In what way does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The main focus on the background of my magazine front cover is of a girls face. I have done this because the magazine industry chooses to have a person or people (I.E a singer or band,) on the front. However I have challenged this convention, because I have put it in black and white instead of having it in full colour. I feel the picture itself is a bold enough statement, and didn’t need colour to make it stand out. It ensures that the focus of the reader is not distracted from the image, however it also lets the audience’s eye wonder around the page, to see the other content which is included in the magazine.

I challenged conventions of magazine products because I have continued the blue colour for my mast head and also for the font. The colour blue compliments the picture and makes stand out more against the contrasting colours (black and white). Not many other magazines use blue for their mast head or font, because it doesn't compliment or stand out against many other colours, many more colours work better and most magazine industries choose to go for these because they are the simple way out of it. They tend to choose bolder colours. I didn't want to follow this trend because, when my magazine is in the rack, the mast head will stand out more from all the rest of the magazines, which would mean more sales.

Further more, I have challenged forms and conventions of other magazines, because of where I put the price of my magazine. Normally, in the case of most products they have their price under or next to the date, which would be on the right hand side under the mast head, with the issue number, so that it still shows when the magazine is in the rack. I have kept this idea in mind, but changed it slightly. I have put the issue number, the date and price under on top of the barcode. I have done this because I didn’t want to hide it from the reader; however I found that it fitted better down the bottom. It looked correct in the placing of it and didn’t make the magazine feel too cramped and full of information. Although I have kept all three bits of information together and not separated them.

In the end thought I have kept to a quite minimalistic, conventional approach, with some slight differences, (enough not make it look different and stand out.) mostly I did my deconstructions and saw what the normal conventions were and tried adding some of them into my magazine because these are the things the industry have found out sell the best and make the most profit, so worth adding in.

My magazine is unique and different. This is the feel which I was going for so it would catch the audience’s eye when in the rack at the shops.