Music Magazines- Research

Before deciding the genre of my music magazine I have to research into successful music magazines, to get an idea of how to structure, what content to add and the over all look of the magazine should be. 


The Music Magazine Industry is a huge developing business that is very competitive.The Music Magazines vary in genre, for example; Country,Rock,Pop,R and B. These are all created to be aimed at different target audiences with different age groups,gender and most importantly, music interests. 
The two most successful magazines are NME, Q and Rolling Stone. These are all noted for their distinct image, content and presentation of the magazine. I will be looking at these to get insight on the production and creating of the magazine. 

Music Magazine- Unit Summary

In this unit I will produce a four page spread of a music magazine. This will be supported with all aspects of Research, Planning, Production and Evaluation.

Research
I will devise questionnaires which i will give to a group of people (my target audience) that will help contribute to my research. As well as this I will look into other music magazines and analise what the codes and conventions of music magazines are.

Planning
Using my research I will create my Proposal and any inital ideas that i will include.
After this I will create flatplans that i will give to my target audience to see if the inital idea is what the target audience is what they want.

Production
This will be all the development of the magazine. To create the most successful magazine possible i will continue to return to my target audience to see if there can be any improvement.

Evaluation
This will be the "tieing up of loose ends" where i will evaluate the success of my work, what worked and what didnt and any ideas and changes i wish were included.

IPC Case Study

Contents flat plan

This is the flat plan of my college contents page. I have continued the use of a modern font with a young college student.

The final product

 This is my final magazine cover. I decided to change the main colour palette to green as it stood out against the background more. The masthead is more eye catching as well in the lime green shade. The tagline includes "the" making it appear to be the only option! The purple tagline contrasts well with the masthead. I researched into other magazine and i found that the barcode is most oftenly located at the bottom of the cover page. Next to this I included the price. By using the word only, emphasizes on the cheapness of the issue. I believe the image works well as the main cover image. It is relative to the target audience and sets the tone for the magazine- informal. The final product is altered to my flat plans, but as I was creating the cover I noticed that some features didn't work how I originally wanted.  I think it met the requirements of the proposal, therefore I am pleased with the outcome.  

Now that I am familiar with the production stages, design formats and the back ground information needed, I believe I can develop this knowledge further in later assignments. 

My front cover

This is my front cover so far.

The bright green works well, as it stands out against the black background. However the diary dates in a dark purple is unreadable, so i will change this to the green used for the other coverlines. The different fonts work well as they are all informal and modern. I made the "Stress" stand out as i thought it was an important key word, so i chose a font that described the meaning of the word stessed. the font is messy giving the manic appeal. 
I will include the speech marks for the main cover line as i forgot to include this.
The tagline, barcode and price also need to be placed on the cover. 
The magazine is still in the production stage so i need to include more features for make it look interesting

Other cover features

Now that i have produced by cover image, i now have to create the other elements that will appear onte cover, these include:
The cover stories - Diary Dates, Beat exam stress and Enrichment news. I also have to design the caption for the main cover image (How i beated stage fright.) This will be in Headline font, as they are short captions they will be readable.

As well as this, i will include the barcode, date, price ( which will just be for covering printing cost- of 50p) and tag line for the magazine.This will be a Rhetorical Question as it will be used as a selling device.

The cover image

I captured an image of a female student in a posed stance. This adds appeal to the target audience- typography.I took it in the college studio as i thought it showed a professional effect. No props were used as i wanted to focus on the main target. The students. The background was black so it didn't look to 'busy.' 

Here is the image i decided on:

Her body language demonstrates the informal and relaxed feel of the magazine. She isn't wearing anything too bright so it allows me to be creative with the colour scheme. The image will relate to the cover story focusing on her singing involvement in the music department and how she "beated stage fright."

Title Colour

I used 5 different colours for the title to see what colour combined with the font well. Something i has to keep in mind was the target audience was both sexes. So I had to choose colours that aren't specifically used for a particular sex for example, pink as its recognized as girly. 
As a result, the students decided on purple as the colour scheme. 

