Flat Plans

I decided to call my Rock magazine "Scream!" because it portrayed the target audience's desire to loudly demonstrate/declare their existence (just like the magazine itself). The increasing size of the font in the masthead represents increasing volume, thus further emphasising the word: Scream. The explanation point is slanted in order to create the effect that it is being toppled by the suggested volume of the word scream. The tag-line: "Turn it up or Drop the mag!" refers again to the volume this type of music tends to be played at, and has a nice, even three syllables either side of the word "or". The pictures on the cover page are of relevant bands, and the main image (which I will go into more detail about in another blog) is of a young rock artist who is interviewed for the double page spread. I chose to put a jump-line leading to the page number of his interview on his T-shirt, in order to attract readers to the page. The heading for the picture is also written on the skateboard he is holding in an attempt to look clever and arty (all in a bid to attract readers). The lettering on the page is generally in capitals, which is a recurring convention in this genre of magazine, and there is an even spread of the obvious explanation mark. Although, when they are used for headings/titles, they are slanted to match the theme of the masthead. A freebie is offered to further entice people. Also at the bottom of the page there is a section telling the onlooker what is inside the magazine.

For the contents page I chose to put the title in the same font as the masthead, except with the letters decreasing in size towards the end as well as the start. This was to concentrate attention towards the centre, thereby putting focus on what's inside (the purpose of a contents page). As is probably very obvious, this contents page is going to be very visual. This was in order to make the contents of the mag seem more aesthetically pleasing. There are witty captions below each picture, and a larger picture for the larger feature. There is a side-bar designated for the page numbers, and generally what's inside the mag. In the bottom-right corner of the page (where you tend to look last on the page) is a nudge towards subscribing - along with the "free bag" picture elsewhere on the page.

For the double-page spread, the main image is central (but mostly on the left-hand page) and is of the person being interviewed looking towards the main heading. This creates a comical effect, and therefore gives the article a lighthearted feel to it. This appeals to the younger side of the audience. In the top-right corner of the left page is a brief description of the band with a picture of all of the band members. The interview will be made up of questions from the interviewer, and answers from the interviewee in a Q&A format. There will be a few pull quotes to give a quick overview of the interview, and a link to the website with the full (uncut) version of the interview. There is another picture of the interviewee with another caption (guaranteed to be witty) and a boxed-off section with a humorous part of the interview.

Research for Music Magazine

My choice of genre for this task was alternative rock. In my research, i found this example of a magazine of the same orientation. Whilst scanning through their site, i discovered that they tended to use a lot of explanation marks to emphasize the text. This was a recurring theme throughout the website. For further exaggeration on Edginess, the font carries a certain 'worn-out' look, that seems to be a common convention for magazines of this genre. This particular one seems to be very vibrantly coloured, perhaps demonstrating that it is aimed at a younger portion of the target audience this type of mag attracts. Clearly you would have to have a taste for this style of music to feel the urge to buy this magazine, or any like it, and those people wouldn't be disappointed, as this is the sole premise of the mag. Also noteworthy is that the language is very colloquial, as expected for the target audience of teens. The image used (and edited for use) is, and generally is, of a popular artist at the time of writing - either this or an artist whome the magazine is covering. The main picture is covering the title, which suggests that the title is well-known enough to not need to be fully shown.

In keeping with the apparent common convention with this genre of magazine, Kerrang! seem to use a lot of explanation marks on their cover pages (this one included). A difference, with the last mag, you can immediately see however is the lack of vibrant colours flooding the page. There is instead a clear use of reds blacks and whites (highlighting the red whenever used) that add quite a bleak effect the the layout. There is some use of the "worn-out" font, but it is not needed as much, as the bold capital letters are emphasis enough. The masthead is cracked in Kerrang's trademark style; signifying to readers that there is a level of defiance against regulation and rules involved with this magazine. Short sentences are used on the cover to show the writer's urgency to inform you of the contents of the mag in brief detail - also a way of making you want to find out more. The band used for the main picture of the magazine is relevant to the genre, and pertrudes over the title (again representing knowlege and popularity of the magazine already). There clothes match the colour scheme of the overall layout of the cover page. The special features and prizes etc are displayed in the bottom third of the page not to distract attention away from the main picture and heading. This magazine cover does seem to be a bit more crowded than the other one however. The theme seems to be more mature though (hence the suits). The genre of this mag appears to be tilted more towards more heavy rock, than alternate.












