Blog 6 - Photographs

Photo 8) Another photo shoot using colour changes of black and white, I decided to do this for this particular location as the black and white really shows off the patterns on the bedding and the pattern on her costume. I think the black and white tone makes the imagery more articulate. I really think this image would be affective in my magazine, but I'm not sure if the black and white would clash with the colours used.

Photo 7) I chose to take a close up as close ups are normally a good choice for a cover of a magazine. Majority of Pop magazines use covers of close ups with bright and happy smiles to reflect the mood and vibe the magazine gives off to it's readers. So that's why I went for this type of photograph, I will consider using this photo or one similar for the front cover of my magazine.

Photo 6) For the photo shoot I wanted to change location as well as change costume and pose positions, I decided to photograph in this location and scene as it's very bright and colourful which relates to the Pop Vibe of the magazine. The innocence of the pose makes the photo welcoming and happy which will interest and welcome readers. The bright pink wall emphasises Lili perfectly and pulls focus to her.

Photo 5) I also wanted to photograph in a cutesy way, like most pop magazines so with a cute smile, and with innocent like body language. I think this kind of pose and photo works well with Pop magazines as it's open and welcoming to readers and tends to have a positive vibe to it.

Photo 4) In the photo's to catch a variation of different images I decided to photograph Lili in motion. Using movement and body language to express and portray emotions instead of just a simple smile. I think this works and will have a better and more positive effect on the readers.

Photo 3) I wanted to include props in my shoot, so I decided to photograph her with a guitar, this relates to magazines topic of music. I also wanted to include photographs including actions/movements. This will hopefully engage the readers better than just a solid front shot. I think it will give the spread a more artistic vibe but at the same time not taking the topic away from Pop music.

Photo 2) I wanted to show variety and versatility in my shots, so I decided to take several images of my subject in different styled outfits to help reflect different tastes and styles. I decided to take a variety of close ups and body shots to have a good mixture for when I come to select my final few images.

Photo 1)
I decided to experiment with colour for my photo shoot and take a series of black and white shots. I also decided to capture my subject in a natural pose and emotion, I thought that this would make a more honest and open connection to the target audience. However black and white images are not usually in Pop orientated magazines I think it would make my magazine more unique in comparison. I chose this specific costume for the black and white shoot as the colours intend to stand out against the white backdrop and I thought it would give Lili more of a presence within the photographs.

In total for this photo shoot I took 57 images, I've uploaded a few of my favourite images here in this blog, although some may or may not appear on my final design for the magazine.

Blog 5 - Fonts

Font Idea 1) I'm considering this font because I feel it is very retro and youthful, and as my magazine's target audience is teenagers I thought it would be relevent and relatable.

Font Idea 2) I selected this font as a possible idea because it's very artistic and different and it would give the front cover a more unique look.

Font Idea 3) I'm considering using this font for my front cover because again it's very youthful and will relate to my target audience, although it may be too masculine for some readers as the magazine will more likely to read by females.

Font Idea 4) I selected this font because it's very glamorous and different and it relates to the music genre of my magazine, i think it would be relatable to all members of my target audience and make the front cover 'sparkle'

Font Idea 5) I selected this font because it's very retro and different and it will give the front cover a unique young look and feel.

Font Idea 6) I selected this font because it's youthful and it also relates to the magazine title, using a fire themed font will relate to the "fever" part of the magazine name.

http://www.dafont.com

Blog 4 - Flat Plans

Flat Plan Scans

Front Cover

For my front cover I wanted an attracting title, I chose to include a firey themed font to reflect the name of the magazine "Pop Fever". I wanted to have one main photograph on the artist featuring in the double page spread on the cover too. I wanted a front cover that's bold and bright and will attract the target audience and give off a possitive feel and vibe to the audience. I included some sentences on the cover to engage the reader about what's to be expected within the double page spread. Also I wanted to include other aspects within the magazine so I decided to put several boxes on the right hand side with stories and spreads also featuring inside the magazine.

