Main task skeleton designs

From my format research I have designed my own front cover, contents page, and double page spread for my music magazine, I will take these designs and apply them when actually making my magazine.

For my front cover I have taken a more basic design to go on, this will give me more room to do slight adjustments to it better fits my genre. I am planning to do a pop art theme which will include me editing my own photos to apply the theme so I am able to create a house theme. By editing photos it will give the magazine a more realistic look; which may draw in the reader more as it is not fake. I am also planning to put pain splashes across the design as a watermark, this will help to consolidate the house style.

My contents page will contain 3 images, each linked to a main story, it will also contain my main pop art image, this will need to be basic image as it will contain a lot of text over laying it. I don't want all the attention to be on the image as that defeats the point of having a contents page. I am using the same shapes and a similar set up to my front cover, solidifying my house theme, which will also be reinforced with colours and fonts when I design my magazine properly.

The double page will contain mainly a photo as this is what will grab the readers attention initially. I will link the photo to the front cover by using an image from the same photo shoot but from different perspectives which will also include another person. Including a quote makes the article slightly more personal which means the reader may connect more to it; it also brings down the intensity of the photo.

Main task - format research

As I am starting to design my music magazine but to do so I must do some more format research. I have chosen a rock magazine as that was one of my possible genres for my own design. This is similar to my previous work that I did over summer as preparation for my preliminary; other than the fact that I have not only analysed the front over but also the contents page and a double page spread.

This cover is designed to only appeal to a small section of people as it is not at all generic, it is only rock music orientated meaning it will only intrigue people who specifically like the genre. This is good because the magazine can then go to the extreme as they know all true fans will purchase it meaning they are sure they will be appealing to a percentage of people. 

   

The contents page is spread across a double page rater than a single one, this may appeal to some readers as the information isn't crowded in one place meaning it is easier to locate. There isn't really a need for it to be spread as the information could easily fit on one page but as the image takes up most of the first place this is not an option, this isn't necessary as there is a main image on the front cover.

The double page in this magazine I believe was very successful as the techniques used will greatly benefit the views this page will get. The text is small and compact which may intimidate the reader slightly but other than that i feel like i can take some ideas from this.






Although I have decided to not go with the rock genre I think that the research I have done will help me either way, I will still need to alter certain aspects to fit the different audiences but I am confident that I can use this information to design my own magazine pages to a high standard.

I have also done some individual covers that I have analysed of the pop genre, these will further my knowledge and I will be able to combine what I have found in order to create my own design to a higher standard.

In my opinion i do not think that this is a very successful magazine cover, I find this because it is very complicated and there is no where that can be specifically focused on and this may be intimidating to the reader which will sway them away from buying it. I will not be taking many ideas from this magazine as although it is a very well known brand it is still not very appealing, therefore will be looking at this as a 'what not to do'

This magazine cover is very successful as everything is clearly laid out and it has a very structured feel yet is still very comfortable. it has a harsh feel to it but that is toned down slightly with the colours as they are not very vibrant meaning they are fairly soft yet are still contrasting. Because it is a special issue it may attract extra attention, I may take this idea into consideration and take a special issue so I can adapt my ideas to a more specific target.

Introduction to my music magazine

I have chosen pop to continue with as my genre. I think this will be the easiest genre to adapt with, although rock has a variety of personalities I will have to make it very original or I will not succeed, I feel this task will be too difficult to recreate. I am confident that I will be able to adapt the pop genre to make my magazine stand out. I am wanting to do a pop art style magazine as most are very plain or very classy; I believe I can add a pop art spin to a classy magazine. If I am successful with this it means I will be able to aim  my magazine at a larger audience meaning i wont have to be so specific with my design. The pop genre as a whole has been around for a fairly long time now and has taken a variety of forms, by taking this into account I will use past magazine covers as inspiration so I can adapt them to my own style.

Music mood boards

I have chosen pop as a music genre to research and have made a mood board which includes everything that inspires me and will give me ideas for my own magazine design.

I have added a variety of images that inspire me in my pop genre, and put them all together in a mood board, this is a visual way to portray how I wish to go about my project, I will be deciding between pop and rock style magazines, by doing mood boards for each it allows me to grasp the style more comfortably and adapt it to my own design.

I have also done a mood board for rock to show classic magazines and some inspiration. by doing a mood board for both genres it will give me a better chance of choosing the right one as I can visually compare which I find I will be able to work with best.

