2. My media product was a front cover, contents and double
page spread of a music magazine. When doing my research I
looked at various different music genres and magazines and
analysed what made them e.g. the written, symbolic and
technical codes.
3. I looked at all types of music magazines as I didn’t want to just
get knowledge on the genre I was doing( which was indie) but
all different types of music magazines, so this way I could get
all the basic knowledge and understand what goes into every
magazine not just specifics.
By doing this I was able to get a great idea of the
basics that go in a magazine and then build on that and
do more specific research into the music magazines that
I will be getting inspiration from.
4. The main sections that were clear for all types of magazines
were the title and images then there were other parts that
catered for specific genres.
•For example the type of image I found on NME
and Kerrang were very different to the type I
found on classic fm both in clothing, models,
make up, pose, lighting, ect.
•Not only were the images a lot different but
text and colour schemes were completely
different for example the styles of writing in NME
was very informal and casual, ‘chatty’ but the
style in classic fm was very formal and factual.
•So to conclude I decide that like NME it would
be best if I had the text of my magazine much
more informal to appeal to the kind of readers I
would be appealing to.
5. Front Cover
•With the title I thought it best to stick to convention
and have a simple but affective font that covers a
large section of the cover, as you want readers to
remember the name of your magazine.
•I wanted my title to stand out and catch people’s
eye so I took inspiration from magazines such as
NME and Kerrang (insert titles) and the way they
have used bold colours on top of each other to do My own title
this, which works really well with the indie genre so
with my title I layered a few coloured boxes and then
the title to make it stand out, which I feel it did.
6. On most music magazines they cut out the image on
the front to place it on different background which I feel
is really affective so I put my main photo on a different
background such as a plain colour can really make it
stand out and by not having the original background it
means people focus on the ain picture on the front
instead of being distracted. This also meant I could cut
the models on the front from different photos and add
them together on the front which I felt work so much
better than having them on one photo as it meant I
could change the position to fit on to the front better.
7. Here like mine I
think it works
But here I can see
how it can take
away from the
image
Cover lines was the next thing I noticed about magazine as most music magazine
try to avoid covering the main image with cover lines, but in the end I did put some
of my cover lines over the image at the bottom but at first I though this might take
away from the image but after looking at it I feel that due to the size I made my
image it actually works as I made a point of putting a ‘new band’ on the front so
when I read it actually led my eye to the picture as I wanted to know who ‘indie-
force’ were, so in the end I feel it worked out better.
8. The colours I used were a
mixture of the three main
ones feature on most of the
pages were maroon, black and
white but for the front I
wanted the magazine to look
interesting so without making
it look too cluttered I added a
few extra colours such as
blues and yellow but only in
moderation so to highlight and
draw the readers eye to
specific words.
9. Contents
For contents again I researched a few different music
magazine genres as I felt it gave me that extra insight
into the way to style my own contents.
I thought it was appropriate to stick with
convention and have the word contents on the
top of the page, I saw most magazines had it
into the top left corner which I felt was the best
positioning as then I could have more room for
images and writing.
10. • Images was tricky in terms of how many to place on
the contents as I didn’t want to over crowd the page
in the end I went with three as if welt that was the
right amount for my contents.
• I had an image linking to my double page spread as
well as another artist so it featured a few different
style photos. I also added an editor’s letter to my
contents as I felt it gave a better connection to the
reader and made it more of a chat than constant
information.
•
• I added page numbers to all of the feature and had
them corresponding to the double page to make sure
the magazine flows and links up, I felt it best to keep
the number like other magazines as it helps guide
the reader to where each feature is.
• But I wanted to add something more to mine which
like NME I wanted separate sub-headings to group
features that are similar together.
11. Double Page Spread
• I noticed that on most double page spreads they
have the name of the artist/s on the top, but I
wanted to link back to the way indie/rock
magazines are much more informal and have a
pun incorporating the mane of the band as my
title which I think worked really well as it gave a
little personality to the page
• To start I had a paragraph on the background of
the band which is normally the case and then I
went into an interview which I felt was the best
thing for my double page, as my magazine is
informal and the target audience from 15-16
upwards I didn’t want to have it covered in text
and from other research I did I found that most
people like interview form as they feel it connects
them better with the artist being interviewed.
• I used a pull quote like a lot of other magazines
to attract the reader’s eye, I put it in a bigger
font so it was clear it is separate from the Pull quote
interview. I also took inspiration from other
magazines and made the first letter of my
paragraph larger than the rest as I think it draws
you eye straight to were you need to start
reading and gave it a much more layered look.
12. • I kept the same font as on my
front cover and my contents as I
wanted to make the magazine
flow so by doing this making it a
nicer and easier read.
• I used the same colours
throughout with a few changes to
create a more exciting page as
well as in keeping with the theme
an style of the music its
representing which is indie/rock.
• Overall I think the colour scheme
was successful as it goes with the
theme and style of the magazine,
however I do feel that it could be
improved by toning up the use on
different colours to give a brighter
look as I feel it can look quite dark
compared to other magazines of
its kind.