Contents Page

For my contents page I used inspiration from looking and analysing other Pop magazines, as it's the first page a reader comes too I wanted it to be bright, bold and welcoming, to do this I included photo imagery of my featured artist as well as a breif summary of what is to be expected within the specific articles.

Double Page Spread.

I wanted the double page spread to be different and give something unique to the magazine, I wanted the audience to feel a welcoming and security when reading/looking at the page, so I decided to use a wide variety of different imagery, Pull Quotes from the article and to give it something extra I decided to enclude an exclusive section to my magazine, by doing this I hope that it will relate to my audience and to give them a sense of inclusion and value, I feel like by giving an exclusive section to the article It makes the magazine more unique and special in comparison to others. I also hope this would promote the magazine well also.

Front Plan Idea 2.

As I wanted to make sure I had the best possible front cover to relate and work for the audience and the magazine as a whole I decided to sketch up a second additional idea for this. I used a different style of font and layout compared to the firt idea to see if this style of layout would benifit the magazine and be more eye catching towards my target audience. I decided to use a pull quote in the form of a speech bubble to show the readers it's words coming from the featured artists mouth and not just words, I think this technique would also attract my audience as they would be drawn towards the main image of the cover and them space out and read the text. On the other hand I felt that my other design had a better flow and relation with the contents page and the double page spread therefore I chose to go with that one.

Blog 3: Analysis of Existing Magazines

Smash Hits Magazine

Front Cover
- Uses bright and bold font and colourings for their titles, the effect this has is that is attracts the reader towards the magazine and distract them from others (e.g if magazine was placed on a magazine rack)


The magazine uses images of a famous singer/group which relates to the target audience (e.g Kylie, Backstreet Boys etc.) they use a image of a individual/grpoup who are in the spotlight at the current time of the issue to attract more readers and fans of that perticular artist.


They use a sub title and a caption with the image (e.g HELLRAISERS: FIVE go wild with Westlife) the use of the caption obbviously imforms the reader or potiential reader of the group/artist featuring on that issues front coverm whereas the sub-heading will make the reader intrested and antisipated to read on.


The magazine also includes mini images and sub-headings on the front cover, this is used to also attract interest to it's audience giving them a idea of the storys and gossip and artists included in the issue at a gland, this will get the reader wanting to read on and purchase the magazine.


Slogan - the magazine also features a slogan on it's front cover "Non-Stop Pop" the use of the slogan will give the reader an idea of what the magazine is about, and also inform new readers or portential buyers that it is a pop culture music magazine.

Below: Smash Hits Front Cover

Double Page Spread: Charlotte Church Spread

Images - The page consist of a veriety of images of the spreads featured celebrity, in the same outfit just different poses, smiles, positions and sizes. this has the effect of making the spread look more attractive and spaces out the text and fonts uncluttering the spread. The Large image of the second page of the spread opposite the title on the first page is the part of the article that a reader would notice first, they use a happy and possitive image to welcome and lear the reader into the article.

Title - The title for this spread is a quote from the featured artist "I'm Going To Suprise Everyone" using a quote from the artist makes the reader want to read on and want to why she said this. Underneath the Title their is also a sub-title, in this magazine the sub-title is more of a personal opinion from the magazine or the spread writer, this will also add effect and anticipation for the reader to want to carry on reading and find out everything that they now want to know.

Tiny Images Wrapped In Text - This unclutters the text and usually the images have a relevence to the text.

Drop Caps - The article uses a drop cap at the beginning of the spread, this makes the text look more attractive and formally presented.

Sub-Headings - The spread is basically as interview so the magazine have highlighted the questions using two different colours that also match up with the colours of the images. this insures the magazine is layed out clearly and easy for all levels of interlect to understand.

Pull Quotes - The magazine use 'pull quotes' from the articles and enlarge them! "Ushers Cute But I'm A Faithful Girl!" the effect of this is to attract readers towards the specfic section of the article so they want to know more.

4 Grid Layout - The pages use a 4 grid layout, the benifit of this is it spaces out the spread and doesn't make the pages too clutterd and hard to read.

