Including a bar code onto the front cover of my magazine

Probably the most simple yet effective convention of any music magazine, or in fact any written media product in the retail environment is the presence of the barcode on the front cover of that said publication. Not only is it an necessary aspect that needs to be included for the publication to be distributed nationally due to legality and selling issues, but it also forms the foundations of allowing the audience to easily identify where the price and essential information (such as the issue number) are included. In terms of the 'Semiotics' theory, bar codes act as a symbol with a decoded meaning that must be deciphered by us indivudals if we are to fully understand its intentions, in this scenario this sign comes across almost as a locator point to give us the access to pinpoint exactly where we will find particular facts about pricing etc. As audience members we have learned to associate this sigma with the thought of money, so in order to successfully sell my product, the bar code must critically be inserted to provide the readers with the details they desire.

Taking what I said into context, you can efficiently locate the barcode on this issue of Q magazine, it is displayed in the bottom left hand corner and as predicted all the essential information is included above the code itself. It can also be noted that the sign is surrounded in a white background, this makes it easily noticeable against the other conventions present and the bright backdrop of the artists auburn hair, so the audience can essentially zone in on it in a more accessible fashion.

With what I have witnessed in consideration I began the process of including a barcode on my cover by searching in Google Images for an appropriate photo to use. I had to be careful so as not to choose any pixillated or blurry scans as this could potentially effect the quality of my product which could be detrimental as the audience may perceive it as 'unrealistic' or 'tacky' looking. Once I had selected one that fitted my requirements nicely I saved it to my desktop to prepare for the next stage in the development.

From my desktop I dragged in the image of the barcode I had obtained into the Photoshop document itself, which I then proceeded to place in the right hand corner of the page. I felt this was the most appropriate place to position it, as I have typically witnessed most mainstream magazines tend to include theres in the bottom or corners of their own covers (you can see my view point when looking at the 'Muse' cover displayed opposite my own product where the barcode is essentially highlighted against the dark background with its white interior at the bottom left of the document). This justifies the sense that it won't be conflicting with the more major conventions (such as text and images) and draw attention away from them, yet is still on a reasonable display that the audience will be able to distinguish it despite the competition occurring around its presence. On a final note I reduced the sizing of the barcode, this was due to it lacking in the same importance as my other conventions and would give me the opportunity to focus occupying more of the layout with vital selling aspects, but it was still easily located and spotted on the cover.

As my conventions were constantly changing due to me being unsatisfied with how they appeared and with the addition of the peer feedback I was receiving now on a regular basis, it ended up with me having to rotate the barcode to a vertical fashion so it could still occupy the space it had previously, and hence still be seen, but also so it could give me access to enlarge the image of my model so he was more dominant on the cover as ultimately he is the essential focal point of my magazine to gauge audience approval and to generate sales of the production. Currently this is how my cover stands in relation to the location of the barcode, I am content with its location and have no underlying concerns as of yet, despite this it is still subject to change so nothing is set in stone.