3. Preliminary Project – Research & Planning
My target audience was teenagers/students aged 16 – 18. Preferably for students that attend St. Francis Xavier Sixth
form College; This meant I had to work around the image of the college and the preferences of the students. Examples of
this are having not using too many colours so the pages don‟t look childish, however using enough so the page doesn‟t
look too boring. I ranged between 2 main colours which were green & red, and used the neutral colours black & white
when I thought it was preferable. It also meant the text shouldn‟t be too difficult to read, but also not too easy as to not
patronise the audience. I had to make sure the language used in the magazine wasn‟t too colloquial but also wasn‟t too
complicated. This meant a middle-level form of register. I also had to make sure the text didn‟t look too boring as to not
discourage students from looking at/reading the magazine. This meant I had to put a fair amount of pictures comparing
to the amount of text on the page. I had to be careful when picking images also, as it was easy to choose pictures that fall
off topic with the genre of the magazine due to the many activities teenagers partake in. Taking images of the students
playing sports or recording music may have changed the idea of the magazine completely when looking at it, so I had to
make sure I chose images that tie in with the genre specifically, which meant taking pictures of students working and
socialising in college.
I was quite familiar with the use of Adobe Photoshop before the task, so the key points I learnt about Adobe Photoshop
are that there are easier ways of cutting out images than using the rubber tool, such as using the magnetic polygon tool.
The key points I learnt about Adobe InDesign is that it allows you to link your work from other programs into InDesign,
and that it is a way of sorting out grids and columns for pages that need them, such as a magazine page may need lines
across for text.
5. Reflections & Feedback
Next time I create a magazine cover and contents page, I would make sure there are more cover lines on the front page
and that they‟re more clear as now they‟re not sectioned correctly as I had trouble trying to find a space for them due to
the positioning of other images. I would make sure the cover-lines are either aligned to the left or right also to make it
look neater. I would also try to improve on the positioning on images and make the front page more blunt, in the sense
of making it more obvious that it is a student magazine. This would mean using more representations and features that
are related to the student magazine and appeal to the target audience. Furthermore I would like to create a more
interesting background instead of just using the gradient tool and creating a simple background as it would make my
magazine more effective.
The feedback I had got from my classmates made me realise that my main image was well done. However the cover-
lines and positioning of the image sand cover-lines were poor. I was told that I needed more cover-lines on my page and
also need to be sure of the images I am putting on the magazine. People felt that the sub-images were unnecessary and
poorly placed. However the colour-scheme and masthead were complimented many times so I knew these were strong
points of my magazine cover. The contents page also had the problem of images being placed in odd positions. I was
also told I could have used columns more effectively as some of the information doesn‟t follow the columns and grids.
I need to improve on the way I choose columns and rows in InDesign, and sticking to them when they‟re chosen/used,
as during the creation of my contents page I made columns & rows, yet for some aspects of the page I didn‟t follow
these, such as the text in the features boxes. Furthermore the use of effects in Photoshop could be used more effectively
instead of being used for the sake of it.
6. Music Magazine
The genre of my music magazine is hip-hop/rap. This genre consists of a majority of upbeat
songs with the usual topics being money, love, sex, parties and struggle. With this hip hop is
usually presented through dark colours surrounded by many bright things such as expensive
jewellery etc. Some celebrities that are known hip hop artists include: Kanye West, Lil Wayne,
Rick Ross, J. Cole, Big Sean, Meek Mill, Jay Z and many more. This is also a genre which tends
to use a lot of slang in their music making the language differentiate from normal. They use
more urban and street language and clothing which means my magazine should relate to this
culture.
The title of my music magazine is „I Live Life‟ which can be abbreviated into the word „ILL‟. The
reason I chose this title is because „ILL‟ is a slang term used by many hip hop artists and their
audience which makes a straight relation to the title through the abbreviation alone. The full
title „I Live Life‟ represents the extravagant and flashy lifestyle conveyed through the majority of
hip hop artists music and expensive appearance.
7. Music Magazine – Research & Planning
During my research I analysed many hip hop magazine‟s front pages, contents pages and
double page spreads. These are the first two covers I looked at when researching and planning.
