In this media assignment I had chosen to create a project in print. I had to create a magazine front cover, contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine using original images and creating textual content which would be relevant or feature in the magazine.
I first of all researched into current media practices for music magazine. I looked at 3 magazines: Kerrang!, Q and NME. I annotated a front page, contents page and a double page spread from each magazine. I broke down each convention of the the magazine describing what they have done and why this might attract the reader. I found that all 3 magazines had similar conventions but have other features that made the magazine unique (for example the style of text or the placement of the logo). I illustrated a breakdown of techniques used and how this affects the reader. These were a basis of my magazine to build up on because by researching into magazine conventions, they showed a correlating pattern of features that are include.
After this I came up with initial ideas, I sketched 3 designs of front covers and 2 designs of contents and double page spread designs. These sketches were just basic ideas of where text, images and different features will be placed. I annotated them to show what my ideas were and how I will develop the sketches. I also created 4 mast head designs because a logo is very important to a magazine, it is a magazines identity. After the designs I had asked a focus group what their opinions were of the designs and the mast heads and got the group to vote and give opinions of what they felt, this can be found here.
I created SMART targets: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Based. These were a guideline to the rest of my project, I looked at the project and found that setting myself these targets will improved productivity because I could always refer back to them when I needed and move on to the next set or targets. I set myself 8 targets which made up the stages of my magazine productions, these targets can be found here. This gave my project structure and I could always refer back to them if I felt that I was my project was going astray.
Having to create a music magazine, I felt that it would be convenient to aim it at the ages between 16-19 because I am a college student and I had opportunity to create a focus group easily, the focus group helped me choose what parts I were to include into my magazine and what I had to consider to leave out.
What influenced the construction of my magazine was the photos I had taken, I had been struck by a bass guitar with a Union Jack design and I knew that I would like to use that photograph as my main image on my front cover. This influenced the design of the front cover because it was designed around this image rather designing it from scratch. This is also similar to my double page spread, I had found an image I had taken a long time ago of a music concert I went to and I experimented with it by cropping and resizing it and it fitted with the theme of the magazine, so I also designed that page around this image.
Being a student, I had the opportunity to ask students what they would like to have seen in the magazine, so I sent out a questionnaire and collected the results to give me a general idea of what information I would have liked to include into the magazine, the questionnaire can be found here and the collected results can be found here. I used this information and implemented the ideas that it thought would be relevant into my magazine. The down side to this image is that it already had an effect on it, so that hindered the editing a little but it was the sort of effect I wanted and when I was creating my design sketches, because I wanted a circular image and text around it, it fitted with the design.
I took photos at several different locations around the local town and I had taken many images which gave me a selection to choose from. I had pictures of music related items such as pictures of instruments and of artists. I had to go through the process of filtering out irrelevant and unsuitable photos. I referred back into my current media practices and looked at the professional techniques used I could integrate into my magazine. I looked at different house colours that would suit the theme of the magazine.
I experimented with different fonts of which would suit the magazine, I also referred back that what the magazines in my media practises had used. I had asked opinions of fellow class mates and asked their opinion of they they preferred. Getting feedback from potential readers was a good way to develop my magazine, to keep my magazine targeted at the target audience I asked students to give opinions throughout the project.
The colour scheme of my magazine is quite dark it has a mixture of white, black and red. I used these colours because gave the magazine a dark and mysterious feel to it. I found with these colours that most of the magazines did not expand the variety of colours that featured in the magazine. I found out why the magazine only used a few colors, when experimenting with colours on my magazine I found it was hard to get colours that did not clash with each other, like green and reds. So I kept to the convention of basic colours.
