Flat Plans For My Magazine.

When coming up with a design for my magazine I decided to look through other magazines and choose what kind of layout,colours, pictures and text I want to use on y final magazine. However many magazines were very colourful and bold and a bit to over crowded, this isn't what I wanted for my magazine so I decided that I was going to come up with a plan that was simple but effective, this is what I came up with.

FRONT PAGE;

COLOUR USAGE: On the front page of my magazine I wanted there to be a selection of colours which I feel work together and will suite the type of music and the genre of my magazine. However after receiving my survey results it was very evident that people wanted to see "vibrant colours", which really supplied me with a problem as I wasn't too keen on this idea. Although I love the idea of having a vibrant looking magazine I feel like this is very stereotypical of magazines about these days, based on my research I have decided on using a selection of 4 colours which I love working with, and I think will help me present a well put together magazine and will work well together, these colours are black, white, grey and red.

IMAGE USAGE: When choosing an image for the front of the magazine I think that this has to be a very well thought out process as this is what will be drawing the audience towards this magazine, apposed to all the other music magazines out there. After taking this into careful consideration i think a black and white image will work extremely well with my theme colours but will also had sophistication to the magazine. Preferably I would love to have an image of the chosen group/singer represented by a model on the front of the magazine with a plain background, also I would love the shot to be at a distant where the pictures only show the model from the waist up. Furthermore I would also like the picture to face towards the audience, and I would like it to be the main focus as I would like it to overlap the strap line or head mast and i would like the sub heads to be positioned around the images to exaggerate it even more.

TEXT USAGE: I would very much like to design a logo for the magazine so that the name didn't have to be on every page, but it could be represented using a small, however I would also like to use a informal sense of language in the text to make the magazine more approachable. I would like the text to be mostly positioned on the left hand side of the page. I don't want to much text on the page as I want the main focus to be the image.

LAYOUT & FONT: I would like to use a modern font which really goes with the magazine, which is why I would like to experiment with many other fonts before making my mind up however I have my favourite fonts for example "TREBUCHET" , "FRANCIS SANS" and "BERNARD MT CONDENSED". I would like to have the setting of the writing straight and not angles and layered so its not to box like.

CONTENTS PAGE;

COLOUR USAGE: Similar to the front cover I want the colour scheme to carry on through my magazine. Furthermore the colours ill be the same on this page. I plan on using the colours effectively so that they look well put together and not too boring. I will use the colours very carefully when I place the page numbers on top of the images so that they stand out well and don't blend in with the images, by doing this they will hopefully contrast so the audience can see them. The text will also contrast to distinguish the difference between the sub heads and the description.

IMAGE USAGE: The images on the page will be paired with a sub head and description. By doing this I feel that by ding this the audience will get a better understanding of the stories and a visual preview of each topic available inside my magazine. I would like a variety of different images on the page also, I think this will be more appropriate considering this is what I like in a magazine and I want this magazine to be a representation of me.

TEXT USAGE: The text usage on this page I want to be limited as I feel that I would be more interested in the images and I don't want to read too much when the full story is further on in the magazine. Furthermore I think That by placing a small description underneath each topic will inform the reader but hopefully will leave them wanting more. I would like the writing to be in a larger style font, which is unpopular in other magazines, but I don't want it to be too over powering as I find too much text on a page unattractive.

LAYOUT & FONT: I want the layout to be very precise and not messy at all, I think that this will have a good effect on the audience as it will be well presented and easy to find what they are looking for as each section will have its own place. However I think that by  having a number of images they will be the main focus and i want them all to be positioned together and all to the right side, however I want all the writing to be on the left side and some under the images, this will be where the plus section will be hopefully. The font used will be a typical font as I don't want a fancy style text on the page because I want the magazine to be very smart and good to look at, by choosing the decision not to use a fancy style font I think will prevent the audience having to try hard to read it, therefore I have made it easier for the reader.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD;

OVER VIEW OF WHATS GOING TO BE ON THIS PAGE: On this page I plan to design and interview with someone, therefore the topic is an interview, this is why there is various captions and text dotted around, the captions are the questions and the text is the celebrities answer, obviously this interview is made up, I DID NOT INTERVIEW THE CELEBRITY.

