1. 1. Question 1 Front Cover I have used a mid-shot image. This is conventional for this genre as the audience can see the artists facial expressions and see what fashionable outfits they are wearing. This is important as the target audience are mainly interested in fashion, so if the artist is wearing something they like they are more likely to read the magazine to see what other outfits celebrities are wearing. I used a low-angle shot, to make the artist seem more powerful as this appeals to the female audience. The layout I have used is conventional as I have used Route of the eye and the left third. The route of the eye is conventional as it is the path our eyes take when we look at something. Because of this, I have placed the masthead along the top as this is the primary optical area (where people look first), then down through the image and the name of the cover artist, then along the bottom through another article. I have used the left third conventionally by placing all the articles on the left third, as this is where the reader will look, when the magazine is in a store. My masthead is conventional as it is similar to Billboard magazines masthead as my target audience was similar to that of Billboard. I have used a modern font to attract the target audience. I used purple for my masthead as it contrasted nicely with the white/blue gradient background. The font I have used for the cover artists name is conventional as it is the most important article on the front cover so it needs to stand out. To do this, I used a large, bold sans serif font. I used a Dark blue/purple to also make it stand out against the background. My magazine has the conventional features such as the barcode, date, price, and website for other exclusives. It is important these are clearly displayed to the reader. The colour scheme I used is mainly blues, purple and red. The background is a gradient fill from blue to white. I used this as this is a more gender neutral colour so attracts both males and females, whereas if it was pink, males would be put off reading the magazine. For the fonts I used dark blue, purple and red as these contrasted with the backgrounds nicely and made the articles stand out. The language I have used on the front cover is not complicated and easy to read. This attracts a younger audience as it makes it accessible to them. However, I have not used slang words on the front cover, so this attracts an older audience. Therefore the language used attracts a wide target audience.
2. 2. Contents page The layout of my magazine is conventional as it is similar to Billboard magazine which have a similar target audience. I have placed the chart list down the left side of the contents page and placed the images in a similar way to Billboard. The colour scheme I used was mainly blues, white, black and red. I used these colours as they are quite gender neutral so attracts both males and females. I used a white background and blue and black for the writing, I did this because the colours contrasted nicely and the blue made the title of the articles standout. I used page numbers for each of the articles and pictures so that people can easily find what they are looking for in the magazine, without spending so much time flicking through. I used sans serif fonts for the articles to keep them simple and easy to read. I also organised the articles in columns and in order as this is how contents pages are normally organised. The images I used are conventional as the are mid-shots. This is conventional as the audience can engage with artists facial expressions and shows off their fashionable clothing. All the artists have serious facial expressions this is conventional for a mature pop magazine as it attracts an older audience. If the artists were smiling and joking, the older audience would find the magazine more childish and less serious so would not appeal to them. Three out of the four artists are looking directly into the camera, as well as the low angle shots, this makes the artists seem confident and powerful which attracts the female audience as they like to see women represented as strong individuals. The font used for the contents is a large, bold sans serif font. The colour is black so that it stands out against the white background. The font I used for the charts was less bold and was more of a serif font. This appeals to the younger female audience and also makes it standout against all of the sans serif fonts.
3. 3. Double page spread The artists name is displayed at the top of the article in a black sans serif font. This makes it stand out against the white background and when flicking through the magazine you can clearly see which artist it is about without reading the article. The questions are written in a blue serif font. The blue makes it stand out against the white background and the serif font appeals to the female-leaning audience. The image is a mid-shot of the artist. This is conventional as the female audience want to see what the upcoming artist is wearing and how fashionable they are, as the target audience are very fashion conscious. It is also important to see the artists serious facial expressions. The facial expressions are conventional for a mature pop magazine as it attracts an older audience as they look like they are taking this seriously and not joking about. Also, the artist has natural make-up and hair. This appeal to an older audience as it shows that women can feel comfortable in their own skin, without lots of make-up. The natural makeup and serious facial expressions also appeal to the older audience as it portrays women as strong and powerful and not dependent on men, which is what women like to see. The layout of my magazine is conventional as the article is arranged in columns. This is conventional as this is how double page spreads are usually organised as it makes the article easy to read. The language I used was formal with no slang words, which once again attracts the older target audience, as they would be put off reading it if they were uncomfortable with the words. However they language used is not complicated, so this makes it accessible to the younger audience. The colour scheme I used was mainly white, blue, black and orange. Once again these colours are more gender neutral so appeals to both males and females. The blue and black stand out against the white background, making the article easy to read.