My final products create a house style throughout the use of

continuity. I have used the same base font, Calibri, throughout

my magazine which makes it apparent that the three products

are from the same issue of the same magazine. I also used the

same 3 colours throughout the magazine which is conventional

and reinforces the illusion of my final products being from the

same magazine which is what I aim for. The colours I used were

red, black and white. I chose these colours as I noticed from

looking at already existing alternative music magazine’s the most

frequently used colours were those three. As my genre is

alternative I felt that it would be relevant and appropriate to use

these three colours. The colours also match the outfits of the

band featured throughout the magazine as they are wearing

black and white. I carefully chose the page numbers to ensure

that they make sense and apply to the right pages whilst looking

realistic. I also featured the same artist on my front cover,

contents page and double page spread as the band in the image

are the main feature of the magazine.

My masthead is in one of my 3 conventional colours and is placed across the top of the front cover which is conventional. I have also chosen an individual font to make the masthead recognisable so that the audience will recognise it and see it as a logo.

My sell line is conventional as it is featured underneath the masthead which is conventional and makes it stand out without being overpowering as it is separate to the other features.

The plug I created is in a different colourto my 3 conventional colours as a lot of alternative magazines used this strategy, which made my magazine appear more realistic and stay true to its genre. I also used two images, one of which was an original image taken by me. The use of drop shadows added in photoshop make the plug stand out and look raised above everything else on the page which is what I wanted as it makes the plug appear brighter, stand out and become more eye-catching which is the role of a plug.

There are teasing features which I used to inform the reader about what else will be featured in the magazine. They follow the same colour scheme which creates continuity and are also written in the same base font as everything else. ‘INSIDE’ is written in bold, capital letters in order to draw the readers attention to that area and look at the features. The artist’s written are of the alternative genre, except for ‘wulf’ and ‘limbs’ as I created those two band names as I felt they were a way of expressing my knowledge of the genre since they are stereotypical alternative band names.

My main image is stereotypical of alternative music magazines that feature bands on the front. I have used a central medium close up framing which is conventional and I have also made the two girls stand on a side as that is conventionally a more flattering angle. Their outfits are of a monochrome tone which matches the colour scheme. On alternative music magazine’s the artists featured often were either plain black or white clothing which is why I chose these outfits for my band as it creates realism and suits my genre.

I have included two feature stories which are written in the same base font and in the conventional chosen colours. I added a white background behind the black text and made it transparent so that it would stand out above the black while still showing the image underneath. I created the stories themselves to create realism as the artists mentioned are of the alternative genre and the topic is something that I feel my audience would be interested in.

The main feature story revolves around the band who are featured throughout the magazine. I wrote their name- ‘The Atomic Nukes’ in an individual font that is different to the other fonts as I felt that it stood out and suited the genre as alternative music is known for it’s distorted and imperfect sound, where this handwriting font looks very imperfect and scribbled. The brush strokes underneath the main feature helps the writing stand out more but also suits the alternative film. This isn’t entirely conventional, however I have seen it featured on a few alternative music magazines which is why I felt it was relevant to use this technique. The description also reveals why they are featured in the magazine and seen as a huge part of the issue. This is conventional and is featured on all magazines. I highlighted ‘new’ by putting it in red and underlining it as I felt like it needed to stand out as it is an important and interesting part of the feature.

I included the barcode, price, date and issue in the same area at the bottom of the page as this follows conventions. The text didn’t need to be large as every music magazine has these pieces of information in a smaller text. I made the font black so that it matched the barcode and didn’t overpower anything else on the front cover. The price is very reasonable which I discovered by doing my focus group.

The font used in the already existing NME magazine (which is of the same genre as mine)

is similar to the font used in my magazine.

The plug I featured in my magazine is similar to the plug used on the already existing ‘MOJO’ magazine which is a similar

genre to mine.

My masthead is also featured on the contents page as it creates a logo and is conventional. The placement of the masthead is also conventional. I have stuck with the same colourscheme to create continuity. I have also included the headline ‘contents’ which is one of the main features of a contents page. The date is also beside the masthead and headline as this is featured on many alternative music magazines.