COLOUR USAGE: On this double page spread I want there to be very little colour used, this is why I have chosen a very simple colour scheme which is going to be consistently used throughout my magazine. The colours I plan on using will be distributed around the page. I plan on using the red for the question and page number and possible other small parts on the magazine, the background will either be white or grey with the text been black. however this may change depending on the image used.

IMAGE USAGE: I only plan on using one image on this page, this is because I don't want it to be too over crowded. I want the image to be black and white, I also what the person to be a female, she will be hopefully wearing heavy makeup and I want it to be full body shot from a long distant, I want her to be facing away from the camera and posing, this is what I imagine the image to look like.

TEXT USAGE: The text on this page will be written in an interview style, I want the audience to feel like they are in the room and listening to the interview, I plan on describing whats happening. As I'm a English student I will use some techniques to draw in the reader. the font wont be too big as I don't want the writing to look unprofessional. 

LAYOUT & FONT: The layout yet again will be very well presented, over lapping will occur as I like the effect it has. I think the layout i have created will look effective once the text and image will be placed properly. I think this is a typical set out double page spread and is common among other magazines. the font will be a professional looking font, however this may differentiate between the captions headline and the text.

Contents Page Deconstructions

This contents page is filled with loads of words and information about bands and what is included in this issue of NME. The NME logo/name is also added onto the top of the page with the head mast ‘THIS WEEK’ in a very large bold font, this way the reader knows that this is the contents page. The date is also added underneath with a black stripe with a white font. As well at the black stripe the sub heads have a black background with a large white font explaining the topics available in the particular section. To the right of some of the topic there is a arrow with ‘ON THE COVER’ wrote on, this then lets the read confirm the page numbers with the stories on the front cover, this would be useful if the reader was really interested in the stories and wanted to read more. At the bottom of the contents list there is a ‘PLUS’ section, which is presented, in a smaller font, which could suggest is less significant than the more informative stories located above. At the very bottom of the right side there is a red box with ‘THE UK’S NO.1 GIG GUIDE’ this could make is superior because it has its own box and own area, this could be because it is more significant to the magazine and what it includes inside it. Right in the middle of the contents page there is a small story which is accompanied by a large image, the sell line is quite controversial as people might not like the advertisement of getting “HIGH” however the story seems to be about a local pub which could add a bit of real life into this magazine filled with celebrity singers/band. On the bottom of the page there is a advertisement for subscription to the magazine, also with a offer explaining there is 33% off, this is presented in a vibrant color which contrasted with the back banner. This also provides contact details to the magazine. On the left side of the page there is a ‘BAND INDEX’ which provides extra information for fans of the bands but also adds a unique edge to the magazine as I haven’t saw this is any other magazines. The color theme on this contents page is the typical NME colors; black, white and red, these are distributed well over the page and don’t make it look too colorful and over the top.

This Q contents page is very minimal in terms of not holding to much information however there is a small use of large images, including the picture, which over laps the head mast banner and covers up more than half the contents page. The head mast has a red background that contrasts with the color of the writing located in front of the red banner; the 'Q' logo however is located on the top left corner before the title of the page. The logo is represented in the way it is on every magazine of theirs, a bold, upper case letter Q in the color of white, by doing this it is stereotypical of Q magazine. The 'contest' however is presented in a small very toned down font, in the color black, however this doesn't contrast with the red background to much as it is a dark color and the shade of red used is very dark, this could be a thing that I think Q magazine would benefit from altering. This contents page isn't informative at all, considering only 7 stories are mentioned in some way on the contents page it doesn't reveal too much about the actual contents of the magazine, this could mean that the magazine hasn't really got a lot within the magazine of they could of just wanted to keep the contents page very simple looking and not over crowded. The choice of images used on this front cover represent both genders as a gorgeous female model, a male and a band are shown on the contents page. By placing the female model largest on the page and giving it the most space suggest that Q wants this image to be the main focus on this page, they achieved this by overlapping the image onto the Q contents banner, this gives this image a superior status compared to the other stories on this page. The actual list of the contents is located on the left side of the page and actually only includes 5 stories and a small description underneath the sub head. The sub heads are in a bolder font than the description this help distinguish between the description and title, however they are also distinguished by using a line to separate the two pieces of text. By choosing a red line to do this it not only shows the difference but it also help bring out the red in the banner as well as the separation lines. Furthermore the subheads used are celebrity names therefore not much description is needed as long as the fans and audience know that the stories are obviously going to be about them celebrities, this also could attract other audiences as the celebrities on this contents page are singers but the styles of music really contrast. The page numbers on the contents page are varied in sizes for example on the smaller less obvious stories the remain the same size as the text but on the images, for example the main image, the page number is presented in an extremely large font. This stand out a lot therefore the reader doesn't face any confusion when trying to find the right page. The themes colors used on this page are black, grey, white and red, these colors really tie together as they don't clash but they work together really well, with only having on bright colors which can be smarty used to help make certain areas of the page stand out a whole lot more than other parts.