This double page spread is taken from an issue of Kerrang!, and is based on the band Fall out boy. The colour scheme is in keeping with the black, white and red effect that emphasises the blood-red colour. This reference towards blood is made clear by the dripping of the red in the Heading and in a puff/box in the bottom-right corner of the right hand page. The font is in bold capitals (as per usual for this magazine) for the heading and strapline, with the usual explanation mark for extra emphasis of the so-called importance of the information they want you to read. The main body of text is on one page to appear like it is less to read, with an image of the band plastered across the other - also leaking onto the left hand page, as not to leave it empty. An oppertunity to win something is put in the reader's eye-line also to keep interest. The term: "Big Artist" is taken literally here as they increase the hype following the band by increasing the size of their picture.

Kerrang! use the colour yellow for their main Headings, this is shown clearly in this contents page example. The headings in yellow (or highlighted in yellow with black font) represent the different sections of the magazine, e.g: "gigs" or "K! icons". This particular shade of yellow is quite grimy and dark; the opposite effect that yellow tends to have. The page is flooded, but in an orderly fashoin, with pictures refferring to their page reference. Each one has a caption that explains what the page of that picture entails. Obviously there is the occasional use of the all important explanation mark, but the explanations of the pages' contents are quite brief. Page numbers are designated a side-bar, and pictures dominate (a reccuring theme). The font is quite rounded and stylized, this shows care for the font choice, yet it makes the text quite hard to read fluently. This helps you slowly read the information though, and therefore helps you grasp it more. The text is still mostly in capitals though, with "important" information in bold (e.g sub-headings). The images, overall, make the page more interesting and eye-catching, thereby fueling the target audiences craving for aesthetically pleasing visual information - and lots of it. There is also a sneaky text-box placed in the bottom right corner encouraging the target audience to subscribe to their magazine.

Target Audience

A typical reader for my magazine would be someone who, obviously, someone who is quite passionate about the industry, or the music itself. They would have to have the disposable income to go to the concerts (and of course buy the magazine) but my target audience would not be upper or middle class. They would not be excluded of course, but I wouldn't aim to attract them in any way. I would steer clear of A or B side of demographics. This makes my market quite narrow, but there is a large number of people, like me, who fit into that category; and i feel that they would appreciate being a small market, as it would make them feel more individual in their tastes. There is no real stereotypical psychographic category you can fit my desired target audience, just lovers of the music, whoever they may be. It is a sociable encouraging magazine.

Intro to Music Magazine Task

For this task, my understanding is that we are required to create and design (through research) our own music magazine for a target audience of our choice. I have chosen Alternative rock as my genre, but this can spread to Am-Rock, Heavy Rock and punk. I intend on making my magazine target younger music listeners - around 15 - 20 year olds. This is as it will be in my comfort zone. This task is a continuation from the previous task, which was a preliminary task to develope our skills. I have included a link to the prelim blog below.

Link to preliminary task blog: http://sdcmediaasbenmorley.blogspot.com/

As you can see in this flat plan, the layout is very busy, this is as i feel that this is a typical convention for the magazine's aimed at my desired audience. The colour choices i've displayed were chosen for their vibrancy, as they have the capability of catching the eye of a mid-teenager.This compliments my choice for a busy cover, as it shows a variety of content. The title implies that the reader is now: "In the Know" but there is an intended pun with this to show the excitement of being: "In the Know". A place every fresher wants to be.

In the designing of the contents page i orientated it around humor, and this drove the decision to draw a little tent next to the word "tent". The rest of the layout was just down to what i felt a contents page should consist of normally. However the titles of each page were purposely humorous. The message from the Editor (although not written out) was just what i like to see in a regular magazine, and so i included it, as - along with the humor - i felt it appealed to my target audience of mid-to-late teens.

This was another possibility

i chose this one for my main picture for my cover, because he (simply as i can put it) embodied the word "Fresher". There was a nice neutral blue in the background, which complimented my colour scheme, and a wood framing near the title. It seemed perfect.

In creating my final designs for my finished magazine cover, i think that my attempt at the task was a successful one. I'm pleased with my picture - as I see them as relevant - and am especially pleased with my title (as I feel it has the right amount of edginess to appeal to the target audience) in terms of font ans style. Plus I love the name. I still feel that it could have had a better layout plan, as (originally) I planned to use some different designs for the `menu` on the left hand side of the cover page. This would have taken time however. Obviously i would like to know what your opinions are of it so that i can keep up my facade that I am modest. So any comments are welcome.
Thank you in advance

Introduction to my student magazine

For this task we have been asked to design and create a magazine to replace the current issue. In the task, we are required to come up with a concept for a front cover and a contents page. After designing this to an acceptable standard on 'indesign' we will have to evaluate our final project. My target audience will be first year students.