Music Magazine: Front Page Model Research

The artist used in my first images are front man, Andy Brown from the Pop/Rock band, Lawson. They are a new, up and coming band, which reflects the feeling of my magazine. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawson_(band)

Music Magazine: Front Page Photo Shoot

After looking at my research I decided to try and take some images at a concert. I have decided that although some are unusable for obvious reasons such as lighting, distance issues and positioning, there are a couple which could be used for the music magazine when edited. 

I took a selection of photos, although due to the time space of the concert there was not as many as I would have personally liked. I have selected the best photos out of the shoot as ones that I would possibly use for my music magazine. 

 

Music Magazine: Front Page Title Implementation

Now that I have decided on my magazine name, 'Inside' and also looked at some magazine fonts to gain inspiration, I must create my own font that will add interest and suit my magazine. I will use numerous fonts to experiment, through trial and error, in order to choose a suitable font appropriate for my magazine.

I began by selecting multiple fonts through InDesign to gather an idea of the multiple fonts which I could use when creating my title. I experimented with many different types of fonts, including serif and sans serif. I used mainly lowercase to begin with although I quickly established that I preferred the use of uppercase letters in my title. I originally used the colour black as this was clear and easy to see the difference in fonts. I selected my favourite fonts to take forward and experiment with.  

I narrowed my font selection down to a few designs and decided to add some  colour. I selected two fonts which had a smoother, sleeker finish compared to one which appeared to have a more jagged edge. I experimented with multiple colours, changing the fill colour and the outline. I decided I liked the darker colours such as the pink, red, blue and black. I decided to use the more 'messy' font to see what this would look like in the pink with a bold outline. I liked the idea of using a thick outline although I was unsure whether I wanted to use this font.
 

I compared the jagged font to a font which I also believed had potential as I liked the use of uppercase letters in the design. The first font is too messy and does not look like it would be used on a music magazine and therefore I decided against using it as my magazine font. The second font is a lot sleeker and looks professional. I could see this font being used on a music magazine. I decided to experiment with this font and change the height and spacing of the font. I changed the sizing of the 'in', making it smaller than the rest of the word. I created a noticeable difference in size without looking too awkward and disjointed. I decided to select this design but change the colour from pink to red and black, which I had previously liked when experimenting with other fonts.



I decided to use the font, 'Woodchuck' but I changed the outline to a bright red and the outline weight to 3pt. I changed the font fill to black as I believed both these colours were striking and would stand out from the page, therefore attracting the readers attention. The font has a quirky appearance, with the inside of the letters adding a more modern, informal look which relates well to the 'news/gossip/ element which the name was based on. This design reflects the magazine in a positive light, conveying the nature of the magazine, which is a effective marketing technique and the role of the magazine title. I am pleased with my design choice and will be incorporating it into the front page design.

Music Magazine: Front Page Font Research

I have decided to name my magazine "Inside" to reflect the gossip element of the magazine. I have been researching some fonts to help influence my final design of the magazine font. 

This font has a simplistic approach which I like and would try and incorporate into the title of the music magazine. I like the vibrant colour of the title as well. I will keep this simplistic idea in mind when designing my own title.

This title is probably better matched to the type of title I want to achieve. I like the thick black line around the text which makes it stand out. Again, I like the red center although I am unsure whether I would keep this in the center when designing the title of the music magazine. 

Music Magazine: Magazine Title

For my magazine name I want something which will incorporate my magazine genre as well as appeal to my target audience. As I am trying to imitate the 'BILLBOARD' magazine, which revolves around the 'gossip/news' element I need a name which will reflect this. I want the name to be memorable, meaning the magazine will attract the reader which will hopefully influence the sale for the magazine.

Whilst looking at other names of publishing magazines which follow this genre I came up with a few ideas.

• V (inspiration taken from the magazine 'Q')
• MBS (inspiration taken from NME-News, Music, Entertainment)
• Inside
• Pulse
• Shout

I came to the conclusion that 'Inside' would be the best representation of my music magazine as this name is individual, as it has not yet been used before, and mirrors the 'news' element of the magazine, as in 'inside scoop'. I will be using this name when designing my music magazine font design.

Success Criteria: What have I learnt and applied from my school magazine?

1) I must take numerous photo shoots to ensure my photographs are of high quality as I was not necessarily pleased with the quality of my school magazine photos and had to rely heavily on the editing process. This will allow my selection of photos to be greater.

2) I must consider using natural light as I used this in the school magazine and this was much softer than the artificial light as the model’s features were highlighted to a higher quality by the natural light which will ultimately improve my photo quality, making the magazine more appealing to my target audience.

3)  I will use the same editing features for my music magazine, such as the black and white, as I feel this worked well in my school magazine. If I am to have a full black and white image I will take this using the camera settings although I am also going to experiment with a colour feature as I think this will liven the image up.

4) I must consider the efficiency of photo graphing more than one model at a time as this caused great difficulty during the school magazine as one model was illuminated more than the other and the features therefore were lost. I would only shoot more than one model if I was guaranteed to gain a quality image due to the circumstances although I would be less inclined to do this.

5) I must sustain a colour theme throughout the front cover as I believed this worked well in the school magazine as it created a professional appearance and is considered good design.

6) I must make my music magazine more creative and interesting to the viewer as this is a media product and must be able to sustain the viewer’s attention span. I must make my front cover busier as the school magazine was extremely simple which fitted the criteria although not particularly engaging.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->7)      <!--[endif]-->My magazine must have striking title as the title on the school magazine was rather bland although fitted the purpose. This title must incorporate colour and add interest to the magazine as the school magazine title was uninspiring.

8) I must ensure I have a clear focus for the magazine which I stick to throughout the creation. This will ensure the magazine is effective and grasps the reader’s attention span which is relatively short.

9) I must ensure the contents page and double page spread is strong and follows the feel of the magazine. I must use a range of research and narrow this down to ensure my contents page conforms to the brief.

10) I must use various models, one for the front page and a different model for the double page spread and contents page. This will also allow me to take numerous shoots.

Music Magazine: Front Page Black and White Images

I am now looking a black and white guitars although I am sure this will be the feature I ensure is in colour as I would like the guitar to be the main feature of the front cover, highlighting the music element. 

Although these images have nothing to do with a music magazine, or my photoshoot, I am hoping for my front cover to have this same sort of effect as each both these images have one main colour feature. I would achieve this by editing my image after shooting it.