LO1 - EXAMPLES OF REAL MAGAZINES (Examples of real magazines + Code & Conventions)

Pet & Dog Magazines

Examples of magazines below:

Front Covers

Content Pages

Double Page Spreads

There are multiple strengths in the chosen magazines above. The first is that the front covers dive straight to the point and make it clear at a glance that the theme is centered around animals and pets by having photogenic dogs in the photograph; in one of them, it also includes a smiling model, emphasizing an aura of friendliness. A second strength is that although the colours are bright and vibrant, they aren't chaotic, making the magazine covers readable and accessible;  the double-page spreads are similarly neat and easy on the eyes, while giving the magazine a clean appearance. Another point to make is that the contents are captivating - one includes a close-up shot of a dog for the full page, while the other two have square-framed photographs of dogs with the actual writing being placed around or underneath. Overall, the chosen magazines have interesting yet still formal presentation, including many images of animals in order to clearly show the theme. 

The clean style of presentation is constant in each magazine; this is to possibly appeal to dog-owners and animal enthusiasts that would rather have readable text & pictures of animals to keep their attention; they might be checking the magazine for more details on how to look after their pets (one of the double-page spreads appears to talk a lot about this). There's no divergence from the animal theme, either.

These magazine examples will help influence my ideas. Titles and emphasized text are created in sans-serif fonts, giving off more of a bubbly or sleek influence that makes the magazine seem more casual and fun - it's modern. A third influence that can be chosen is the actual modelling choices; each magazine includes shots of dogs with toys, leads, being outdoors, and even with vegetables or food when the page itself has contents involving diets. The pictures are designed to pop and to create an emotional reaction in the audience (cuteness). By using a model and different pictures of my animals, I could use this theme in my own magazine.

 

Task 2: Unmerged Writing / Conventions

Something to note is that some magazines have sell lines or specific themes across each issue - Your Dog tend to have a large bold line at the bottom of the front cover, such as "Stuck on you!", "Let's get physical!" and "The joys of spring!". This creates a slogan for each issue, selling it to the audience and assists in making it's distinct style (the house style). 

Another feature is that the dogs at the front of each cover are designed to represent an 'ideal friend' - Carl Rogers (1980) focuses on the theory of ideal self / ideal partner, where figures in media are meant to represent the audience's ideal partner (who they'd like to be with) and their ideal self (who they'd like to be). The dogs appeal as the ideal friend as they're considered a 'man's best friend', and when taken with smiling models and bright grins.

The chosen font used in the mastheads, the names and logos of the magazines, links to the genre as animals are associated with happiness and fun, especially as they tend to be bouncy - it fits into the theme as it fits the connotations of pets being entertaining and exciting. However, on the Edition Dog magazine, they go against the norm by using a serif font and a very professional appearance. This is likely to appeal to dog owners with more wealth, or those that are involved with dogs in a professional setting (such as breeders or racers). It appeals to a specific type of demographic (unlike the other magazines, that appeal to a general audience).  In the content pages, rather than use drop capitals, most of them use leads - these can clearly be done in different ways, as some articles use different fonts or larger text, while others change the colour entirely to make it stand out more.

The house style of the Your Pet magazine fits the distinctive purpose; it has a clear black/blue/white theme, standing out from the other examples which have green and red. Alongside this, it uses hints of yellow (which usually connotes danger and hazards, but in this case connotes cuteness and youth to match with the puppy and kitten on the front cover) to emphasise pieces of text. As it's masthead, it has a large YourPet logo; PET is given more significance (likely to make the genre of the magazine as obvious as possible once someone looks over the photograph). It means a higher amount of their audience will likely notice their magazine in the store over their competitors.

"My dog helps me see." is one of the main cover lines on the first pets magazine; it's a pull quote from an article itself, which gives insight into that story. Surprisingly, it isn't the main focus of the whole magazine, as it brings attention to the 'exclusive' interview that's waiting inside. However, it's still effective to show that there's more to the magazine, especially when using a quote from a feel-good piece about how animals can help people (a positive topic).

Focusing on the main cover image, the types of shot vary from magazine to magazine. They all share the same subject image, animals and occasionally people, but they don't take to a specific mold - with the model, there's a long shot used to get both him and his animals clear in the photograph while incorporating the natural background to mix in bold red as a contrast - it creates a stunning effect. Adding smiles makes a mini-spectacle when comparing it to other covers. Similarly, spectacle can be created by doing an action shot of a dog while running towards the camera; the Edition Dog does this, making it feel like the dog in the picture is literally running towards the audience. It focuses on the appearance of the dog, with it's lush fur and by blurring the background, adding to it's professional design.