RESEARCH: MUSIC MAGAZINES

As part of my research I have created a mood board consisting a vast majority of magazine covers, with different types of music genres. For example, I researched the Pop genre, Rock genre, R&B genre, Indie Pop genre and many more. Whilst researching, I also found out how they all differ from one another as different magazines portray a range of artists and what aspects may feature in the magazine. I also found the different colour schemes amongst the magazine covers as some, for example a rock music genre had mostly a dark colour scheme where the magazine editors have use black, red, maroon on their front cover. On the other hand, we have the Pop music genre where they consist of bright and vibrant colours and different contents. This mood board will help with my ideas on what genre I would like to look at when creating my magazine. Adding to that, it will help broaden my knowledge on how I would like my final magazine to look like as I can also gather ideas from other magazines and expand on it.

PRELIMINARY TASK: FIRST TRY AT A MAGAZINE COVER AND CONTENTS PAGE

(School Magazine- Front Cover)

                                               MAGAZINE COVER EVALUATION

To create my school magazine cover, I used the software Adobe Photoshop CC 2015. For my masthead, I have titled it “Sixth Form Weekly” and used a dark green bold font so that it stands out compared to the other texts on the front cover. I have used the dark green for the masthead because it contrasts with the colour of the headscarf on the model. I also made it bold so that it can stand out as well as the main image which is the most vital aspect. One aspect that I would improve is to use the same font for the sell lines so that it does not clash together. On my front cover, I used 4 different colours, which are black, white, orange and red that matched the colours on the models blazer so that it does not mismatch. I also used a shape tool to create a rectangular shape behind the masthead in order for it to stand out. I used this tool because as I was experimenting with the masthead I realised that it did not stand out as much as I wanted it to due to the glass door behind the model which would have been better on a plain background. Adding to that, I would improve the angle of the picture, as it would be much preferred as a mid-close up.

(School Magazine- Contents Page)

 

                                                 CONTENTS PAGE EVALUATION

When creating my contents page for the school magazine I kept the same font as my front cover which was Impact as I wanted it to be a continuous style, rather than having a completely different font which will look unprofessional. The pictures that I have used are very clear but to improve I will position the pictures straight rather than titled in the main task magazine. Another thing that I would improve would be the background, as I would choose a lighter colour as dark colours can be harsh (unless I create my music magazine based on the genre rock then dark colours would be preferred). So, when making my final magazine, I will experiment more with how the background will contrast with the texts. However, I did continue using white for the main font colour, as I liked how it contrasted with the black box behind it as it is aesthetically pleasing to the audience. The bold title for the “CONTENTS” is the main attraction as people read magazines in ‘Z formation’ so as it is in the top left hand corner it becomes easier for people to know that it is the contents page. With the informative text, it is quick and snappy which means that the audience will be captivated and are more likely to read. Otherwise, it would be too wordy and they would easily be disinterested.

PLAN: DESIGN OF SCHOOL MAGAZINE FRONT COVER & CONTENTS PAGE

Before creating my school magazine I planned and designed what my front cover will look like and what it will include. As you can see in my plan for the front cover, I have set out to include sell lines, a masthead and the main picture as the background. 

As well as planning the front cover for my school magazine, I have also planned the contents page. The contents page will consist of at least 3 images and important number of pages that will consist of information that the reader may want to look into as they can look at the page number and flip through the magazine quicker and get to the page they would like to read. 

PHOTOSHOOT FOR SCHOOL MAGAZINE

The process of making my school magazine consisted of me carrying out a photoshoot of students at Haggerston Sixth Form. This will help me broaden my ideas on what my main image should be for my front cover as well as choosing 2/3 images for my contents page. Adding to that, I took pictures of the students in different locations in the school so that I have a range of pictures in different places with different models/students. Most of the time, I took pictures where there is very bright and vibrant colours in the school, for example the red stair case which contrasted with the dark colours that the model is wearing. This will help me when deciding on my colour scheme for the school magazine cover and contents page.