This is the final product for my front cover of my magazine. I decided to put a picture of an instrument rather than a person on the front cover because I felt that it is easier to alienate the target audience, this picture is very in your face and gives the reader the impression that this may be a special edition of the magazine because it has included a union jack in the title and the main image. I excluded a picture I had in the middle of the page because this was taking over the main image and was drawing attention away from the main theme of the magazine. From my research I had found that people are more likely to pick up a magazine if they see a band that they like in it, so I decided to include a list of bands on the right hand side and this may catch the eye of a reader and make them want to pick up the magazine. The font I used for this text looks like it has been written on music notation, because I felt this font was relevant because this is a music magazine and this aims at musicians who may read the magazine. I made the logo have a spray paint effect and look like it had been stenciled on the page, this gives the impression that it is aimed at people in a lower class background, it looks like the magazine is for people on the streets who like “underground” music because people expect new artists come from a poor (or “The Streets”) background into fame.
I kept with continuity with the graffiti effect from the front cover and look like the page has been spayed with pained and have contents written in graffiti font. On the left hand side Included a picture of the presumed editor of the magazine who is featured in a photo with a graffiti sprayed wall, this gives the impression that he is at the same level of the audience, he is look directly out of the page and looking at the reader. Also with the textual content underneath it give the impression he is talking to you (as in the reader), this gives a personal touch to the magazine because it the editor is not hiding behind the magazine and seems like he looks forward to talking to the readers. The section is like an introduction saying what will be in the issue and he finishes it off by signing the bottom of the page.
“This Week” looks like it has been written on the page rather than a font, this is more of a fun font and draws away from the seriousness that has been featured in the magazine so far.
I decided to place a picture of guitars to illustrate the text and break up the content I did not want the reader to lose interest while looking through the page by including too much text. The difference with a contents page, it is used more as a referencing page so I made the made the numbers clear and broke it up into sections of Bands, Gear and Reviews. This was so the reader will know what to look for.
I decided to include an interesting feature for the reader, this was the “Gig Calendar” this gave a list of dates of music concert and gigs that are coming up, I felt that this was a good way to promote bands and also the reader may see a band they would like to see in concert. This is similar to the list of bands on the front cover, people are more likely to read the magazine if it includes information on a band that they like and are more likely to read/buy the magazine.
For this page I used an photograph I took a long time ago when I went to see a band live and thought that would be a good photo to use as the main image, it shows a good reaction from the crowd and feels that the reader is in with the atmosphere rather than an on stage shot of the band, the usual convention of the magazine I had researched although this is good because it is an up close shot of the artist. This page also keeps with the graffiti theme with the title but this has been coloured and and seems like it has just been “freshly” painted on the page this gives the impression the band is brand new on the scene and from my research a high percentage of people wanted to hear and read about new band they may like so I felt that this was relevant information to put in.
Looking at my research into media practices I found that gig reviews actually had very little textual content and gave the basic facts about, so I kept the textual content to an average amount. I made a little summary of the gig and more information on the band in the bottom left hand side of the page which I felt illustrated the picture, this is also good for a reader flicking through the magazine looking at this information it and and showing a summary of interesting facts of the band and where you may catch the band next.
I made the colour theme of this page red, white and black. This gives more colour to the magazine because the front cover and contents contained very little colour and felt that this page needed to be more colourful so I included a hint of red in the text which I felt made this page stand out more.
Similar to Kerrang! magazine in my research I gave my own rating system for live gigs, this is another personal touch to the magazine, instead of K! for Kerrang! I decided to use the image of cassette tapes because I felt it was more related to music, readers are usually interested of how a band is rated by a magazine or critic so I felt it was important to include critical textual content on the band.
The closest magazines I can compare my product to is the magazines in my current media practice research, these are Kerrang!, Q and NME which is sold in most magazine retailers, these magazines give information on bands and musical related articles, but all have their own different genres. the genre of my magazine would be aimed at people are into general rock music so it appeals to a wider audience rather than once specific type of music.
My magazine has its own conventions which makes it unique. Rather than a picture of a band or artist on the front cover, I have included an image of an instrument, this could make the magazine unique but not including images of people on the front but could include photographic images of instruments. I have used similar conventions by using a logo which has a noticeable presence and people could instantly recognise.
On the competition of my final product I conducted a small questionnaire on 10 college students (target audience) with open questions to get opinions rather than a closed questionnaire would not allowed me to get such qualitative data. This allowed me to gather beneficial opinions from the view of the target audience and if I were to make another issue of the magazine in the future I would take these opinions into consideration and improve the next issue of the magazine.
