Masthead Design

Masthead Try Out - Illustrator

This is my first attempt at making my masthead and also my first time using illustrator.

Illustrator Try Out

Ideas so far for magazine proporsal

Magazine Proposal

Case studies proposal;

Kerrang Magazine & RockSound -> The genre of the magazines are mainstream Rock music, classic rock music and classic heavy metal bands. The title of the ‘Kerrang Magazine’ it relates to on of the most used instruments by rock bands and rock singers which is a guitar, and more specifically an electric guitar. The name has a indirect link to the music and the name itself sounds musical and appeals to the audience as it is catchy without using the words ‘rock’ or ‘music’. The title of ‘RockSound’ magazine has a more direct link to music and to the actually genre of the magazine. The title is very self explanatory and straight forward which will let the reader know directly the genre of the magazine. The names of both magazines are inspirational and have given me two ways in which I can portray the title of my own music magazine.

The target audience for Kerrrang magazine are people between 15 and 24 years old, with a median age of 19. 6O% of the readers are male and 40% are female. The are referred to as ‘rejoice in their individuality’ and as typical modern youth. The readers are young people who are mostly still in education or have just finished and they are active, lively and modern.

The target audience for Rock sound magazine are also people between the ages of 15 and 24. 59% of readers are female and 41% are male. The two magazines have similar target audience.

My Magazine Proposal;

For my own music magazine I have chosen the genre of the mainstream side of Rock music. I have chosen this genre of music because I was inspired by the case studies I have done and also the style of layout, photography and the colour schemes of Rock magazines and of Rock in general. The target audience for my music magazine will be people between 15 and 21, which are people that are most likely still in education or just getting their first job. The readers will be both female and male, about 45% female and about 55% male. The social class of my readers will be normal working class/in education. The main ethnicity of my readers will be white and will be from all around the country. They will be interested in fashion and their appearance as a whole and will spend a reasonable amount of money on clothes without having to buy really expensive clothes. The readers will have a like for bold and dark colours and will be showing this by the clothes they wear. Their taste in fashion will be very simple yet very put together. The primary audience will be very active and smart, but have a sense of distinct individualism and not be scared to express themselves to the world through the activities they do. They would enjoy skateboarding and roller skating and other outdoor extreme activities. They would love animals and spending time with their friends outside and inside of the home. However, they would dislike rap music which has no feelings to it and is all about money. They’re main favourite bands will be bands such as ‘Bring me the horizon’ and ‘Pierce the veil’.

The title of my own music magazine will be ‘Whispers’. I have chosen this title because the name makes the magazine sound mysterious and interesting. The title links in with some of the content that the magazine will have, such as gossip, news and exclusive interviews that people have not yet heard from no where else. 'Whispers' is a very catchy but still quite mature and appealing name to the audience. 

Help From Case Studies

Analysing the two magazines and writing up the case studies has helped me understand the features of a Rock music magazine. I now know how the colour schemes of a front cover and double page spread work and how to make it appealing to the reader but still keeping a simple colour scheme which will fit in with the genre of the music. Also, during the analyzation of the music magazines have also gained more knowledge about how the contents pages can be laid out in different ways, now i have more options to choose from to make my contents page as appealing and clear as i can.

Kerrang Magazine Distribution

The publisher of the Kerrang magazine is Bauer Media Group.

1)Do they offer subscriptions? Why?
Kerrang magazine offers subscription. They offer an offer of £80 per year if you pay by debit card, this would save the customer £32 per year and also it will be delivered to their door step instead of having to go out and collect it. They offer subscriptions because it guarantees them sales and that people would buy it for an entire year, also it will attract more customers because the magazine would be delivered to them and they would be attracted by saving money overall.

2)Do they have an ezine version? Does it have the same content? Why?
Kerrang magazine offers a electronic version as it has a website where you can read about news and other things that would be in the music magazine. However, the content of the both is not exactly the same. They have a website where you can find out short news and articles, but they still have the main interesting interviews in the actual magazine. Having a ezine version allows people to access it very easily and from anywhere for free. The magazine ensures the company profit.