Title Fonts

Initial Ideas

Before creating the magazine proposal, producing the flat plans and final artifact, i had to 'brainstorm' the basic features that are important to making the magazine.


Firstly i had to decide on the target audience for the college based magazine. 

• 16-20 year olds 
• aimed at both sexes 
• based for the Southdown's students 

Secondly i wanted to think about the different features i would include that the students would find beneficial.

• include basic college information 
• include a news page
• a date diary
• music, and the arts performances dates 
• trips and other social dates
• news on the college union
• information on enrichment activities 
• news from different departments- this will vary on the edition (e.g., music one week,catering the next) 
• advice

After this i decided on the cover lines that would appear on the front cover of the magazine.

• dates for the diary 
• performances 
• college union
• department news -again the department issue will change.

The aspects that will also appear on the front cover.

• The masthead/title- this will be in bold and a modern font so it appeals to the target audience.The colour of the text will change but will always be the same as the other colours that appear on the front cover.I haven't yet decided on the title of the magazine,so i will look into the possible ideas. 
• Images- the pictures with include pictures of students in a  relaxed environment and posture. it will also include the Southdown's logo. 
• colours- thew colours will change with every edition, however the choice of colour must be the relative to both males and females. 
• other things to include- Puffs,cover lines,different fonts

All of these factors i will consider when writing my Proposal which is the next stage of the magazine development.         

Skills Audit

Social Ramifications, are magazines responsable?

Question:- To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?

People think that the media are responsible for the negative change in society. However this could be argued that the affect the media have on us can be positive or negative.

Magazines are a mass media that are consumed by a range of audiences. From fashion magazines to music editions they are very influential to the viewer. Over the past few years, celebrity and real life have been the domination in many magazines, that are generally aimed at a young female demographic.I believe this is one of the magazine genres that are changing society and exposing young minds to the negative aspects.

For example:

 Many teenage girl magazines such as Bliss include content unsuitable for people of the young age group. One edition of Bliss in particular had a front cover with the following cover lines: “I had a boob job at 16” “Deported for underage drinking” and “JLS’s naughtiest interview.” These story lines are the first thing that the buyer sees. So, using the stories, even as a selling point is assumption that the young girls are interested in these stories. The breast enhancement story is an example of how magazines are influencing people that the appearance is the most important thing, making people self conscious and low self esteem. This gives the reader the impression that it is the norm and will lower their values.

Underage drinking and other anti-social behaviour is also located in many magazines, showing the fun side of drinking without showing the negative outcomes. On the other hand this story could have been used as a teaching curve as they use a experience to promote the dangers.

In addition the JLS interview contained vocabulary such as 'naughtiest', giving the message that the type of behaviour is prohibited. It could be that it seemed like an enticing word; however young people pick up on the smallest of details.

Other than the written codes there are many visual images that are also influencing and altering the views of the reader. In most magazines the famous celebrities are featured in posed pictures looking glamorous and beautiful. Nonetheless some see it as a promotional item that gives the idea that we should be a certain clothe size, we should be airbrushed and we all have to own the latest fashion trend. Again this advertises that we should all look artificial and be concern of our appearance all the time. This has made many people become ‘people their not’ and too obsessed.

In contrast magazines can’t be held completely responsible for the social ramifications as some magazines do include adverts promoting drink awareness and other features that have no negative effect.

I believe it could be defined as “exaggeration” as magazines feature aspects of society whilst the people of society read them, making it a vicious circle which is demoting values and norms of society.

Cosmo girl is the teenage spin off of the cosmopolitain magazine. The americian magazine is known for having a demograph of young girls aged 13-18. The title, like all cover titles for magzines, is located at the top left corner as its the eye level that the auidence will see first. the title is bold and the "girl" is written in a girly front which symbolises the purpose of the magazine. to entertain girls. The yellow and white stands out on the pick background, and the colour theme relates to the colour of the coverline colours. The colours used (yellow,orange and pink) are all girly colours so it appeals to the target auidence. Blake Lively is featured on the front cover of this edition. she sells this magazine as she is a well known amercian actress who features in a TV programme with the smae target auyidence. The editior has asumed the girls who read the magazine are intrested in the Tv programme Gossip Girl. The cover story tagline is a statement. this is used as a selling point as it is a direct adress making you want to read on, therefore buying the magazine. The other coverstories include; fashion must haves,boyfriend advice and hair and beauty tips. All in which are the key factors that girls are interested in. or so they asume. The title page creates a busy atmosphere as the titles are packed on giving the buyer plenty of reasons why to buy it.

