Research Into Codes & Conventions Of Regional

Magazines

The masthead is an easy to read and easily recognisable to the target and existing audience, the house logo is position clearly with its colour contrasting to the background to make it both easy to read and eye catching to the audience. The logo/masthead is positioned in the top right, a traditional spot for magazines being top right and left.The image is bright and vibrant which is eye-catching for the consumer in order to attract them.

The same colours continue throughout the cover in order to keep it uniform to the house style. The cover also has a ‘flash’ containing “your chance to win”, this would entice the reader. There is also information on the front as to what is in this issue of the magazine, as well as social media and website links.

In this example of a regional magazine’s contents page we can see how simplicity is key to making a good contents. The whole page is on a white background to keep it easy to read. The numbers are set out basically, and coupled with images the consumer can see what its about. Using an article title like “building a better Bournemouth” the consumer can decide whether it is interesting to them without having to read the whole thing.

Sections of texts are kept separate from one another by borders or highlighted areas of text. This as well as being functional, makes the contents more attractive to look at. The contents continues the magazines colour code from the cover

This double page spread employs codes and conventions throughout other magazines of the same genre, in order the make it effective. The double pages has a large image with a large title to show that it is the main article on the page, this makes it most important to the consumer. All of the fonts used in both the contents and double page spread are formal so that it appeals to ad older target audience, the types of articles and the names of them reiterates this. There is less catchy childish phrasing and more formal speech. This also makes all the sections of text far more legible.

As well as the formal texts, much like the contents, areas of text are all separated up in order to prevent confusion of sections of writing and to make the double page look more attractive to the consumer as no one wants to read to pages of plain text. All text colours and their backgrounds are contrasting to make it easier to read. The colours are also in keeping he house theme and certain graphics carry throughout like the bottom strapline.

This magazine uses an interesting image in order to gain the consumers attention effectively, this image is particularly attractive and has lots of colour. The image would also appeal to a possible different target audience by using a surfer n the front. This would entice those with a surfing interest. The masthead is a simple colour contrasting with the image and uses and formal and easily legible font.

Much like the mast head the sell lines and information like website links all continue both the same colour and font to create a formal uniform front cover. The cover uses contrasting colours however for the flash and strapline. In order to make them eye-catching. The wording used in there is also important and simply worded for the reader to be excited by the prospect to “plan your dream Cornish wedding”.

This is an example o a magazine putting an AD for a product on the inside cover. Most of these ads are simple with a single image, this however defies this convention. The ad uses examples of its product to tell the reader exactly what it is. All the images used are bright and vibrant in order to sell the product to the reader of the magazine that may not be looking for this particular product at the time.

The ad keeps to about three colours throughout with regards to font. This keeps it uniform throughout the page making it more attractive to look at as well as easy to read. The page contains the logo for the brand to be recognised as well as important information for the consumer like website links and numbers.

In the case of this example of a regional magazine, the contents page is spread of two pages rather than just one, this is a convention that is repeated through much of my research into magazines of the same genre. In this case in the contents is comprised of multiple images that correlate to articles in the magazine, there are numbers to say what page each image is the article for. The entire left of the two pages is made up of colourful mages that make the page aesthetically pleasing.

On the right hand side contains the actual text for the contents page, the magazine name is on the contents much like the cover, using the same font as well. The font then continues throughout the contents to make it easy to reader and formal to look at. It also on a white page in order for the text to be contrasting against the back ground. The text has partial sections of colour to separate it up and boarders to space it out clearly.

This issue of Kent life is a regional magazine that is much the same as Cornwall life and Devon life. Even to the extent that it uses the same font as the two. This makes it formal and uniform with the magazines in the same genre, therefore appealing to the same kind of target audience in the different region. The image is one that is attractive and colourful, therefore attractive to the audience

The text on the cover keeps in both with the house font and colour scheme in order not to make the cover look too garish. The cover also contains a sell line and pictures. This gives a taste of what the consumer is getting with the magazine ad this will make them want to buy it. The magazines text contains sections of colour so the cover doesn’t look to bland.

This a very typical design ad to feature in a magazine, as it is in keeping with the codes and conventions of others n the same genre. The ad is very simplistic and effective at conveying the image f the product. By keeping the background and hand one colour the product itself stands out even ore in the page.

The font used for the logo is bold and legible whilst looking formal ad sophisticated, it is simple in its colour and continues throughout the ad below the page to create an effectively simple ad.

This double page contents is relatively similar to that of other similar magazines of the same genre, like Devon life and Cornwall life. This is because it keeps to similar codes and conventions. For example the contents as well as text uses several images to give a taste as to what is in the corresponding article, this gets the reader interested by giving them a visual feel for the magazine contents. The images are colourful and bright against the white background.

The text below the images is spaced evenly and separated in the same fashion as other magazines f this type, by boarders and breaks in the norm o the text. Small inserts of colour allow the text to remain formal and informative but make it more attractive than just a single large section of white.

This is an unusual example of a regional magazine, differing from many codes and conventions. This is a particularly plain cover for a regional magazine and I does no tell much about the contents of it. However the logo/masthead is still in the traditional top left of the magazine, and the colours of the loho are the same as they always are, this has made ‘timeout london an easily recognisable logo.

The image on the cover is unusually and there fore eye-catching for the audience. The text on the front is bold and in keeping with the colour scheme but remains an easily legible contrast from the background.

This editorial insert complies generally with the conventions of the magazine. It uses a single and very vibrant image to attract the consumer, and has a white text box so that the content is not lost against the image behind. The image is busy where there is no writing so that the page doesn’t look too plain.

This insert contains the magazine name and logo and continues the same colour scheme as the logo and cover before it. The font is bold and exciting but formal and informative telling the reader of its contents. There is occasional sections of different colours to break up the text and keep it aesthetically pleasing.

This example of a double page spread is less typical of a regional magazine and seems more like a music or celebrity magazine. At the top of the page it contains and large quote that goes across the double page. The quote is bold and eye-catching as well as standing out against the background so its east to read. The double page has a single large image however on the left page much like other magazines of the same genre.

The double page contains a colour contrasting flash containing “world exclusive” this acts as a sell line to get the audience t buy the product as they feel they're getting something they cant get elsewhere. The text, much like on other pages f text on similar magazines, is divided up by boarders or bold text. This means its easy to read against the plain white without the audience being lost in text.

This issue of Devon life is once again vast similar to those of the same genre, and again meets the same or similar codes and conventions in order t make it a successful magazine. The covers mast head uses the exact same font as other magazines in the same genre and relatively similar patterns f colour, in this case white being the main font colour.

White text is used here to make it easily legible against a fairly colourful and busy back ground. The cover has several sell lines on the cover that give information as to what is in this particular issue of the magazine. In the top right corner the sell line is a stand out colour to make it more attention grabbing to consumers.

this ad is another example of one that is typically found in magazines, we know this because it meet the conventions of other ads in the magazine. It uses a single image that focuses on the example of the product so the consumers knows what the brand is selling.

The company name and logo is positioned centrally at the top and is in the same font and colour as the rest of the ad, this creates a formal look and makes the product seem ore attractive. Where the image is darker at the bottom the ad uses white font instead so that the writing is easier to read.

This is an unusual example of a double page contents as it differs from many of the codes and conventions found in the other magazines of the same genre or type. The double page n the whole is much more busy than the typical contents and contains ads as well as pictures for articles. The company name and logo is found in the top left much like Cornwall life but the array of images is different.

As opposed to a few large images filling an entire half on the double page this uses a few over the two pages to allow more space for text. The liberal use of colour rather than sticking to a single colour scheme makes the contents look interesting rather than informative.