3)Is there content on the website that isn’t in the magazine and/or visa versa? Why?
There is content in the magazine that isn't on the website because, on the website there are less important or less striking stories and news, whereas in the magazine they have interviews and photos and posters. They make money through selling the magazine and from advertisement in the magazine. If they had everything on the website, a lot of people would no longer buy the magazine at everything would be online already and it would all be free and accessible therefore, they would lose money and not make as much profit.

4)How do they use Social Media to generate readers?
They have many different social media accounts where readers see sneak peaks of what is on the website or what is in the magazine. This would make audience want to buy the magazine or visit the website to find out the whole story about specific events or artists. Also with the use of social media you can advertise who is going to be in the magazine or what artists will be featured and will be found or are usually found in the magazine. This also attracts the readers attention because if they see for example that their favourite artist will be on the cover or featured in the newest issue they will be likely to go out and buy it. Social Media is very accessible and it allows everyone to see the posts all over the country and abroad. They use social media because the new generation is all about social media and the internet therefore, most people use it. Lastly, they use it by having accounts on social media such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook which are the most used social media in the country.

Evaluation of front cover and contents page

For our preliminary task we were told to make the front cover and the contents page for a college magazine using Photoshop and InDesign. We also had to use our knowledge of the features of a magazine and how it to structure it in a way that would make it look professional. For the front cover of the college magazine we had to use Photoshop as this allowed us to create a very put together layout where we can also play around with the effects on the image. As I have used Photoshop before , I was quite prepared and I knew how to use the software before I started my front cover, this gave me an advantage because I already knew how to import images, use effects, add text and change font; this made my work easier. For the contents page I had to use InDesign. This software allowed me to crop and place images very easily around the page and also it has a large variety of fonts and colours I could use to make my contents page effective and attractive. Through my front cover I wanted to draw the attention of a variety of readers and make it look professional. To make my magazine look professional I added real magazine features such as mast head, cover lines, barcode and a puff. The use of these features made my front cover look organised. I wanted to achieve a distinct look rather than just having a normal magazine with a plain background inside. For my contents page I wanted it to be very clear and easy to follow, to allow the reader to get an insight of the magazine without struggling to understand it.

There were many things that went well on my college magazine front cover and contents page. One of the things that went well was the photography for both. The photos were easily taken as my friends offered to pose for me and I was able to use my mobile phone camera easily. I decided to take the photos outside as the day was very sunny which meant I would get good lighting but also it will give the image a much more interesting look rather than it just being taken inside. This would attract the reader because it brightens up the image and it makes it eye catching. Also the cover star is smiling which portrays a positive representation of college and many people would be attracted by this factor. The other images used on the contents page were also effective because they linked in with the articles which were on the side next to the pictures.

‘This magazine is showing a positive representation of college as they look happy and it's a sunny day’.

Another thing that went well overall, on both the front cover and the contents page was the amount of realistic magazine features I used. On the front cover the mast head was right at the top middle of the page which made easy to spot and allowed the audience to know what magazine it is very fast. The cover lines were taking up a good amount of space around the cover star without covering too much and they were relatively big which also made it easy for the audience to read. There was use of a puff which was in the colour yellow and in the shape of a circle, this highlighted an important opportunity and the use of yellow made it stand out from the rest of the page.

‘The splash being yellow makes it stand out from the rest’.

Overall the colour scheme worked well together because I used only two main colours which were blue and black, the blue stood out from the rest of the black writing and it also added colour to the front cover.

‘The blue stands out from the background and due to it being bright it draws you into the magazine, there is consistency of font and a colour theme of black and blue’.

On my contents page, the layout was very clear and easy to follow which makes it easy for the audience to read. The font was consistent throughout and the use of different size fonts allows some parts to stand out more than other which draws in the audience. There was a use of page numbers which indicates where you can find certain/most important articles in the magazine. Also there was the use of a variety of images.

‘The way you have structured your contents page is really clear and looks professionally done’.

