Front cover: Second Draft

This is the second draft of my Front Cover. I changed that background image to another that seemed more appropriate to the genre of music that this magazine is aimed at. I still feel as though the image is engaging and encourages the audience to read the magazine and the eye contact is more inviting. More tag lines have been added to make the cover seem more 'busy' and exciting. In comparison to the previous draft I feel as though this cover is a vast improvement and the main topic being the artist 'Lily Andrews' is evident. 

Front cover: First Draft

This is the first draft of my Front Cover. I feel as though the image is engaging with the reader and suited the genre in that it showed independence and something different when compared to the mainstream image of artists. I think that the masthead is easier recognisable and would stand out well for marketing purposes.

Computer Mock Ups

This is a rough idea of how the front cover of my magazine will be laid out. I would like to have an image of a solo artist (a girl). There will be sub lines surrounding the image with little space around the edges. There will be consistant colour scheme.

Reader Profile

This is my reader profile to show my intended audience for my magazine. From looking at the images, you can see that clothes and accessories are a common occurance. This suggests that the target audience are girls as this is an interest most common to that gender. My magazine is going to support an 'indie' style of music.

Definition of 'Indie'

a pop group not affiliated with a major record company

an independent film company not associated with an established studio

Hipster is a slang term that first appeared in the 1940s, and was revived in the 1990s and 2000s often to describe types of young, recently-settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with interests in non-mainstream fashion and culture, particularly alternative music, indie rock...

Overall, Indie music and style in general isn't mainstream or well heard of. The music is a mix of pop and rock but without the aggression of the rock. It also contains acoustic and light percussion.

From looking at the dates, Indie style of music and culture is old fashioned but vintage. Which has become fashionable. An aspect of vintage has been shown in my reader profile with the rack of clothes from a charity shop, cassetes and an old fashioned microphone.

In my magazine, I want the style to look different from usual magazines, with a vintage twist on it. For example, there will be a solo artist and she will be dressed in vintage clothing. This will also match the colour scheme of the magazine.



Questionnaire: Results

Questionnaire

What would you call a music magazine for an Indie genre for 16 +?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

What gender would you like to see on the front cover?

         Male

         Female

         I don’t mind

Would you like to see a group or a soloist on the front cover?

         A group

         A soloist

         I don’t mind

How much would you be willing to pay for the magazine?

         50p

         75p

         £1

         £1.50

         I don’t mind

         If other, please state below:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..............

Pick 3 colours you would like to see as part of the colour scheme for a magazine:

.............................................

……………………………………………

……………………………………………

Would you like the features to be a mixture of contemporary and vintage?

         Contemporary

         Vintage

         Both

         I  don’t mind

         Neither, if so please state below:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

What do you not want to be featured?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

What am I aiming to achieve on my front cover and what will it include?

• Big, bold and recognisable masthead. 
• Clear sub text to engage reader.
• The background image has to be focused: no blurring or pixilation
• The magazine has to show who my target audience is: 16-18 year old girls with an "indie" taste in music (acoustic mainly).
• Definite colour scheme.. makes it look more professional and neat.
• Appropriate information visible such as price, date of issue, bar code.
• Ratings? reviews?
• variation in text used.
• Overall look: smart, professional, sophisticated, modern.

Research Media Texts: Existing Double Page Spreads

These examples of double page spreads show how there is one main topic which is focussed on. There is usually a main image of this person/ people and then smaller additional images which are scattered around. The examples above that I have selected don't show this, however I think that smaller images break up the text and make it seem like less, therefore the reader is more encouraged to read it. Also, the masthead to the page should make it clear to the reader what the topic is and the style of this should express something about their personality. For example, pink and curly writing would suggest a girly and very feminine person.

Research Media Texts: Existing Contents Page

These contents pages show a variety in the way in which the page can be set out to be effective for their audience. From looking at these pages, I feel as though a balance between pictures and text would be ideal for my contents page. I think that the last example for the Kerrang! magazine has too many images and I think that more text would suit better. In comparison to this, the other two examples have more text compared to images. Overall, the text:images depends on your target audience. My target audience is young adults and therefore I intend to have a balance of both, whereas a magazine for older people would have more images to make the page more understandable.

Research Media Texts: Existing Front Covers

 These examples of music magazine covers from Q and NME magazines both demonstrate the style in which I would like to incorporate into my own magazine. The main image is very sharp and engages the audience with the main image dominating the page.  

The mastheads on all of these magazines are bold and recognisable. This is important for advertising as the mastheads need to be able to be noticed easily on the page as this is the part that sells the magazine, it is the brand. From looking at these covers, I would like to ensure that my image is dominant on the page and the main focus, that the brand name (masthead) of my magazine is easily recognisable and that the magazine looks 'busy' with tag lines and other smaller images. 

There is a distinctive colour scheme in all of the covers. For example, NME magazine has a memorable red font for the masthead. This also applies to the Q magazine with a definite red, white and black scheme. 

Final Preliminary Task: Cover

This is the final cover of my preliminary task for a school magazine. Overall I am pleased with this cover as I feel as though it has engaging tag lines which are easily understandable. Also, the eye contact gained from the model used is more encouraging for the reader.

To improve I would add more text to make the page seem more full and packed as opposed to empty and lacking interest.