Contents page analysis: X Magazine.

This is the contents page from the X Magazine.

1. On the left-hand side is the editors letter, which is present in every magazine and every issue. The letter basically lets the reader know what the magazine team have been doing with regards of creating the issue and it also indicates what sort of things will be present in the particular issue. The language in the X magazine letter is informal and casual, as the editor would want to seem like the readers friend to draw them in so they read the rest of the magazine. This is continued throughout the rest of the magazine too, and so it sets the tone of the language.The two x's at the end also indicate this and so the reader feels included in the magazines team.

2. The page contains many images of different sizes and narratives. The images give the reader an insight into what is featured in the magazine without them having to read the actual contents page. The larger image of Kylie shows that it is one of the main articles, with the smaller images just showing what else is featured, such as the fashion photo.

3. The articles are broken up into groups which are shown on the contents page. Each grouping is in a different colour which will also be present in the rest of the magazine.This means that the page is easier to read and if the reader is only looking for a certain section, they can find it easily. It also shows the reader what sort of content is in the magazine, for example one of the sections is called 'Style File' which suggests there will be content on fashion and style.

4. The logo at the top of the page is present to remind the reader what magazine they are reading. However it is also present on all the other pages, but a smaller version, so the larger one on the contents page starts the continuity.

5. The contents page show a variety of fonts with a variety of sizes. The writing in the coloured boxes is slanted upwards to the right and is all in capital letters with a edgy feel to it. However the writing underneath is in a more common font such as Arial. This is the same with the editors letter, with the 'Hello' being slanted and having an edgy feel yet the main letter is in the common font such as Arial. Overall though, there is a adult feel to the page in terms of the font, which is fitting for the target audience as they are older teens and younger adults.

My Mastheads.

Below are two rough sketches of my potential mastheads. These are my initial ideas, and they were mainly used to see if the title looks right and get down any first ideas with fonts and colours and so in time, they are subject to change.

This was my first attempt of a masthead. I thought that just the world POP would be effective as a title, as it got the genre of the magazine across straight away. However as they is already a magazine named Pop, I am unable to use it. I thought the font as being almost like bubble writing with a really big outline in black to make the colours stand out more, so something like the TOTP or Smash Hits mastheads. The font may have to change slightly in order to make it appeal to both genders, as this rounded bubble writing has a female feel to it. The colours used are not the colours that would be used, as they are very feminine.

This is my second draft. As you can see I have changed the title slightly, to include the tastic bit at the end. The Pop bit will stay the same as before with the word tastic in italics and a bold black like the outline of the word pop. Again the colours used here are not necessarily the colours that will be used in the end and they would have to be a lot brighter, to get across the pop effect.

Brainstorm.

This is my brainstorm of the Pop music 'industry' that was used to create a title for my magazine. In some ways it is like my moodboard of my target audience, as it features many of the same things such as MTV and certain artists. However it is also different as it looks at nearly everything to do with the pop music world, and not just what the audience are into. As already mentioned, this brainstorm was used to help me think up a title for my magazine and so it is an important part of my research and planning.

Analysis of mastheads: Pop.

Although not a music magazine, the masthead of Pop has really influenced the idea of my masthead.

Pop magazine focuses on celebrating 'the world’s key creatives' and is aimed at women with an interest in the magazines content. The masthead shown above really reflects this.

The masthead itself is more a shape than a distinctive font which is more interesting and creative and so reinforces the content of the magazine. Also instead of just one block colour, this shape is filled with images of cartoon like flowers, in bright colours. This again is more interesting and creative, so again reinforcing the content of the magazine, with the flowers reinforcing the target audience. However the colours of these flowers give the magazine a 'pop' feel as they are pop art colours. These are the sort of colours that i would like to include in my masthead as they would not only reinforce the music genre of the magazine, but would make it feel pop like as soon as you look at it.

Analysis of mastheads: Smash Hits.

Smash Hits was a pop magazine that was aimed at, initally, teenagers of both genders. Above is the masthead that would of featured on these earlier issues. The colour of red indicate that the magazine is is for both genders, as it is a colour that both males and females like. The type face is a strong font that again attracts both male and female readers in.

