Magazine Article Comparison

Magazine Article comparison

I am happy with the outcome of my magazine article; it shares many similarities with this official article of Lady Gaga. The Lady Gaga article uses the left hand side of the article for the picture, and the right hand side for the text. My article has the image on the left hand side, and most of my text is on the right hand side, however, I have put some of the text on the left hand side because of space reasons. This does not make my article look any less professional, however, because the text is set out into columns like the Lady Gaga article is. However, my magazine article uses thick spaces between each column, whereas the Lady Gaga article uses thin spaces. My magazine loses some of its professional look because of the thick spaces, and to improve it I would make the spaces smaller.

The lady Gaga article uses a black and white color scheme, whereas my article uses a purple color scheme. The lady Gaga article looks more professional because of this, and the striking red ‘l’ adds to the professional look. My magazine does not use a striking color and therefore loses some of the impact the Lady Gaga article has. This means that is the two articles were compared by the audience, people would be more interested in the Lady Gaga article because it looks more interesting and striking – catching the audience’s attention first.

The Lady Gaga article uses an entire page for the photograph, however my magazine uses a small part of the page – this was due to a lack of space, however, my article does lose some of its professionalism because of this, and the Lady Gaga article looks better because of the large image – meaning it is more attractive to the audience and will be more likely to be read.

Both Articles use the title as the name of the star included in the article – however, my article uses a large title, which catches the audience’s attention – whereas the Lady Gaga article uses a small title. This means that people who do not know who Lady Gaga is will not know what the article is about – with mine, even if they do not recognize the star, they will know the article is about the star.

Existing Magazine Article Analysis

http://prezi.com/wcaypz9wlvux/magazine-article-analysis/

Analysis Of My Article

My Article analysis

For this task I had to create my own magazine article, using my own photographs and text. I am happy with my article, because I think it looks genuine and professional - because I used software such as Photoshop and Microsoft word to create the article I wanted.

My article is an interview with the star seen on my front cover, so I needed another photograph of her. I decided to take a low angle shot of her, to suggest her fame and dominance. When taking the photograph I tried many different poses, but I chose to have the model sitting down to create a more casual feel to the article.  I did this to tell the audience that the contents of the magazine will be informal and friendly because the pose, and the casual clothing of the model create that mood.

When I was designing the layout of the article, I chose to put the title at the top in the center so it is easy to see, and clearly shows what is on the page. I chose to use the same colour scheme in title and in the text that I used on the magazine cover so that the magazine would look more professional and more visually attractive - so the audience would be more interested in reading the article. My article uses the rule of three to create a visually attractive composition that is easy for the audience to navigate – with the image on the left and all the information on the right. This will make the audience more likely to read the article because it does not look confusing, and is easy to read and understand.

I chose to use the same font as the front cover to make the article link to the cover, so the magazine looks more professional and uses a house style all the way through. I chose to make some of the text larger than the rest, for example, I made the main title ‘ELLEN RUTHERFORD’ and the interview question titles (‘So how did it all start?’, ‘How did it feel to finally get your big break?’ etc) I did this to make the more important pieces of information stand out, So the audience knows what the questions asked. Also, the changes in colour for the title makes it stand out more so that the audience can easily see the important information.

I used a patterned, purple and white background because it matches the style of the front cover, and does not distract the audience from the star image and information. I chose a floral pattern because it also matches the front cover, and links to the fashion genre of the magazine. I used Photo Shop to create shadows to make it look like the model was actually sitting next to the surface. I did this to make the article look more professional and attractive, so that the audience would be more likely to pay attention and read it..

The research I did previously helped me to create an article that looks professional and has all the information needed for an interview. I researched visual codes and lexical choices that other articles use, so that I would be able to incorporate similar techniques into my own work and make it link to my cover to create a genuine looking magazine.