In comparision, LOOK magaine is a british best seller magazine. however the conventions of the magazine are very much similar. Like Cosmo Girl, Look is a one word title which is rememberable and catchy. The font remains the same as it is noticable to the buyer. The colour of the title relates to the other cover story colours (pink) to stand out. Cheryl Cole 'Britains sweetheart' sells the magaine. The posed picture (like cosmo girl) gives the impression of glamour and fashion. The tagline is one that they asume the teenage girls know all about and as Cheryl is their idol, a reason to buy the magazine. The two other srtips (coverstories) are based on fahion. The use of numbers like the other magaine makes the amount sound bigger than it is, making the magazine sound good for the price.

Teen vogue agian is a younger magazine coming from the original Vogue. you know this by the same font used for the vogue lettering. The font of teen infornt gives it a modern appeal and emphisises the word teen, adressing the target audience directly.Like the others, pink is used as a symbol of girlness and is used for the title and some of the coverlines and taglines. Vanessa Hudgens is even wearing the colour. Vanessa is another americain teenage celebrity who is seen as an icon to many teenage girls. the posed picture and the fact that she is wearing pink gives the idea that she supports the magaine. Like th other magaine covers. the coverstories are located around the page on the outer edge, surrounding the main picture of the celebrity. the coverstories are snappy and in this case bulletpointed so it is quick to read . The content of the stories include fashion, beauty and a competition.They are written in pink or yellow, but the various fonts and sizes appears more exciting other than simple and boring.

Bliss is a modern adjective meaning good, so this is a great title to appear to the young teenage girl age group. the colour being a light pink is seen very girly and even inocent. However this is contradicted with the coverstories. unlike the other positive stories, the front cover features quotes and sotry headlines for 'boob jobs' 'jls naughiest interview' and 'underage drinking.' this gives the impression that teenage girls are rebelious and more intrested in gossip than in more incoent subjects. This appears very negative. Cher (the featurette) is a small celebrity known through the competition of X-Factor. this is asumnption that the girls know her. The posed picture appeals to the girls as it is girly and carfree, howver the pose highlights the tatoos she has on her arms and hands, again i think this shows the magazine in a negative light. With this and the story headlines it shows it is a niche magazine, compared ot the other wider distributed magzine.

Seventeen magaine stnads out as having a diffwerent layout. They, unlike the other magazines alter their layout. the fronts are different for the title and storylines, and so are the colours. even though it isnt continuous, it does appeal and stand out. the mixture of colours gives it a fun appearence whilst the storylines appear intresting to the target auidence. As the others they use makeup, hair and fashion to appeal to the auidence. Lauren conrad (an american socialite) is posed. her hair and over all look is given a carefree look. 






Over all, the magainzes all abide by the conventions you expect a magazine to have for a teenage girl demograph. some factors are different making it more personalisied and some stick to the girly magazine template. The covers all include a young female that is an idol, with cathcing coverstories that make you want to buy it. the content is generally the same, with exeption of Bliss.

Analysis of LOOK magazine

All magazines have a selected target audience in which they aim their product at, however in doing this they need to take their target audience into consideration when designing every part of the magazine. All of these elements are called conventions.

LOOK is British magazine that have a demograph of teenage and young adult females with an interest in fashion and celebrity life. I know this as the front cover has many factors that appeal to this target audience.

The masthead (title of the magazine) is the first feature that catches the audience’s eye. LOOK is a catchy title as it is short and snappy. The font and size always remains constant as it becomes recognisable to the viewer and noticeable form a distance. The colour of the text differs but always is the same as the other colour used on cover lines and they stand out above the background images. In addition to this, the tagline “Britain’s bestselling fashion weekly” is effective as BEST is the most used word in advertising so is a good selling statement.