8. What I learnt from this…
Cover Design. The magazine „Scratch‟ uses a dark background and the colour scheme of yellow, white
and blue writing which creates a contrast between dark and bright colours. On top of this the character in the main
image wears a majority of dark colours while the sub image is wearing bright colours which makes it easy on the eyes as
there is a good balance between dark and light colours. The magazine uses a strap line and a masthead in a cliché
fashion. However with the stroke around the masthead it serves it‟s purpose as it‟s clear what the title of the magazine
is. The use of the XXL logo in the strapline will immediately bring in XXL‟s audience which would make for more sales
which means the design is effective. The attraction to the audience is made clear through the representations shown
through the props the characters in the images are holding/using. The main image holds a microphone and the sub
image is using a DJ mixing/studio board which makes it clear the magazine is a music magazine; the use of props
effectively is something I learnt is an effective way to draw in your target audience. The main image is aligned slightly to
the right of the magazine and the sub image is on the left.
Cover Lines. The magazine has 8 cover lines and a main cover line. . The main cover lines vary between
all 3 main colours used on the page and it is clear these are the main cover lines as it is much larger than the over cover
lines. The cover lines keep cohesion on the page of both magazines as they use the same colour scheme as depicted in
the mastheads which is something I should make sure I do in my magazine as a way to keep organisation and
professionalism.
9. For my music magazine…
As said in my target audience research, my target audience is hip-hop music fans ranging
between the ages of 13-28. They would mainly be located in urban places such as Croydon of
South London or Islington of North London etc. My target audience is heavily associated with
the use of slang and dark colours which are stereotypes of their social group.
The magazine will be released monthly.
Although not said on the front cover or any of the other pages; the price of the magazine is
£2.99.
The publisher of my magazine will be Bauer Media.
The unique selling point of my magazine is that in each issue it gives you an exclusive insight or
interview of a music artist that has a buzz around them in the music scene at that time.
10. This is the face of the magazine
The magazine starts with the magazine logo in the top left hand
corner. It is followed by a strapline and underneath is the
masthead. In the middle of the magazine is the main image and on
top of it is the main cover-line. To the left of the magazine there
are the cover lines and the sub image; then followed by the
barcode at the bottom of the magazine. The magazine uses a
colour scheme of Red, yellow and white, which the background
being a dark grey mixed with black. The main image is the same
story used for the double page spread I have constructed.
11. Here are the 4 original photographs I shot for the project……
12. I modified each photograph; here is the original next to the
final version:
This image was used for the main image of my front page. As shown in my production log I had to use the
polygonal selection tool in Photoshop and outline the character in the image. I then use the delete
function to delete the background. Once the background was deleted I used the copy and paste functions
to paste it onto my music magazine. I then used the free transform tool to enlarge the image to the correct
size I wanted it. Having done this I used the „mirror‟ function also known as flip horizontal in Photoshop
to flip the image from one side to another. The background had to be deleted so I can put it on my
magazine cover and still keep the background that was already on my cover. I enlarged the image so it was
large enough that It would be clear that it was the main image; it also had to take up the majority of the
page. The reason I used the mirror function was because the normal image was too wide and the right arm
of the character was too far out and clashed with the cover-lines; but by using the mirror function I was
able to make sure it didn‟t clash with cover lines which allowed my magazine to stay organised.
13. 2nd Image
The first thing I did was open the image in Photoshop as shown in my production log. I then used
the polygonal selection tool to outline the character. I then deleted the background. I used the
resize option in Photoshop to make the photo smaller as it was too big to fit on my double page
spread. Having done this I went to filter and artistic features and used the dry brush feature. This
was because I wanted to differentiate my magazine images from other magazines. The dry brush
also allows it to blend in with the white background more. Having done the effects I copy and
pasted the image onto my double page spread in InDesign and used the free transform tool to size
it correctly. I used the selection tool to place it into the correct position on the page.
14. 3rd Image
To place this image on my contents page I had to use the polygonal selection tool to outline the
character and use the delete function to delete the background. I copy and pasted it on the contents
page. Having done this I resized the image using the free transform tool so it was the correct size. I
then went into effects and added an inner bevel and also an outer glow. This makes the image
stand out a lot more and makes the purpose of it clear.
