This document analyzes location choices for magazine covers and spreads featuring indie rock artists. It notes that outdoor locations are commonly used on covers to portray artists as down-to-earth and casual. Contents pages typically feature many images against a plain white background for visual interest. Double page spreads usually dominate one page with a large central image, often of indoor performances. The document proposes applying these conventions to a magazine called "Maverick" through outdoor cover shots, contrasting black and white versus color images on the contents page, and a creative central image on the double page spread without distracting extras.

1. Location Analysis + Location
Ideas

2. Front cover Location Analysis

3. • The key theme throughout these front cover
backgrounds is the fact that they were all of outside
locations.
• In music magazines that celebrate indie rock e.g.
NME it is normal to see images of artists in outside
locations such as alleyways, festivals and on rooftop
terraces.
• The reason for why they are often outside is to
represent a ‘caught in the moment’ relaxed and
casual feeling that helps put across the artists down
to earth nature and music.
• The outside locations typically represent Britain e.g.
country lanes, fields and pubs. By doing this it
suggests that these artists are 100% British and
they’d like to share their inspiring music with people
of other backgrounds.

5. • It is also common to see images of artists
performing. This introduces the concept of
indie rock iconography and how it is
represented.
• Guitars, drums, amps, microphone wires,
headphones and keyboards are all usually
presented. This shows the audience that the
artists are carefree as often they are a
sweaty mess on stage regardless they are
loving it. (They are often shot mid-action)
making the audience feel as if they were
there with all the smells, the sounds and
company.

7. MY MAGAZINE
• For Maverick’s front cover I have
decided to shoot my artists in an
outdoor location. I have done this to
follow the laid back conventions of the
indie rock genre. Making my front
cover more effective and eye
catching, this will allow me to focus on
the manipulation of font types as well
as colors in order to ensure that the
sell-lines are easily readable and
don’t get lost in the background.

8. Contents page location analysis

9. • These contents pages are extremely image
heavy. This makes the contents page more
interesting as no one wants to read through
a list of mundane topics being covered
inside the magazine no matter how
interested they are in the particular genre of
music.
• They all feature a plain white background to
counteract the business of the page so
there is no confusion, also so it looks
professional and not amateurish.

10. MY MAGAZINE
• Maverick’s contents page will have a
plain white background. However the
feature article mages will be in black
and white (to show a different contrast
of color) and the main artists will be in
color. Therefore it is obvious that the
readers attention is going to focus
straight on to the artists and then onto
the other artists included in this
publication.

11. Double page spread

12. • These double page spreads all follow the
typical conventions of a double page
spread with regards to the layout and
content.
• The image dominates at least a whole
page or even more.
• It’s often shot indoors, however outdoor
locations are also regularly featured.

13. MY MAGAZINE
• With Maverick’s double page spread I’m
going to keep the background color
black and not feature any outside
locations, I also won’t add any feature
article photographs as I want the main
focus to be on the content. The image
I’m using will also be extremely creative
and therefore won’t bore the target
audience so they won’t feel the need to
want to look at feature article
photographs.