Here is another example of a contents page taken from the NME magazine. The splash of the page features two main images in the middle of the contents page with text wrapped around the images. The masthead title piece is featured in the top left corner and the main headline is included on the top of the page in large bold lettering which makes it noticeable. Underneath the headline is the date which tells the reader when the magazine was published. Along the left hand side of the page are all the subtitles which have been included in a collumn format to give structure to the layout of the page. These subtitles give brief descriptions about the features included inside the magazine. Also included underneath the subtitles are the page numbers which tell the reader which page to go to and make the contents page a useful function to the readers of the magazine. Underneath the two main images it says: "The moment that...Oasis kicked off their world tour"- this subheading gives anchorage of the two main images as it tells the reader that the musicians shown on the images are both members of the band Oasis during their world tour. Also featured on the page in a collumn down the left hand side which is a Band Index. This is included for the convenience of the reader as they may have been interested in the bands featured on the front cover and it tells them which pages inside the magazine the different bands are featured. The collumn uses a red background which is the colour of the NME logo and it shows that it is seperate from the rest of the contents page which gives brief descriptions about the articles inside the magazine.
At the bottom of the page is an offer/adverts blurb which uses a black banner-style shape with bright yellow writing to interest the reader in subscribing to the magazine. Underneath the words 'Subscribe Today' it says: 'Save 33%' which is a special offer used to try and interest the buyer of the magazine

Here is an example of a double page spread from the popular NME magazine. The layout of the double page spread features the main image of Lily Allen in medium shot on the right page of the spread. She has her hands on her hips which symbolises her rebelliousness. Also noticeable in the layout of the double page spread is how the text has been wrapped around the left hand side of the main image. The large main headline is a pull quote which has been taken from an interesting part of the text to draw the readers attention and make them want to read the article. It says: "People think i'm an attention seeker, but i'm just honest". This quote is representative of the music artist's rebelliousness. I think that the style of text used for this pull quote is very important to the idea that the text symbolises to the target audience as it uses different sized upper and lower case letters, some of which are capitals which makes the text appear as if it has been taken from different newspaper headlines. This is the style of lettering that would be used for punk lettering, and I think that this is what the text communicates to the audience through its written code. Underneath the quote is the main text article which uses a black type face and is included against a plain white background which makes it stand out more to the reader of the magazine.

Here is another example of a music magazine front cover taken from Q magazine. It features the magazine's masthead title piece with tagline 'A different take on music' which could perhaps be representative of the magazines Ideology which is to perhaps give the reader a different insight on music. The splash of the front cover uses quite a simplistic colour scheme and the main image features Lily Allen topless in full body shot which symbolises the idea of seduction to the audience. Also featured in the image are two black panthers which perhaps communicates Lily Allen's ferociousness because she is stood with them, dressed mainly in black. There is also a subtitle which says 'Sexy Beast' with a fairly simple typeface used and blue and white colours to show contrast between the two words. This subtitle gives anchorage of the main image. It is trying to communicate to the audience that Lily Allen is a sexy beast. However, the colours blue and white have been used deliberately in this subtitle to show contrast between the two words 'sexy' and 'beast'. The language of the front page all relates to the animal world and drawing comparison between music artists and these different beasts. In the main feature: headline which utilises large bold colours to catch the attention of the reader it gives the name of Lily Allen and the colour white is used for allen- this is also used for sexy which draws the comparison between the two. Also, beneath the main headline is another subtitle which summarises the main feature. It says '& her wicked, wicked ways' which uses alliteration to make it more noticeable to the audience, also there is emphasis through use of colour and italics on the word 'wicked' which is repeated twice for empahasis. The colour used to highlight this repeated word is red which has the connotation of danger, perhaps communicating the the audience that Lily allen is a dangerous and wicked beast, who is sexy.
Also featured on this page in the top right hand corner are some cover lines which describes some of the smaller features included inside the magazine. The bands names use large bold text which become instantly eye-catching to the reader who may be interested in these bands. Above the 'OASIS' cover line is a pull quote from inside the magazine that is shown by italics and speech marks around the quote. It says "I am a tiger!" which I think has been chosen because it has relevance to the front cover which features black panthers on the front.
This magazine features most of the conventions of a music magazine such as the barcode in the bottom right corner, the price, date and issue number which are also included, and the masthead title piece which is the familiar Q magazine logo which uses a red background and makes it recognisable against other magazines. Also included on the front page of the magazine is a subtitle which describes one of the smaller features inside the magazine: 'The 25 greatest rock movies' - this is highlighted to show importance by a circular graphic shape which makes it look like a sticker.
Finally, along the bottom of the front cover is a black banner which includes the names of some of the band featured inside the magazine. The colour of the band names is white which makes them stand out against the black banner.