This masthead is the one on the newer magazines after they redesigned it to boost circulation. This redesign also changed the focus away from chart followers of both genders to young teenage girls who wanted celebrity gossip. The masthead reinforces this.

The type face used is very similar to that on Top Of The Pops, with the bubble writing look and the title being in lower case. It has a more of a younger feel to it, especially with the exclamation mark that isn't present in the older issues. The colours used are more 'girly' but also have a pop feel to it, especailly the yellow which is very bright. The use of the black outline, which again is very similar to TOTP, makes the colours stand out even more as well as making the masthead look younger. In all this masthead looks very childish, like the sort of thing a girl of this age would draw, especailly when you compare it to the earlier masthead.


The wording of the masthead is very to the point, as the reader will know straight away that the magazine will focus on the biggest hits at the time. It makes it point quickly and efficently.


For my magazine my masthead will have elements of both of these mastheads in them. As my magazine will be for both male and females of the older teenage years, the type face will be similar to the earlier mastheads of Smash Hits. However I will use the same sort of pop colours that are featured on the later mastheads, except I will make the colours relevent to both genders.

Anaylsis of mastheads: Top Of The Pops.

Top Of The Pops is a music magazine that is aimed more at younger teenage girls, ages 9-13, who have an interest in the current popular music.

The wording- 'Top Of The Pops', tells you straight away what sort of music the magazine is focused and it also tells the audience that it is only the 'Top' of the pop charts that would be shown. This is because the music at the top of the charts is more likely to be the music that the audience would be into.

The masthead reinforces this due to the use of colour and the type of font. The font is like bubble writing, which is a popular type of font used by younger teenagers, and so it automatically attracts itself to the right audience. Also the title is in lower case, which again is relevant to the age group. However it is the use of colour that makes it distinctive to female teenagers. Yellow and pink are very girly colours- pink in particular. This means that automatically you can tell what gender this magazine is for. Also the brightness of the colours, again shows what age group the magazine is for. The colours aren't subtle or sophisticated, and you wouldn't find them on a women's glossy such as Marie Claire. The colours are too bright for this, yet they are the sort of colours that young girls would chose themselves.

My masthead will involve the same sort of colours used in the TOTP masthead, however they will be relevant to both genders such as greens and reds.

Quick Anaylsis- Smash Hits (the earlier magazines).

Smash Hits, although folded in 2006, is the other magazine that has had a big influence on my magazine. However I am thinking more about the original Smash Hits, when it was the 'Pop bible', than the later ones when it was competing to be more like a teenage lifestyle magazine. I want my magazine to be focused purely on the music, just like the original Smash Hits and that is why it is such a big influence on my idea. Also, like X Magazine, the age range and gender of the original Smash Hits, is like mine and so there will be similarities.

Font size and choice of colour: The font, like the X Magazine, is more of a 'serious' font and so gives the impression that the article is of a serious nature- in fact it gives the whole magazine this 'serious' look, meaning that it is scene as a serious music magazine. The titles are larger but in the same sort of font, so again showing the serious-ness of the magazine and article.

Mode of address: The tone set by the magazine has a familiar quality to it, making the reader feel like the magazines best friend and so are more likely to continuously buy the magazine as they feel they know it.

The Content: The magazine is focused on the Pop music and so the content is based around that. This means that there are interviews with pop stars and reviews of albums and singles.

Images: Most images are paparazzi like which suggests that the magazine is based around the gossip in the pop music world. However it also includes some staged images which shows that artists in more of a positive light, which adds more appeal to this artists. It also shows that the magazine isn't purely based around gossip.

Demographic: The demographic of the older issues is both male and female (female might be slightly dominant), in their teenage years and take an interest in pop music.

Language: The language used is informal making the magazine more relevant for its target audience. There is a tabloid style of journalism used which again makes it more relevant to the target audience.

Layout: Narrative is broken up into bubbles or blocks, with pictures being dominant in every article. This breaks up any narrative making it easier to read and follow. Some articles are presented like in a newspaper with the text in columns, giving the article more of a serious feel to it.

Quick anaylsis- X Magazine.

