Ideas for my Magazine- Masthead

In order to create a professional-looking music magazine I needed to come up with an effective Masthead, with a relevant font and colour. I chose the name 'Bass' because you hear a lot of bass in dance music, and I wanted to include dance music in my magazine. Here are a selection of the fonts I could have used for my magazine.

I decided to use the ringed font; PlatinumBeat BTN, because it looked funky and urban, and I wanted my magazine to be very 'now' and 'street'.

AfterI had chosen a font, I then had to come up with a colour scheme to tie in with the front cover and the font. Here are a few designs I came up with. 

I decided to go with the grey background and yellow lettering because I feel it stood out against the rest of the designs and could be made to look very urban, with font glows and bright colours. The dull grey is brought to life by the bright yellow and the eye is very drawn to the yellow because it stands out so much against the grey, whereas other designs such as the black on white or the yellow on white, are not particularly appealing.

Researching Current Music Magazines- Double Page Spread

In order to create a proffesional-looking double page spread within my magazine, I had to research the double page spreads of current music magazines. This one from 'Q the music' magazine features Cheryl Cole. There are many striking features on this double page spread, for instance the large red 'C' which overlaps the text on the left hand page, emphasising the fact that these two pages are all about Cheryl Cole. The use of the red for the 'C' and the white for the background ties in with the reoccuring theme running through the whole of 'Q!' magazine. The main image on the facing page is very eye catching and the fact that it take up a whole page with no overlapping of text promotes the fiesty image of Cheryl Cole, how she cannot be pushed out of the limelight. The use of large red text at the bottom of the page is there to highlight a key quote that Cheryl herself has said in the interview, and the reader may read this first, because the eye is drawn to it, and then will be drawn in and want to read more because it is an interesting, un-explained quote. The font of the spread is quite simple, showing how it is not fancy fonts and lettering that will sell the feature, but the content itself; all the information and the story on Cheryl Cole.

Researching Current Music Magazines- Contents

When researching current music magazines I also had to look at the contents pages. This 'Q the music' magazine contents page follows the same formulae as most contents page;
A title for the page- including the white 'Q' on the red background which is on the front page and so follows the same theme
Subheadings- 'Features', 'Every month' and 'Q Review'. These also tie in with the theme seen on the front cover, and attention is drawn to them because it is the main colour (apart from the white background) on the contents page. These subheadings make it easy to locate a specific feature within the magazine, you simply look up which category it's likely to fall into.
Images- which are related to the contents stated on the page. The large image will be anchored to a feature of great importance or interest to the readers. the page numbers next to the features are in a different colour to the actual feature, making finding the right page quickly, easy.

This 'MOJO' magazine contents page is very different to the 'Q!' contents page.. for one thing it does not have a title which says 'Contents', but it says 'MOJO'. However it is still obvious to the reader that it is the contents page because of the features and page numbers down the middle of the page. Another reason it is different to other magazine's contents is because it has no subheadings over the features; it's just one list. This makes the page simpler. The general layout of the contents page is as though the contents are a list that someone has written; the titles of the features are in bold so they stand out from the description underneath which is written in italics- like somebody's handwriting. The list is made to look like it is overlapping an abstract image of some sort, at an angle, and the other images on the page are overlapping the 'list' also. The pictures on the right of the page do not relate to the rest of the features, but have their own title; but no description. This creates an interest to these images, because the reader won't know what the story behind the titlle and image is, making them want to read on to find out more. The fonts are simple, showing how MOJO appeals to a mature audience who do not need many fonts and colours to draw them into the magazine, just interesting features, images and stories.

Researching Current Music Magazines

I researched current popular music magazines in order to see what is already on the market in the music magazine business. I looked at two magazines in particular- 'Q The Music' and 'MOJO'.

This 'Q' magazine appealed to me because it features a female solo artist like I want to include in my magazine. I also liked the simple colours used, mainly black and white, but with the background of the 'Q' in a bright red which catches the eye. In my magazine I will include something bright and eyecatching so it stands out to a buyer. The central image is very eye-catching with the large animals which shows how Lily Allen is is control; this is a very empowering image for women. The text is in bold yet simple colours which are written over the image to which it is related, drastically anchoring the two together. The other features written on the cover are written in the same way as the anchorage text for the central image, linking it in with the theme. The puffs at the bottom are highlighted in black so they stand out from the other features to catch the readers' eye. The anchorage text for the main image relates to the image because the image features two 'beasts' and Lily Allen, while the text reads "SEXY BEAST". I will aim to include anchorage text which relates to the main image. Other pieces of writing on the front page (the other features for example) tie in with the red background for the 'Q'. Another Puff is on a slight angle at the sider of the page and circled to stand out from the other puffs.

This MOJO magazine I liked because of the colours; the grey background and white and yellow font are really effective and go well together. I think I will include colours similar to this in my magazine. I also like the way that the main image overlaps the title of the magazine, and the anchorage text overlaps the main image. Despite the plain background, this front cover is very striking because of the colour of the font; yellow and white. the central image ties in with the grey and white theme by being greyscaled. The main words that catch your eye are in a large yellow font that catches the buyers eye ('PLUS!', '1991'). I will include in my magazine quite a plain background with two or three bold colours. The main image is in black and white because it draws attention to the anchorage text "NIRVANA" which explains what the main image is of, to those who arent familiar with the band. The eye is immediately drawn to the bright yellow writing, and the contents of the magazine is grasped quickly by the reader. The "FREE CD!" advertisement at the top of the page is at an angle and outlined in a circle which half goes off the page, which is an interesting feature to include in a magazine and draws the attention of the consumer. 

Music Magazine Questionnaire Results

In order to create a music magazine that would interest my target audience, I created a questionnaire about music magazines.

