Thursday 3 November 2011

Main task: Contents Page FINAL



Main task: Double Page Spread FINAL



Main task: Unmanipulated Photos













Main task: Front Cover FINAL

Main task: FC, DP, DPS Mock Ups



Main task: Mood Board



Main task: Case Study Of A Publishing House



The publishing company I have researched is Conde Nast Digital. It was established in 1995 having its first clients being vogue and GQ. Conde Nast websites attracts ‘2.6 million users and has 46 million pages viewed each month.’ This Company publishes magazines such as Glamour, Brides Magazine, Vogue, GQ and many others. The magazines chosen to be published all follow a common trait of being magazines based on improving the quality of lifestyle by dealing with fashion, beauty, technology, automotive and travel based articles to name a few. The magazines publish tend to be heavily dealing with stereotypical male attributes or traits that are often stereotyped as a feminine fixation. The audience targeted toward the beauty and fashion magazines published tend to be people who purchase high quality fashion goods and fragrances. This is evident in the clients Conde Nast Digital make business with as they are associated with top brands such as Alfa Romeo, Calvin Klein and LG. Also the colour scheme used by most of the magazines use light and feminine conventional colours such as pink and purple. There is also the use of the main images on the covers being female models which is evident in Vogue and Glamour magazine Also the target audience in the articles are also mostly mature females as the audience profile for some magazines also indicate that its target audience is 99% females and also contain an average age of 38.
The technology and automotive magazines stereotypically appeals to males as it uses articles designed to suit them by having images of cars and latest gadgets rather than images of people looking nice. Research by EasyLivingmagazine.com states that, ‘The brands advertised on EasyLivingmagazine.com are quality brands’ clearly showing its feature. The publisher targets different audiences because it shows the skill and quality that this company is able to publish different styles of magazine instead of only following only a narrow target audience. Conde Nast other business interests include in creating their own magazine which is called Conde Nast traveller which gives advice and inspires people to go on holidays. Also it helps their clients advertise.


GQ is a magazine that specialize in men's fashion which is published monthly. The target audience are men who are over 25. They appeal to their target audience by the style of their clothing and the famous male celebrities that appear on the magazine.

Vogue is a magazine which contains is a high fashion and life style content which is published weekly. the magazine aims to target women who are above 20 and also people who can afford expensive clothing.

These magazines are published by Conde Nast Digital and are the leading magazines of today. They create magazines that appeal to the older audience but have different magazines that appeal to each gender.



Main task: Profiling Your Audience




BASE READER: Micheal, 19 has a deep passion for the hip-hop scene and enjoys to listen to variety of hip-hop artists. His iTunes accont has variouse artists such as Drake, BIG Sean, Eminem and Lil Wayne In his spare time sports such as football and basketball occupy his time. He is a student at university currently taking a BA in sports and fitness. Living with his room mate they have created a dance group. Also the dance group has performed which they showcase there street dance at small gigs. Playing games as a past time is also a hobbies of his are when he plays games such as Fifa, Call of Duty and DJ hero. Being a hip-hop fan has an impact on his personality and appeals to certain things as he shops only at major retail stores and has maintained two good payed jobs. Hip-hop will remain his motivation in life.


Main task: Audience Research

I have conducted an investigation for my magazine so that i can have more knowledge about my chosen genre by using my target audience. I have conducted questions that will help me create my magazine and make it appropriate for Hip-Hop readers. The question will look at the small details in creating a magazine such as font and how frequent the magazine should be published. I have also used social networking to also research more information about my target audience.

