CCR Question #1 Draft

I have both used and challenged conventions for my magazine project. I was able to learn more about the conventions of health and wellness magazines, as well as, scientific journals with the research I did. This spurred me on to fall more in line with conventions as I saw what worked and did not work for bigger names such as: Women's Health Magazine, Health Magazine, and Psychology Today. Regarding my magazine font, I sided with convention and used a font that is similar to Women's Health and Health magazines. I used a bold font to make my product name stand out.   I used a single female subject that is common in health and wellness magazines.   As seen in many fitness and health magazines, I had my subject wearing exercise clothes. My subject's gender, size, and attire represents the demographic I am aiming to reach, which are average sized women, young and old, who are trying to take care of their bodies by keeping fit and active.  I challenged convention when I used a background of a neighborhood. This scenery gives the picture liveliness and tranquility. The featured article font is larger and bold in comparison to the other featured articles, which is conventional and useful for drawing attention to the main article. I provided page numbers for the articles featured on the cover for easier navigation.
For my contents page, I followed conventions with a little twist. I personalized the font for the word: contents. I also added the months of the publication. I followed convention for my contents page because I used the transparency tool for the photo. With this photo I spilled over into the Health food magazine genre. Health food magazines often showcase some display of healthy food in their contents page. I utilized this convention, while also challenging the convention of the health and wellness genre. This plate of healthy food is a representation of my demographic audience because it appeals to those who are interested in their health and well-being in their diet.  For my contents page, I also followed convention of health and wellness magazines through how I previewed the important articles in the magazine. I made the page numbers larger than the text and added an article brief after the bold title. This adds structure to my contents page and allows the reader to easily navigate the contents of the magazine issue. An additional convention I used was adding the page number, months of publication, and name of my magazine to the bottom, which I gleaned from Diabetes Forecast. This adds continuity to the magazine.
My two article pages are quite conventional for a health and wellness magazine and a scientific journal. My pictures feature subjects portraying the emotion I try to convey in the article. These emotions stem from: struggle, defeat, and victory, which all play into the role of eating disorders in a person's life. The photo behind the title of the article has transparency for readability of the title. It showcases a girl who is stretching and smiling. This appeals to the part of my audience who connects to yoga and other callisthenic exercises. The second photo has a basic feather effect with a girl disappointed with the number on the scale. This appeals to the part of my audience that struggles with their weight. The third photo is of a man surrounded by junk food. This shows the pitfalls of dieting and how it lands us right back to where we started. The fourth photo is a plate of salad wrapped with a bow. This is meant to show the gift that healthy food is and portrays the salad as a positive symbol rather than a negative symbol of restriction.   This is common for scientific journals or health magazines.  With my article, I interviewed experts on the subject of food addiction or what many experts would call 'eating disorders'. I followed the conventions of a Psychology Today or Scientific American article, talking about the science behind 'eating disorders' under the three categories of Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Though scientific articles are found in magazines such as Health magazine, my article dives deeper into the scientific and psychological aspects of issues, which one would attribute more to a Psychology magazine. With this I intend to capture my science audience and my health and wellness audience by bringing in the science, but also talking about it in a practical and applicable way.

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