Here is another example of a contents page taken from the NME magazine. The purpose of a contents page is to give the reader information about what is included inside the magazine and make finding information throughout the magazine easier by using numerical headings with brief descriptions. A contents page needs to be simple and easy to read, it must also function properly. The colour scheme from the front cover remains consistent on the contents page, using the colours red, white and black. It splits it’s contents into sections so the reader can find what they are looking for easily. The subtitles are written in white against a black background. The contents page uses the colour white as the background colour. This is successful in allowing the reader to not be distracted and to keep there attention on the text.

The main image is a picture of Astoria and it is featured in the middle of the page which shows it’s importance and that it’s one of the main features. The main feature: headline is featured underneath the image and it anchors the main image. Also included on the left hand side of the contents page is a Band Index which is for the convenience of the reader and for one off buyers that were interested in the bands featured on the front cover.

At the bottom of the page is a box including subscription information, it uses a black banner which stands out against the white background and appeals to the reader. This may attract the readers into possibly subscribing to the magazine. This communication with the reader is of course creating a personal relationship.

Here is another example of a music magazine front cover. The Institution is Uncut and it is produced by IPC Media. For this particular issue of the magazine, the familiar masthead uses the colour gold which has the connotations of royalty and speciality. The reason the magazine has used this colour for the masthead is because the music artist featured on the front cover of this issue is one of the most famous of all time- John Lennon. As a member of the Beatles, he is considered a music legend which is possibly why the colour gold has been used. Also in black stamped writing it says 'ROCK LEGENDS Special Edition'. The artist is featured in medium shot and the photograph of him used was not done during a photoshoot for the magazine, as it is an older image that has been used for this special edition. On the photo he is shown holding a ciggarette in his hand, the representation of this symbolic code is that he is quite rebellious. This works well because above the image as a cover line it says 'Rebel, Dreamer, Genius.' These three words have been used to sum up and give an overview of the artists importance. The main cover line that has been used uses bright red block capitals and says 'LENNON'. This is just to show the reader who is featured on the front cover. His first name is not even mentioned as he is so well known that is assumed people know who he is. The cover lines of the front cover are featured in the bottom right hand corner using the familiar red and white colour scheme of the Uncut magazine. They feature brief descriptions of what the particular articles are about. The anchorage of the front cover is a subtitle that says 'After the Beatles'. This shows the reader that this image of John Lennon is from after when he was in The Beatles.

The splash of the front cover features all the conventions of a typical music magazine front cover. Things such as a barcode, the date, the price, and the masthead title piece are all included on the front cover.

Here is an example of a double page spread taken from a huge U2 article included in Q magazine. It features a darkened close up image of the bands drummer with backlighting. The drummer is photographed in profile which is effective as it shows the backlighting. The symbolic code of the drummer having backlighting highlights the person's importance.

The text is featured on top of the image with a red and white colour scheme. The typeface resembles writing typed out on a computer. A pull quote has been used that gives the reader a preview of what is included inside the text. It says: 'Tony Blair is a war criminal' then under that the writing is red which gives the connotations of danger and blood which relates to war.

The splash of the double page spread features a main image which takes up most of the space surrounded by text on the left and right sides. The article features a question and answer session with the drummer and again uses the red and white colour scheme to seperate the questions from the answers. The text has been positioned and wrapped in a certain way around the main image to show its importance. This is down the left hand side and along the bottom of the double page.

