Second Front Cover Draft.

After looking at my first draft of my front cover and gaining some feedback  from peers and my tutors, i realised there was a few clear errors and dislikes about the draft. The colour was the main feature of these problems, me personally and other people commented on the style and the impeding P.O.V. The direct eye contact was a strong dislike, many people commented that it looked very intimidating and slightly aggressive, for a magazine like kerrang this would fit but for my magazine its not the sort of thing i want. I proceeded to then make a second with a different picture but mostly the same styles around it. A few changes were made to the style but eventually i found something i am half pleased with.

The reason i haven’t been continuing with contents and double page spread is that i have still not yet taken my photographs. I plan to do them this week end and shall then continue with my magazine contents and double page spread.

Mast head font i’m still not 100% on. I don’t think this will be like the final i will use, the font was one on the hardest dicisions i had to make, in the pdf i have loads of different fronts i messed with. i still need to decide.

Magazine Front Cover First Draft

Production Log 26.02.09 (first draft)

In todays lesson i created the first a first draft for my Front cover. During the process of creating it i was constantly looking at a kerrang magazine for reference to what i need to include. The kerrang mag is the basis and the same target audience as my magazine, so the style and design if similar will attract the same audience. I first started with a plain image, which i have taken and edited myself. The picture is of a male in a medium to close up, this is not anything like what i wish my final front cover image to look like.

 

The the image i have planned for my front cover is more of a medium shot and less of a close up. The picture i used is more of just a background i don’t plan on using this in my front cover. Although i really like this image i don’t think it fits with my style and what the audience would be looking for. I really like this picture, the lighting looks good and its very engaging to the reader, the direct eye contact locks the viewers eye line with the picture.

After processing the size of the picture and changing it to A4 paper size. I then proceeded to look for a suitable font on the internet, after searching a few different sites i found some i like and felt that they would be the right design and shape for this style. I tried a tested all the fonts in the draft to see which i preferred, i ended up settling with the one featured in the screen grab above. I have saved all the other fonts for later reference when making the final cover. The reason i choose this font is because it was good at standing out, but yet not to large or impeding. The font is inside a board which helps break it away for the background, making it stand out a lot more.

After the title i added the bottom border which will i planned to later cover with tag lines and teasers. This i gained from looking at the kerrang magazine, details of what was featured inside the magazine was placed in this section of the page on their magazine. I aimed to keep the design alike but learned from my research most magazines are laid out in a similar fashion. NME for example is basically the same but appears less clutter and hectic than kerrang. My design is a mixture between the 2, not as clutter but with some hectic parts to it. I then added some secondary images again these are pictures that i am not planning on featuring in the final cover but the layout is more important in their case. The size i think is perfect in comparison with the image i have used, With my main image for the final cover being more of a medium shot i think the secondary images can afford to be a bit bigger. This is something i shall experiment with when making the cover.

Next i placed a ‘featured’ title above my tag lines and cell lines to draw attention to this area. Its in the same font as the title so it recognizable and follows with the theme and style of the cover. I placed the title at a slight angle to make it appear more of the cuff, and messy. I like the slanted look it makes it a little bit different and brings your attention more towards it. The title placed in the middle of the page is the main feature and the title for the person feature in the picture. Much like kerrang, they place a second title normally more visible and readable than the main title at the top of the page. It works at the selling point for the magazine in their case, that particular band are the main feature and then the audience know that there will be a 3-4 page article on this band. With the picture being a close up i couldn’t place the title across the image to make the page more symmetrical. I used a different font to let the audience know that its now to do with something else, Its now the band I’m mentioning not something to do with the magazine ‘brand’. 

I added my few touches to complete the magazine, as it is a draft i shall look over and check if there is anything i have missed or can change. It will be shown to my peers and my focus group to gain more of an idea of where i am and what peoples responses are to it. The last few things i added was insight sentences below the band title in the same font to keep with the theme of anything to do with the music being it that font. The sentences used were just to add more detail into what is featured and the articles that are inside the magazine, I added a slogan below the mast head and a Buzz word to give the reader more incentive to buy. the word ‘Free’ was shown so people know that they are going to get something extra when they buy the magazine. A bar code to add to the authenticity of the magazine and a price to make it look more like something you would see in a shop.

 

magazine-draft

This is the pdf of my magazine front cover first draft.

Production log 12.02.09

In todays lesson we spent most of the time planning for our presentation of our preliminary task. In the rest of the lesson i took a look into different types of fonts and drafts for my front cover. I am still waiting to get my pictures taken and sorted for my front cover contents and double page spread. The lesson was good i gained a good idea and start of my basic design. I used a few practice fonts and tried out some different styles. The image and the main part of the draft was very basic, just a picture i had taken out side college. The fonts helped me gain a good understanding for size text and colour, i learnt what goes well with what and what, in the ways of colour and size. Positioning was another thing that i experimented with trying different places on the page. i had a good understanding of what the image is so i had a good idea of where i wanted it but i still tried some different ideas.

draft-practice-fonts-copy

29.01.09 Production log

Today i looked into the planning of my image, deciding the location the model and taking into consideration time management, like for example how long it will take to take the images, how long it will take to process and edit the images. Then after applying them to the style and what i plan to have for my front cover. Time management is something that i shall later mention but for the minute there are only a few things i need to plan for. Time management is important because it gives you a good idea of how long you have to get everything done. I have a presentation and a focus group with feed back from my peers to plan for. This will be good because then i will have some feedback to refer to on my initial ideas, i might even gain something more from it like new ideas and better versions of my ideas. I have most of this already planned, i just need a little more on my ideas to mention, but as i mentioned hopefully i will gain a lot from my peers. Today i also created a few sketches of my front cover and the main image i aim planning to take, the photograph is of a male standing with a guitar, this will be also used fro the DB spread but it will be more of a low angle and the sky will be used for the background so the writing will be seen clearly. I also made some sketches of basic font designs, trying out the bold, thin and dramatic styles to see what fits the main title i am planning to use. the Title i plan to use is ‘Thrive’ its got a good ring to it and can be recognized throughout the music and myspace scene.