A) BOSS
B) EVOLVE

2. What colours best represent hip-hop?

3. What attracts you to a magazine?
A) COLOUR

B) MASTHEAD
C) PICTURE
D) CONTENT

4. How much would you spend on a new magazine?
A) £2.99
B) £3.99
C) £4.99
D) Between £4.99-£6.99

5. How often do you think a music magazine should come out?
A) MONTHLY
B) WEEKLY
C) TERM
D) YEAR

6. What prop effectively represents hip hop?
A) Mic
B) Headphones
C) Jewellery
D) Glasses

7. Who do you think now best represents the hip-hop scene?

8. What draws more attention to the font?
A) BOLD
B) ITALICS
C) UNDERLINED

Main task: Double Page Spread Conventions Diagram

Main task: Double Page Spread Textual Analysis

Colour scheme: The colour scheme is kept to a minimum as the page containing the article uses 3 colours in the presentation. This basic scheme allows it to be easy to read and not look like a page contains too much information as the article itself has a lot of text. Although the colour scheme is simple it applies to its target audience by displaying an urban connotation with the splash of colour in the form of paint.
Image: The denotation of the image is the band fighting a person in a cartoon rabbit’s costume. The costume the band is wearing is casual seeing that they are in shirts and jeans. The colours of their costume are dull yet appealing to there target audience which are listeners of the math core genre. The dullness of their costume is like this so that it does not become too colourful that tit clashes with the articles colour scheme.
Subject name: Is positioned in the top right hand corner stating the name of the band being addressed visibly.
Quotes: The quote is the second largest text on the page, catching the reader’s eye. It is also situated on the lower 3rd in the centre of the double page spread overlaying the main image and breaking up a column in the article, which can also display its importance clearly.
Stand-first: the font size is large and is white however it not deterring from the headline. It is also very eye catching as it is on a black strip and the main singer name of the band is highlighted by using the colour red drawing readers to read the article.
Drop capital: The drop capital is large taking five lines of the article. It is also in the colour red which makes it more engaging as it is on a white background therefore clearly showing the start of the article. The proceeding paragraphs show two words in drop capital in a slightly larger font to the rest of the text in the columns. The purpose of this is to find a different paragraph without difficulty.
Headline: The headline is in a large white font on a read strip. The headline saying, ‘TEEN SPIRIT’ relates back to the readers and goes with the style of music the band produces.
By-line: This is positioned under the strap-line
Columns: There are 3 columns in the article breaking up the large amount of information being placed. The font is Times New Romans which connotes formalness towards the article.

Main task: Contents Page Conventions Diagram



Main task: Front Cover Conventions Diagram

Main task: Front Cover Textual Analysis

Denotation- The magazine consists of a man looking at the camera. It is a close up of his head.

Masthead- The source masthead is simple as it uses a bold text which is in red. This corresponds to the colour scheme the magazine is trying to pull off. The masthead uses a bold and rounded font with a white outline which creates it to it being more eye catching for the readers.

Character- The cover is a photograph of a famous hip-hop rapper called Ice Cube

Composition- The focus is concentrated more on the face of ice cube so that we can clearly see that his facial expression is screwed up, this relates back to its target audience to which the music comes with a stereotypical appearance to look in a certain way.

Costume- His clothing suggest he is a young person or relatable to the young generation as he wears relatable and fashionable clothing. He is dress in a black American football hat and a black plain top which is fashionable for the target audience. This colour is chosen as it is associated as a ‘cool’ and significant colour amongst the hip-hop fans. This will draw readers by using this clothing and this hip hop icon that is socially accepted by people who listen to this genre. There are also parts of this clothing that connotes wealth as he wears a long chain, diamond earrings and diamond teeth. The jewellery contrasts with the dark clothing he is wearing to show clearly the expensive items. The connotations of the jewellery correspond to the target audience’s imagery of an American hip-hop artist. He is also holding a cigarette and holding it in a ‘show off’ manner. The cigarette connotes that he is rich as the target audience imagine people with them to be business people. Wealth is used a lot in this photograph to connote prosperity in this genre of music.

NVC- He is posed in a casual yet intimidating way as the main image is a mid-shot focusing on his facial expression. His eyebrows are tensed giving him an aggressive appearance. His facial expression portrays the hip-hop genre to be a demanding and brutal business.

Lighting-The lighting is high key so that it contrasts with the dark appearance of the character. The lighting is situated around his face and as it comes closer to the centre it becomes dark connoting a sinister look to correspond with his facial expression.
Setting- The setting is replaced with a block colour however the brown colour used creates a simple theme being used so that it does not draw attention from the main subject of the magazine.

Cover lines- The main coverline refers back to the character. The main coverline is made more important and separated by the other coverlines by using a bigger font, different colour and centralising the text. This gives it the public interest it is trying to achieve as the unique font chosen states the characters name in red, a colour that connotes watchfulness, placed in the centre. There is a smaller text included in the main coverline, ‘started this gangsta ish!’ this text uses informal language to relate to its target audience by using this short, quote-like main coverline. The use of the exclamation mark allows the reader to imagine that this is what the character is saying. At the bottom of the front page there is a coverline that shows different stories that are going to be included in the magazine. This draws a wider target audience by stating the different articles. This is created to build excitement for the reader as it is placed in a list stating four different topics. One topic draws reader into looking into an artist, ‘can they shine under 50’, this is shown in a different colour to the artists name and uses a rhetorical question to appeal to its target audience.

Target audience- The target audience are listeners of the hip-hop genre. These tend to be people that are between the ages of 15-30

Main task: Introduction

My name is Christopher Chuky, my task for AS media is to produce in this project a college magazine. This will include a front page, contents page and double page spread. American Hip- Hop is the genre of the magazine I will be creating. During this I will plan and research my chosen genre and implement my ideas to create an authentic magazine. Ways I will research is through looking at different music magazines and look at the lay out and style the magazine has been created. Also I will be using questionnaires and social views of the hip-hop genre and magazine to gather more information to add to my and effect my finial choices when creating the magazine.