Here is a mood board that I have created to show examples of different music magazines and contents pages.

Conventions of a Music Magazine Front Cover

• Masthead
• Main image
• Main cover line
• Cover lines
• Anchorage (describes the main image)
• Selling Lines
• Large bold attractive graphics
• Suitable colour scheme
• Price tag

Here is an example of a contents page from the music magazine Q. It features the band The Courteeners in full body shot stood on top of a hill. The band standing on top of hill gives the connotations that they are 'on top of' most other bands and the symbolic codes of the picture represents power. Undernearth is a quote that reads "He's just showing off.' Liam Fray's mum hits nail on head." The way in which the band members are stood in the picture represents the bands rebellious attitute.

The mise en scene of the page features all the required conventions of a contents page. It uses a large image of the band that takes up most of the page and will grab the readers attention, perhaps to show importance. It is accompanied by numbered sub-headings and brief descriptions of what is featured on each page.


The language of the page features sub-headings that include interesting titles that have elements of comedy that would appeal to the target audience. It uses phrases such as 'Rock Star Fitness' in the Subtitles to give the reader an idea of what is included inside the magazine.

The splash of the contents page features the main image on the right hand side with the the numerical sub-headings featured in a collumn down the left hand side. One of the subtitles is placed over the image of the band to give the reader information about the band whilst also being a function.

Here is a double page spread featuring the band 'Carbon Silicon' from the music magazine- Uncut. Uncut magazine is a popular monthly publication based in london. It is targetted to a slightly older audience and this is reflected in the layout and language of this double page spread.

The headline text uses large bold lettering that stands out and the sub-heading uses appropriate terminology such as 'punk veterans' to describe the band. This language is appropriate because the audience of the magazine will be more familiar with the punk era which was during the 70's. Alliteration is also used in the sub-heading where it says 'raw, roaring, and back-to-basics'. The main image features the band in medium shot with the tallest person stood to the far right.

The Institution of the magazine is Uncut. Uncut meaning that nothing has been cut or left out. The ideology of this magazine is that nothing has been left out and the magazine is full of information about the bands. The magazine gives the idea of getting a behind the scenes look at some of the most popular bands.

The double page spread uses a more simplistic colour scheme of blue and black unlike the NME magazine which uses a busy colour scheme of contrasting, bright colours to represent the NME magazine as a rebellious magazine.

The main image of the band features them in medium shot, and the picture potrays the idea that the reader is reading something exclusive. The image features the band backstage, as if caught before or after a gig. One of the band members is shown holding a guitar, the connotations of this is that they are about to go on stage or have just come off. The band are represented in this certain way to fit the ideology of Uncut magazine.

The main feature:Headline of this article uses block capital letters and says 'CARBON/SILICON' which is the name of the band. Underneath is some anchorage which says 'Punk veterans unite to unleash raw, roaring, back-to-basics debut.' This describes the main image which is a picture of the band members.

The layout of the article features two columns of text on the left hand side of the page, and the image on the right. Underneath, along the bottom of the double page is an interview with one of the members of the band. This box has a background colour of blue which makes this article stand out amongst the rest of the text which is featured on a white background.

Here is an example of a typical music magazine cover. It features 7 musicians in medium close-up shot. It is a popular mainstream magazine that appeals to The masthead is a logo for the Institution which is the'NME' which stands for New Musical Express. It is bold and eye-catching which makes it instantly recognisable over other music magazines. It is published weekly to keep readers updated with musical news and upcoming bands.

The splash of the front cover is very busy with lots of people and writing squashed to fit onto the page. The musicians are stood in a certain formation to fit around the masthead which is featured in the top left of the page. One of the musicians is not stood up straight like the rest which perhaps shows that he is rebellious.

The Ideology of the NME is to keep the readers interested by featuring new, modern bands and upcoming talent. The title of the magazine 'NME' sounds like enemy, and of course this particular magazine is the enemy of mainstream magazines.

