Magazine advert reflection

Magazine advert reflection

First Magazine Advert

My research into magazine adverts helped me plan my own design. Through looking at the magazine adverts of James Morrison and Plan B, I learnt that it was important to conform to the codes and conventions of the music genre in attracting the target audience. I also learnt that the artist was a significant element in terms of the promotion of the album. Therefore when I made my first draft of the magazine advert I used a mid shot image of the artist facing the audience. Therefore the audience will be able to see the artist representation and build a relationship with the artist through his facial expressions.

When looking at the Plan B magazine advert, the first thing you notice is his name placed on the top of the page in a large bold font. This is effective as it connotes to the audience the artists importance and therefore when creating my first draft I used the same technique. To make the artists name the most prominent feature of the poster I used a large bold font in order for it to catch the audiences attention. Beneath the artists name, I mentioned the artists new single. This was also done on both of the magazine adverts I analysed as it gave the audience a insight to the singles that are on the album. The artists new single being placed on the poster in a large font is effective as the audience will recognise the song and therefore be more likely to read the advert and buy the album.

On the first paper draft of my magazine advert, I incorporated elements that feature in the music video; this being the reoccurring theme of the cards. I have chose to use the king and queen of hearts as the cards connote the artists break up in which the song 'impossible' is about. Therefore it catches the audiences attention as they are intrigued to understand the meaning behind it. I have also drawn the cards on fire as not only does it stand out and catches the audiences attention, but it symbolises the artist emotions of anger and pain. Photoshop is going to help me when creating my second magazine advert as it will be able to edit the colours and images on the advert. For example the background colour is going to be black as it stands out enticing the audience to read it. The colour of the fire is going to stand out and draws the attention to the cards intriguing the audience. I also planned to use white writing on the advert as it will create a contrast with the back ground making it stand out from everything else on the poster.

Second Magazine Advert

The second magazine advert I created using Photoshop. As I had little experience using the software, before I began creating my magazine advert I learned how to use the tools and what they did. One tool i used a lot throughout the process is the magnetic lasso tool. This enabled me to crop out a shape and place it on a different layer. I use the tool to crop the outline shape of the artist and placed it onto a plain background. The image i used of the artist was a long shot. This was effective as the audience were able to see the artist playing the guitar highlighting that he is talented and can perform. It also allowed the audience to see the artist clothing, in which he is seen to be wearing a shirt and trousers. Even though the clothing is 'fashionable' they are still casual reflecting the artists representation as 'ordinary'. This is effective as the audience don't feel inferior to the artist and are more likely to buy the album. This also conforms to the stereotypical conventions of the pop music genre.

On the second poster, I used white writing on a plain black background. This is effective as it makes the writing stand out from anything else on the poster drawing in the audiences attention. The colours used on the poster are non-gender specific. This in turn attracts a wider audience rather than singling out a specific gender encouraging the most amount of people to read the magazine advert. I also used the same idea as in the original draft of the cards, however I used a red king and queen of hearts. The colour red connotes the love the artist felt in the relationship and the pain that was caused due to the break up. This gives the audience an insight to not only the new single but the meaning behind the album. The audience are therefore encouraged to buy the album as the are intrigued.