Page numbers and subheadings are used to reveal what content will be on what page. I used a realistic sum of numbers to create realism. I achieved this by looking at already existing music magazines to understand how many pages of content they had for the price. I also looked at their headlines to see what content they included. All page features are conventional and relate to the interests of the fans of my chosen genre. I even mentioned the ‘underground awards’, which idea stemmed from the already existing ‘NME awards’. I also featured my main artist on the contents page as the largest feature as they are the most important story on the page seeing as they are on the front cover. I wrote a brief detailed piece of information to pull in and attract the reader without revealing too much in order to interest them and make them want to go to the page. I also included information about ‘T In The Park’ which is a popular festival that many upcoming alternative acts will go to.

I used images of two alternative bands which I took at T In The Park last year. The pictures really show the informal gig atmosphere which will appeal to my target audience. The other original image I used was to show ‘the atomic nukes’ on the set of their photoshoot. I chose to use the most informal looking image as it is often conventional of contents pages to do this and it showed the bands personality. I also included two original images to show who the contributors are. This creates realism as it puts a face to who helped put the magazine together. The pictures are taken on the same angle from the same distance as I wanted them to look like professional headshots.

I featured the contributors to create realism and the illusion that someone was meeting The Atomic Nukes. It is conventional for music magazines to include their contributors on their contents page. I made it smaller than everything else on the page which is also conventional as it is not as big an interest to the audience as the information on the bands is.

I used a subscription plug which is often featured on contents pages and is conventional. This includes an offer and information on how much you will save if you subscribe which helps create more returning and loyal customers. I included this in the same colour scheme that has been used throughout.

This plug is featured in a few existing alternative magazine’s and I thought it was bold and eye catching. It includes information on what is inside the magazine while sticking to the colour scheme.

The large page numbers are used to highlight the most important pages. This is conventional and used in many existing music magazines. The font of the numbers is different to the rest as I wanted them to appear thicker and bolder so that they are separated from everything else which highlights their importance.

I included a page number as this is conventional and featured on every page so that the reader knows where they are. I included this in the same colour scheme.

Here is my plug featured in the already exisiting ‘nme’ magazine which is the same genre as mine.

These features that are all featured on my contents page can be seen similarly on the already existing ‘NME’ magazine.

I have included page numbers in the same style as they have been included on the contents page as this creates a house style and continuity.

My image of the same band featured on the previous two pages takes up one whole side of a4 which is conventional of double page spreads. I used an amp box in the image as the mise-en-scene created realism and it was relevant to the genre. I also created levels by getting the two band members to sit/stand at different heights which created a more flattering frame. The image is a medium close up which is also conventional framing for bands.

I included information as to where the band’s outfits are from as this is conventional and can be seen on many magazines. I wrote it in a plain black font which is the same font as the rest of the magazine. This way it isn’t in anyway overpowering.

I have featured a by line which is very important as it gives credit to who has taken the photograph and who was written the article. I made a fake name for the photographer as it created realism. I used the same false name on the contents.

I wrote my article in three columns, using a drop caps for the first letter which is featured on almost every music magazine, therefore it is conventional. Columns are also conventional as they are used on every magazine article. I stuck to the same colourscheme.

I used pull quotes throughout the article as this is conventional and featured in a lot of main articles in popular alternative music magazines. I put them in red as this is a part of my colour scheme. The quotes themselves are also relevant to the article.

I included a stand first which is conventional and informs the reader about the article without giving anything away. It teases the reader and entices them to continue reading.

My headline was written using a different font which makes it stand out by separating it from the rest which is what I aimed for. I stuck to the same colour scheme and made the text stand out even further by adding a red background. The headline is the largest thing on the page which is conventional. I also used a pull quote as the headline which is also conventional and used on many alternative music magazines.

The pull quote

headline and stand first used in my

magazine are similarly

featured in the already

existing ‘NME magazine’.