The representation of this magazine is that it is a rebellious magazine that appeals to a younger target audience. The connotations of these young band members is that they are cool and rebellious. Another way in which this magazine aappeals to its target audience is by featuring an interesting colour scheme that instantly draws attention to the magazine, the colours featured on this magazine are mainly purple and yellow which contrast with each other.

The cover line of this magazine reads: 'FREE CD' in block capital letters against a yellow background. The connotations of the colour yellow is danger or warning which shows the importance of the free cd. The cover lines are placed to the left side of the page and the main coverline which says 'Love Music Hate Racism'. There is contrast between the words 'love' and 'hate' which are represented by different colours.

LIIAR (Key Concepts)

L- Language- the wording and Terminology used in a piece of Media. The language and terms have to be appropriate to the piece. For instance, a college magazine would have to use terms relevant to education and teaching.

I- Institution- quite simply is the company/organisation which produces the media. For instance, Kerrang!, which produces both Kerrang! music channel and Kerrang! magazine. Both of which are highly popular.

I- Ideology- Individual concepts which pieces of media try to get across. These can be expressed both explicitly and Implicitly. These concepts could be anything from stereotyping to trying to make a product 'sexy' and attractive, such as the perfume my induction task was based on.

A- Audience- The type of audience the piece of Media attracts. This is vitaly important as it is attracting the right audience. For instance. college magazines have to attract an audience which consists of both teachers and students. Mainstream magazines try to be as aesthetically pleasing to everyone as possible.

R- Representation- How the concepts of Ideology are put forward. For instance the perfume is represented by colours that have the connotation of 'love'- Red, Pink, Purple. This is a concept which people recognise easily.

The Brief

Main Task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used be original, produced by you- minimum of four images.

Media- College Magazine Evaluation

For this task I was required to design and create the front page of a college magazine featuring all the associated connotations of that magazine genre. One of these had to be done with desk top publishing and another on Photoshop. I also had to design a mock-up of a contents page to show the layout.

I created my own Individual blog on the internet where I would show the progress of my work and upload pictures to show the stages of my work, with small explanations along the side.
I started off be analysing many different types of magazines such as NME, Time, and Vogue. All these magazines are different genres and therefore appeal to different target audiences. So there are certain conventions that these different magazines genres have to appeal to their target audiences. I looked at how the language of these magazines is communicated. I used LIIAR (language, Institution, Ideology, Audience, and Representation) which gave me a clearer insight as to what I should be looking for.

I noticed that College magazines generally feature one or few students in medium close-up with a masthead that uses an appropriate letter style. There is also a main cover line that is placed more central of the page and cover lines along the left and right hand side of the page; these tell the reader about what is featured inside the magazine.

I then analysed the conventions of a Contents page. I noticed that it is usually ordered numerically with small headings a brief descriptions. The aim of a contents page is to help the reader navigate through the magazine. Therefore, I made sure that when creating mine I features all of these conventions.

After this, I created a mock up of both a college magazine and a contents page, using publisher to design the layout of these pages and where abouts the information and images would be featured etc. For my final college magazine, I used my digital camera to take pictures of a few college students holding guitars in medium close up shot. I then opened the image in Photoshop and edited it onto an appropriate background. I placed a masthead along the top of the magazine which is called ‘College’ using large lettering with appropriate colouring that is noticeable against its background. The masthead denotes what type of magazine it is and the audience that it will appeal to.

This type of magazine is most likely to be read by college students, therefore when designing my front cover I wanted to use an interesting image and headline that would be of interest to the reader. The headline reads ‘Here comes the sun’ this is a pun on the background colour of the magazine but it also a song. Therefore, it denotes the type of music that the featured band would be playing. When deciding on my background colour I chose a sunburst colour, the connotational meaning of these colours is hot. This could mean that this magazine is so good, its hot!

I used the colours red and white for the cover lines featured on the front page. I made this choice because I felt that they would be the most visible against the colours that it is overlapping. One of the cover lines reads ‘Bring Back The Beatles!’ which makes it an interesting cover line through the sue of alliteration.