This MOJO contents page is a very simplistic looking contents page, and it isn’t represented as one either, I think this is because there isn't a "contents" label on the page which may cause confusion to some of the audience, However the pages title is just simply the company name, "MOJO". this isn’t placed within a banner or neither does it have any type of separation lines, the background behind the title is the same as the rest of the page, this however has a great effect due to the layering of the title and its position of being brought to the front. Underneath the title there is a small section separated from the rest of the page, this is separated using two long white lines which cage around the writing within. The writing inside the lines is the date and issue number of the magazine. I suspect that this information will have also been present on the front cover which means it has been repeated on the following page. The issue number and date however was separated using an image which over laps the lines. This image of Florence is a very independent feeling image as it shows off Florence’s curves and her figure by the position she is standing in. Florence’s head over laps the banner, and in turns separated these two pieces of information. The image is a photo of Florence, she is faces towards the left and has her head/chine slightly risen, by doing this is accentuates he body. By positioning her like this and placing the photo where it is, this makes Florence look like she is looking towards the date, by doing this the reader may be drawn to look at the date more than what they would have, if it was a different image. The writing on this page is placed to fit into the shape of Florence’s body; therefore it’s a quirky way of representing the writing to fit in around Florence. The sub head on this page is the "FEATURES" section which contains more sub heads and a slight description along with the page number. The word "FEATURES" is presented in a red, upper case, bold font, this is also the case with the page number, by doing this is stands out from the rest of the text but also makes the writing superior to the other pieces of text on the page. Each sub head is wrote in a higher case, bold white font, this again makes it stand out more from the other pieces of writing, for example it stands out more than the description of the stories on that page. Underneath the stories there is a red separation line which holds the cover story within it, by doing this is it given its own section; it is also confirmed to be the cover story. this piece of text is then followed by another line which separates all the stories from the tag line which goes with the images, by placing this at the bottom this is typically one of the last things the audience should read, so it is then paired with the first thing the reader would most likely look at, the image. the colours used on this contents page are very simple and are very popular within magazines, by pairing the black, white, grey and red its makes the red stand out the most because the red is the only vibrant colour used on this page. The use of red really ties in well with Florence’s hair colour and makes it all look well presented.

By looking at other magazine contents pages it has helped me by inspiring me and giving me ideas for my own magazine contents page. I will apply the elements of these magazine to mine in small bits as I don't want to copy however I want certain elements to be included but with my own spin on things.



Front Cover Deconstructions

Double Page Spread Deconstructions.

I chose to evaluate this double page spread because I like set up of the interview is interesting how the triangle in the centre is made superior by the text been positioned around it. this also makes the pulled quote stand out more. On this double page spread the images isn't a long shot which is popular with DPS, however this image is effective because Jared is facing the text which not only draws the audience to the text but also makes it more intense has Jared expression is very serious. the small use of red in this double page spread is effective because it is positioned apart so it his clumped in one spot, however it links all the page together. the mast head and strap line are in a skinny font which makes the page more streamline and not over crowded, this would be the case if it was bold and strapped across the top of the page. this Double Page Spread is a interview so the page is set out by distinguishing the questions from the answers, this is made apparent by making the question bold and the rest for the writing in the original form. The writing on the DPS is only on one page which is where I have taken inspiration from for my magazine. The interview on this DPS is a informal interview as its a friendly iterview but there is still information and gossip coming from it, this is what I wanted mine to be like as I didnt want it to be to serious and over baring on the person I was interviewing.