I feel that my product has met the target audience adequately by providing relevant text, fonts, colours and visual content that suit the target audience and from the feedback that I had received that the audience think the same too. Doing the project again I would to have liked to have done more research in to convention of magazines, to find out what makes a magazine look professional and the different processes on how items end up in the magazine and I this would enhanced my production.
By doing this project I have extended my skills in PhotoShop by acquiring further knowledge and spending time gaining experience the more I used the program, but also using previous experience to my advantage. I also gained skills and knowledge on how to use the latest Nikon D90 camera, I was shown basic knowledge how to use it and went out and learnt more as I went long and the images turned out really well. By researching and into other magazines it allowed me to see how much thought is put into the productions of a magazine and it is not just simply made. It showed me how small things that can make the difference between someone buying the magazine and putting it back on the shelf. Also I have seen the technology of using Macs, these computers specifically designed for media purposes has made me see how technology is applied and aids the media industry but also how easy it is to alter an image so it can be made into anything you want; deceiving, good, bad or different because images can be changed so well that it is hard to tell from a true original image.
My final production piece turn out better than I expected, I could see where I went wrong in my preliminary task and saw what I had to do to improve the stressfulness of my magazine. I researched into more conventions and looked into how to make my magazine look professional. I think I used page space well on my pages, I did not cramp pages with content but spaced it out and used it efficiently. I liked the images I took using the professional camera I think I used the images to their full advantage.
I could have improved my final products by having several different designs for each page and then pick the best one. I did felt that I built up my page taking into consideration what the readers would like to see and then improved it as I went along, I felt this was a success way of creating a magazine through trial and error.
Overall I feel that the magazine was a success and I am happy with my final piece. If I were to do a project like this again, I would like to planned more effectively, for example having a list of things I have to do and tick them off as I go along, or have a set list of tasks that I set myself and give myself a deadline for each one, I feel that this would make productivity more efficient.
1. I started of with an image I took a while ago at a music venue I went to and felt that this would be a suitable image for a review section because it shows a shot of live music, it has a “fish eye” effect on it which allowed space around the edges to write textual content, also this image is in black and white keeping with the house colours of the magazine.
2. Keeping with the graffiti effect I decided to use it again for the title of this double page, I gave it a white background as if someone has come along a wiped the page with a paint brush. This also gives the impression that this band is from the streets giving effect to the font and the title “from streets to stars”.
3. I decided to create a rating system in the bottom left hand corner, similar to the feature in Kerrang! magazine, who give their ratings K! where as I gave my rating with pictures of cassette tapes, this was found when I was experimenting with the “Wingdings” font and came across this. I also included the word “awesome” which describes the rating, also implies that this is a good rating with assuming the rating is out of 5.
4. I thought the title looked too bland, so I played around with different colours and decided that since the font for the rating was red, that I would also make the title red too, so I used the same brush and set the brush to have an outer glow of black to give effect to this stroke and built up the title background.
5. Here I started to write the textual content, I started it with drop cap at the beginning which is the same convention to a news article. I looked through the list of fonts and found “Estrangelo Edessa”, I really liked the look of this font, it was clear and have a professional presence on the page.
6. Once again I was unsure about the title of the page, so I got another brush and used the same red on the font but the red appears within the text and it looks like it is dripping giving the impression like it has jsut been painted, this also give the effect of the band is brand new on the music scene and suits the theme of the page.
Final Product
7. I felt that there was a too larger gap in the bottom left hand corner and I wanted to describe what was in the picture, so I made a list of basic facts about the picture and about the band, I felt this added a charming casual touch to the page. I also used the same brush as I did for the title background and highlighted the sides of the textual content with the opposite colours to their fonts (on the right hand side with white text and red highlight and on the opposite side on the bottom left with red text and white highlight), this gives good effect to the house colours. I felt overall that this suits with the theme of the magazine, although this has more colour than the other pages, it keeps with the black and white effect of the pages and keeps with the house style of the magazine.
