Feature article

I decided to base my feature article on the cover band. I did this because I thought I could relate it to the front cover. There is a running theme for the band which is quite modern but retro. I tried to carry on this theme from the front cover to the feature article which is mainly an interview with my cover band, Starter. The interview symbolises everything that the magazine tries to incorporate which are incorporating technology and fashion.

Colour Theme

The colour theme used here is quite retro. The luminous colours relate to the 80's such as, this Bananarama album cover. The colours used were always very bright and this makes Starter look authentic. However, I attempted to make it professional but I made the background black so it didn't look over-done.

Images

I used two images that relate to each other and the first image used shows a different side to the band than presented on thfront cover. This is done as it is the magazines job to present the band in the best way possible. This image shows them laughing with the interviewer and it suggests the band are hardworking but fun as well.

For the inspiration, I used an image that I had to represent one of the choices which were Run DMC. I used the image in a simple way and I think it looks professional.

I then too pictures of people I knew and used them as the people reviewing the bands. I also created a interviewer, Stella Rickman. She is also seen in the group image.

Layout

The first page is very simple, it presents the band says a few things about them. The image is positioned on its side, this suggests the slight rebellion and attitude of the band. The text underneath is then all written on a slant which enhances the "nonchalant" attitude of the band.

The bar on the side with the reviews of the band adds a bit more to the band and shows how much you can fit in one page.

The images used there are also on slants. This reflects the authenticity of the magazine and creates a rushed feeling which relates to the duct tape effect used on the front cover. These effects, although sometimes take more time, make the magazine look like its a bit careless and has attitude. Also, it makes the magazine look imperfect and this always appeals to readers.

Finally, I used a size 12 font which is what is the font usually used in magazines. I though I should use as much space as i could when making my magazine so I used a small font. This means you can fit more into the interview, also it looks much more professional but with all the images also looks interesting.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think my magazine is very professional. And it represents the band Starter well, as a retro but modern band. Which also reflects the magazines style as it looks at new and up and coming artists with a different edge.

Contents Page

I kept my contents simple. I believe that the front cover should provide the bate and the contents page should be simple and just show information.

Title

I did the title in lower case letters as I thought this looked quite simple with a touch of attitude. I also made it cut of at the sides and top on purpose, this was to create a homemade sort of feel, with a reckless atmosphere. Finally, i kept the font simple as I thought the cut off effect did enough for the title.

Layout
I used this style because it looks quite modern and new but also very clear. It gives the magazine a certain sophistication and I also chose this layout as it is the right amount of flair and the right amount off clearness. I think the basic colours are effective because the front cover is so colourful the contents page does not need it.

Pictures
I used pictures from gigs I have personally been to. I thought this was effective because it shows personal experience and I can relate with what my magazine is selling. I also used one bigger picture of the feature of the magazine, the interview with Starter. I really wanted to bring all the attention to the band and the interview as my magazine is supposed to present new music to a wider audience.

My Front Cover Evaluation

INTRODUCTION

This is my final front cover. I had a few ideas for the end cover but I ended with this one. I am very pleased with it for many reasons. There were many difficult decisions involved in creating my front cover, colour theme, positioning and my cover image but I finally decided on this one.

COVER IMAGE

Firstly, I used these three girls, Imogen, Natasha and Zainab for my front cover band, Starter. I wanted to promote a band that has diveresity amongst the members. Here we have a mixture of skin colours and I wanted to represent all different people. I styled them in these bright, 80's style clothes as I thought this would symbolise their bands style which is modern but with a retro twist. Additionally, I asked them to look moody in the pictures, this was to create a sense of rebellion, it also counter-balances the bright, "happy" colours they are wearing. And this is linked to the double page spread interview, because we see they are actually really nice, friendly people but they have a rebellious edge which is the effect I wanted to create.

BAND TITLE

Furthermore, I wanted to continue this edgy look with the style of their title. I had many different ideas for the title but I finally decided on this. This was for many reasons, firstly, I really liked the colour, It was also bright and I drew from colours in the picture, the coat of one of the band members, I did this as it would connect to the band and there would be more of a colour scheme. I then turned the "e" around. I did this because I wanted a similar effect to ones of bands from the 80's such as "Talking Heads" And "Blondie" but with a modern twist of the colour scheme. This style really made the band appear unique and that is definetely the effect I wanted. I put a glow on the font as well, this was to also make it stand out because I really wanted the band to be assosiated with that name.

COLOUR THEME

I wanted to go for a colour theme that suited my band. I used bright colours such as orange, pink and yellow to suggest raves and rebellion. The colours are matched to the colours that the band are wearing. I also used a lot of pink to create a sense of girlieness because after all, they are a girlband, with an edge.

OTHER FEATURES

In the corner, I used photoshop to put some duct tape in the corner. I did this to create an edgy, and "cheeky" feeling about the magazine. The duct tape makes it look professional as in many magazines they have images like this edited in. For example, the sticker used in this front cover. It looks messy but obviously in intentionally to make it look a bit rebellious. However, I think mine takes it to the next level because it is very "cool" and also shows an aggressive side to the magazine. Also, the way "We are the present, past and future" is written looks quite futuristic on that band across. It also gives it importance on the front cover. Finally, I believe the issue number, the price and the bar code add authenticity to the front cover.

