This a insight into how i plan to create my magazine and what shall be included.

1. Proposal
Charlie Kowalik

2. Magazine Title
I have decided to call my magazine Mirror. I conducted a survey of my top 3 magazine
titles which were; Lax, Sovereign and Mirror. I felt this reflected my audience as the
Indie genre empowers its listeners to explore themselves and be what they want to be. I
also thought it was appropriate as I carried out my survey on 16-24 year olds and still
turned out to be the most popular which makes this result much more suited and
reliable. In addition it seems to fit with a common trend in Indie magazines which is that
the name seems odd or not relatable such as “The Fly” or “Wire” but actually the nature
of it being odd or different fits with the ideology of what Indie music promotes.

3. Choice of Genre
I have chosen Indie as my genre of music as Indie is more than just one type of music.
Indie music encompasses a range very different and experimental sounds and lyrics
which people who don't necessarily listen Indie music can enjoy and quite often relate
to. Although there are Indie magazines out there already I feel as though unless my
audience have the money to buy every type of Indie music magazine, which judging
from the preferred £2-3 price tag suggest not, then there isn't a magazine that covers a
diverse range of indie music together. Through choosing a genre that is broad I have the
luxury of embracing a much larger audience of which to sell my maine to. Indie music is
also becoming more and more popular and so there is room for potential growth.

4. Target Audience
My target Audience will be primarily males aged between 16-24 however,
there will be some features that appeal to the females as well. I have opted to
aim my magazine more towards men as they, from my research, show the
most interest however to make my magazine more successful some features
will be more feminine in order to appeal to the women which current
magazines don't really do giving an edge to my selling point. Furthermore, as
my target audience are more mature they will suit my genre more as they can
follow the acts that Indie bands involve themselves in and fully embrace the
rebellious nature whereas a young audience would not understand the
message intended and wouldn't really be suitable.

5. Content of the whole magazine
Throughout my magazine I will mention upcoming bands and the newest releases of
tracks from various bands in order to give them some for the limelight as Indie is all for
shedding light on up and coming bands, I also feel that my audience would appreciate
this as well. My content will include a contents page, littered with images of equal
distance kept quite tidy and neat to emphasise the simplicity of my magazine which my
questionnaire revealed was a preferable aspect of the design. My magazine will have a
larger ratio of images or size of images in comparison to my text in order to maintain
the simplistic element however, my text placement must be effective to ensure the
information intended is conveyed. I will also use small areas to advertise offers for
downloads and discount codes, this will encourage the reader to buy the next addition.
For my double page spread I will most likely use 1 Landscape image which will go over
both pages, the structure of my text should blend with the image in order to maintain
the house style and appeal to my audience.

6. Similar images to my magazine

7. Front cover Initial ideas
My masthead will be dropped down a little from the top of the page. I will use a medium
bold oldstyle text such as Courier New as this has a retro aesthetic, much like that of
a typewriter, Indie music is well known for. This will attract my target audience's
attention. I will have the artist name as the Kicker across the centre of the page over the
image as this will draw my audience in and inform them instantly. the colour scheme of
my magazine will be white, olive green and black as this present a monotonal but also
quite simple vibe however I will have bursts of colour in the images but they will not
draw away from the house style.

8. Contents Initial ideas
For my contents, I have decided to title my contents page “what’s inside” as
this is slightly different to most magazines which would appeal to my audience
as it isn't like other magazines they may have, it will be situated at the top of
my page in the centre. In addition to this I will centralise one main image
which will be my double-page spread I have other smaller pictures around this
which will have page number located in the corners for reference. At the base
I will advertise a prize or gift which will attract my audience.

9. Double page spread Initial ideas
For my double page spread I will have one image that will stretch the length of
my two pages horizontally. However the image will be cut off near the bottom
with a curved edge, leaving white space underneath which is where i will place
my text about the image displayed. This text will include background
information about the ‘band’ of which the image displays, and then there will
be a part which will be a transcript of spontaneous speech through asking
questions.