1. I started off similar to my front cover with a black background, I had used the brush I downloaded to create a background for the word “Contents” to be written and this will emphasize the text and will show the audience that that is the name of the page.
2. I created dividers across the page to make it look like newspaper columns, I had noticed that all the magazine listed the pages on their contents page and I liked that convention, so this would be the strue for me to list the pages.
3. I cropped and image I had taken in my photo shoots to start creating an editors not, this is a section where the editor writes a letter to the readers of the magazine and adds a personal touch to it. I chose this image because this is a close up of the person looking directly at the camera, like as if they are looking at the reader and he is standing in front of a wall with graffiti on it, this implies that his status is a street level, like the public and also like the readers so he is at the same social level as them. This picture also suits with the theme of the magazine because the “contents” font is also like graffiti, sharing the same effect.
4. Here in this part of the contents I used my brush effect with the structure to give effect to the page, I done this by also using my brushes I downloaded of paint splatters and set it to the same colour as the background. I also created a border around the photo with the same effect around it.
5. Here I included some textual content for the editors note, this just explained what was going to be in the magazine and talking to the reader more on a social and informal level. Also at the bottom I used a font that look like the editor had signed the page, this is also another personal touch to the magazine.
6.Here I included at different font at the top of the page as if someone had doodled on the page writing “This Week”, I felt this font added to the effect and whole theme of the magazine.
8. With this section of text, it looks like it has broken up the magazine into parts, I liked this idea because it sections the magazine into different parts of interest. For instance, some readers would like to read reviews rather than read about guitars, so this was a good idea for the different interests of the reader.
8. I included an image to illustrate the “Gear” section of the magazine with a photograph I took from the music show displaying several guitars. I also changed some of the brightness of this image to make it appear slightly darker to fit the atmosphere of the page and included a border like the one around the picture above the edits not show continuity within the page.
9. I included a list of dates for the “Gig Calendar” because I found that this was a interesting feature to include on the contents page, this is a good way to promote bands and also may arouse interest with a reader because they may see a band they like. I also included another section of text called “Reviews” and using my brush effect on all the text, I made it look like it has been worn away.
Final Product
10. I finally added TURN, READ, ENJOY. This is sort of a short slogan before the reader actually starts looking at the content in the magazine, it is sort of like “Get Ready” message implying that the contents of the magazine is extremely good, it also has a cheesy effect to it. I have kept the same theme with this page, by making it look worn away and in black and white apart from the pictures to emphasise them, I feel that it makes it look professional. This final product would suit a darker audience because the effects are slightly different to the front cover but you can see that this is from the same magazine, so it keeps continuity with the front page.
1. Here I have just started of with a black background taking into consideration the convention of the placement of the logo, I had used my installed brushes to give the paint splatter effect giving the title a less neat look , to make it look like it has just come from a graffiti sprayed wall. To give effect to this dark look of the magazine, I am making the background a black colour to give effect to the grim look of the magazine.
The logo was placed in the top left hand side of the corner, I can place images over it and the logo will still be visible but it makes a clear statement that RATED is the mast head.
2. I decided that I would make a special edition of the magazine, making it themed around British music. I decided to integrate this into my logo, so I found a picture of a Union Jack and played around with the transparency levels, and this was the finishing product.
3. By cropping, rotating and adding some brightness to this photo of the guitar, I placed this on my front page to keep in tune with the British rock these and I felt that it would be suitable to have on the cover. I chose this image because it makes yous you almost immediately think that this issue of the magazine will have a British theme to it and I had built my magazine over this picture. I added some text with a list of bands because I found that all the magazines that I had researched into used this convention. I felt this reached out to the target audience because with people, they will pick up a magazine to read even if they have one band they like in it, so this would be a good selling point of the magazine.
4. This image I included a picture in the bottom left hand corner, I gave this picture a white border because I had seen in on the front of a magazine I saw in my research, the picture looks like it has been taken on a Polaroid camera with the border and give the impression of a “Snapshot” of what will be in the magazine.
