Critical Evaluation of first draft of front cover

 

After creating my first draft of my front cover I am very happy with the outcome. I feel it represents my target audience of people aged 11 – 20 as it displays someone on the front cover within the same age range, and has cover lines with articles relating to their interests directly from my target audience research.

I chose a few cover lines to go on around the image, and backed them up with a drop shadow so they stood out. They are all coloured with a purple font colour which I wish to change because it’s not visible enough. I especially like the stamp appearance of the puff with buzz words inside, as I think this looks really professional and attention grabbing. I think by sticking with 3 main fonts my front cover looks professional and organised.

The main image worked really well in editing and I think the redy colour gives it a dramatic style to the photo, yet when printing it out it became really dark and not clearly visible.

My masthead worked surprisingly well, despite creating it from scratch. However the curved letters the shapes I used had pixelated and so it looks unprofessional. On later stages of editing I intend to resolve this, either blending the black line into the colour or defining it better.

I have decided to display the barcode with issue number and price at the bottom left corner. This way it is visible but doesn’t draw attention away from the main image and cover lines.

Overall I think my magazine is appropriate for my intended target audience as the articles reflect their interests.  I have followed all the codes and conventions of a normal magazines layout so it looks professional and interesting. I have worked very close to my flat plan which means I have worked well to my intended planned design, and I am very pleased with my outcome.

Creating my Front cover

After taking a selections of possibility's for images for my front cover I finally decided to choose this image. I like how the model was positioned off centre and the alleyway still visible in the background. also her importance is highlighted with all focus on her and the background fuzzy to demonstrate this. even thought there is not much contrast in light and shadow on her I like her glow at the front of the photo that in itself contrasts with the dark alleyway. moreover her position is relaxed but professional, with her face expression serious and yet interesting and eye catching.

To start the edit on my photo, I decided to use the burn tool. Due to my image being taken in dull lighting conditions I wanted to add light and shadow into my picture to create a contrast. Therefore I started concentrating on darkening the left side of her face,as the background gave clear indication as to the light path coming from the right. I wanted to make it shaded but not overly edited so I used the burn tool on a low opacity to create an even shadow. I also used t the blur tool to control the thickness of the shadow too that also gave an even glow.

I continued doing this along the left side of her body defining the shadow beneath her cardigan and along her shirt. 

I also decided to use the blemish tool that removed any red spots or areas from her skin, that made the image and skin complexion more professional. 

I then decided to edit the hair too. I wanted to create a shine to the top of the head to show the light direction and to emphasise the contrast in hair colour. Using the dodge tool gave a highlight to the top of  her head and made the shadow work in the eight places.

Not only did I use the dodge tool on the hair, but on the shoulder of the model. I wanted to define the shadow even more so by making it lighter on the opposite side,  it gave more definition to the photo.

Finally I went over again with the burn tool, darkening shadowed skin and her cardigan so she had an overall shadow that was even, looked professional and worked with the photo. 

Using the variation tool I was able to colour the whole image a magenta colour that I thought really defined the image. Not only did it bring out the contrast that really gave the photo depth but it worked well with the intended band name of the model. Therefore the artist  was now not only being portrayed through the image  but the colour scheme as well,so ' florescent violet' would stand out even more.

Once I edited the photo, it lead me to the adding of the normal magazine conventions. Following my flat plan, I arranged the different cover lines in the basic area they would be so I got an idea as to how they would work round each other. At this stage I was happy with the main cover line, masthead, bar code and strap line positioning, yet I thought I could improve the structuring of the other cover lines and features.

Instead of writing the buzz word advertising tickets i thought i would include that in a puff. when i put in a circle to start with it looked very unprofessional and stuck out awkwardly. after briefly researching some other music magazine covers i observed that they used a outline of a circle which looked as if it had been stamped. therefore from this i used the custom shape tool to get an outline and put the text within it. when grouping them together in layers, i could then create a drop shadow for the whole thing that made it looked like it had actually just been stamped on. also using the rubber tool on a brush setting, i could create the speckled rough look that made it more creative. i also changed the cover line tag to the main cover line. instead of just a summary of the article i used a pull quote, it standing out with a drop shadow that made it jump out of the page. overall i am happy with the draft appearance of my front cover. it relates to my target audience and keeps a house design, therefore making it look professional and acceptable as an actual magazine. 

 

Final Flat-plan of my Front Cover

This was my final draw up of my front cover. in this I have included the usual conventions of a magazine, such as the masthead at the top, a banner cover line and a selection of smaller cover lines working around the image and in puffs. I've positioned the main cover line to spread over the whole page so it  is dominant, eye catching and once put with my image, may work in with that. I've also made sure the front cover is divided into three columns, with most of the articles featuring in the far left side. this way it will look professional and organised, as well as creative when I incorporate my selection of fonts for typography of the page. Finally I have positioned the image so her head goes behind the masthead. although I could edit it so the appear in front of it, it is quite unrecognisable at this stage so displaying the masthead will gain the attention of the audience so it is recognisable for the future.