Screen Grabs

I did not use screen grabs earlier in the magazine but coming closer to the end of the front cover I discovered the value and importance of them in showing the development in my magazine. Choosing different fonts, colours and positioning for my magazine were difficult decisions and I had to really think about the juxtaposition of clashing colours.
I showed 5 people my finished product and they said that they liked it, they also said that if they could change one thing it would probably be the way that "presenting starter" would be displayed. I agreed with them as I could see a big clash and the black background behind "presenting" looked quite uprofessional.

Layout

I then went to look at the two main layouts for a magazine. Most Magazines have the title at the top but there are different ways of producing the magazine.

Firstly, I looked at this sort of layout where nearly the whole title is covered. This layout is normally used when the magazine is very well known and has an established audience, the magazine doesn't need to attract new readers. If my magazine were to be published it would obviously be new which suggests the title would need to be seen. However, with my title this might have to happen, as the title is quite wide so covering one letter with the head of the interviewed person might not be that bad.

I then looked at a different layout, this layout does not cover the magazine title and the title is put to the left, this layout would be more attracting but as you can see this magazine has a lot going on, this suggests that it is looking for a new audience or hasn't been established but as we know NME is one of the most famous music magazine existing today. I think this style of layout shows a magazine that is screaming for an audience and looks like it is trying too hard.

This was another style I looked at. Here, we see the title is covering the cover images head, this gives the title of the magazine more importance and implies that the artist on the front is not as important as the name of the magazine.

I decided for my magazine to have the title at the top and the cover stars lower down. I didn't want the title to outshine the cover stars and I didnt want the cover stars to be dominating either so I went for this approach.

Feature article

In my survey I asked the people What feature they would like to see on a band or artist. There was a large range of answers resulting in most people wanting Chances to win tickets to a concert or gig and people wanting a feature on the band backstage on tour. The other options were an interview with the lead singer, fans write in questions and the band answers and the history of the band or artist. Although there were two clear winners with this interview question I think that I am going to incorporate all these features in one feature. Another question I asked was what other magazines do people read and most of the interviewees said Technology and Fashion. I then decided to intergrate these two topics in my music magazine. I thought I could gain a wider audience if I chose to broaden my theme and cross genres as this always attracts a larger audience.

So my final idea was to do an interview with the band/artist, have approximately 5 questions sent in from readers for the band/artist to answer. I will have three sections of the interview including, basic music, fashion and technology. I think this will be successful because it has been discovered that readers prefer it when interviews are broken down into seperate subject and it gives them an opportunity to focus on the topic they like the most.
I will then have a section about a gig and how it is to be backstage, at the end of the article it will give the readers a chance to go to a gig and be backstage with the artist. I think this will be good because it has so much to offer and if I just focussed on the interview or history of the band/artist I don't think it will be successful, it could drag on. Finally, I will incorporate history of the band/artist in the introduction and in the interview.

Font for my magazine title

The title for anything gives hints to the message of the object and is one of the key elements to stick in the readers head. I looked at various fonts, some simple, some complicated and tried to find the balance between the two. I did a small survey of 25 people and asked them which front cover they were most drawn to most and which was the most effective, I did this as I thought it would be useful in creating Colours are also important however, for most magazines every issue the colour changes so although I will have a colour theme for this issue, it will not be the general colour theme for my magazine. I simply looked at the fonts in black and white so i could focus on the details.



When analysing this title I thought it would suggest something different. This would be a key element as the public are always searching for something new, there are no magazines with a font this distinct. However, I then came across the problem when looking at the results of my survey. Only 4 people were drawn to this font. One of the people I asked, Bella Ryan said "I think it's quite unusual and gives me ideas of what the magazine could be about.", however, the people that didn't choose it had very different ideas, one person said "I don't think its timeless or versatile". Although I received four positive reviews the comments from the other people made me realise that this is not a timeless design and really makes my decision certain that this is the wrong font for my magazine.

I chose this font in the first place as it looked quite different to the first one and I wanted a range of fonts. I thought it had a subtle modern tone. Also, i felt that my magazine name said quite a lot so the font didn't need to be too eye-catching. However, only 5 people in my Survey chose this font. There collective reason was that it would work really well in quite a classic magazine presenting classic music that has already been established. However, when I revealed what my magazine genre was about they said that they really thought the front cover picture and subtitles would really have to stand out to get any attention at all. I concluded that this font was to "boring" and wouldn't connote anything unique to my reader.

I created this font from two different fonts, although the title says a lot about the name, it does become a bit too focused on the whole image of Jigsaw. However, 7 people chose this one showing its popularity. I think it is quite versatile and noticable as it is bold. The reason for dismissing this font was that I thought i focussed too extensively on the idea of the jigsaw and didn't maybe personalised it too much. I wanted to have something a bit simpler as the title does do a lot of the talking. Additionally, it seems quite immature and implies the audience is much younger.

This was my final choice for many reasons. Firstly, 9 people in my survey chose this one, making it the majority vote. Jess Masterson said "It sticks in my mind because its different also, it looks really modern and kind of fits well.". Also, I thought that it really looked like a music magazine but a modern one which is what i wanted. My magazine will present new music from all genres and that is what I wanted to create and this font seems to have quite a general appeal but at the same time is memorable. I really wanted to find the balance between characteristic and recognisable as a music magazine and I think with this I have.