The main cover story is always a large picture of the celebrity featured in the magazine. The shot of them is always a posed picture, instead of a snap shot as they appear more glamorous and desirable to us. In this case, Scarlett is smiling and posing on what you think is a red carpet event as she is glamorised. Her positioning looking over her shoulder gives off the confident image we look up to. LOOK always use A-list celebrities as they sell the magazine. The cover line “SCARLETT Shock Marriage Bombshell” is a statement that is used as a hooking device as it influences people want to buy it. The use of only her first name assumes you know who she is, therefore assuming the target audience know her and idolise her. Using a ‘star’ on the front cover attracts not only the usual audience but fans of the person.

Other cover stories are found surrounding the main story which demonstrates the additional information included in the feature. The Puff that includes a picture of Cheryl Cole and a cover line encourages people to buy it as she is another idolized person. The cover line; the miracle £4 cream that Cheryl loves is a powerful tag line as it appeals to the target audience as the young females that are interested in fashion are also keen on beauty secrets!

Lastly, the two other cover stories are related to fashion, the main purpose of the magazine. The black bold writing stands out against the white strip. The word ‘gorgeous’ is in different font, as the font is a symbolic code for the meaning of the name. The cover line is informal text and is a direct mode of address.  The pictures with this are of the celebrities again we see as being fashionable. The items of clothing cover a range of styles, smart, dressy and casual. This widens the target audience as it appeals to a wider range of people and there fashion taste.

‘LOOK’ is a good example of a magazine that has been successful in appealing to its target audience; all of the written and symbolic codes and conventions are what accompanies this demograph.

Magazine terminology

There ae many words, or terminology that can be associated with magazine design, here are just a few that are used;
Tagline- this is the slogan that accompanies the magazine title (example: LOOK magazine- "Britains best fashion magazine")
Barcode and Price- this is a technical code that is swiped when it is bought
Puff- is a colourful shape with information in it so it stands out
Font- the sytle of writing the text is written in (example, example, example)
Typography-the range of visual factors aimed at the target auidience
Coverline- line of text that appears on the front cover
Formal- the type of language used that is a offical tone
Informal- the other type of language used, this is more of a relaxed tone
Puns- any sentance that is play on words
Sans Serif- are the blunt edges of writing
Serif-are the curved edges of writing
Headline Font- a writing style that is only used for titles as it is not an easy read for mass text
Bodytext Font- the general text style
Masthead- the headline of the magazine or newspaper that remains the same.
Drop Cap- is a large first letter of a piece of text (example: In)
Rhetorical Question- figure of speech in form of a question without the expectation of a reply

My first page

To create my first page i used Adobe InDesign. I made a text box which i wrote my title.By highlighting the title, i could change the size and font to what i wanted. Then i uploaded the photos that i took and copied them to the homepage. I uploaded them onto the page by clicking the icon that was a square then went to file> place. I altered the picture to fit the frame by clicking options>fitting>fill frame proportionally. I could further alter my picture by clicking the small triangle in the bottom right side of the icon that had the circle with the cross and selected ellipse tool, where i could drag the mouse to fit the picture into the circle. After this, i could change the shape of some of the pictures by clicking the white arrow and cut the corners of the pictures.


This is the first time i have used this software, and now i know the basics of making a page on Adobe InDesign.

Blogger

What can you do with blogger? 

Blogger is an easy and creative way of sharing your thoughts and interacting with people about issues,ideas and interests.There are many features within blogger that can be used to customized your blog like adding photos,videos and voice clips to anchor your posts as well as altering backgrounds and titles to personalize your blog. You are also able to connect with multiple people across the world as a translator bar is located on the blog. This is good as it brakes through language barriers as well as 'developing community.' 

To top this you can also earn money as its linked to Amazon!

How will it be helpful for my coursework?

Just as above, blogger is a more creative way to post your coursework as you are able to alter and make posts at any time. It will also be a benefit as you can receive feedback so this can improve your overall coursework result!