Radiohead Website Redesign

• There is no sense of branding on the website which may reflect that they don’t feel the need to promote themselves on this website as it is solely for their loyal fandom.
• There is an unconventional use of this image rather than the band’s logo, and there are no images of the band, this reflects the unconventionality of their band itself.
•  Cultural code: “Oh, Dead Air!” is an anagram for Radiohead used by those in the fandom, ‘Dead Air Space’ is essentially a shortened version of the anagram which ultimately translates to ‘Radiohead Space’. Only long-term devoted fans would instantly pick up on this. This further emphasises that the target audience of the website is devoted fans.
• Cultural code: The use of ‘W.A.S.T.E.’ in the website is a reference to The Crying of Lot 49 by Thoman Pynchon -  one of their favourite authors. 
• In the book, ‘W.A.S.T.E.’ stands for ‘We Await Silent Trystero’s Empire’ and refers to a secret mail service used by members of a counterculture.
• Radiohead’s use of this alludes to the fact they think of themselves as a counterculture, and they view their fan site as an off the grid network where fans from around the world can meet.
• No horizontal navigation bar which is unconventional, and there is only a vertical archive displaying their music over the years.
• No page dedicated to music videos, and not even a recent music video being displayed – latest one is 2017 –  reinforces that they don’t feel the need for promotion and that if their fans want to see their music videos, they will find them.
• Target Audience: The use of ‘once again’ implies that the people on the website would be returning fans who are dedicated to their music and are consistently visiting the website to support them and listen to their new music.
• Interactivity: The ‘LISTEN HERE’ is a hyperlink that takes you to a screen to access them, where you can listen to their music on multiple platforms. This makes it convenient for their fans as they have a variety of options and can easily click on the songs they want.
• The page mainly includes small entries – like a diary – with dates and images of different concerts they played, thanking their fans for coming to watch. This makes the page  feel more personal and creates a connection to their fans.

• Text colour reflects the colour of the text on the In Rainbows album cover
• Slogan on the original Radiohead website is also here to reflect that the target audience is returning fans
• Horizontal navigation  bar that links to all their pages, including their store for fans to buy albums and merch, and the tour page that shows tour dates, where to purchase tickets, and tour highlights.
• Logo for branding awareness, also is consistent with their  Youtube profile picture.
• Icons to reflect each of their social media platforms and create interactivity, makes it convenient for fans to find their accounts and listen to their music.
• Engages Weezer fans to listen to their song due to collaborations
• Wallpaper reflects the front cover of their In Rainbows album cover which will be recognizable to fans
• TV playing their music videos from Youtube constantly adds interactivity and they can use the selection bar on the side to change the video to display anything they want

The History of Music Videos Infographic

Created using Canva
 

Co-created front cover of the Sun

A standard red masthead is used to created brand awareness, and sans-serif font to create a bolder, impactful headline that draws the reader’s eye. We have also used white on a darker, black background to make it stand out more and reflect to normal layout of the Sun. This links to Neale’s genre theory as our front cover reflects the standard conventions of a tabloid. There are more links to Barthes’ semiotics, as in the ad on the masthead, there is a hermeneutic code urging the audience to turn to ‘Page 18’ to see the lucky numbers. This ad is also conventional as the Sun is aimed at less educated, working/ lower class groups who are more likely to gamble than the higher educated, middle-class groups. This is also be reflected through the high image-to-copy ratio, with almost the entire cover being an image, which demonstrates that this demographic is less likely to be engaged through reading a lot of information.  We have also referenced Baudrillard’s postmodernist theory, as in the title, there is a slight intertextual reference to the Netflix show ‘Monster’, based on Ed Gein. This could also be seen as a link to Stuart Hall’s reception theory, as the audience is being positioned to have a preferred reading of the front cover and view Gein as a horrific creature due to his gruesome actions. Also, Ed Gein acts as a disruption to the equilibrium (the horrific discoveries disrupted the peacefulness and normality of people’s lives and their town) which is then resolved via his capture resulting in a new equilibrium - reflecting Todorov’s Narratology theory.

Co-created front cover of the Guardian

(First two columns were written by me)

The masthead is in the signature dark blue of the Guardian, which creates brand identity, it also contains a main image that draws attention to the headline story. There is a low image-to-copy ratio as the Guardian is aimed towards a more educated demographic within the ABC1 group; therefore, they aim to maximise the information output in the newspaper. Furthermore, the headline is written using a serif font, which is more formal and regularly used in conventional broadsheets, and the copy is laid out in columns to reflect the standard layout of the Guardian. There is also links to Barthes’ semiotics as underneath the quote in the masthead, and throughout the ‘Inside’ section, there are hermeneutic codes such as ‘see page 2’ that encourage the audience to purchase the newspaper in order to satisfy their curiosity and be fully informed on why the quotes have been said, or get informed about the briefly mentioned articles in the ‘Inside’ section. Symbolic codes can also be found in the image, as it is in black and white, which could suggest a more serious tone, and the face of the man behind Gein shows he is unsettled, which reflect the disturbing nature of Gein’s crimes, and the concern surrounding Gein’s mental state. In addition, Levi Strauss’ structuralism theory is also referred to through using binary opposition throughout the text, and specifically the headline, by utilising the idea of “innocents” vs “killers” to reflect good vs evil.  

Beauty Product Advert

 

In the product image, I used the product in the foreground to bring the audience's attention to the product. I used a darker, warm lighting to reflect the dark and rebellious nature of the product, which uses the slogan "It's so good to be bad". To lean into the idea of rebelling and being bad, I used dark red and black throughout the image to represent ideas of sinfulness. 

I used the serif font that demonstrates sophistication and luxury, which attracts the audience as they would feel that purchasing the item would make them feel more luxurious and prestigious. 

I incorporate my own slogan, "Step into sin", to reinforce the idea that this product represents defiance; the alliteration draws the audience's attention and makes the slogan more memorable to the audience. In addition, the word "Step" draws attention to the heel shape of the perfume.

In the background, I used a prop of a cross necklace to juxtapose the idea of sinfulness that the perfume represents and the fact that it is behind the perfume in the image, which communicates the idea that the "sin" associated with the product is too tempting to ignore.