Most of the people I interviewed for my questionnaire were between the ages of 15 and 18, but I asked people of all ages. I asked 6 males and four females. Of the people I asked, the majority only bought a music magazine less than twelve times a year (3 people), 2 people never bought one, 2 people bought one once a year, two people bought one once a month, one person buy one once a week. No one bought one almost every day.

 In the question “what sort of music do you like?” where the person was allowed to choose three of the options, the most popular type of music was pop with 10, dance with 6 and rap with 4. Then there was RnB with 3, rock, classical and electronic with 3, blues with 1, and garage, heavy metal and folk didn’t get any votes. Therefore in my magazine I will feature pop, dance, rap and RnB music because it was the most popular.

 Of the 10 people surveyed, the most popular price that people would be willing to spend on a music magazine was £3-£5. The next most popular prices were £1-£3 and £7+, both getting 2 votes each. £0-£1 and £5-£7 didn’t get any votes. I will price my music magazine between £3 and £5, because the majority of the people would spend that amount on one.

 The majority of the interviewees preferred a monthly printed magazine, gaining 7 votes, then followed by fortnightly with 2 votes, annually with 1, and weekly with 0. I will make my magazine a monthly magazine, because it proved most popular.

 Half the people would be interested in a music magazine featuring the winner of The X Factor, but half said it wouldn’t interest them. So, I could either include the feature or not.

 6/10 people would like a magazine which did a ‘special edition’ featuring only one artist, and 4/10 said they would not. Thus, I could make my magazine a specials one sometime.

 7 people agreed they would be interested in a magazine which included information on brand new up and coming artists, and only 3 said they wouldn’t, I am going to include a brand new signing, in my magazine consequently.

 In the question about cover stars, the most popular artist was Rihanna, with 3 votes, then Pink and Deadmau5 with 2, and Susan Boyle, Justin Bieber and Westlife with 1 each. For my cover, I will feature a young female solo artist.

Preliminary Task- School Magazine Contents

Analysing the contents page of my magazine.
For the preliminary task I also created a contents page.

I followed the green, black and white colours from the front cover onto the contents page, so as to carry

the theme throughout the magazine. I copied the symbol of an eye onto the contents page, but in a larger size. The title of the page is written in a large Times New Roman font in green, with a black outline so it stands out and can be seen against the white background. it also has a black underline which emphasises that the word "Contents..." is the title. The actual list of contents itself is split into two sections, one of them with a light green background, and slants at an angle to the other list so it highlights the difference between the contents that are already stated on the cover and the ones that havn't been mentioned. The contents are listed in bullet points down the left and right hand side and are written in the same font as the cover, to follow with the same theme, in a darker green so the "on the cover" side can stand out against the light green background. I inserted a few small images which are anchored by their text, which is one of the contents. For example, the iPod nano picture is anchored by the text " Page 8- this week's competition...WIN an iPod Nano!" Other pictures I used were one of Mr Southern, whose anchorage text is "Page 3- Are Mr Southern's healthy locks all a lie?!" and one of a chicken burger, with the text "The truth behind the cook's ingredients- you'll never eat a chicken burger again!". The bottom half of the page is filled up with "A note from the editor" which is written in a black font so it looks different to the contents, and isn't misconstrued as the contents.

Preliminary Task- School Magazine

For the preliminary task, I had to research other school magazines, create drafts of a possible school magazine, then design a new school magazine on Publisher.

This is my finished design for the front cover of a new school magazine.

  I chose the title "the Eyes & Ears" because that implies that the magazine includes all the latest news, because it is the eyes and ears of the school, and can find out everything. The font of the title is in a

large green font, with a black outline so it stands out against the lighter green background and catches the buyer's eye.

  The slogan says "All the latest Emrys scandal!" in a different font to the title, and it is also underlined which grab's the reader's attention, suggesting that this magazine is the first for all Emrys' news.

  The graphical feature or logo of my magazine is a cartoon eye which fits in with the title "Eyes & Ears", and it looks as though the magazine is always on the look out for new gossip. It also reminds me of a Big Brother eye, which is constantly watching the housemates and knows everything that is going on in the house, as Eyes & Ears knows everything that goes on in Emrys.

  The price of the magazine is in a star shape, to attract the eye and to persude the buyer to buy it.

  The central image is of a boy looking into the distance in thought, and reaching off the page almost 'into' the magazine, and the anchorage text says "Reach into Joe's World" which fits in with the 'reaching' theme of the picture. This text is written in green and then duplicated and overlapped in white to make its stand out more against the green background. The other piece of anchorage text reads "Joe Gould speaks exclusively to Eyes & Ears about his long journey through High School". The use of the word 'exclusive' makes the reader want to read the article because it is the only magazine that is running that story. This text is alligned to the right and written in black which stands out against the background.
  One of the Puffs 'TEN TOP TIPS ON SURVIVNG YEAR SEVEN' is enclosed in a box and this and the text is overlapped by its copy, which makes it stand out against the black of the top of the boy and the green of the background. Another puff 'News of the football team's greatest victory' is surrounded by a dashed box which draws the eye to it and encourages the reader to read on. The news of how a reader could win a prize is written in bright red and cased in a red arrow which is pointing inside the magazine. The bright red grabs the reader's attention and makes them want to know more about the amazing prize, and therefore read on. The words 'News Gossip Scandal Rumour' underlined by a white arrow suggest that the magazine includes all of these and makes the reader want to read on and discover what all the news, gossip, scandal and rumour is.
 The people who would buy this magazine are teachers or pupils, and they would buy it to be kept up-to-date with all the news of Emrys and to read all the latest gossip concerning teachers, pupils, events etc.