Double Page Spread Final Design

  Instead of the purple I used in the draft of my DPS, I used blue as it made the writing easier to read. To make the whole page more aesthetically pleasing I tilted the heading slightly, I also used the same font as I used on the cover and the contents page to continue the theme, I also used some effects to make the heading stand out and therefore become eye-catching if someone was just flicking through the magazine The one thing I would do if I were to get the chance of doing this again is making sure that all of the text columns line up.

Double Page Spread Draft

To come up with a brief idea for a double page spread, I looked on the internet for inspiration. In the end I found one that I liked the look of and I decided to use it for the basis of the layout on mine. To make my DPS spread affective as well as interesting, I made it so my title stood out and was something that would draw the reader in and make them want to read the rest of the article just to see what it's about. I was going to make this design my final design, but when looking at the image below, I could see just how unconventional some of the DPS is.

This was the DPS that I used as inspiration for my own

Contents Page Final Design

As the picture I used in my draft wasn't of the best quality, I tried to find one from the photo shot that wasn't too bad.  I decided to continue with the idea of using a concert image for the main image for my contents photo as it's a unique idea and I also thought the picture went along with everything on the page without looking out of place, especially with the colour scheme complimenting everything on the page. I also like how the image looks, as it looks like the picture is taken from a phone not a professional camera, and therefore gives the crowded and humid feel of a gig. I made sure that the design of this whole page was the same as that of the front cover, it did this by using the same colour scheme as well as using the font that I decided would be something that could be used to signify the magazine.

Contents Page Drafts (Part 2)

I wanted the main image to be of a singer at a gig, as this goes along the same lines as the contents page I was using for inspiration and I thought that it was a good idea. I also thought the picture went along with everything on the page without looking out of place as the colour scheme was kind of the same and complimented the design. I liked how the image looked, as it looks like the picture is taken from a phone not a professional camera, and therefore gives the crowded and humid feel of a gig, but in the end I decided that this sufficient quality. The design of the whole page is kinda of on the same lines as the front cover with the colour scheme and the same use of text, this was because this is the type of scheme that will continue throughout the magazine, the colours may change depending on the article, but the layout and design will all be rather similar. In the end I decided the design was lacking in certain areas, so I continued to make changes.