This double page spread is very monochrome in the sense that only 2/3 colours are really used on the pages, this DPS is well set out and I plan to use this for inspiration on my own DPS. The head mast on this DPS is in two different fonts, therefore the name of the artist is contrasting with the information given with it. "Jessie J" is wrote in a fancy femini looking font which represent Jessie J as she is a female. Also "Superstar Rising" is wrote in another colour which makes it contrast in more ways than one,by choosing to write this in a orange font it ties in well with the lip colour of Jessie J therefore it is including the image, by doing this the image doesnt look out of place, it lookes partof the DPS, this is what i plan to do for my DPS as I want the two pages to flow and blend together, and I want it to be well planned to avoid any problems in the process of makign it all look as one. Furthermore the questions and answers contrast to make it evident to the audience that it is an interview and to what is the questions and what is the answers. The questions are wrote in the orange colour and are also bold, this way they stand out but also tie in with the mast head and photo.

I chose to write about this DPS because of the lack of colour on the two pages. for my original idea I wanted to do something similar, but after looking through many covers I decided against it, this is why I changed my idea. Although this DPS uses a small ammount of colour which is a beige colour to emphasize certain words. The image in the DPS is also showing some of the background which is a church, the model however isnt really doing a serious pose which makes it less intimidating and gothic looking, which is what the article is about. this article was a interview but the questions and answers didnt contrast that well therefore the reader doesnt immedietly know whatto expect when first looking at the pages. the fonts used are effective as "AMERICAN" is wrote in a very patriotic style font as it is serious and formal, where as the "GOTHIC" is wrote in a messy informal writing which contrast well together, baring in mind the colours also contrast the two words. The image on this DPS takes up a page and a half therefore there isnt much room for writing but it makes the image large enough for the audience to really evaluate and view it properly, my personl preference would be something similar to this but maybe with a bit more writing as the writing it only 2/3 paragraphs longs, depending on the style of the article though this is not enough and I will not be writing this little in my own DPS.

Mood Board.

I was asked to make a mood board which included parts of magazines which I thought look good and which were effective to the use and made the magazine look good. I had to pick out certain features such as mast heads, articles , images and fonts. I have grouped together a range of different magazine features which I like and may use in my own magazine.

I focused mainly on sub heads and main sell lines, I done this to get inspiration for my own magazine and ways that I can present it. I think that there is a lot of ways to present the mast head and I particularly like the way that "VIBE" presents theres, I love the fact that the writing is a bold font and in a vibrant red colour, I also love the colour scheme of this front cover, and this is where I have received inspiration to choose this colour scheme for my own magazine. The set out of this front cover is something very similar to how I imagined mine to look like. I think that the image used is very effective and is a close up shot. The editing on this pictures is very effective and emphasises some features on the models face.

I also really like the way that the titles on both these pages are 
presented. I think the way that different sized writing is positioned really makes the title stand out and looks alternative to other titles of pages, on the other hand I 
think that the writing in the dark green colour should of been more vibrant as it would of stood out more, this technique I think will look really good on my magazine and I would like to have a go at designing my own way off doing this. The bottom title however is very modern and has an alternative feel about, considering that the writing is white and in all capitals it really stands out and contrasts with the black background. It also has a graffiti feel about it and stands out really well as it is different to something that you would typically see on any other magazines. The way that the background is set out is very stencil like which is a fun way of making the background less boring and and more creative.
             


The double page spread on this article is very similar to what I want my magazine to look like. It is an interview and has the question/answer set out which I want in my articles. I like the way that the questions font colour contrasts with the answer. I also really like the use of pink in the title and I think that it is a really good way to make the title look effective and a good way to make it stand out. I love the emphasised effect on the word "ABSOLUTELY" which really stand out compared to the rest of text on this page. There isn't anything I don't like on this page as I really think this double page spread will be used to help me make mine and my double page spread will be a representation of this one.

As well as all these features i have explained in further detail, there are many other on the mood board which I like and will use for inspiration when creating my magazine.

Idea For My Magazine Design.

I have been asked to design a magazine for the age group of 16-19 year old boys and girls. This magazine has to be a music magazine. I was asked to create this magazine completely on my own without any other images or text from the internet or other magazines, this way the magazine is completely original and my own work. Furthermore I am going to design and create a magazine, which involves a front cover, contents page and a double page spread.  I want my magazine to appeal to both genders therefore I had to take this into consideration when designing the magazine and the topic that would be present within it.

