This document provides details on the design of the cover of a fictional teen music magazine called "Sound Burst". It discusses elements like the masthead, main image, cover lines, skyline, pugs, and main cover line. The masthead uses a sans serif font in shades of pink to appeal to older teenage girls. The main image will be a medium close-up photo of a model representing the featured artist, using props to emphasize the music genre. Cover lines and pugs aim to attract teenage readers through references to popular artists, reviews, and a free iTunes voucher.

2. MAST HEAD: The mast head is the
name of the magazine, ‘Sound
Burst’. The large sans serif display
font is typical for a pop magazine
and reflects the fun vibe of the
teenage targeted magazine. The
absence of any hard sharp lettering
makes the mast head appear more
feminine. The word Burst has
exciting connotations along with
being a similar onomatopoeia to the
word POP which is the magazine
genre. The word Sound makes it
instantly obvious that this is a music
magazine. I plan to use shades of
pink for the masthead because pink
is stereotypically a female colour.
However I plan to use a darker pink
compared to a bright neon pink to
avoid the childish connotations. This
will help make the magazine appeal
to older teenage girls.
MAIN IMAGE: I plan to use a
medium close up of the
model acting as the artist
which the magazine features.
The MCU allows the makeup,
accessories, hair and clothes
te be seen which follows the
conventions of a female
targeted magazine because
that is a topic of interest. It
also will clearly show direct
address with eye contact
which looks inviting to a
reader and creates a friendly
feel to the cover. The plain
white background will work
well with pink and black (text
colours). The use of props
like headphones also
emphasises that the genre of
magazine is music based. I
want the cover lines and
pugs to be placed behind the
main image which subtly
suggests the model is very
important. The main cover
line which relates to the
artists will be in front of the
magazine to show they are
connected.
COVER LINES: After looking at a
number of pop magazines I chose to
not over load the front cover with a
large amount of cover lines.
Magazines like ‘Top of the Pops’
have a large amount and appears to
look less mature and targeted at a
younger age group. By keeping the
front cover quite simple I feel it
looks more appropriate for the older
teenager audience. ‘Ariana Grande:
kiss and tell’ targets girls because
Ariana is a very popular pop singer
and females are stereotypically
interested in the love life and gossip
of celebrities. ‘Top 40 pop
downloads of 2014’ is commonly
featured on music magazines around
the end/start of a new year so I
thought I would follow this
convention. Music magazines also
feature festival and concert reviews
which is why I chose to include ‘V
FEST…yay or nay?’. The use of
colloquial language in this cover line
will catch the eye of teenagers (who
are the ones who use the slang#)
and helps them connect to the
magazine if similar informal
language is used. (Yay or nay means
if something is good or not).
SKY LINE: Although the skyline in this draft is advertising an iTunes voucher, I
have changed my mind and plan to have it feature something which will stay
constant on each issue of the magazine, for instance; ‘REVIEWS – NEW
ARTISTS – TOP HITS – INTERVIEWS’. This gives a very brief over view for the
magazine and will also keep the house style constant which creates a brand
image along with the constant mast head, font and colour scheme.
PUGS: As this magazine is
targeting teenagers, who
typically don’t have much
money because they’re in
education, the presence of
freebies and offers will
attract them to buy the
magazine for their benefit.
The Itunes discount is
placed in an eye-catching
‘bursting’ shape which
connects to the magazine
mast head while being
placed in the top left third
which is visible to the reader
in a shop. Teenagers
typically use the internet far
more than adults therefore
featuring an offer for an
online song shop will appeal
to teens more than a CD
discount would.
MAIN COVER LINE: My man cover line is going to be a key quote from the
interview on the double page spread. This is often used in magazines and it
follows the conventions. The main cover line will be significantly larger than
the rest of the cover lines and probably a different colour to highlight its
importance and to catch the reader’s eye. I chose to place it in the left
bottom third of the page because I think this is where it could be most
visible if it was stacked on a shop shelf. By using a key quote from the artist
it will catch the interest of the reader and –hopefully- cause them to buy
and read the full article which is important for magazine sales.