There is a very clear difference between the two genres, pop generally contains a lot more colour, and the images are similar as the artists all have the same pose, this shows how generic the music is as a whole, whereas with rock all the artists have their own unique look. Rock doesn't have much imagery surrounding the genre as a whole as many of the instruments used are the same leaving the art side very scarce; but pop has a large variety of art surrounding it as pop art originates from the music genre this will make it much easier to design a cover.

Final magazine cover

I have taken into account everything that was said in my peer assessment and applied changes in order to improve my cover.

The first thing I changed was my pug, I enlarged is slightly and made the text larger and bolder, I also changed the colour of 'autumn special' as i felt it wasn't clear enough before. I also took into consideration the comments about my masthead, i changed the font and made it slightly bigger so it becomes more clear and can be easily read. Another edit I included was the text colour, I lightened all the colours on the black background; I didn't want it to seem like everything was the same so also changed the shapes in which the text is placed in, adding a gradient and darker outlines. The final change i made was the strap line, it will include one on every edition meaning it has to be something consistent, therefore i came up with 'your weekly dose of misbourne madness!' this allows students to keep up with any events but not be overly distracted.

I feel like these changes have improved my magazine cover as it is the little things that sometimes aren't as noticeable that make all the difference. I am now more comfortable with Indesign as i have had more chances to use it for various things.

Peer assessment and evaluation

I got someone else to evaluate my cover by answering some questions.

By reading through the answers that were given it is clear that I was correct about the colour scheme issue and that I should be using different colours which do not blend in with the background so much. I also included in the strap line about a 'teacher's love affair' which I meant o add in to add some humour, but in the peer assessment they mentioned it is not relevant to my target market as this is not the time in their life to be worrying about that. They also mentioned my pug, that I didn't make it bold enough, in my music magazine I will be sure to remember this and adapt it accordingly.

They complimented my house theme, I apprentice this as it is also something that i thought i did well, them agreeing shows i succeeded in this part of my task. On top of that my buzz words and puffs were also commended, i feel like these are good things to compliment as they are the most eye catching parts of a magazine cover, all the downfalls are smaller things that can be easily changed.

Final draft cover evaluation

I used Adobe Indesign to create my front cover, this is a software that I have never used before; because of this I faced many difficulties which may have hindered my performance.

This is my finished design, in comparison to my original design I have changed the main bulk of the upper half. I was very restricted on the shapes that I could and couldn't use, meaning I had to go further and further away from my initial design. Once i had got the hang of the software I didnt face many problems, I applied a house theme which I used across the cover and would be applied throughout the magazine if more was done.

If I was to change anything about this it would be the colours, I would use another colour as the blue seems too intimidating and dominant, I also didn't want to vary the shades too much as it would lose its house style. I would keep the black background as it makes the lighter colours pop just as I wanted but the darker text I would use a different colour. If I were to chose a different colour it would be one that contrasted with the blue adding a more pop art effect.

When I do my main task of a music magazine I will take all this into account and also the peer assessment that will be done promptly.

Choosing photos

I am having two photos on my school magazine therefore I needed to take a few photos for each and choose the best one.

As I am aiming my magazine at sixth former's and year 11's I felt it would appeal to use sixth form students in the photo, therefore I used two friends of mine to model for me; this photo will be the main subject.

This photo shows a more serious student and also one having more fun in this photo, which I feel will give a positive vibe to the magazine as a whole, it does not look particularly formal, but as I don't want my magazine to be all formal this could suit my needs

I have decided to not use this photo as the lighting and positioning of the models looks too artificial and rigid, although Rahul (model on the right side) has a positive expression it doesn't look natural, making it seem forced.

The lighting in this photo i prefer to the first one as it doesn't reflect so much off their faces and still gives a bright feel, this naturally brings a happier feel to the cover. Although it is slightly zoomed out I believe i can crop it and make it successful.

This is the photo I am choosing to be the masthead, I chose this because they both look comfortable and it gives a slightly dramatic sense which may make the readers laugh.

In this photo they both seem very relaxed which will give the reader confidence that they are happy to be in the school yet are posing in order to be serious. The lighting in this is similar to the second which I prefer to the first as it seems too white, whereas being slightly dimmer in the middle is a coincidence but it makes the photo appeal more as it appears natural.