X magazine is one of the magazines in the current market that has a big influence on my magazine, POPtastic. However this magazine only influences mine in terms of the music aspect, not the lifestyle content, as it is essentially the only 'Pop' magazine on the market. Another reason is the age of the target audience of this magazine, as it is similar to mine. This means that there will be similarties between the two in terms of the language used and the sort of articles that are published.

X magazine is a cross between a women's glossy (like Marie Claire) and and women's gossip weekly (like Heat), with aspects of being a music magazine. This means it is very hard to categorise its genre.

Font size and choice of colour: The articles themselves, are written in what could be considered a more 'serious' font such as Times New Roman, with the titles being larger in size and varying in font style. This means that the articles have a more women's weekly feel to them, such as Heat magazine. The articles are written in black with some titles written in other colours dependant on the content of the article. Again this gives the article more of a women's weekly feel to it.

Mode of address: The tone of the magazine is casual and informal and so positions the reader to be the magazines 'best friend' or as part of 'in' group. This again conveys the idea that the magazine is a cross between a women's gossip weekly and a women's 'glossy'.

The Content: The magazine contains interviews with celebraties and the contestants of the show, reviews of albums and downloads, fashion and other lifestyle elements. This shows us the genre of the magazine- music and womens lifestyle.

Images: The images are a mixture of staged photoshoots and paparazzi like. The big interviews with celebs, such as the judges, have images that are photoshoots to give a glamours impression of the person being interviewed. Other articles contain more paparazzi-type pictures which give across the impression of the magazine being a women's weekly gossip magazine. As the magazine itself is a mixture of a women's gossip and music articles, it is right that you would have a mixture of both staged and paparazzi style images.

Demographic: The magazine gives the impression that the demographic is women aged 18-30 who like the X Factor.

Language: The language used in the articles is simplistic with no overly complicated words used. The text flows well together making it easier to read, whilst techniques such as rhtorical questions and similes add more intrest and makes the articles more humours. Some of the articles also have a sarcastic tone to them, which again adds a humours edge to them.

Layout: The layout is very like a celb gossip magazine but also like a music magazine, such as NME, with interviews presented with both questions and answers, not a long article. Every article has a couple of images to either show the person being interviewd or re-enforce the purpose of the article. Everything is boxed off and that means that it is easier to read.

Mood Board.

This is the mood board for my music magazine. It focuses on all the things that i believe my ideal reader will be into such as certain artists and MTV. This then gives me ideas of what the content should be and so it is easier to begin creating my magazine.
I believe that my target audience are going to be really into pop music and/ or the current chart-toppers and so will read my magazine purely to gain more knowledge about pop industry. This is why my mood board only features things to do with the music industry.

Pre-lim task: A school magazine front cover.

This is my preliminary task of a school magazine front cover. I chose to focus on the younger years of the school-years 7 to 9- as i felt that they would be the age group that would be most interested in what was happening in and around school. The magazine would contain information on school events, new staff and anything else that KS3 students would need to know about school life.
The central dominant image is of our new headteacher as I believed it was fitting as a 'new issue' along with 'new students' and would be relevant for a school magazine.
The colour scheme used is the school colours as this re-enforces the objective of the magazine and makes it relevant for the school that would be producing them.
With an article asking for the students opinions means that the readers get involved with the magazine and so are more likely to buy it, creating a profit.
In all, the front cover really re-enforces this message of it being a school magazine, and it also gives the impression of it being for the younger students.

An Introduction.

Hi.
My name is Hannah Gordon and this is my blog for Media AS course, 2010.
My coursework this year is based on a music magazine, and so we, individually, are making our own. My idea is of a Pop music mag with a target audience of students of both genders aged 16-20 with an interest in the current Pop charts and artists. The magazine will feature the current charts along with reviews of album's, artists and concerts.
I chose this genre of music magazine after looking at the music magazine market and establishing that there was a place in it for this sort of magazine, as the only other competition would be the new X Magazine (X Factor) which also features elements of fashion and gossip. My magazine will solely be about the music.
The frequency would be weekly, as that means that the magazine can feature the current charts and be constantly up-to-date with whatever would be happening in the music world.
And so it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the blog for the up and coming:

POPtastic.