Research into Similar Products: double page spreads

Greatly influenced and inspired by the magazine covers, contents pages and double page spreads I've analysed, I think I'll change my mind on my music magazine being a pop magazine, and will lean towards alternative rock instead, for I feel that I could truly express my creative flare through that genre, and rock tends to be more dramatic too.

I love the contrast between the two Kerrang double page spreads, one being more simplistic and the other being a bit more dramatic and 'in your face' but it's still effective. This shows that Kerrang can be versatile in the way it presents itself and doesn't segregate itself to one way of presentation. I also love how the Q magazine has Cheryl looking away from the camera but towards the article, but the Evanescence Kerrang double page spread is the total opposite; Amy Lee still looks away from the camera, but also looks away from the article, as if to suggest her turning away from one way of life and into a new, more prosperous future. It's also a contrast to the secondary image of the Evanescence band giving direct mode of address, perhaps it's to represent how she may be doing something the fans will be saddened by, 'stepping away' from her band.

My Preliminary Task

Drafting and Planning: NME Creative Task

I practiced my skills on Paint.net of using layers to overlap the NME Masthead and to move the image of Reznor in front. I used the magic wand tool to get rid of the white background of the Reznor image and moved it in front of the NME Masthead to make him standout.

I imported the image as a JPEG onto a Publisher document and incorporated the common conventions of a magazine cover; main cover line, secondary cover lines, a puff and pug, a specific house-style, a bar-code and the date of release. I'll definitely use this as inspiration when I craft my own music magazine in the way I laid it out and in the type of font used; clear yet dramatic.

I know we were just experimenting with the layout of cover lines and how to move the cover star infront of the masthead by using the magic wand/lasso, but I personally don't like using Paint.Net because there's not as many tools as I'd like, and Publisher is incredibly limited on it's graphic design side. Fortunately, I have Photoshop which I've used for years now, so I'll certainly take advantage of my Photoshop knowledge to make sure my magazine looks as professional as possible!
But regardless of that, this task was incredibly helpful in terms of helping me open my mind to how I could approach my magazine layout when faced with an image.

Research into similar products: contents pages

I've also analysed a couple of contents pages from two different music magazines and the way they successfully draw in the audience through the layout of their contents pages.

I love the sense of order with the above contents page, that everything has it's place and that the masthead logo is included in the page to subtly reinforce it's message. I also love the addition of a charts column to keep the reader in the know of what's popular.

I like the way this contents page is laid out in terms of it being rather loose and relaxed, there is order to it but the use of an image matching a statement backs up the stories at hand and lures in the audience visually.

Research into similar products: More codes and conventions of front covers

I explored into some more magazines front covers and contents pages and analysed more into specific codes and conventions used in their layout.

From this research, I'm getting into the habit of pointing out the different codes and conventions of magazines, and so when it comes to me making my magazine, I'll certainly know how to lay it out. I love the effective (yet somewhat simple) layout Q and VIBE use for their magazine. The limited number of cover lines makes the cover star standout all the more and makes the cover look less cluttered. I'll definitely keep in mind this tasteful layout when making my music magazine.

Research into Similar Products: Codes and Conventions analysis

I analysed this edition of 'Q' magazine pointing out the typical conventions of a magazine including the left-third masthead, anchorage text, and different aspects of the mise-en-scene involved; facial expressions, colour and body language.  

I didn't know how effective this magazine cover was until I analysed it; it almost contains every convention of a magazine and it looks professional, slick and successfully catches the best of both the artist and the magazine, in doing so, showing the symbiosis of them both.

Plan design for school magazine preliminary task

I done a rough plan of the sort of layout my school magazine should have; They'll all be of a mid-shot of a school student/group of students. It'll take on the idea of an advice column which will be advertised in a banner at the header of the cover. The masthead will be on the left-third of the cover alike how 'Q' magazine demonstrates.

Preliminary task Medium Close Ups

I took a few photos of my friends for the preliminary task for the school magazine. From having took on board the results from the surveys, I'm going to aim the magazine at the whole school. 

I think the above photo is the one I'm going to use for my preliminary task.

Research into similar products: Analysis of codes and conventions of covers and contents pages

I've researched some three music magazines which are all very different in they way they present themselves and in what genres of music they promote. I'd like to make my music magazine mainly based around pop, so I think the music magazine I'll take inspiration from would have a simple presentation with a bold masthead with a single cover star without too much distracting the audience from the main story.


Q Magazine: http://www.qthemusic.com/
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. Much of the magazine is devoted to interviews with popular musical artists. It is well known for compiling lists. It has created many, ranging from "The 100 Greatest albums" to the "100 Greatest '100 Greatest' Lists". Every other month, Q — and its sister magazine, Mojo (also owned by Bauer) — have a special edition. These have been about musical times, genres, or a very important/influential musician.







I love the way Q magazine presents themselves, you can tell that they promote different genres of music and don't segregate themselves to just one kind, which makes them open to change and variation and available to a broader audience. The presentation is effective since it doesn't have too much going on but just enough to catch the audience's eye and make them have a closer look. I also love the way the contents page is presented with tastefully placed images to give a taste of the best stories and with a simple enough colour scheme to make the images speak for themselves.

