MAGAZINE LAYOUT DESIGN

2. I want my magazine to be called ‘INDIE WORKS’. I would like my
masthead to be in either black, red or purple. I have looked on a
font website called ‘da bomb’. I have decided on a few fonts that
fit the genre to the magazine. These fonts are called ‘Punks’,
Punk Inside’, ‘Dharma Punk’, ‘Indie Hype’, ‘Indie Summer’,
‘Rock's Death’. I have chosen these conventions for my masthead
due to my research. All of the magazines that I have looked at
have similar styles. You can see the colours and fonts that are on
magazines in my audience profiles research task.
My ideas for the main image at the moment is to have
a white background , so that the lighting is quite
bright. I would like to take a long shot of a person
(preferably a female), dressed in the outfits that I
have designed in my initial ideas task, holding an
electric guitar in one hand and a tea cup in the other.
These ideas will represent the story which will be
featured on the main cover line. The reason for this
idea, is because I really liked the front cover design
on an issue of NME, which I have wrote about in my
music magazine analysis. It features Mark Ronson
holding a trumpet, against a white background. This
is where I got my inspiration from. I really liked the
idea of using props, costume and lighting as this links
with mise-en-scene.
Some of the cover lines that I would like to feature will be
featured in my contents page. The two secondary cover
lines will be ‘new and upcoming bands’ (which will be my
story for the double page spread) and ‘bands on tour’.
The main cover line will be ‘too posh to mosh’, which will
link to my main front cover image. The reason for these
cover lines are that I believe that they are stereo typical to
my target audience. The main story (new and upcoming
bands) is written in a interview format, which was the most
popular choice that people voted for in my questionnaire.
I would like the footer of my magazine to say a list of bands that are
going to be mentioned in my magazine. I got this inspiration from a
magazine called ‘The Fly’ which I have analyzed as part of my
research. I would like each band to be written in the colour’s that
are linked to my colour scheme (black or red or purple).
I would like the puff to be in the shape of a circle and
have a give away such as free concert tickets or free
merchandise. I think this will be a good giveaway and
would attract a lot of people to buy the magazine if it
had a good giveaway. I would like to use a transparent
effect on this, like I used on the puff in my student
magazine design. Again, the colour’s should be within
the colour scheme.
I would like the skyline on my front cover to say
something about this issue of my magazine being a
‘limited edition’ or ‘big issue’. I would like to use
this, as I found these are what the skylines say on
most magazines that I have looked at as part of
my research.
The price of my magazine will be displayed just above my
barcode. The price of the magazine will be around £1.70 -
£2.00. This is the price that most people voted for in my
questionnaire when asked what they would be willing to pay
for.

3. I do not want the editors letter to be a huge
feature of my contents page. I found that in my
student magazine, I wanted to put too much in
my editors letter which I then found very difficult
to fit in around all of the other features. I would
like to keep it short, explaining a few things that
will be featured in the magazine. I would like the
writing to be in a script font (looks handwritten)
so it appears more personal from the editor.
These sections will say the stories that I will like to
include in my magazine. I am aiming to feature
around 20-25 stories. I would like to have around 4
sections in which 5 or 6 stories will be included
underneath. My sections will be at the bottom of the
contents page, so the images, headlines and editors
letter all comes above and are seen separate to the
stories. This is what I found on the contents page
from looking at other magazines. I would like the font
of my stories to be written in capitals and it quite a
bold, tall font.
I would like the headline of my contents page to say the main headline of what my
magazine is called in a smaller font to what it is on the front cover, then to have
‘CONTENTS’ to be written in a bigger font, so that it is the main focus. I would preferably
like contents to be written in a sans serif fonts. I want it to look quite bold, and preferably
in the same font as what my sections will be written in. I would like contents to be white or
black. These are quite mono colours, so they will not clash with the main and secondary
images that will also be displayed on the contents page.
I would like the main image to be a close up head
shot of a girl, making direct eye contact with the
camera (what will be the audience). I want there to be
a focus on her eye makeup, which should look very
exaggerated and quite edgy, linking back to the genre
of the magazine. I would like the girls hair to have a
messy hairstyle, and pulling a face. Preferably winking
or biting her lip. The girl will need to be quite young ,
so she fits in with my target audience. The look of her
will also need to fit in with my look and feel of the
magazine and reflect both my research of other
magazines, and the choices I have made based on my
questionnaire results.
For my secondary image, I would like to have a
mid shot of a girl or boy holding up a vinyl
record (preferably of an indie band). I would like
the main focus to be of the vinyl and then I
would like the person holding it to be in the
background – maybe out of focus. The reason
for this is because this way, I think the image will
look quite minimal which was a popular choice in
my questionnaire when asked what type of
layout would be preferred. If I don’t not use this
idea, then I will take a photo of somebody
performing (maybe playing an instrument),
which will probably have a low angle shot. I have
not decided what I want the image to look like
yet, I just know I want the idea of a vinyl. I would
like this image to link to a story that I hope to
feature on my contents page.

4. As I have already planned out my double page spread, I have a good idea for what I am going to
include. My headline will state ‘CAR CRASH CITY’, as this is the band that is going to be featured
on my double page spread. I would like the font to be quite bold and take up around a ¼ of the
page. The fonts that I wish to use will be similar to the font I have mentioned that I will feature on
my front cover for my Masthead (‘Punks’, Punk Inside’, ‘Dharma Punk’, ‘Indie Hype’, ‘Indie
Summer’, ‘Rock's Death’). All the fonts look informal and are really suited to the genre of my
magazine. I want to make quite a big deal of the band I am writing about for my double page, so
I want to make a statement with my headline.
I plan to have the main image of the band I
am writing about. I plan to take the photos
from a low angle, looking up at the band as
they perform. I feel as thought this is a really
good image for my double page spread as
the article is going to be all about the band
and where they are performing. The image
should include all members playing an
instrument and I want the image to reflect
the story that will be written on the opposing
page.
The sections will contain the story about ‘CAR CRASH CITY’. As I have already written the story
that will be featured on the double page spread, I will just copy and paste this when it comes
to designing the double page. The story is in an interview format, mentioning each person in
the band, having there say about their band. I would like the font to be serif and quite
standard, it needs to be a step down from what the font will be like for the headline.
The strap line for the double page spread will simply say
‘Interview – new and upcoming bands’. This is already
written on my draft of the double page spread. I would like it
to sit in the corner, just above the main image (so that it is
still informative and doesn’t take any attention away from the
main image). I would like it to be in a bright colour so that it
can still be seen and possibly be written in a sans serif font,
to make a link with the headline.
I have already written this as part of
my double page spread. The stand is
basically an introduction to my
interview and gives a brief of what is
featured. I plan for the font to be
quite small, and to be positioned just
under the headline. I would like the
font to preferably in black or white,
depending on the colour background
that I choose, which again will either
be black or white.
I have already planned out what block quotes I am going to be including on this page.
I have just referenced them from my interview that I have already written. I would like
the block quotes to be displayed in small boxes that are seen to have a clear contrast
between the sections. The box should be in a different colour (sticking with the colour
scheme) and made transparent. I would like the quotes to be in italics and too look
quite formal, so I would like the font to be serif.