The mise en scene of a typical college magazine shows a college student typically dressed in a way that makes them instantly recognisable as a college student. In most photographs of college students, they feature technical codes that are representative of a student. E.g. they are most likely to be photographed in a learning environment or some sort of college scene, holding books or taking part in some sort of sporting activity wearing sporting clothing. The denotation of this would be that they are a college student. It is the Ideology of these sort of magazines to display a positive message to its readers about the college. The college is supposed to represented in a certain way that makes it appealing to its readers. I feel that I have successfully challenged these conventions on the front page of my college magazine.

Overall, I was pleased with the final product and feel that I have successfully fulfilled the Ideology of my magazine. I have included all the conventions of this magazine style and communicated the language successfully to my target audience.

Contents Page Mockup

Here is my design for a contents page of any magazine. It includes all the conventions of a contents page such as: numerical headings, small brief descriptions and the layout of the page is orderly. I have looked at different examples of contents page layouts for ideas on how the pages are layed out to look orderly and informative.

I have left spaces for two smaller images that will relate to the stories included in the magazine. To make my college magazine more appealing to its target audience I have decided that this issue will be based around the music scene at Wyke College, therefore the images included on the inner contents page will feature pictures of band members in medium close-up shot.

Magazine cover template

Here is a template that I have created in Publisher for my College Magazine. I have shown where all the conventions that make a college magazine will be placed on the front cover. This includes the masthead, dateline, main image, and cover lines.

When designing my final college magazine design I will use photoshop but I will use this template as a guideline when designing it.

Contents Page Analysis

This contents page from the NME magazine features all the conventions of a contents page. At the top is the main heading which shows the reader that everything included within the magazine is this weeks news. It is written in large black, bold writing that stands out.

Also included down the right side of the page are headings, and page numbers of which include brief overviews of what is included in that particular part of the magazine.

There is also two pictures of band members on the page which instantly grab the readers attention and make the page look more appealing to the reader.

college magazine

Language

The mise en scene of the front page picture here shows a college student, typically dressed in a sporty style t-shirt which instantly represents that particular college. The lighting for this picture is bright as the picture was taken outdoors during the daytime. As for the photography decisions of the photo, the main image features a medium body shot of the girl. Her part of the image is significantly sharper than the background which is blurred; this shows a shallow depth of field in the photo. The main colours used for this magazine are red and blue, which stand out the most against its background.

Institution

The institution of this magazine is 'College' which is the name of the magazine.

Ideology

The ideology of college magazine covers is usually to feature a student or group of students stood smiling at the camera in medium or full body shot, dressed in the correct clothing that draws associations with their college, e.g. sportswear. Very rarely will the photograph feature a group of students in close-up shots. The pictures on the front of these covers usually draw the assumptions that the students are exceptionally clever, however that is the Ideology (set of attitudes, beliefs and values) of college magazines. The students are represented as clever students who are stereotyped or shown in a certain way to look like they are enjoying their college; this therefore sells the magazine to the buyer.

Audience

The type of audience that would be interested in this magazine are college students. The magazine appeals to students as it keeps them updated on any information relevant to their college work and also tells them about upcoming events and competitions etc.

Representation

The representation of college students for the front page of a college magazine would always show them in the college scene, doing college-related things that show them in a good light and make them look like hard workers. Otherwise, the magazine wouldn't be displaying a positive message to the readers about that particular college. The magazine will have deliberately picked one of the younger, good looking girls to represent the college as it is how the college will want to be represented to its target audience.

• Organisation of models, locations, costumes or props.
• Work on layout, drafting, mood boards, spider diagrams.
• Evidence of time management.

Time and Vogue magazine comparison

Here I have picked two popular magazines that contrast with each other. Vogue is a magazine aimed at women, its ideology is to appeal to women of about 25 and over and the magazine includes fashion tips and pictures of famous celebrity women- showing their different clothing. The title uses quite a sophisticated font in the colour pink, which is associated with women. The colour scheme consists mainly of pink and white which are represented as quite feminine colours.