NME Magazine: http://www.nme.com/magazine

New Musical Express, popularly known by the initialism NME, created by Theodore Ingham, is a British weekly music journalism publication, published since March 1952. It is largely associated with rock, alternative and indie music.


I also love how NME is presented. I find their presentation fairly simple yet effective too and they even change the colour of the masthead every now and then.

KERRANG! Magazine: http://www.kerrang.com/
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper. Named after the onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound made when playing a power chord on a distorted electric guitar, Kerrang!was initially devoted to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of hard rock acts.



I find that there's a lot going on with the layout of the KERRANG! magazine, the colour scheme isn't that simple and there's lots of pugs to tempt in the reader and lots of cover lines and images which could detract from the main cover star (but in this case, they don't detract from the cover star at all.) I wouldn't make my music magazine presented in this way, since it's too 'in your face' for me, but it's obvious that it's a rock magazine. 


Overall, I love the way 'Q' magazine is presented and would base my pop magazine on the simple yet effective appearance.

Research into Similar products: Magazine cover analysis

I researched music magazines and found 'Q' magazine promotes a great variation of music genres, and I love the layout, it's not too complicated that it's uncomfortable to look at and it's not too simple that you'd bypass it; it's laid out in a way which grabs the audience's attention and draws the eye to the top story and cover image.

I really like this Q magazine and the way it's all tied together by the similar bold fonts and Robbie's bold facial expression. 

The simple house style of red, white and silver not only compliments the Q logo and Robbie's appearance, but it makes the colour of his eyes stand out; it's unusual colour could link to the controversial things Robbie had said.
In love the way the magazine is set, especially with its set colour scheme that's consistent with Robbie and the block-like cover lines.

My favourite band and the link to the website

My favourite band is Owl City: http://www.owlcitymusic.com/

Owl City is an American electronica pop project created in 2007 by singer-songwriter Adam Young.
I love the way the website is set out, the darker colours infused with bright colours to bring a party element and relates to the group’s theme of hope in the darkness. I love the band for their good, optimistic attitudes and the music is very quirky and fun.

The lead singer is featured with the banner at the top of the webpage which changes every few seconds to different things of whats going on with the band. Under the banner there's an orderly group of box-shaped links to different news events which makes the website very easy to navigate and this sort of layout would be interesting for a contents page for a magazine.

Research from target audience: Responses to school magazine questionnaires

I've asked 10 people on what they thought a school magazine ought to look like and what contents it should have.

1) Should the colour scheme be of the school's colours or not? If not, then what are your colour preferences? 

8 recommended the school colours; red, black and white for the school magazine colour scheme, with one of the responses saying the different house colours should be used for significant articles for the different house groups. Other colour preferences included yellow, multi-coloured and black and white. 

2) Which font type should there be on the front cover?

4 responses preferred 'Berlin Sans FB', 2 preferred 'Perpetua Titling MT', 2 preferred 'Calibri (body)', and 2 preferred 'Book Antiqua'. This gives a clear indication that most prefer a bolder, simple looking font for a school magazine.

3) What would be interesting to have in the magazine; interviews from teachers or students or both?

8 wanted interviews from both teachers and students, whereas 2 wanted interviews of just teachers.

4) Would it be helpful to have an advice column in the magazine?

All agreed that an advice column would be helpful, as long as it's light-hearted; not including any issues too heavy, to give students a helping hand in everyday school life.

5) Do you prefer to learn about sport or the arts (music, acting, art) or both?

There's a split between those who'd like to learn about the arts (4 people) and those who'd like to learn about both sports and the arts (5 people). This encourages students to be more cultured and to broaden their horizons instead of sticking with the typical sports news.

6) Should this magazine be aimed at the older students (yr 10-13) or the younger students (yr 7-9)?

5 responses said the magazine should be aimed at both the older and younger students. One thought it should be aimed at the younger students to guide them, and 4 thought it should be aimed at the older students since they'd find it more useful and tend to read more.

7) Should it be focussed on sixth form or the whole school? 

7 responses preferred the magazine to focus on the whole school so it'd be helpful and desirable for everyone. 2 thought they should be focussed sixth form only to advertise it and guide them as they reach the potential of joining university, and 1 thought it best for it to be focussed on the younger students to guide them through their secondary school life.

8) Should the cover photo focus on the students or on the top stories within the magazine? 
5 decided it's be best for the cover photo to be linked to the top story of the magazine, and 4 people thought it'd be more appealing and relatable for the cover photo to be of the students. One student thought it'd be best for the cover photo to link to both students and top story.

9) Would it be interesting to have any puzzle pages inside or crosswords etc?

Everyone likes the idea of a puzzle page! A response says it's good for the competitive nature of the school, and perhaps there should be a quiz question with a prize.

10) Should there be a charge on the magazine for those who want to read it?
7 responses want the magazine to be for free, or else it'd discourage students from buying it, and many say they wont have the money to buy one. 3 others say it ought to be paid for, with a percentage going towards a charity. 

My Second Post

I have uploaded the cropping exercise I did today to demonstrate my ICT skills and using a magazine masthead. This will be useful inspiration for my preliminary task.

My First Post!

Hay, I'm Danielle and I'm doing the course of Media Studies. I adore everything to do with the movie industry and how media is shown and received by audeinces. Thank you for visiting my blog!