I feel that my strengths lie with the visual aspect of the article - for example - the image and how it links to the front cover. I am happy with the outcome of the contents page because it looks professional due to my use of Photo Shop to blend the image with the background to create an interesting article page.

However, if I were to do the article again I would improve my Photo Shop skills first so that the shadows look more genuine - and so there are fewer streaks where I have painted the shadows in. I would also consider including more images of the star, so the article pages look fuller, and so the audience thinks there is more information about the star in there.

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My Magazine Article

Analysis Of My Contents Page

Contents page analysis

For this task I had to create my own magazine contents page, using my own photograph. I am happy with my contents page, because I think it looks genuine and professional - because I used software such as Photoshop and Microsoft word to create the contents page I wanted.

When I was taking the photograph for the contents page, I decided to use the same model that I used for the front cover, to make the pages link together.  I had the model look into the camera lens to create a direct mode of address. This was to make the audience feel more involved in the page, and feel like it is directed at them individually. When taking the photograph I tried many different angles and poses, but I chose to have the model standing up and I used a fan to make her hair look windswept.  I did this because it created a more casual and relaxed feel to my magazine, which makes the audience assume that the contents of the magazine will be informal and friendly because the pose, and the casual clothing of the model creates that mood.

When I was designing the layout of the contents page, I chose to put the title at the top left hand corner so that it is easy to see, and clearly shows what is on the page. I chose to use the same colour scheme in the background and in the text so that the magazine would look more professional and more visually attractive - so the audience would be more interested in reading the magazine. My cover uses the rule of three to create a visually attractive composition that is easy for the audience to navigate – with the image on the left and all the information on the right. This will make the audience more likely to read the magazine because it does not look confusing, and is easy to read and understand.

I chose to use the same font as the front cover to make the contents page link to the cover, so the magazine looks more professional and uses a house style all the way through. I chose to make some of the text larger than the rest, for example, I made the title ‘contents’ and the first sentence of each page title larger than the text beneath it. I did this to make the more important pieces of information stand out, and to give the audience ‘teasers’ as to what is inside – making them more willing to read further than the contents page. I also decided to use the same colours as the front cover (the pink in the title and page numbers) I did this so that the contents page would link to the cover better and create a more genuine looking magazine. Also, the change in colour for the title and page numbers makes them stand out more so that the audience can easily see the important information.

I used a patterned, black and white background because it matches the style of the front cover, and does not distract the audience from the central image and pages. I chose a floral pattern because it also matches the front cover, and links to the fashion genre of the magazine. I used Photo Shop to create shadows to make it look like the model was actually standing in front of that surface. I did this to make the magazine look more professional and attractive, so that the audience would be more likely to pay attention and buy it.

On my contents page, I have page numbers and each page title. I chose to include subject specific lexis like ‘Fashion’, ‘hair’ and ‘hot’ I did this because it makes the genre of the magazine clear to the audience and it links to the cover lines on the front cover. I also used the Magazine title ‘jewel’ above the ‘contents’ because it promotes the magazine and reminds the audience of which magazine they are reading. I also included a website address so that the audience has the opportunity to view it online. This will encourage people who do not buy copies of the magazine to read it online instead.

The research I did previously helped me to create a contents that looks professional and has all the information needed for a contents page. I researched visual codes and lexical choices that other contents pages use, so that I would be able to incorporate similar techniques into my own work and make it link to my cover to create a genuine looking magazine.

I feel that my strengths lie with the visual aspect of the contents page - for example - the image and how it links to the front cover. I am happy with the outcome of the contents page because it looks professional due to my use of Photo Shop to blend the image with the background to create an interesting contents page.

However, if I were to do the cover again I would improve my Photo Shop skills first so that the shadows look more genuine - and so there are fewer streaks where I have painted the shadows in. I would also consider including more information for each page, to give the audience a little information on what to expect on each page, so they know what they want to read about.

Magazine Contents Page - FINAL

My Magazine Cover - FIRST ATTEMPT