 

*Attach some pictures of the sketches.*

Image Planning

29.01.09-

My image plan and what i plan to finally do will probably change. At the minute this is just for reference and some basic ideas. My double page spread will try to be placed around this design:

For the double page spread i wish to have a picture of my model on landscape layout so i can resize it to fit accross 2 sides of A4. The picture its self will be of a male holding a guitar behind his head with sky behind him, i want to do this so that i have a clear background to write my text over. The subject will be more to the left hand side so i can then split it into 2 A4’s.

Actors/Model

For the photographs I shall use some of my friends, the front cover and double page spread will be the same model. The contents page will be different, a more informal shot of some one playing the instrument. I have yet to arrange my model, but i have a few friends that have volunteered for the task. Its just a matter of finding who i think best fits the character.

Locations

For these shots the location is still not decided, the front cover and double page spread image only needs a very minimum background as there will be writing on that page. The sky is the sort of background i was hoping for, something very open and free.

Costumes & Props

The costume will be very simple, nothing to flashy or anything that stands out to much. Simple colors like black and grey, it will probably be a big coat, black and jeans. The whole idea about making it simple is that i don’t want this artist to appear to big and important, i figured if he looks a lot like what the readers might look like then there’s a common ground, something they can relate to.

Production Log 22.01.09

Today i researched into my target audience and took a look at some of the certain grades and brackets magazines like mine fall into. I researched into kerrang magazine to see their age range and grade, the ratio of male to female and how they attract these target audiences.

I realised that there is going to be a few problems in the way of attracting my audience that i will have to encounter and find ways to get around. For example gaining the reputation that magazines like kerrang have. I also created my original ideas which i will present to my peers and gain feed back from to tell which will be best and which will be easiest. Price is something i shall have to consider because of grades and certain brackets my magazine may fall into, this is also something which i shall highlight in my focus group and with my peers.

Initial Ideas

1. My first idea is a magazine aimed at 14-25 year old, it s a rock/pop/metal magazine. the main feature or something it will feature is a specials section where it has profiles of artists out side of that genre, rap, hip hop dance everything. Even some styles that are a lot different from what we usually here. it may feature a dance/trance artist or a hip hip star.

The main feautres will be gigs and tours all over the UK, detailed for the reader to have all information to attend. reviews on new albums and upcoming artists.

2. A variation on this idea is to make a magazine which contains all bands that are making a name for them selves on myspace and other music networking sites like purevolume. This will be a magazine designed around promoting the small time bands, and giving them a chance to get there name out, like a kick start. The genre will be a lot less heavy than the last, it will be more acoustic style, indie/pop/rock.

3. My third idea is a magazine which i will consider the genre of after some questionnaires and focus groups. it will be a magazine which will detail on 3 or more different genres, i will create a questionnaire asking how far peoples music tastes go. It could be from trance to metal to indie. it will be mostly profiles on the different artists.

Research Into Target Audience

After researching the magazines and the music industry, i have decided that i shall base my magazine around the rock/metal/pop genre because this is the areas i am interested in. Once i had made this decision i looked into the magazines in this industry and saw that Kerrang is one of the popular in this music scene. To gain a maximum target audience i shall look into the target audience of kerrang to see what sort of age and gender my magazine will need to be aimed at.

http://www.ukaop.org.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/case/article.html?uid=458

Kerrang has a weekly circulation of around 70,000 and a readership of approximately 542,000. Their main aim in target audience is around 15-24, with a ratio of 60:40 male:female. Kerrang magazine most likely aims at the Grade E bracket, the low income bracket which contains students and that age group. The magazine is sold at around £2.20 although prices do vary from time to time. To attract this target audience a well known band is normally placed on the front cover, something new, fresh but something recognisable to the reader. Kerrang over the years has become more of a community as well as a magazine, this creates a very loyal reader, someone who will buy the magazine every week. To create more of a community they have to place something recognisable on the front cover. For example if they place a football on the front, it will appear totally of the subject and will not relate at all, It needs the representation and the iconic ‘Rock’ stars to carry the magazine.

With this research can now aim at the right target audience. I will be aiming at grade E and the ages 14-25, my magazine will contain various genres of music mainly around the rock/metal/pop class. The ratio of male to female is something i would have to research further to see who would buy this magazine, maybe talk to a few kerrang readers and ask them who would buy mine once i have the ideas decided. I shall have to consider the certain things i will have to do to attract both male and female audience if i compare my magazine to kerrang and go with the 60:40 ratio. Where as kerrang uses reputation to sell the magazine, this is something will not be able to achieve unless i can get some picture of a famous musician or artist. So i will have to find another way to make the magazine more appealing and to give it either the representation or USP.

Production log 15.01.09

Today i researched into the existing media in the music magazine world. I have found out a lot about the different types and genres of music and thier magazines. I used google images to find the different types and to see what they look like.

I studied the layouts and the way they look. The layouts appear to be very similar no matter what the genre, i also discovered that all the magazines used a red colour in the title, no matter what genre. For example XXL, Q, NME all use a red surrounding or lettering for the titles.

i also lookd into double page spreads and contents pages, studying the layout and the formal or informalness of the pictures and text.