Reader Profile Research

Conventions Analysis

Conventions Analysis 

 

During my research of the conventions which exist in magazines and in particular college magazine i came across this magazine which i believed wasn't as effective as the one i discussed in my previous analysis.

In this particular magazine i think the main feature and the other features are not very sympathetic with college students and i think they are irrelevant and college students wouldn't find them attractive to read or interesting. Also i think the masthead and the background don't compliment each other as they are both shades of blue, they should have used the dark yellow colour as the title which would make it much more appealing and would grab the attention of the audience because of the colour used in the mast head and isn't reaching it's marketing potential which it could be if they used more appealing colours for the masthead.

However their are some good points about the magazine, one of them being that the model on the front does look like he can relate to a modern college student. Also he looks happy which means it would appeal to the audience because it shows how the magazine is making him feel and it gives a positive vibe. Although the feature articles may lack in interesting and relevant articles they do however present them in a good way, they use questions which some college students may be wondering, for example it says "should i break up with my major?" which may be the question on some college students minds so it that instance it would relate to them. However i think the way to improve the magazine is an appropriate choice of the colour for the mast head and more interesting and relevant feature stories.

Conventions analysis

Conventions analysis 

Mast Head - This is used to grab the eye of potential customers and provides an initial idea to what the magazine is all about, in this example the mast head reads "College" which automatically grabs the viewers attention because of the bright and vibrant colour of the orange used in the mast head which does a perfect job in getting the magazine attention. The title also is effective because it's short and snappy and it grabs attention of people in college who would potentially buy this magazine. Finally it's in bold writing so it stands out immediately and is effective because it's the first thing the target audience would see which therefore drags them in and makes them want to read this magazine. 

Header - The header is used to attract the audience and give them a brief understanding to what the magazine entails, in this magazine the header states that the magazine is exclusive which means that you can;t get he content inside anywhere else. Furthermore, the header also says "hip, hop and happening" which is a effective and excellent use of alliteration, which portrays the magazine in a fun and innovative way which would appeal to the audience because they are instantly shown how fresh and interesting the magazine is. Finally the date is used in the title, which shows which date the magazine was published, however it says "The Style Issue Summer 2020" which shows they have gone to every detail to make the magazine contemporary and exiting. 

Main Image - The main image is placed in the centre of the magazine so it is the main focus to the reader and attracts the audience, furthermore he is looking at the audience via direct mode of address meaning he is looking at the reader which portrays the person on the front as humble and makes it more comfortable for the reader because it feels like your making a connection on a person level with this person. Also the model is young and is wearing high fashion clothing which also makes it appealing for the target audience because again the audience will feel on the same wave length as the model on a magazine which is about college and what they are going through.

Plug - A plug is used to advertise something which the target audience will be appealed to, for instance in this magazine it is an iPad which people are highly attracted by, especially young people so they would be especially interested in this particular plug because                                                                             its something that appeals to them highly and they                                                                                   would then want to buy the magazine to read about                                                                                 something that they are interested in

Feature stories - Feature stories are used to advertise what is inside the magazine, these are put on the front so that if the target audience spot something which appeals to them they would then want to go buy the magazine based on what they are seeing on the front of the magazine. These are often also in bold writing but just smaller than the main feature, in this article in particular they have used light blue as the colour of the text which makes it aesthetically pleasing because again it makes it look vibrant and attractive which would grab the attention of the audience. 

Main Feature - This is the main article in the magazine and is used to attract the audience with the actual article because it must be an important factor if it's the main feature so people will be very interested or perhaps want to learn more which would make them want to buy the magazine to read the main article. Furthermore it is presented in bold writing so it grabs the attention of the audience and is presented in bold text which adds to it's aesthetic and makes it more appealing and grabs the attention of the audience.The title of the main feature is short and snappy which makes it appealing because it clearly states that it is important and shows why it's the main feature. 

Barcode and price - This convention is simply used to show the price of the magazine and would be used to scan the magazine when purchased in shops.

Semiotics and LIIAR analysis

Semiotics and LIIAR analysis

Language - Codes and conventions used within different media to convey messages to the audience. Including the content, theme and purpose of a print base text. Media language helps the audience understand the layout, instructions, etc.

Institution - Any of the organisations responsible for the production marketing, distribution or regulation of media texts. Institutions regulate and structure media attitudes.

Ideology - A set of attitudes, beliefs and values held in common by a group of people. Ideology allows society to understand messages and meanings of messages.

Audience - Groups or individuals targeted by procedures for the intended audience that will consume the text. Marketing certain choices to satisfy and please the intended audience.

Representation - The process whereby the media construct versions of people places and events in images, words or sound for transmission through media texts to an audience.

Firstly i'm going comment on the language used in this advert. The language used in this advert is very successful at grabbing the attention of the audience. The advert uses certain conventions to promote the advert, one of the conventions is that the model centred and looking directly at the audience through direct mode of address, which is useful because it attracts the suitable target audience. Also the women is surrounded by light pink and other shade of pink flowers which present the model in positive way because of the colour connotations surrounding the colour pink are very sweet and innocent and also with the bright white background it presents her in a very angelic way which would be very effective because it's what girls strive towards, to look natural. Also the model is holding a large bottle which makes her look smaller and again more angelic. Furthermore it shows how this particular perfume is a huge contribution towards her looking beautiful which is why she is holding it in a protective manner.

The advert has been very specifically designed to appeal to girls in their teens or early twenties because the whole concept of the advert is feminine and has a dominant ideology used which is pink, which is a popular colour among girls. It also gives off a very innocent and natural message which again is what most girls want to be so moschino have done a very good job of making sure it has everything that their target audience would want from the perfume. Also the institution has left out any explicit values so again it will appear to a target audience which is attracted to the idea of purity and being angelic and the model is represented in the advert is portraying how the audience could be if they buy and wear this perfume. However the values which are implicit are things that give the advert a natural and pure vibe so it presents the perfume in that way.

Denotation and Connotation

Denotation in an advert is also important, denotation is what is presented on the advert so just the basic picture, and in this picture it is simply just the white rose. Connotation however is the subliminal message in the image, for example if a white rose is used in the advert it portrays the object being promoted in an angelic and pure way.

Preliminary Task

Brief- To design a college magazine front cover and mock up contents page. Images used on the front cover must be original.