Evaluation: Question 1

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

Layout: USE -At the top of the cover I have named the artists included in my magazine the same way Vibe magazine has done. This looks better than having the masthead right at the edge of the page. I have placed the masthead at the top of the cover also the way Vibe magazine have. And lastly I have placed all the text around the model making her look the most important thing. DEVELOP -I wanted to incorporate the pose of the model into my models pose as I think it links well with the R&B/chart genre my magazine has. I made my model put her hand on her head looking like shes mid movement, and she had an opened mouth they same way Vibes magazine model does. I placed the image directly in the middle of the page unlike Vibes' where its just off center. Also the bar code is in the bottom right hand corner, I did like the fact the bar code look white so I turned my whole bar code white instead of a white box around as Vibe does. CHALLENGE - Vibe magazine doesn't have a tag line, but I wanted my readers to know straight away what this magazine offers so I placed three key words to my magazine discretely into my masthead to give extra detail.

Colour: USE -I have used different colours through out introducing my my artist to make different things/the most important things stand out for example her name. DEVELOP -When writing my cover lines I highlighted important words to catch the readers attention like Vibe magazine does, but i only changes the certain words to a couple of shades darker so it doesn't over power the masthead and main story. CHALLENGE -I have used neutral colours throughout my magazine, and stuck to the three colour rule of beige's, white and black, where as Vibe magazine used a bold bright red.

Photographs: USE -Vibe magazine's model has her mouth slightly open to show that shes either mid dance of movement and I wanted my model to do this also. DEVELOP -I thought it looked goo seeing the models arms on Vibe magazine, so got my model to move around touching her head and body so they would be in the shot and I ended up with this great shot, linking well with the R&B/chart style. CHALLENGE -Vibe magazine's model is looking through her eyelashes and tilting her head back to make her look sexy, linking with their genre. Whereas my model is looking straight on to the camera getting a full view of her face as shes a new artist.

Story: USE -Vibe magazines language is quite basic and to the point and I used this style of language also to grab the readers attention straight away. CHALLENGE -None of the cover lines are the same stories as my cover lines, I came up with my own interesting stories to grab the readers attention.

Fonts and Font sizes: DEVELOP -I liked the bold statement font for the masthead and cover lines so I researched into different fonts and found my own which had the same effect as Vibe's. 

Layout: USE -I have put the title 'contents' in the top right hand corner the same way Vibe magazine has, because I think its a good way of using the space on the page, and by cutting the word in half on different levels really catches your attention as you try to realize what it says. Also I have used the 'features' the same Vibe magazine have, by putting them all down the right hand side underneath the title, leaving enough room for the large picture standing out on the page. DEVELOP -I placed the model on the left side of the page the same way Vibe does, but I chose an image where my model isn't front on to the camera giving my image an individual look. Underneath my page numbers and whats included in my magazine, Vibe has a fashion section,  used their idea, but changed it to 'regulars' as my magazine is a monthly issue.

Colour: CHALLENGE -I have chosen a completely different colour scheme for my contents page than Vibe has used as my genre would be suited better with darker and neutral shades. Although I have incorporated Vibe's title in my magazine I have stuck to my genre and colour scheme and used a light brown to make it look my own.

Photographs: DEVELOP -I liked the way the hand is positioned on the models body on Vibes' contents page, so I asked my model to include her hand in the shot, making her look like shes in mid-movement, or like Ive caught her off guard, making it look less structured. CHALLENGE -I asked my model to stand side on to look like shes mid movement, unlike Vibe's magazine whereas their model is stood straight on facing the camera. Also my models face looks more natural than Vibe magazine's model as I wanted my model to look like I caught her off guard unlike Vibe's model as he purposely looks like hes in a photo shoot.

Story: CHALLENGE -I came up with all my own stories to include in my magazine so it would be personal to my genre and magazine.

Fonts and Font sizes: USE -I liked the way Vibe's title looked on the contents page, so I researched bold fonts and found one as close as I could to Vibe's font, also tried to get a similar size as they did so it would fill in the space nicely, like theirs did. DEVELOP -My contents page number and what is included in my magazine are of a similar small size like Vibe's text, but I used my own font that fitted well with my genre.

Layout: USE -I embedded another image into my text, so it breaks it up and doesn't bore the reader. Also I made my model the main thing on the page also like Flavour's magazine has done. DEVELOP -I chose to make a passage of my text to stand out as the main introduction to my artist, Flavour magazine has also had this idea but theirs is in the middle of the text and look completely different to mine.

Colour: CHALLENGE -I haven't used the same colours as Flavour's magazine at all even the back ground colour is different making the magazine fit my own genre.

Photographs: USE -The model takes up most of the double page spread like Flavour's magazine does, I thought this was a good thing to do on my page so she stands out the most to my audience. Also with my genre being R&B/chart the connotations with R&B are associated with strong black females with roots back to soul music. DEVELOP -Although my models facial expressions are completely different, I wanted her to have her mouth slightly open and smiling so show that shes mid laugh or movement.

Story: CHALLENGE -In Flavour's magazine their style of text is like a report, talking about the artist and not including her in the text, unlike my text where I used an interview style including my artist talking herself in the questions and answers.

Fonts and Font sizes: DEVELOP -I used the same sort of small sized font, however I used a sans serif font to stick with the conventions of a music magazines. CHALLENGE -In the introduction to my text I have used various different font sizes and Ive also made some word in bold so they will stand out like "latest chart topper" and "Ivy Grey".