5. I after then added a pain spatter effect behind the picture to give a solid background for the text “Ryan Robinson”, this effect gave the magazine a more “dirty” look but I did feel that it clashed with the title of the magazine because that had used the same effect. I felt this picture took up too much space but included very little to look up so I felt the space had not been used well.
6. I added the “Best of British 2009″ at the top by the title, I was not too keen on this idea I used different fonts and sizes but I felt it was crowing the main image and it was more bold than the title of the magazine and did not contrast well. I slanted this text to suit the title of the magazine and it overlaps it slightly. I used this font because it looks like and old style of English writing and i felt that suited with the theme of the magazine.
Final Product
After reviewing and looking at what I had made, I decided to take out the Ryan Robinson photograph, this was because I felt that this was drawing attention away from the main image, since this is a special edition and the photograph took over the main part of the image and it was harder to see what the main image was. I also removed the “Best of British” text because it did make the magazine look any better, I felt that the main image made a better statement rather than the text so I took this out to give more room for the main image. I feel that this cover can appeal to any person who shows a keen interest in British Rock music and I fell that this does not have an age boundary so anyone from students to middle aged people can buy it.
Here the album of my final shots:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v318/bossplw/Media%202/
I booked out the college camera again and organised with a local music shot to take pictures of a guy playing a guitar and also take pictures of guitars around the shop.
I had also organised with friends to take a few shots of them, I will be looking at the images and see which one is suitable for my magazine and playing around with them in photoshop.
I designed 4 mast heads but I will start to design my magazine to the correct juxtaposition and so the mast head would suit the magazine and make it look professional. This is a variation of fonts combined with custom brushes to give the text effect, like the paint splatter on the first two images. I will try different logos on my basic designs of my magazine but I will also experiment with different pictures and other fonts in the layout of the magazine. I have asked some fellow student about the mast heads and the top two pictures are proving to be the more popular ones but it is weather it suits the magazine or not.
I created 4 names of which I gave the option for the participants of the survey to choose which one they like in a poll and left a textbox for them to leave a reason why, here were the results:
| Radar |
 |
24.3% | |
| NewPerspective | 0.0% | ||
| RATED |
|
43.2% | |
| Just Loud |
|
32.4% |
Comments/Feedback About “Radar”:
“It’d be good for a magazine about new bands, as it’d refer to the new bands being on the ‘radar’”
“Because it gives the impression that it’s picking up new artists on the ‘radar’!”
“You can tell its about up and coming bands, which would interest a lot of people”
Comments/Feedback About “RATED”
“Stands out more from the others”
“Rated is short and sharp, easy to remember and makes sense to what the magazine is for”
“Sounded the more professional name and would fit with the magazine and it sounds the best because it rolls off the tounge”
Comments/Feedback About “Just Loud”:
“Reflects the music I like”
“Simple but bold”
“I an see my self using the name and buying the magazine with a name like that”
“How music should be played”
The Next Step
Using the two most popular names “Rated” and “Just Loud” I will create some mast head designs and get opinions from more participants to implement this into my magazine.
I asked 37 people, 16 male and 21 female aged 16 – 22 about what sort of magazine they would buy and what would attract them to buying a magazine, from the answers I was able to draw this conclusion.
Over 50% of participants go to gigs/concerts of music they listen to, this would be great to include gig information on artists in the magazine and include it into my magazine, for example a “Gig Calender”.
Over 80% buy a music magazine monthly, this means that the magazine would include enough content leaving the reader wanting more for the next edition to be published.
62% Download music from the inter of artists they like followed by CDs at 27% so it shows a difference of how people now obtain music, instead of including information where to buy CDs, I could include music website into my magazine, for example iTunes or Napster rather than HMV.
Almost 60% of people visit band websites to find out information about them, this would be a great idea to refer readers to an artists website only 38% of people read a magazine to find out information about a band they like but 60% of people would buy a music magazine related to them and with 50% of people want to buy a magazine because of the photographs in them and this means this could be the extra selling point to my magazine.
The important question I included was what would readers rather see in a magazine in the content and both an even amount of 70% people said that they would like to see new music/bands and tour and gig information about bands, this connects with the amount of people going to gig and promoting artists, this would be a great feature in the magazine because it seems a popular convention.
