Main Task: 1st Drafts

Front Cover

Contents Page


Double Page Spread


Above is the front cover, contents page and double page spread that i have created as part of the main task. While i was constructing the page's i took in consideration my research and who my target audience where and tried to relate it to their needs.

Product Mock Ups

Front Cover

Contents Page Double page Spread

Double Page Spread Analysis

Double page spreads for music or nearly any kind of magazine are very important as they're often one of their main selling points. I have chosen to deconstruct a double page spread from the well
renowned music magazine, Mojo. This article features the northern English band, The Doves.

The first feature on this page that catches your eye is the main image. This image is large and overlaps onto the second page, the picture shows the band (Doves), choosing to focus on the front man from a low angle using the rule of thirds to give the impression that you are part of the crowd. The colours the image contain are dark, rusty colours and the expression on the lead guitarist's face is one of concentration.

The majority of the the pictures and headlines on this double page spread look as if they have been thrown onto the page, this in turn connotates that the information contained on the page is factual. The three 'mug shots' of the band members in the top right look are black and white close ups of the band members featuring serious facial expressions, they overlap each other and have a white border giving the impression that they are Polaroid pictures that belong in some kind of police file.

This imagery is linked up well with the colour scheme used for the main headline, the colours used are yellow and black, not only does this make the headline stand out very well it is also of a historical reference to the bands past when they used to play acid house music in Manchester and decorated their gigs with yellow and black police tape. The headline itself is a pun on the name of the band as of course 'Doves' are a species of bird, setting a slightly humerus tone.

From reading the article i have identified and clear and affective structure to it, one that i may well use when creating my own article. The first part of the article contains a description review from one The Doves latest gigs, this is followed up by a short interview on the bands human interests, and effective tool is used here in the form of colloquial language, the bands words represent via the use of slang, a normal Manchurian man, this is a representation of the image band wants to portray. Next comes a biography style section to the article stating the history associated with the band and their previous achievements, again followed by a small interview featuring banter between the band, displaying their attitude to life and showing that despite their success they are still the same people they used to be and find the same things humerus. Finally the journalist makes some comments and uses improvised language to make it sound like he is involved.

The caption for the main image on this double page spread does not follow typical conventions and can be found in between two columns of text. The caption itself describes the band as "Rust devils" which is a pun on one of the bands albums, it also connotates an imagery for the band of old weathered man that are good at what they do.

Finally their is a puff located underneath the 3 'mug shots'. It manipulates the text, takes a hard hitting quote and makes it stand out. Coupled with the serious looking 'mug shot' pictures gives the reader the perspective that they are very serious.

In conclusion one of the most important things to right when creating a double page spread is to make sure each of the features support each other by making the product's mode of address clear to the reader. I beleive this product does this well therefore i shall be using some of the technices in the creation of my own product.

Contents Page Analysis

I have once again chosen to analysis a NME issue, so far in my research they have proven relevant to my target demograph via the conventions used.

informs the reader of what this page contains. Bloc Capitals are used to achieve this affect and the The reason for including a contents page into a music magazine is to give the magazine a clear structure and allow the reader to circumnavigate through the text to find the article of feature they wish to view. NME do this well, the masthead is large clear to read and immediatelyNME logo is included in order to further promote the brand name.

Two pictures are included on this page, the reason I believe they are included is to make the page look more attractive and advertise some of the main articles included within the magazine, they are central and combined with the caption underneath back up the main article featured on the front page and tell readers where in the magazine it is located.

The side bare down the right of the page is split into two main sub sections; "NEWS" and "Features", underneath each sub title there is a list of what pages varies pieces of 'news' and 'regular' features can be found. In my opinion including a features section on my contents page would be a good idea and useful convention to follow as establishing regular features within the magazine will improve the changes of recurring purchases or subscriptions.

One way in which this contents page breaks typical conventions that i have seen while looking at similar pages is the advert at the bottom of the page, this is clearly done to try and increases the magazines subscribers and in my opinion is a good feature to included as the contents page is one of the most viewed pages from a magazine as readers have to turn back to it if they want to find a specific article/feature.

The colour scheme of the contents page keeps with the colour scheme of the magazine and logo, it adds consistency to the product and includes colours that don't particularly stick out, therefore continuing this pages informative mode of address.

In conclusion i have learnt from researching contents page's that there are alot of important conventions in place that are there fore a reason. The prime function for a contents page is to provide the reader with information, in the creation of my music magazine i will not include bright colours on the contents page, i do not wish to confuse the reader and wish to keep this page relatively simple.