However, there were many things that could be improved to make the front cover and the contents page more appealing and professional. Firstly, one thing that could be improved on my front cover is the lighting of the picture. I could have more even lighting on the cover star’s face which would give the whole image a even tone, and the shadows would not almost cover half of his face, this would make it even more appealing because it will allow the audience to view all of his facial features better. They will be able to see his characteristics a lot more.

Secondly, another thing that could be improved on my front cover is filling up some of the empty space at the top of the page next to the cover star’s face. The empty space makes it look that there is something missing especially that the middle and the bottom of the front cover are very filled with cover lines and puffs. In order to improve this I could make the cover lines bigger and move them around or add another cover line, this would make the empty space disappear and add further detail to the front cover.

Lastly, one thing that could be improved on the contents page is the background of the three images. All three images are taken in the same place with the same background, this makes it boring and not as eye catching as it could be. If the backgrounds were different it would add more depth and it will be differentiating the pictures from each other which will make it much more interesting for the viewer.

LSC College Magazine - Contents Page

This is my final work for the contents page for the college magazine.

LSC College Magazine - Front Cover

This is my final LSC College Magazine which was done as a preliminary task for my AS Media Studies coursework. 

Images For College Magazine

Kerrang Magazine - Double Page Spread Analysis

The colour scheme of the double page spread is white and black. The white font is easily read because it contrasts the black background. The colour scheme is very simple and it makes the two pages look organised. 

At the top of the page there is a diamond shaped text box which says 'rock confessions' this allows the reader to know what the article is based on and it links to the front cover of the magazine as there is a heading saying the same thing. The word 'rock' is in black and the word 'confessions' is in red ( it is the only red word on the page). The use of minimal red on the page makes it stand out a lot and also adds some colour to the page. They used the red to highlight an important point. Underneath this logo there is the heading of the article in bold white large font. The word 'clean' is the biggest word on the page, because once again it will appeal to the audience and it attracts the readers attention. The font of the word 'clean' looks like it is being washed off by water and it looks slightly distorted. The use of this effect will attract the audience because it looks interesting. In the middle of the page there is a short insight note about what other articles are in the magazine and what other artists you are able to read about in the issue. The names of artists are in bold which allows the audience to stop them with ease. 

The colours and image used links to the genre that will be most likely to read the magazine. Mostly Rock lovers will be reading this magazine. Rock is seen stereotypically as a very dark, hardcore  and emotional music genre, therefore, the audience and people who like Rock music will most likely also be similar to the genre of the music they listen to.

There are 3 columns in the article. The use of a drop capital attracts the readers attention to the beginning of the article. The article is structured as a Q&A which allows the reader to know what each paragraph will be about. The question is in bold which simply lets the reader know the question from the answer. The audience can choose which paragraph they are interested in reading because they know what will be answered. 

Lastly, the image is a close up of Mikey Chapman who is also the cover star on the front cover. The artist is topless and he is underwater. The water effect links in with 'coming clean' and it makes it look well organised. His mouth is open and he looks like he is screaming, this can make the reader feel interested in what his 'sins' are and what he is coming clean about. 

Kerrang Magazine - Contents Page Analysis

The contents page only spreads over one page rather than two. At the top of the page you have the masthead in white bold font saying 'contents' and along the bottom of the word you have different objects which look like they've been drawn in pencil. This attracts the reader because is creative and appealing.

On the left hand side of the page you have the main image which takes up 3/4 of the page. It is a far mid shot. In the image Brendon is wearing old fashioned clothes. Next to the image at the top you have the heading of an article and the page number, it allows the reader to find the article quickly.

On the right hand side of the page at the top there is the issue numver and the date it was published. Under watch it the is a black text box with white writing and a very small picture. This is an editors note and it is just a few sentence from the editor which allows them to connect and interact directly to the audience. There are different sections on the page and these are split into: news, features, posters, lives, reviews and gigs. These categories make it easy for the audience to find what they are looking for in the magazine. The titles of the sections are in black font and are surrounded by a yellow coloured text box. The yellow around the black makes it easier to read but also to stand out. Underneath each section there is a very small paragraph of details about some of the things you can find within the issue which also have page numbers in brackets. The page number are useful to find an article quickly. a the name of the bands mentioned and page numbers are in bold.