Choosing articles on my Contents page

When thinking about articles to put on my contents page I looked at other music magazines for inspiration, as well as the previous contents page I did for my College magazine in my preliminary task. I will be separating my contents into two sections: Features and Regulars. These will determine whether the article will be a weekly feature or just a one off interview with the artist, making the article more significant and individual to each magazine. To start with I looked in the magazines I initially analysed:

The Fly

As their magazine is quite small anyway, their contents page is quite brief. They separate their articles into 3 sections: Regulars, Features and Reviews. By doing this they create a simple yet informative list of what’s in the contents of the magazine. Also, most of the articles are just mentioned by the name of the band, showing they don't want to elaborate and be over-the-top but just clear as to who they are interviewing. This way their audience can find the artist they wish to read about easily. My favourite articles they list within the regular section are 'Win Stuff' and 'Onestowatch'. The way they write it in colloquial language makes it seem more laid back, but when reading the article it is clear they are still very informative and interesting. Therefore I have decided to feature articles similar to these own my own magazine.

Rocksound

In the copy I had, their contents page spread over 2 pages, with main articles on one and a summary of other sections on the other. I like how they listed the Reviews and Lives all in one collective group with a list of everyone underneath in the description. This may be a feature I will also add in my magazine if I have enough bands and artists to interview. Moreover in their Features column they also have 3 word descriptions of each of the articles that work really well to just get a taste as to what the articles involve.

Kerrang!

Here they feature similar articles to the other music magazines, but there are a few articles that stood out to me. Within Kerrang! they have a page dedicated to the public’s opinions, facts and comments about rock music where people can express their own opinions about new and existing artists and their 'feedback' on articles already published. I like this feature as it involves the audience to almost participate with the making of the magazine, as this page suggests preferences that are then published in magazines. I also like the idea of a gig guide at the end of the magazine, showing the upcoming events in the area, which was an initial idea I had from the target audience research I collected. Therefore I will make sure I include articles like this for my genre of music.

My Target audience research:

When I collected my target audience research I made sure to ask them what they would want to see in my magazine, as it would be them who would buy and read the magazine. My research leads me to consider many different articles that would not only be interesting for them to read, but to make them read more magazines.

· When asking about if they went to gigs regularly, hardly anyone said they went frequently, either because of ticket prices or availability. Therefore at this stage I had decided I wanted to create a regular give away feature of gig tickets to the public so they would have more of an opportunity to go.

·  People also said that they didn't spend an awful lot on music and would prefer to download it illegally. This is slowly destroying the music industry and as my target audience are of an age to download illegally I thought it would be best to give out iTunes voucher to readers. This method would be suitable for this demographic and so would work sufficiently withy maintaining the music industry.

· I also asked my target audience what they would most prefer to read about in a selection of types of articles. most answered that they wanted to read interviews and gig lists, however I will also include the other things mentioned such as new bands/artists, new album and singles releases and posters, as they seemed to have proved most popular in existing music magazines.

· By collecting information on their interests and hobbies, I was also able to consider advertising within my magazine. Places such as McDonalds and H&M proved popular within this demographic, so this would be a contributing article/advertisement to the magazine. I thought I could also influence these preferences into small articles that would broaden my genre of indie, looking into fashion and technology that also fall into the same genre.

· One of the questions I asked to my target audience was to list a few of their favourite artists/bands that would give me ideas for interview articles. They answered well and gave loads of suggestions that have become really useful in choosing indie artists to interview. Therefore I have enough data to create the articles that will work well in my magazine and will interest the target audience as it is based on their preferences.

Overall I want to make sure I have articles that bring popularity to smaller artists in the music industry, as well as popular bands of the time.

Here are the articles I intend to include in my contents page with a brief explanation as to why and which category they will fall in:

 

FEATURES:

 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW- this is the main interview of the issue, featuring Florescent Violet that will be the double page spread interview about her upcoming tour and rise to stardom

 

ARCTIC MONKEYS-with their new album released after 8 years of waiting this article will describe their climb back to popularity and the musical gifts they have to offer 

 

FUN. - how touring the UK will be different from America

 

MINIATURE TIGERS- now going on tour with Bear Hands we catch up to see how their first album differs to the last

 
FLEET FOXES- what they think of 'Birdy's' cover of their song, and what they're up to nowadays

 

THE 1975

 <the rest of these bands will just have

YOUNG GUNS

ordinary interviews talking about their latest singles and

HAIM

 what 2014 has in store for them

LOCAL NATIVES

PEACE

 

 

UNDER THE RADAR: NEW ARTISTS FOR 2014- for this article I will have loads of separate bands/artists interviewed so the feature will go on for at least 5 pages. To find out the different bands of 2014 I have looked on itsallindie.com, a website full of new indie releases that is really helpful with the collection of article info. From looking at this, I have decided to write about these 5 new artists:

-Wolf Alice- band of 3 guys and a girl singer- mainly guitar with mellow music

-Superfood- 3 guys and girl rocky vibe

-Port St Willow- drums and quiet dark guitar lines contrast with haunting vocals

-Marika Hackman- girl folk singer soft and natural

-Natures Rhythm- two girls with amazing singing vocals

 

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION: ADVENTURE MY TASTE IN MUSIC- a column by me or guest journalist explaining their change in music taste and how the new year has promise to make it better.