Survey is located:
Here
If you are looking for a certain effect but cannot find it with the default brushes provided with Photoshop, you are able to download brushes that people have made to give effects to pictures or even text.
I looked up “Grudge PhotoShop brushes” in Google, the grudge effect gives a picture or text a “dirty” feel to it similar to the one used on the logo of Kerrang! magazine.
I found a set of brushes I liked and clicked download, the files usually come with the .zip file extension, which requires a separate programme but there is usually a default program which does it for you.
Then all that needs to be done is open to the brushes and it will automatically open in PhotoShop.
Enjoy the brushes!
Filed under: Annotation
Here I have created sketches of my initial ideas, I have used my research into current media practices to look at what has worked on the front cover and content and what I felt didn’t. I will be presenting these sketches to a feedback group to help develop these ideas and working on first draft and outlining my design and continue through the design process.
Front Cover Design 1
In this design I have chosen to have a large title that runs across the middle of the page that will go across the feature image, stating who in on that picture. At the bottom of the page will be a banner with a list of bands inside, this will draw attention to a reader because they may spot a band they like. The logo will take up a large amount of space in the top left hand corner and cut into the main image. There is also a box at the top which will include a small feature, like a small picture with a question (e.g. What will they do next?) which makes the reader wanting to read the magazine to see what happens.
Front Cover Design 2
With this design the main name/logo is lower down on the left hand side to allow room for a feature to be placed at the top of the page. This is slightly similar to the first design with the large title across the main feature image, but the title is slightly slanted and there is more room for the image on the bottom half of the page. I have also included a little box on the bottom right hand corner to give a list of people who will feature in the issue also allowing enough room for a photograph.
Front Cover Design 3
The main logo on this design overlaps with the main feature image which is placed down the right hand side of the page. The banner or title text is placed at the bottom of the page allowing room for a small feature in the bottom right hand corner. On the left hand side gives room to state what will be featuring in the magazine, e.g. like reviews, artists and events.
Contents Design 1
This design has a large contents title which would stand out more, this would need a good font to make this effective. The pages will be listed on the right hand side, the font colours will be a mixture of red, black and white with the background colour of the text also being the same mixture to help break up the text into sections. There will be an overlapping image just off centre of the page emphasising a feature of the magazine with a page reference. There will also be a small box in the bottom right hand corner also displaying a feature giving the impressions that you should read it right now because it is exclusive news. On the left hand side there will be a large photo taking up most the page (a convention used by magazines in my research) this will be an effect use of space because a large picture is effective because it breaks up the textual content, making it easier to read.
Contents Design 2
This is a more simple design than No. 1, the page is split up into boxes. The contents is set out in a simple list where the numbers will be circled as apart of the design. There will also be a collage of pictures of people/features that will be in the magazine, this will be a blend of pictures that the reader could look at and see if they can see and artist they like in the magazine, this will be an effect way to present content that will be in the magazine. On the right hand side there will be boxes that will show a picture of a feature (will maybe a small amount of text) and giving a page reference to where they are in the magazine, this is a good way to show main features in the magazine.
Double Page Design 1
This page will be split into three sections, there will be one photograph that will span the 1st and 3rd section of the page and the text will be written in the middle of it. The photo will have to be have to be effectively taken to work with this design, it needs to show something interesting in the sections to work. There will be a smaller title in the top left hand corner stating that this double page spread is a review/feature page.
Double Page Design 2
This design is more centralised around the picture, where the picture will not actually have text on it, but around it instead making it the main focus point. This design also includes a rating system in the bottom right hand corner, this will be a more fun feature to include, this could maybe rate a band or artist on a gig or a new album etc. The main title once again will be in the top left corner to show maybe an artists name or a name of an article.
Scenario Shots
Also below are pictures of possible location shots, I have looked at the resources and places available to me for the location shots which may be used in the pictures. I will look at music scenery also, like shops and venues to help me.
The album is located:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v318/bossplw/media%20main%20task
