2. My target audience for my magazine is targeted at a male audience
between the ages of 18 – 35, predominantly towards a male audience.
I designed my magazine in a way that will attract a Hip –hop audience
as well as a stylised/niche audience that will appreciate the styling of
the artist on the cover. Having a male model on the cover would
usually attract a more feminine audience but Hip – hop listeners are
not usually looking for a female artist on the cover because it is a
predominantly male industry. I used a colourful tone throughout my
magazine as it is simplistic and minimalistic which attracts and
engages an audience for Hip – hop.
3. The first thing the audience will see of the magazine is the front
cover. This is when I decided I need my front cover to look stylistic
and attract the audience when on the shop shelf. I decided I needed
my artist to look different from other Hip – hop artists which made
my magazine stand out from the rest and look unique and original.
This is why I added a poster filter effect onto my artist to challenge
the conventions but also attract my audience. I also placed my
masthead going down the side of the page instead of going across
the top which normal mastheads do on conventional magazines. The
font I uses is bold and clear in a bright blue. The font is Arial which
gives of a simplistic and stylistic effect onto my magazine cover. I
used a similar font style to Billboard magazine and the style of the
magazine itself. This is because Billboard is one of the biggest
magazine in the world and appeals to thousands of people and with a
magazine that is similar is style, it will attract the same audience
demographic.
4. The model I used on my cover is dressed in casual clothing like my
audience questionnaire suggested. I also did some research onto
what clothing Hip – hop artists wear by looking at pictures and
watching interviews. Most Hip – hop artists wear informal clothing
like hoodies and baggy jeans or a leather jacket and a white top. I
then had a chance to plan out what my artist was going to wear on
the cover and chose for him to wear casual clothing with a gold chain
around his neck. I also chose for my main artist to show minimal
emotion and look “hard” to intimidate my audience. This was to adopt
a normal, conventional, aesthetic look for my artist and make him be
in line with a normal magazine.
5. On my contents page, I decided to use an image where one model is
looking at the camera and another is looking away from the camera.
One model was only there for aesthetic features and not really a part
of the magazine, whereas I wanted a different photo of my main artist
different from all of the ones featured on my magazine. I wanted both
artists to wear similar clothing so they both wore a black jacket with a
white/grey background behind them so one didn’t stand out more
than the other. I also included a nice blue and black text colour
theme throughout the contents as well as a top charts section for my
audience who are interested who are in the charts, even if it is not the
sane genre of music.
6. On my double page spread, I decided I should keep to the same
colour scheme I have been using throughout my magazine. I added a
red colour on my double page spread to make the title and the quote
stand out and try not to get any grammatical spelling wrong. I also
added a slight watermark in the top left of the page for an aesthetic
feature. Because I targeted my audience towards more mature and
sophisticated readers, I used different language techniques and tried
to not make my language colloquial and make the language flow to
address my audience.
Because my audience is targeted towards 18 – 35 year olds, I wanted
to use sophisticated language but also include British jargon because
my magazine would be published in England due to my institutions
biggest audience is in Europe. With the British jargon included, it
makes my magazine seem more friendly and down to earth and it
would also appeal to a British audience more than it would a foreign
audience.
7. I used a large bold masthead which would
be more noticeable than a regular text
which makes it stand out for the reader. I
also made the masthead go down the left
side of the page to go against the normal
conventions of a magazine to challenge
stereotypical views of what a magazine
would look like.
The colour scheme I used is simple but
effective. With the plain grey background
mixed with the white and blue, makes the
text stand out. I also used a stroke around
my main model to separate him because
his clothing is too similar to the
background. This allows the reader to view
the model with ease, as well as it being
aesthetically effective; appealing to a wide
audience.
My font was done in all lower case letters
so the reader can view my cover and read
the main point easier. I also wanted my
cover font to go against the normal font
designs to make my magazine feel different
and original when customers are looking at
reading it. I also used minimal text because
I was keeping in line with my audience
questionnaire and also because I prefer it
when magazines have little writing because
it distracts the reader from the main model.
This is why I used minimal text so the
reader could be drawn onto the model
(Charlee). The font it also stylistic and a
style that is usually used on the cover of
Times magazine which could draw in a
similar audience. The font also makes it
easy to read and attracts the reader of
having a contrast between a big, bold font;
compared to a simplistic and attractive
font.I used a close up on my model (Charlee)
because I didn’t like the idea and the
design of having a long shot or a media
close up of my model, especially with the
filter that was added. I also got my model
to look at the camera, creating a synthetic
relationship between the reader and the
model.
8. I used a colour scheme of black, blue, white
and grey. These are the same colours I
used on my cover to have a correlative
theme throughout my magazine. I feel that
the blue stands out the most which draws
the audiences attention away from the main
picture that the readers saw on the cover.
This is a good for my magazine because it
means the customer might find something
they are interested in other than the main
point.
I feel that my contents page keeps in line
with normal conventions so it doesn’t look
to original but also looks pleasing for the
reader. I used a normal font which was
simple for the reader so they can find what
page they are looking for easily. I also used
a blue to highlight what was the main point
of the page which I think worked really well
mixed in with the white. The font itself is
simplistic which makes it easy for the
customers to read.
I only used two pictures: one was my
brother and the other was if my main
model (Charlee). The reason u decided to
add another artist in was because I wanted
my contents page to feature a lot of artists
and to make my magazine look real.
The image of the main model has a grey
background which is keeping in line with
the colour scheme of my cover and with the
rest of my contents page. Because this is
the only grey on the left side of the page, it
will make the image stand out and become
really easy to find. I have also positioned it
at the top of the page which means the it is
the first point the customer is going to
read. The second picture of “Impartial” is
used to intimidate my audience due to him
with his head up and looking straight at the
camera. In a Hip – hop magazine, it is
important to have characters look
menacing towards the audience and this is
the type of style I was aiming for.
9. I am using a colour scheme of
blue, grey, white and red for
my double page spread. These
colours are not usually
associated with each other but
I used them to gather the
audiences attention as
outgoing and new. The red
was used to attract the
audiences attention to the
models tragic life and
symbolise the pain and
suffering he has been through.
At the moment, the Hip – hop
vibe is about tragedy and this
is the type of style I was
aiming at. I wanted to appeal
to an audience who like
listening to powerful and deep
songs which in some cases
help them through life
problems.
I used a medium close up shot
on my model so he was taking
up half of the page. In my draft
I used a complete block image
but this time I wanted to make
my image separate from the
background. I think by editing
my model into something that
looks cool will attract a wide
audience who like the look of a
magazine model with a filter
effect added. This effect is also
original so it would attract a
different audience previously
aimed at.I think my double page spread
keeps in line with the normal
conventions but also goes
against them. I feel that new
double page spreads have little
article writing on them so I
decided I would write more
than the modern standard. The
tone of my article is formal
mixed with British slang,
making it relaxing and
engaging for my audience.
The gaze could also be a factor
in my magazines double page
spread. With my male model
potential being seen as
attractive by a female or male
audience.
