Magazine Cover Page (Left) Magazine Content Page (Right)
Magazine Feature Article (Pastry Description Covered/ Revealed)
Flipping Model
Analysis
How does my product use conventions?
Cover page
As indicated on the cover page, the masthead is on the top and is designed to be large which are both conventional to food magazine designs. I have also included a selling line above the masthead like many magazines do. In addition, the orange circle below the masthead is a puff that many food magazines share. I have also included cover lines like many food magazines. In terms of image, I have placed a primary image on the magazine’s cover page which takes up most parts of it. To make it look more like a magazine, I have placed a barcode and its publication date.
Content Page
I have adopted conventional content page characteristics by including the title “Content”. I have also included page numbers, article titles as well as their descriptions. As seen, I have made the page numbers and article titles bold like conventional food magazines. I have also included a section called “on the cover” with its descriptions. The magazine’s publication date is also on the content page. Despite the fact that the content page on the left side has no link attached, I have added it like some other food magazine like this to enable my magazine to engage in cross media convergence. Similar to conventional food magazine content pages, my texts follow the arc formed by the image, which directs readers’ sequence of reading while making the text blend better with the image. To establish the branding and achieve a sense of coherence between my content page and the other pages of my magazine, I have applied fonts that are present in my cover page and my double page-spread article in the content page. Finally, like other ordinary food photography, I have also used natural lighting during my photo taking and have also adjusted the color tone of the picture to make it vibrant like conventional food magazines.
Double Page spread article
To create a comparison between my double page spread article and conventional food magazine article, I will be comparing my work to this food magazine article. As indicated, my double-page spread article features a bakery’s brand name LI CHA PIN JI which is similar to the sample which features Wooden bakery. This shows that my content is indeed possible to appear in food magazines. In addition, like many food magazine articles which usually make their titles bold and interesting-sounding to better attract audience attention, I have also done the same through the use of the blended word “Pastodern” to suggest that this article will talk about something that involves the past and the modern times. I have also included a brief introduction to my content like what the sample did. On the article page, I have also included various secondary images by mimicking the sample. First, the magazine featured its baked goods. I have also done the same by having one whole page for the pastries. Then, the food magazine included an image that shows the bakery’s interior taken with a long shot, which I have also done the same. The magazine then featured more of its products on the racks. I have also imitated it by showcasing products like tea boxes, sun cakes and pineapple cakes mentioned in my article. Like the sample, I have included my magazine’s publication date, page number, and magazine company’s link into my article. I have also specified the type of my article like the sample. My article body is structured into columns with bold subheadings like conventional magazine articles, with the article written in the manner of Question and answer. The Question and Answer style makes the readers immersed in the article as they place themselves in the position of an interviewer.
How does my product challenge conventions?
Cover page
While using convention, this magazine cover page has also challenged conventions. Unlike many food magazine’s picture that only feature food as its main image, my magazine cover page has integrated miniatures into the food photography and portrayed them as something that is also significant. In contrast to other food photography that usually uses natural lighting, I have used warm, yellow lighting to take my main image to create a sense of nostalgia and warmth. The main image of my cover page was taken in a high angle shot, whereas many food photography for magazine cover pages are either taken with bird’s eyes view or at eye-line level. Unlike many food magazines that merely aim to display the food’s aesthetics, I have decided to incorporate symbolisms into the main image of my magazine cover page to better represent social issues, in this case the rapid loss of Chinese traditional pastry culture- an issue proven to exist in articles and documentaries I have read and watched during my research. I will be elaborating on the symbolism in the later part of this question.
Content page
In terms of challenging conventions, I have placed the page numbers on top of each column instead of at the side to make them resemble as if they are notes hung on a board. These elements make my content page less dull and more casual. Despite the fact that there are some content pages that do only have a primary image, most content pages in food magazines prefer to have primary image and secondary images interwoven in their content page. I chose to do my content page with only a primary image because its colors are vibrant enough and I want my readers to focus on the descriptions I have written.
Double page spread article
The pastry store Li Cha Pin Ji featured here is a brand that bakes traditional chinese pastries in modern forms. While keeping many traditional baking methods and traditional pastry flavors, it has also integrated new types of flavors and modified their pastries’ appearances to make them attractive to the younger generations who value aesthetics. To incorporate a similar concept to my magazine, I decided to subvert conventional magazine designs in the picture page. My picture page is made to resemble flip cards which in this case one can flip the pastry covers open and see the flavor description of the pastry. Such a surprise element appeals to the brand which seeks to break the stigma existing within young people where they think that traditional Chinese pastries are dull in appearance and have little flavor variations. Moreover, my article has also challenged convention by having the descriptions of the pastries’ flavors written under the pasties’ pictures. The point of doing this is to push readers to imagine the flavors and be attracted to try on those products. This is especially needed in this case because though the pastries are designed in traditional pastry looks, most of their flavors are new. Having the flavors’ description also intrigues those who already knew about traditional Chinese pastries as they recognize the unusual flavors which the bakery provides.
To create a sense of coherence in my magazine, I have added circular patterns in my article page which are not conventional to food magazines. The presence of the patterns here establishes similar appearance and color tones between my double page spread article as well as my content page, thus producing a sense of coherence.
How does my product represent social groups and issues?
Cover page
In the cover page, I have used symbolisms to represent social groups and issues, in this case the urgent need to prevent the fading of traditional Chinese pastry culture. The first symbolism I have incorporated into my main image is the miniature of an old man with a hump back. This is a representation of the current situation where these old pastries baking techniques are only maintained by old people. The tank top costume design also mimics many Asian old men’s attire, especially those who work under a hot environment like the kitchen. The hump back of the old man also signifies illness, which in this case reflects the urgency for us to conserve traditional food culture before it dies out along with the old man. In between the cut out area of the pastry, I have inserted many old baking utensils such as a rolling pin, wooden baking table, a Chinese style steamer and a red bricked stove. Since many Chinese pastries start with having pale yellow colored dough, I have also mimicked it by having some dough placed on the baking table.
These traditional baking utensils establish a set design of ancient, Chinese style kitchen, which further helps me in delivering my message. I have also added clock hands on top of the mooncake. Unlike the hump back that connotes urgency, the clock hands indicate a sense of tranquility because they are stagnant and placed flatly onto the mooncake. This thus represents the freezing of time, reminding my audience to take a moment to scrutinize and cherish traditional, Chinese pastries. These symbolisms are best conveyed when they are coupled with the use of the bright, yellow light because it enables the main image to appear nostalgic. Since I took this image in a high angle, this mimics the vision where one bends their body down to observe an object. This symbolizes how people have finally recognized the issue surrounding the loss of traditional food culture. This is then reinforced by the darkness surrounding the objects.
Double page spread article
To echo the social issue presented by my cover page, my double page spread article features a pastry shop that seeks to provide a new presentation of Chinese traditional pastry. In the article, there is a page that has an image of the store’s pastries which allows readers to compare the difference between ordinary Chinese pastries at the cover page, and the modified version sold by the store. As the article’s content talks about how the pastry store made amendments to ensure that traditional pastries are accepted by younger generations, this thus showcases a solution and improvement towards the existing issue.