YOUTUBERS: THE NEW WAY TO BECOME FAMOUS- this article will feature some of the main Youtuber's around at the moment, showing what they did to get noticed and how they are doing now

Regulars

 

NEW IN TOWN: THE LATEST PERSON TO GET MY EARS RINGING- editors pic of new artists with an interview after going to see them live

 

MY ITUNES- choosing a band member or artist from any band and asking what’s on their iTunes

 

TICKET GIVEAWAY- gig ticket giveaway as a regular feature- both large and smaller artists

 

YOU WOT MATE? YOUR SAY ON THE LATEST ISSUES- the readers say on what’s been in the magazine and things in relation to it from Facebook, twitter and email

 

4 PICS ONE ARTIST- this relates to a game currently on trend where the aim is to identify the person from the 4 pictures. However this version is slightly tweaked as its 4 pictures from the artist themselves to show how they would summarise themselves

 

VOUCHER SNATCHER- music vouchers-either giveaway or competition

 

PIN UP PICTURE PULL OUT PAGE- a tongue twister name for posters

 

ABLUM REVIEWS - this will review the albums that have come out that month, from both well-known and smaller artists

 

GIG LIST- general list of gigs with links to online pages to see when certain artists will be in their area

 

INSTAGRAM FAVORITES- being an indie magazine it would be hard to not include Instagram, where most people put up pictures showing their indie influences on what they wear, say and do. Therefore this article will concentrate on the best pictures that represents them being indie, found with the hash tag #TONICINDIE

 

WIN- another competition to meet and greet artists with signed memorabilia

 

WEB GEEK PICKS OF THE WEEK- a feature looking online to find out the weirdest and wackiest things on the web this month, including YouTube pictures, vines or screenshots of comments.

 

ON TREND- I wanted to influence a bit of fashion into my magazine, on this page will be looking at indie trends and where to buy them. They will feature some of the brands listed from my target audience research so it is relevant to their preferences.

 

Interview Question Planning

When organising my interview with the artist featuring in my double page spread, I had to come up with the questions I would ask them. I wanted questions that not only gave information about their style and personality, but ones that were interesting and dug deep into the emotions and struggles of getting into the music industry. I looked in existing music magazines such as Rocksound and Kerrang! To give me inspiration for questions, which proved rather popular. I especially chose questions which the artist/band gave good answers as this gave me confidence that they would work well within my interview. So after scanning at least 10 magazines I sieved my choice to these 12 questions that I thought would be the most interesting and appropriate for my interview:

1.      What’s been your favourite experience of the tour so far?

2.      How do you fit this around your life/ other work/ education?

3.      How would you summarise your style?

4.      Which festivals would you like to play at in the future?

5.      Do your songs reflect anything in your life at the moment, any previous relationships?

6.      What can we expect from your debut album "   "?

7.      Who would you most like to collaborate with?

8.      Which other artists to you listen to/get inspiration from?

9.      Was it a struggle getting into the music industry?

10.  Would you say your music reflects your personality?

11.  Do you have any future songs/ album ideas in mind?

12.  Is being in the music industry how you imagined it?

13.  Who would you compare yourself to?

14.  Have you always dreamed to become this big or is your success a constant surprise?

15.  And finally, give your readers three reasons why they should check out your live shows!

I will ask these questions in a different order as I don't want to intimidate the artist, instead making them feel relaxed with the situation. Also when writing it out, I will not just put the question and answer plainly in the columns, but will make it like a proper article which will flow better.

Layout in my magazine: creating flatplans

 

My house design

Like any magazine, there is normally a noticeable house design that each issue follows, whether it’s the use of font, colours or layout. To make mine professional I wanted to make one for my magazine. I got my main inspiration from the existing music magazine 'The Fly' that is displayed slightly different to the usual layout. Each page used a 2cm rim round the images and text, meaning that everything was very ordered and no fancy backgrounds or colours were used behind text. I liked this simplicity so thought I’d include this 2cm rim to each of the pages of mine. Also I had previously talked on my mood board about using only pastel colours for font colouring and colour editing of pictures. I would use black when text needs to be visible, but I thought this choice in colour would make it more interesting. These are the colours I intend to use:

 

Also for the text in my magazine I wanted 3 main fonts I would use throughout the magazine. I wanted something that would match my masthead, both simply shaped and a sans serif which made the text less formal. I looked on Microsoft word for fonts they had available. Impact seemed like a good one to use as it was bold and would work well for the larger cover lines on the fro cover, as well as the pull quotes in the main article. I also found Gulim, a simple body text that was a sans serif setting and was easy to read. I thought this would look especially good in the main text of the article as it was fine and delicate. Finally I though having a sans serif font for everything would make it look all the same, so when I came across Nyala I thought this would work perfectly. With a serif shaped text, it would work well on the contents page text and as the title to some of the cover lines on the front cover. Therefore I chose these three texts to complete my house design:

 

 



Organising My Photoshoot

Organising My Photoshoot by Theresa Kuhn

Creating my Masthead