15. 4th Image
This was the easiest of all images I had used to edit. The only things I had to do to this image was
import it into InDesign so I could place it on my double page spread. Having done this I used the
selection tool to place it in the correct position. I used the free transform tool to resize it to the
correct size. I then went to effects and added a stroke of 5pt to make the image blend with the
background more instead of it looking as if it wasn‟t suppose to be there. The stroke takes away
from the „floating‟ feeling that an image can give when it is misplaced.
16. Here are a couple of research models for my contents page
17. This is my contents page
The features column on the right of
the magazine presents all the
information that is held inside the
magazine
The images relate to the articles
inside the magazine
The colour scheme is the same as
the front cover without the use of
the cover yellow
Much like the front cover, there is a
word faded in the background. (In
the front cover it is „ILL‟. In the
contents it is „LIVE‟)
The background is the same as the
front cover
18. How does the contents page link back to the cover page?
My contents page links back to the cover page in many ways. One way in which it does this is
through the colour scheme. The colour scheme on the front page is red, yellow and white and this
is the same for the contents page except from the use of yellow. This was replaced with the use of
the colour black. This shows cohesion through the two pages. Another way my contents page links
back to the cover page is that they both use the same background which makes them look
extremely similar but without looking like the same product. Furthermore the use of fonts also
links back to the cover page as fonts such as „Impact‟ which was used for the masthead on the cover
page was also used for the text in the features part of the contents page.
19. Key points of contents page
I‟ve made the reader want to read on with the use of descriptions underneath the page
numbers. I made the descriptions sound as attractive to my target audience as possible with the
use of slang and features that will draw the audience in such as saying certain articles are
exclusive making it unique compared to other magazines.
The images are linked to the words as the words describing certain pages are about the
characters in the images. For example the image with the number „5‟ on it links to the features
description for page 5 which describes what the article is about.
The use of images determines the dominant stories. Using images makes these stories stand out
as they seem unique considering the rest of the stories don‟t have images to represent them.
This makes these articles seem more important.
The information on the page is in a column starting with a description of the lowest page going
to the highest.
20. How does the contents page flag up your double page spread?
The contents page flags up my double page spread as it gives a description in
the features section of what is to come on my double page spread. This allows
the audience to know what is in store before they read it; allowing them to be
more familiar with it as they are reading it.
22. This is why I think that double spread works
This double page spread works because the colour scheme is suitable. The use of only two colours
makes it easy to see for the human eye to see; also the use of a neutral colour complemented with a
bright colour makes it easier to read.
All information is arranged neatly in columns. They have used two columns for the first page and
one column for the second page making it easy to read as organisation is clear. The pull quote is
sectioned in the middle of the magazine making it differentiate from usual magazines.
There are two images, although it is not clear which one is the main image as the probable sub-
image is on the first page while the probably main image is on the 2nd page; they both complement
each other as they show two different sides of the artist that is being featured. This allows you to
find out a lot more information about the article before even reading it.
24. This is how my double page spread works
My double page spread is organised through the use of columns and grids. The
two columns make sure the text is always sectioned correctly which makes it easy
to read. The same effect is also shown by the colour scheme of the colours green,
red and black. The colours green and red are complementary colours which makes
this attract the audience automatically as they are also bright colours so they catch
the readers attention. The main images also show many representations of the
hip-hop drama such as wealth shown through jewellery and arrogance shown
through facial expressions. The use of props such as a microphone also reminds
the audience that this is a music magazine.
25. This is how all three components are linked together….
The use of the font „Impact‟ is on all three pages which creates cohesion of text
features.
The colour scheme is shared between all three pages as the colour red is a main
colour on all three pages.
Images of hip-hop artists create cohesion between the three pages. The main
image on the front page and one of the main images on the double page spread
are of the same character.
The contents page and front page show advertisements and information for the
story on the double page spread.
26. Key modifications to double spread from feedback
Feedback from my friends and classmates has made me realise a few things which
should have been modified. One of these things is the background. Many of my
classmates felt as if the background was too boring in comparison to the
background used on the front page and contents page. I was told “It would‟ve been
better to use a brightly coloured background as the two backgrounds on the other
two pages are dark. Although white is a lot brighter; there is not enough
happening in the text and images to make sure the background looks busy”.
27. Evaluation
You can find my blog here:
http://adotriches.blogspot.co.uk/
And
You can find my evaluation with responses to the 7
questions in the blog. It is in 3 parts.
