This front cover for an indie music magazine was created with experimentation of different design elements. Feedback from peers suggested improving the green color, Reading and Leeds font and design, and adding more thumbnail images. In response, the creator adjusted the Reading and Leeds section but ultimately kept the original green based on positive peer feedback. The final design featured a variety of fonts, colors, and an image to attract readers.

1. Front Cover
Production

2. Front
Cover
This is my front cover
and to whilst creating
it I experimented with
a number of different
aspects of the page.
This may also change
as I create my other
pages as I adjust
certain parts of the
page to maintain the
house style.

3. Masthead
• My masthead was originally meant to be purple and green but when I did that the
colours clashed and made the page look incoherent. I therefore changed the
colour code to green and black which also connotes indie as it represents the
darkness of indie and how indie music is natural and just about the music. The two
colours also contrast which makes it stand out more to the reader and represents
the contrasts both within indie and all the genres it encompasses as well as indie
music to mainstream music.
• I’ve also put fist’s within the R and O’s as this connotes the revolutionary theme of
the publication and creates a logo for the magazine which my audience wanted.
Whilst creating the fist I got a pre-existing image of a fist then edited the colours
and experimented with which colours to use. I tried red, black and various tones of
green. I decided to use the dark green as it ties the photo to the masthead as
that’s the colour of the dress.
• I also put a green line below the masthead to make it stand out more and create a
definite masthead area on the front page.

4. Coverlines
• The main coverline references the cover image through the play on word of caught which
references the microphone lead wrapped around the persons hands. It also connotes how
indie is supposedly focused on the music not the performer or celebrity culture.
• The font used is one I got off dafont and is the sex pistols font which references the
revolutionary nature of the magazine, the history of indie and punk and creates a sense of
organised chaos on the cover which appeals to my target audience and again connotes
indie.
• I then used a smaller and more organised font underneath explaining the coverline more
to anchor the readers interest and explain the coverline’s article.
• “True artists” also connotes how indie is all about the music and that this publication is
about the art form of music and not the industry. It also connotes the selective and
exclusive nature of indie which can also be derogatory to other genres of music.
• “Introducing this years” connotes how this magazine is interested in new artists the
development of the genre by adding new artists to it.

5. Coverlines
• This coverline references how this magazine is again
focused on the music and live shows. It is also a lure as
the article is about a well known indie band which will
entice readers to buy the magazine.
• The font is another one of dafont and references the
font that Arctic Monkeys use whilst keeping that
organised disorder.
• It also has the smaller aerial coverline below it to again
explain the article.
• It also has a thumbnail photo of Alex Turner that I took
when I went to Arctic’s gig which again entices the
reader.

6. Coverlines
• This coverline acts as a lure as it is offering the reader free tickets to the
main indie festival as well as hinting at the line up.
• I’ve used another font from dafont which fits the house style of organised
disorder and makes the coverline stand out more. As well as this I’ve used a
different font for the + to draw the reader’s attention to the wealth of lures
on the cover to try and entice them to read it.
• I have also created a badge with the Reading and Leeds logo in it to anchor
the coverline to the festival and make the lure more enticing.
• At the bottom of the page I have also placed a ticker tape of the magazine’s
web address as publications now have an online presence which is very
important within media now.
• I have also included a bar code and price in the bottom right hand corner as
this is an essential convention of a magazine front cover.

7. Colour Codes
• On my front cover I have used a mixture of black, green,
yellow and red. The black and green create a brand identity
and connote indie and are seen within the masthead, ticker
tape and background of the cover. During the creation of
my page I was tried having a pale background but found
that it didn’t fit the genre or style of this publication.
• The yellow is used within the coverlines and connotes the
optimism of the magazine about music, punk and NME
which often uses this colour again linking this magazine to
indie.
• The red is used on the models hair as it connotes how even
within the genre of indie artists still rebel against
conventions, in this case the colour code, and reinforces
the concept of revolution.

8. Peer Assessment
I asked my classmates to evaluate my front cover in order for me to know which bits
work well and what things I need to do to improve it. It’s vital to get this feedback
as they are my target age group and audience so I need to appeal to them if my
magazine is to be successful.
Positives Negatives
Some people said that: Some people said that:
•Variety and types of font •It was a wrong green and to try other
•Contrasting colours greens
•The bright green •Use a different font on the Reading and
•The strong image Leeds section
•The fists in the masthead • Try a few cantered thumbnail images
•The small thumbnail image-good image •Try to create more of a badge with
and lure shadows instead of the yellow cirlce
•The balance of the page with the font
and image
•The dark background and colours
•Like the ‘+’
•Easily identifiable genre

9. Peer Assessment Response
To respond to the suggestions I was given in my peer
assessment I:
• Tried different shades of green and colours but felt that the
original colour was best and it was also well received by the
majority of my peers.
• I changed the font of the Reading and Leeds coverline to
the font that is on there now as it was previously aerial font
and didn’t fit the house style of organised disorder.
• Also created the badge that is on there now for Reading
and Leeds which is more badge like whereas the one before
was just a yellow circle.
• I haven’t had time to put more thumbnail images on and
canter them but I may come back later and adjust it.