The front cover is the first thing that the audience will see, therefore I have to come up with a color scheme, which will draw the reader and entice them to buy this product. On the front cover the stories and images have to really stand out to the audience so that they will choose to buy this magazine over all the other music magazines out there. Due to my own personal taste I want to create a magazine that I would buy and which would interest me. Therefore it is up to me to choose images and text that will draw people my age to it. I hope to do this by making the masthead bold and easy to see, I plan to use a white color mast head with a black outline, this will contrast with the background which I hope to be a black and white image. I chose to do it in black and white as I don’t want any colors clashing together and making my front cover looking messy and unprofessional. For the image I want to photograph my best friend, I want her to look alternative and not the average teenage girl, this is why I want to give her heavy makeup and I want her to be facing away from the camera, slightly off to the side. I want the image to be a shoulder shot this way it would be ok for her to have no top on and bare skin for the upper top half of her body. I want the model to be a inspired look from the type of music I am hoping to write about in my magazine which is roc type music. Therefore she will be represented in a dark over the top way. However based on the articles I have chosen I may have to use a male models who fits in with the main article, in this case it will be a natural shot, he will be wearing sunglasses and a black top/leather jacket. On the side of the page this is where my sub heads and cover stories will appear, therefore I want them to stand out, I hope to do this my adding a red rectangular shape for behind the subheads which will be in a bold white writing, by doing this I am not only add the red but I am emphasizes the importance and higher authority than other parts of the front cover. I also plan on adding banners to the top and bottom of the page; these banners will hold further information such as competitions or more information about the magazine. The front cover will also involves a barcode, price, date, issue number and straplines.

In the contents page I want a list of articles/topics to be on the left side, however I don’t want to go into to much information about them as I feel that it is the audience’s job to read on and find out more about the topics they want to read about. I want a variety of topics available inside the magazine, such as real life stories (which will have a link into the music I’m writing about) and celebrity gossip. I will do this by linking the stories together using the music genre. Also by doing this I will appeal to the audience as they can read about real life stories which will inform them about what could happen in real life.

I plan to include articles such as;

• BRING ME THE HORIZON show in SUNDERLAND
• JARED LETO speaks out about his trouble within the band.
• BON JOVI make a return to music industry
•  “I wanted to meet them before I died”-story about a terminally ill teenager who’s dream was to meet BON JOVI”
• Why concerts are so popular and how the effect people
• Which concerts are coming up in 2014
•  Ways to meet your idols
• CAUTION expands its music genre into other types of music
•  Win concert tickets to a band of you choice in 2014
•  Celebrity profiles

I want the main article in this magazine to be about BON JOVI who will be making a return to the music industry. This article will be an interview with BON JOVI’S front man, he will be talking about his return to the industry and why they chose to make a return so late on in there lives. I plan to make this article very informative to the fans of BON JOVI and other audiences. On the page I plan to present the interview in a questionnaire type way as the question then answer will be grouped together and in alternative colors to distinguish the question and the celebrities answer. I plan on using only one image and this will be the image of the model representing the front man of the band. However I want want this image to be the same as the front cover as I want this to be a full bod shot and I want him to be leaning against the wall looking cool and laid back. This image will also be in black and white however ideally I would like to use Photoshop to edit parts of the image to have part off red included within the image. I suspect that the target audience will be fans of BON JOVI and will want to learn more about their come back. However I want it to be more informal so that the reader could learn about BON JOVI and so that they feel like they are talking to him themselves. However I don’t want to include unnecessary question as I feel like the audience wont like this and may find it inappropriate as the interview is with a well know celebrity. I would like to think that the audience in there free time were very sociable, this way they could talk about the article with their friends and talk about it and be entertained by the article, I would also like them to be the type of people that love listening to music and have pictures and poster of the artists about their personal space and spoke about the bands with follow fans of the bands included in this magazine.

To conclude I have made all these choices as I feel like my own personal opinion was very important as this magazine is a representation of me and the type of music I like, I designed this music base on what I like in a magazine and what would make me buy it. I think that I have chosen this color scheme, as the lack of color in the images will be emphasized using Photoshop and editing skills. Also I think that these choices will pay off as I think they will be very effective and will receive positive feedback as the colors work well together and are very easy to distribute around the magazine. I have chosen to write about this article as I think it would be interesting to many audiences as BON JOVI are a very well know band and their comeback will not only appeal to teenagers who enjoy the music but to the older generation who grew up listening to this music. This way the teenagers could read about their bands and BON JOVI and socialize with there parents as they will hopefully know who BON JOVI are.

 

Please see "IDEA CHANGE" and why I no longer wish to design my magazine the way I have previously talked about, further explaination is available in THIS BLOG POST.