Compared to the music magazines, the layout of the information on the page is a lot more orderly and professional. Time magazine is a magazine aimed and marketed towards adults of about 20 and over. It discusses important world issues and politics which probably wouldn’t appeal as greatly to a younger target audience.

The cover layout is quite simple, yet it is effective. The front cover is split into two halves; one half is Obama’s face and the other half is Hillary’s face. The title which is centered at the top of the page included the title of the magazine which is ‘TIME’ and uses a bright red colours that stands out against the rest of the cover.

There is not much information given as to what is included in the issue, and this is because the picture is very strong and gives quite a lot of information away without the need for much text. The only text that is included is across the top of the bottom right of the page. These are the sub-headings which use small white writing that is less noticeable.

Music Magazine covers

Here I have collected some images of different music magazine covers, this magazine in particular being the NME. A music magazine that appeals to a wide range of younger people. I have noticed that the only part of the magazine cover that stays the same for the majority of the issues is the main ‘NME’ logo which is used to familiarise the 'new musical express' with its audience.

On the covers of these magazines there are photos of the musicians on the front that usually occupy most of the overall space on the cover. The subtitle is written in large block capitals with bright bold colours that stand out over the picture. The writing that surrounds the picture uses quotes on every one of these examples and a typical colour combination for this magazine is red and white or yellow and white, which stands out the most.

Also, written along the top of the magazines is another sub heading which gives some information as to what is included in the issue or a story inside the magazine.

On this genre of magazine, everything is placed quite closely together and a lot of writing and pictures have been crammed to fit onto one page. This appeals to its target audience of younger people, as it represents craziness and excitement. However this contrasts to a magazine such as ‘time’, which will discuss much more serious issues and the way in which information is presented in that magazine will be a lot different to the way it is in the NME magazine.

Magazine layouts

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=38843

This magazine is a fashion magazine with a medium shot photograph of Keira Knightley on the front. The title is located at the top of the page; it uses large bold writing and uses the colour pink which has the connotational meaning of girls and love.

The target audience of this magazine is women so the colour pink works well to associate the magazine with its readers. The date is located in the top left hand corner of the page in smaller writing. The information is written along the right and left sides of the cover, around the main photo.

There is a sub-heading at the bottom of the page that uses the same font but not capital letters. There is a use of alliteration underneath the sub-heading where it reads 'where fashion meets fantasy' this is a catchy play on words that

CONVENTIONS OF A CONTENTS PAGE

Page Numbers-so its ordered NumericallyHeadings-to get the reader's attentionOrder-so the page looks neat and organisedimages/photos-to get the reader's attentionBrief Descriptions- a slight overview of the articlecolour-to look more appealing to the readerThe contents Page is a function, so it should work, which means theres things such as headings, and numerical order which it has to have to work.

Conventions of a College Magazine:

Title
Picture
Information
Whats inside
Date
Photo-if picture isnt already

LIIAR-Language,Institution,Ideology,Audience,Representation.

in order to maintain the same look on the front of a magazine, its important to get the Header/title/company and logo/text the same. This will make it easy for the consumers to recognise the brand/magazine.

Preliminary exercise:
Usng DTP and an image manipulation program, Produce the Front page of a new school/college Magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in a medium/close up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. additionaly i must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.

Main task:
the front page contents and Double Page spread of A new Music Magazine. All images and Text used Must be original, Produced by you- Minimum of four images.

Presentation of your work:
the Presentation of the Planning, research and evaluation, may take the form of any one, or combination of two or more of the Following.:a Slideshow:a blog:a podcast

Brief

Preliminary exercise:
Usng DTP and an image manipulation program, Produce the Front page of a new school/college Magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in a medium/close up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. additionaly i must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.

Main task: the front page contents and Double Page spread of A new Music Magazine. All images and Text used Must be original, Produced by you- Minimum of four images.

Presentation of your work:

the Presentation of the Planning, research and evaluation, may take the form of any one, or combination of two or more of the Following.

:a Slideshow

:a blog

:a podcast