Conventions of a magazine

When making any media text it is important to follow some conventions because you need to have a structure for your product to work. You want your target audience to be able to identify the genre product as well as the genre. You want the magazine to stand out and for them to instantly know what sort of magazine it is, instead of having to work it out. However challenging some conventions makes your magazine different to other magazines that are of the same genre, you want your magazine to bring something new and fresh but at the same time it still being similar to other magazine of the same genre so your target audience knows what genre it is.
The technical conventions of an RnB music magazine would be to have the Masthead  normally at the top left, it is in bold font that is really visible and straight away you know it is the Masthead. The Masthead is also short and snappy and relates to the RnB genre, A key convention is having strong sell lines that are appealing and relate to the RnB industry. Another key convention is having a price on your magazine this allows the consumer to know the price in which they have to pay, in order to get the price of my magazine i will ask the question in my survey and see how much my target audience are willing to pay. The dominant image is another key convention it is also the main focus on the front cover of a magazine. Normally the dominant image is central and the model is looking into the camera. Looking at RnB/Hip Hop magazine covers I have noticed that Red, Black and White are used quite frequently on the front of RnB/Hip Hop magazines and other music magazines like NME.The technical conventions for an RnB contents page would be to have features and regulars, normally the features and regulars are in a column on opposite sides of the page. Also on the contents page the main story on the front cover is normally in bigger font or made a little more eye catching so as soon as you open up the contents you know what page the main story is on. I really like the layout of the RnB magazine ‘Vibe’ I think it’s really interesting to look at. Also ‘Vibe’ uses Red, black and white as their colour scheme which I also think works really well.The technical conventions of an RnB feature page would be to have a big image of your celebrity on one page with a pull quote that makes the target audience want to read your article. Also it would have an introductory paragraph and another pull quote on the same side as the writing of the article. The symbolic conventions of an RnB music magazine would be the bling/jewellery that the artists wear, which links back to what I wrote in my Genre and Iconography. The poses that the artists are photographed in are normally showing off the female artists flesh and male artists it’s showing that they are dominant and in control and have a good physique which is appealing to women because they find that exciting and sexy. Also the artists whether they are male or female are normally wearing tight fitted clothes or hardly any clothes at all to make them stand out and live up to the ‘sex icon’ name.
Red, black and white are used a lot as the 3 colour scheme, they work well and the red and white links in with the connotations of the artists because the connotation of Red is sexy and dangerous which links in with the reason the artists are known as ‘sex symbols’. Also the connotation of white is purity that is linked to most RnB artists, as they are very humble and thankful for where they are and the red shows their playful side. The dominant image on a RnB magazine is very obvious and the first thing you would look at on the magazine, normally the female artists are posed in sexual poses and revealing clothes and jewellery which would attract men to read the magazine and also women because they might idolise them. Men are also shown as sexy, normally they have tattoos and muscles and are wearing jewellery and clothing to show off their muscles, which is appealing to women because they find them really attractive and sexy. However men are interested because they idolise them also and look up to them almost as a role model or something to aim towards.

Mast head - The Mast head is the main title. It is usually at the top left, as many people begin to read from that side. It will be bright, bold and the largest font on the front of the magazine cover. It is easily placed so that your eyes meet with it, and also to display good advertising so that it will stand clear to other people in, for example: a shop window/shelf. This is because the title exposes itself from the other magazines/newspapers etc, which may be cluttered around that particular magazine, as the title is displayed at the top.


Price - It is hidden on the magazine, an extremly small statistic. This is because the brand does not want to attract the reader to, for example: an extremly high price, as some people may disagree with it. The person could change their mind about purchasing, which could lose a lot of the magazines main audience.

Barcode - Every magazine contains a Barcode, so that the reader can purchase the magazine.

Feature Article Photograph - This instantly clarifies that it is the top story, as it has it's own large advertisement. It immediately explains to the reader that it is the main article throughout the whole magazine as it stands out the most, above the rest of the information that the reader is given on the front cover, explaining that it was obviously slapped on the front page for a specific reason. This can be to attract the key audience. For example: A large photograph which covers the front page with Batman, to promote 'The Dark Knight'. The Batman Saga is highly popular, and this could connect the fans of the audience to the magazine, as they're attracted by the photograph.

Main Cover Line - Bigger/brighter fonts with less information, to give you a quick overview of what the magazine will contain from that certain weeks main issues, and gossip etc.

Cover Line - Extra information which is added onto the front cover, to show the reader that there is more that you can do, e.g puzzles and quizzes. Although, the cover line is presented smaller, as it is less important information. The magazine would tend to concentrate mostly on the main article, however the extras may still intrigue some of the audience, so they would have to keep other options availabe to acheive a broader and successful audience.

Plug - Is a selling point about what else could be in the magazine. For example: the magazine cover could contain a quote, which ends as a question or with an exclamation mark. This leaves the reader feeling engaged, wanting to purchase the magazine to find out more about that certain topic.

Puffs - Using powerful and attractive words, which will atrract the reader to the magazine. For example: 'exclusive', 'hot', 'new' and 'incredible'.

Strapline - This gives more information about the brand, to promote it.

Typeface/Point sizes - Fonts, colours etc.

Sans Serit - Smooth and formal writing.

Serit - Points, and sharper writing. Found in e.g. Newspapers.