I will not be using this photo either, I do not want a photo so close up on the cover, I feel like one from slightly further away will have a better effect, it will not seem as patronizing being taken from afar.

In addition to the main photo I will be including a secondary photo, I will be using an upper school student for this as it is not solely aimed at the sixth form sector. This time I chose a female model as to not make it seem so gender specific.

The student in this photo looks deep in thought, which adds a formal feel but as she is smiling slightly it relaxes the photo as a whole. She is looking down from the top of a stair case, watching as the time passes, adding a serious sense to the photo again.

I will be using this photo as although the second looks happier and she looks more comfortable this fits the theme of my magazine and i will be able to crop and edit this more effectively.

In this image she is laughing which gives off very positive vibes, she looks very comfortable and like she is genuinely happy to be there. This helps to show that students are not feeling obliged to go to school just because they have to, but that they somewhat want to.

I won't be using this as i feel like it strays too far from my theme which will make it harder to fit into the cover and it wont be as effective in drawing in the reader.

Finding models

I had to find models for my magazine photos, I messaged my friends to ask them if they would offer their assistance, these are screenshots of them including the time and location.

I asked two friends (Jake and Rahul, the two screenshots on the left) to be models, they both agreed so I used them both together and and planning to use it as the masthead. I also asked Samantha, she also agreed and I felt it would be more appropriate to have a female figure also so the magazine wont seem overly male dominated.

Beginning of my design

I have chosen my first skeleton design as I feel I will have more room to change and expand on it and it will be easily adaptable because of the amount of blank space surrounding some of the sections; I can experiment with size and effects this way.

Skeleton designs

I have begun my skeleton designs, this allows me to experiment with different designs, what will be most aesthetically pleasing. it also shows me what is more formal and whats informal, this in turn will help me with the design towards my target audience.

I played around with different structures in order to achieve different effects, by doing this I discovered that the larger variety of shapes that are included; the more interesting it seems. As it has a very informal sense about it, it is perfect for my target audience, as i am aiming at school students a younger design will interest them a lot more, hopefully making it more successful.

This design I did differently as to make sure I can try out a more of a formal atmosphere, this shows that my skills expand further than one design type. By having it this structured it implies it is a lot more organised; which some people may prefer as the information doesn't seem scattered. By experimenting with different formalities will give me a better basic understanding for this task; as well as helping me with preparing my main task or creating a magazine of music genre.













I have not only varied the shapes but also the positioning, by doing this it changes the atmosphere of the magazine. I also included a lot of blank space which can give a more cartoon feel which may interest certain people more than other but I also feel like I can rearrange it easily making it more malleable.

School magazine format research - preparation for task 1

As I know the first task that we have is to create the front cover for as school magazine I have done a detailed analysis of 3, this way I will have a better understanding myself of what works and what doesn't by going into depth. This will help me to design my own; which in turn will help with the main task of creating a music based magazine (a front cover, contents page and double page spread). I can use this to my advantage and improve my designs.

I decided to choose 3 school magazines in which I thought one was good, one was bad and one which was neither here nor there. This way i had a good scope of how it can be a positive effect and how the same feature can have a negative effect in another.

By choosing magazines with different audiences it allows me to see clearly how different ages will view certain things, where one feature may seem immature and irrelevant to a sixth former, it may be what makes a younger student buy the magazine.

These 3 magazines also all show what colours work and what don't for different audiences, this will help me with what colours, fonts and styles capture different ages and genders. By using this information I can use these themes to make my magazine attract a more specific audience.

Summer format research project

Some independent research I conducted over summer in order to prepare myself for the main task in this subject. This will help me with my tasks throughout as I can build on my basic knowledge, furthering my understanding.

I chose a music themed magazine for two of them as I knew I would have to design one of my own as a main task. This helps me with my understanding of popular magazines and what makes them successful; by analyzing them in such detail I can use some of their techniques in order to achieve the highest grade possible.

As I did two magazines with the music genre I thought I could compare a one with a male image, one with a female. That way I can use this to help with how to arrange my own design in comparison to my audience.

As well as the music magazines I also used a popular magazine that is well known and is doing very well, this will give me a more general idea of how my magazine can be successful when not being so specific to music. As a smaller beginners task we are designing a school magazine cover, I can use this magazine to help with that.