Research into similar products

I researched into other Birmingham magazines. This will be helpful because it's the same region, therefore I can use the content of the magazine to my advantage.

I like the way this magazine is straight to the point and is called "Birmingham Living" this is appealing as readers will know it's all about Birmingham. It's also important that Lenny Henry is the cover star; he's a famous Birmingham face - this will intrigue readers and make them feel at home. The cover line "Brum's Business Boom" is effective as the alliteration emphasises that business is doing well. This inspires me to use alliteration on my front page to engage readers. I like the way the different cover lines address different aspects of the magazine, ranging from business. to style to leisure. I will use this within my own magazine to show that it's packed full of relevant, exciting information about various areas. The plain bright font is great on this magazine as it contrasts with the dark background, I like the choice of font because it's not too curly or bold. making this magazine appeal to males and females.This will immediately catch the attention of readers.

Ultimately, I think the way the same font has been carried through from the front page to the contents page gives the magazine a neat edge. I like the way that the darkness of the front page contrasts with the contents page as it goes from a black background to a white background. The way that there are secondary images in the contents page makes the magazine seem busy and interesting. I like the way numbers have been used on the pictures to link them to the article pages. It's highly appealing that the cover star has been used to centre the two pages, this shows he is the key focus throughout the magazine. The articles shown in the contents page cover all of the topics I will cover in my own magazine: nightlife, restaurants, entertainment etc. This immediately shows that this magazine is clearly targeted at the Birmingham Region. 

I am impressed with this magazine and I will use many of these conventions in my own magazine. One key thing I have picked up on is the fact that the masthead isn't influenced by the left third rule, I will also abolish the left third rule in my own front page. In the same way, I think the contrast of the fonts and background is highly effective and this is inspiring me to carefully photograph certain places, so that I can use complimentary colours effectively. The front page is not too busy but it's fantastic and informative, this is the message I'd like to give off in my own magazine. With regards to the contents page, I like the way the stories are spread over two pages, but I think that in my magazine, I will stick to the one page with one dominant image at the centre, and secondary images surrounding it: I will keep the idea of the page numbers on the images in mind and use this in my own magazine.