UTOPIA Arts fits into real magazine codes and conventions of the small art business genre and targets audience of middle aged women because:
The Photos I will use on my front cover features middle aged women that the reader can relate to and are encouraged to view them as an ideal self to do this I have taken Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory into consideration and subverted the male gaze by dressing my model appropriately. As the model's costume is an apron and hoodie it's relates to art genre and is also relatable to the target audience as hoodies are a mainstream clothing item. I have followed magazine codes and conventions with my main image and secondary image as I have featured a smiling mid shot of my model's on the front cover, used complimentary colours and as my focal point is sharing the eye line with the viewer it engages them to read the magazine. The lighting in my magazine is also a convention in art and small business magazines as warm daylight is relatable, comforting and connotes warmth and calm.
'Aesthetica' is an art and photography magazine. I used this magazine to help me understand and follow art magazine codes and conventions.
Like 'Aesthetica' in my main cover image I have focused on photographing one model and positioning them to be in the middle of the page. However instead of posing my model in a side view looking away from the reader like this front cover, I decided to take a forward facing photo so that the model eye line is directed at the reader. I did this in order to follow magazine conventions. by doing so I believe I am straightforwardly directly targeting my reader, unlike 'Aesthetica' that uses mystery and non conformity of magazine conventions in this main image to draw in the reader.
In my magazine I have used a secondary cover image I think this makes my magazine more appealing because it gives the reader more to look at, and allows them to understand visually that this magazine will feature people that look like the target audience. My secondary cover image connotes the theme of art and gives the reader an idea of what to expect from the contents of 'Utopia Arts'.
'Aesthetica' layout consists of a main image featuring a bold colour, along with at the top of their page a masthead and banner and at the bottom of their page bar code. Their house style includes white banners showing cover lines estimated to be in a size 8, they are positioned so that they don't interfere with the main cover image. All of their text is in a black serif font this causes high contrast with the background making their text professional and easy to read. Unlike my magazine 'Utopia Arts' They do not present a secondary images, buzz words or multiple graphics in their front covers to entice the viewer instead I think they rely on mystery and their well know brand name to advertise their product to the reader.
In this 'Aesthetica' front cover they chose a red colour scheme. This colour scheme is seen in the red circle graphic, the models costume is a red vest top paired with a sheer white blouse with red polka dots, the red fabric backdrop. I think this colour scheme works well to entice artists and photographers as its visually appealing and well planed. I could have followed their planning and created a similar colour scheme in my main cover image by instead of using yellow I'd use blue in my graphics to match my models blue apron, however I wanted to use a colour with happier connotations that would help me to stereotypically target middle aged women.
Because 'Aesthetica' red circle graphic is blocking out the models face this causes the audience to struggle to identify with the model, I think they target a wider audience by making her non descript. Where as in 'Utopia Arts' I have limited my audience to women. Their main target audience for this magazine are adults women because this image is not targeted at the male gaze. Their secondary audience are adult men, I think this because red is a stereotypically masculine colour and their design is not stereotypically femenin while still featuring only a female model.
Due to only using one word and designing their text larger in their masthead than tag lines 'Aesthetica' follows magazine conventions. Their masthead has influence my own design as I have also created a mastheads with a white background and black text in a serif font that is large and central at the top of the page. This help the audience easily identify my magazine brand and connotes my calming theme because of its plant graphic and elegant font.
Unlike 'Aesthetica' my magazine includes many cover lines placed on the cover image instead of only in the banner because I wanted to follow magazine conventions. 'Aesthetica' only uses a banner because they favorizes photography. I also included a banner because I wanted to show my readers that their is allot of reading material for them in this magazine. In my cover lines I have used allot of buzz words such as Win and New unlike 'Aesthetica' as they only use cover lines with technical terms because they are targeting people in the art and photography industry.
Like 'Aesthetica' I have included a barcode in the corner of my page so that my audience can easily identify the price of the magazine. Unlike 'Aesthetica' I have used two puff's to draw in the reader with buzz words and clear information, this information denotes my magazines contents.
DPS & DPS used to inspire me
As my model is the only person in these photos, making her the focal point, this connotes her important to this double page spread, insinuating to the viewer that this women is the person being interviewed. This follows image conventions as in the Aesthetica DPS the light show pictures in the double page spread insinuates its the source material for the article.
Instead of following conventions and using images that take up all of or half of one page, I chose to priorities my article. This is because my readers are primarily interested in reading large amounts of text. The eye line of the model in the main image engages the reader as it targets them. I have also engaged my target audience of middle aged women by representing them with my middle-aged female model and my secondary audience of young adult women by using stereotypically femenin themes in my stories such as crafting and artwork.Like 'Aesthetica' I used the same colour scheme on both pages so that they are cohesive as I have used my house style colours my DPS is cohesive with the rest on my magazine.
The graphics I have used connote growth and movement and create synergy and brand recognition due to there uniqueness.
Contents page & contents page used to inspire me
As I have used my main cover image in my contents page the eye line of the model is directed at the reader creating engagement. I have also used an image I took of a bee on a flower, this links to my natural contemplation story, this image connotes happiness as the flower and bee are a bright yellow. I have taken a photo of the local gallery 'the site gallery' to link to my magazine theme of art and my contents page story 'natural contemplation'. To link to my 'sally's Macrame' story I took a photo of a mcrame plant holder, due to the denotations of nature this image connotes peacefulness. As this image presents a hand made decretive product it links to my theme of art. Finally I have taken multiple images that relates to my magazine theme of art featuring art instillations local to Sheffield, I chose to photograph these locations to link to my 'colours impact' story, they feature vibrant colour in an urban gray landscape this causes them to connote individuality due to their contrast with the landscape.
My layout for my contents page has changed from my initial plan seen in my visualization diagram as I needed to alter my layout to fit in the images that I had taken. The layout I ended with connotes good organization and professionalism due to its minimalism aesthetic, my layout follows conventions seen in Aesthetica contents page as I have used even placement with images and text. I have followed conventions with my images as they use similar colour schemes and aesthetics this is seen in the Aesthetica contents page as they have chosen images with different subjects in either blue or yellow so that they are cohesive.
The colour scheme of this page matches my house style colours of white, black, sage green and mustard yellow. I have chosen these colours as they connote happiness, tranquility and nature. This reflects my magazines values as I want to relax the reader and give them content they will enjoy.
The graphic vines I created are featured throughout my magazine to create synergy and brand recognition due to there uniqueness.
My house style serif text is featured in my contents page as I have used the font Baskerville Old Face. This font connotes intelligence and professionalism due to how its minimalism aesthetic. The size of my text follows conventions as my headings are lager than my body text, this is proven as a convention as the Aesthetica contents page has also done this.
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