Top of The Tops Magazine

Front Cover - The magazine front cover uses very bright flamboiant colours (pinks, blues and whites) the colouring for this magazine is more likely to attract mostly females more than males. the magazine uses a similar colour scheme throughout the entire cover (other story advitisements etc) this makes the cover 'flow' and make it readable and gives it the ability to attrtact audience from all age groups. The magazine uses lots of images on the front cover, i'd say this makes the magazine cover look very crammed together and crouded and looses focus of one particular story. The images of the celebrities used in the front cover really shows off the age boundaries of the magazines target audience and readers. Using a main focused image of "Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens" displays that the magazine is aimed towards young ages from 12 - possibly 18 years old. the sub-titles in the front cover such as "Zac's Love Life.." and "Vanessa's Nude Pics... THE TRUTH" are displayed using block capitals with a coloured background text box to emphisize and attract readers to the headline story of the magazine issue. The magazine also included a bar code and issue number in the bottom right hand corner.

Top of the tops magazine front cover

Double Page Spread

Images - the magazine use a variety is images that are perfectly matched to the subject of the articles. they use one big main image of main characters from the movie in which the article is based upon, this attracts the readers attention and makes them want to read the article. They then use a series of smaller images for short articles about the selected topic. the spread also contains individual photographs of 4 stars/characters from the movie with some text with coloured text background.

Title - The spreads title is printed in a colourd background text box to make the title stand out more and be more visable, they also use different colours for each letter in a section of the title this puts emphasis on the main topic of the spread. The spread also contains 'Sub-Titles and Headings which are used to give a wider in depth title or breif structure as to the topic of the article/spread and it has the effect to make the reader more interested in reading it.

Image Text Wrapping - in the spread they have an article where the text is wrapped around a circular image, this un-clutters the text and makes the text come across as more attractive to the eye which will influence readers first opinions and judgements when they turn over to the spread.

3 Grid Layout - The magazine spread has been designed and printed using a 3 grid layout per page, using a 3 grid page makes the pages look a little bit clutterd and may be off putting to some readers.

Camp Rock Spread In Top of The Pops Magazine

Mizz Contents Page

The contents page is very well spread out, they have used the images well and not clutterd too much onto one page. They use images that are relevent to both their target audience and the stories included in the issue of the magazine. They have spread out their contents page by sorting the stories into catagories, this makes the magazine more understandable and easier to read. They have also included a "welcome" text to the contents page this allerts the reader as the magazine are speaking to the reader directly and not as part of a group. The magazine also includes an advertisement in the bottom right hand corner, in this case for a chairty, this will give the readers knowledge of maybe something they didn't know or take interest in before, they've used this as a way to send out a possitive message to it's readers.

Blog 2: Target Audience

Reader Profile



Gender - Male/Female (Targets More To Female)

Age Group - 12 - 18 years (Teenagers)

Interests - gossip, pop culture music, chart music etc

Music Genre - Pop, Chart Hits, Hit40UK etc

Income - Unemployed/Part-Time Worker/ Students

For my magazine I think my target audience would be both male and female, although more targeted towards female readers. The reader would have an interest in Pop music and want to keep up to date with the latest music releases. They would also require interests in Celebrity Gossip, Fashion and Pop Culture.

Introduction

For this task I have been asked to design and create my own music magazine, consisting of a front cover, contents page and a double page spread using Adobe InDesign & Photoshop. Using key concepts and targetting audience.
For my magazine I have chosen to design and create a pop/r&b/chart magazine for a target audience of mostly teens and maybe early 20's. i will be using techniques and styles that i've learned previously from my priliminary coursework task.[http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=5812062672925898158] and http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=4054609209558422301 To get a rough idea of how to design my magazine I will be conducting research into previous magazines of similar/same genre such as smashhits, top of the pops magazine, and possibly search for other types to give a better idea of the sort of styles,colouring these magazine's use to attract their target audience.
I will keep my work and progress recorded in this blog throughout the process of the coursework.