Final Magazine

This is my final magazine. I am very proud of what I produced and I definitely think that I have improved from the preliminary task of the college magazine. 

Focus Group

This is my focus group. My friends Sophie (left), Leon (centre) and Aston (Right) looked at my magazine so far and gave their opinions on what they thought of my work. In general they gave good feedback. After the hot desking with the class I made the corrections that they suggested and printed the pages out for my focus group. Although the dps wasn't quite finished, they still got the general gist of it and could see what it would look like when it was completed. I asked them which of my contents pages they liked better and which one worked better as a contents page for the

magazine. All three of them said that they preferred the original contents page that I did before I recreated it with a different layout. I told them about how my feedback from hot desking was that all the pictures were the same. Aston then said that the new one suited better for it because it had a variety of images other than the other one with just one image. But Leon and Sophie were still 100% on board for the first one.

They all said that they loved the front cover and they couldn't fault it. Apart from one thing. Leon said that the image wasn't as cool as the rest of them, but he said that it wasn't a major problem. I said that it was the look I was going for and it masks the content with a serious face instead of a smiley one or a posed one.

The dps wasn't faulted either. They liked how I wrapped the text around the model's feet on the second page and they loved the in itself. Leon started being picky and said that he could've been looking straight ahead instead of down and I told him that the results of the photoshoot went better than I had intended and I was happy with the photograph.

Overall impressions were good and there wasn't much that could've been changed. Only the debate of the contents page has now left me with a tough decision of which one I choose to use for my final magazine.

Feedback to my work / Hot desking

DPS Interview

Double Page Spread Construction

This is the construction of my double page spread. This has been the hardest task for me, but it went the way I wanted it to. 
When I first thought about how I was going to do this I was completely unsure, but  after I looked at existing magazines and did my research I came up with the perfect plan. I thought of an image in my head of what I wanted for my photograph (this was before my photoshoot) and on my mood board there are the images of Drake sitting on a chair. I wanted to have something like that to then go onto the next page. When I then had my photoshoot I got the perfect position and I was picturing in my mind what it would be like. I had to flip the photo round so it could go on the first page, but that wasn't a problem. It may have taken longer than I wanted it to in InDesign, but I got there in the end and started to put it together. I came up with the idea to cut the photo wear the page ends in the middle and just have the feet on the side of the next page, to then have the text wrap around the image. That went all fine until I started writing up my interview. I don't know why but I struggled to get the text to go round the feet and the M at the beginning would not cooperate so I had to do it in a very interesting and more complex than it should've been way. Typing up the interview was what took the longest. I had writing a draft by hand so I was trying my hardest to type it up and get it all to fit. It took me ages and I had to make a lot of alters but I did it and now I looks amazing. 
When I started the dps, I was just going to have the one image. When I then had the issue with original images I added my favourite image from the photoshoot into the top right corner to fill the space out and I then added a baby picture of the model to where I was talking about when he was little. I did take that photo myself, but it was a photo of a photo. So I should think that counts. I had the elements of blue all over the page to have that synergy with the colour scheme and the rest of the magazine. There isn't much blue, but there is just enough. You can't have too much blue or it would override the grey scale in the colour scheme.

Contents Page Construction Development

This is the construction development of my contents page. Like my front cover construction, I will add screen grabs of my progress of making my contents page.

Also like my front cover, the masthead started out as grey. This is because I started both constructions at the same time. I used the same font for my headline as my masthead because I wanted to make links. When I started to go through and add in my contents, I added hints of the same blue so that the would be clear synergy throughout in terms of colour scheme and it bring it all together to look like one piece. I put the content in categories/subheadings, the same as what I did in my college magazine. I thought that because it worked so well last time, I would do the same for this one.

I chose this image because I felt that just the image on it's own with no editing or background added/changed then with the content on the left with the model looking that way down at it would be enough for a sophisticated contents page.

In the bottom right hand corner I placed the P from my masthead to do exactly the same as my college magazine. So it would create links and tie it all together.

I have changed my contents page completely because my feedback and comments stated that I didn't have enough photos and the ones I did have were all the same. So I thought I would start from scratch with my layout and construction.

Magazine Genre Specification

The genre of my magazine is R&B. According to my research, pop was the most popular genre. But I have decided to go against my research and make my magazine R&B because my photoshoot fitted that genre more. R&B musicians are very wide, they aren't a specific music type. R&B includes people like Rihanna, Drake, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, even Adele. So there will be readers that like Rihanna, but hate Adele. That's because they are very different, but they still fit into the R&B category. My model, Marley, is an artist very much like Drake. He fits perfectly in the R&B category. I decided to change my genre to R&B after I took the photoshoot and thought that the photos didn't look like a pop artist. I didn't want to redo my photoshoot, because I was too in love with the photos, so I chose to just change the genre, so I could work around my images.

Front Cover Construction Development

This is the construction of my front cover. As I make changes and add more to it, I will add photos of them to this post. 

I originally had the masthead grey to match the black and white colour scheme. After I started to construct more, I felt that it didn't stand out enough on a cover. And I thought about if it was on a magazine stand and you only saw the top of it, that wouldn't be very exciting and make people want to buy it. So Ithough that if I added just one colour to then carry on through the magazine, that would be better than just black and white.

As I added more coverlines, I chose little bits to make blue and go with the new colour scheme I had chosen. I decided to steal the idea of the little plus sign from my research of Vibe magazine. It makes the magazine look and seem more positive and I thought that would be a really good idea to steal. I made tiny details on the barcode at the bottom corner. I put the price right next to it big enough so you can see it, but small enough so it didn't stand out like a coverline. I then made an extra bar on the barcode that says 'WINTER 2014' and below, 'PLAYLIST.COM'. I also copied this particular idea from Vibe magazine. I felt that these ideas would appeal to my target audience because it is the same as Vibe's target audience. 

For the coverlines, I used a variety of greys to go with the picture. I didn't make any of them bright white (apart from the main coverline to stand out more), or dark black. I didn't want to make anything stand out more over the others and I thought if I use greys then I can get a different contrast on the image and off the image. So where The medium grey on the suit stands out quite well, it looks quite wishy-washy on the background where it is really light, so I had to use a darker grey on that. But they stand out as much as eachother even though they are different shades. I wanted to make each coverline different and unique, so none of them looked the same and make it look boring. Because I decided to do coverlines on just one side of the page, I had to make them look really good and so it didn't look too overcrowded or empty because of that. The coverline in the middle I did in quite a large font because it is still about Marley and the main cover story. Although it is a different article, it is still about the same person. I wanted to have two stories on him so that it wouldn't just be two pages for him, there will be more, but a slightly different story.

The main coverline I did in white and a light grey. I did this to stand out on the black over everything else on the page, as it is the main focus of the magazine.

First Start To Magazine

Photoshoot

These are my photos from my photoshoot. I chose to do a black and white theme because I thought it would look right with the whole black and white theme I am going for for this issue. The images I am using for my magazine are nearest the top, and the images that I am not using, but are still apart of my photoshoot are nearer the bottom.  

 

This photo is the photo that I will use for my front cover. I think it is suitable for the cover photo because it is a medium close up with direct eye contact to the camera. I really love this image because it has the classy, sophisticated feel that I want for my magazine.

This photo will be my contents page. Like the Billboard contents page, I want a main image with the actual content written beside it. I really like this photo and think it will be good for the contents because it looks like he is looking at the content and it uis a mysterious image. Again, fitting in with the sophisticated black and white theme.

This was a huge contender for the contents photo, but I just felt that the other one would look better as a whole. I want to hopefully get this in my magazine somewhere because I like it so much, but it will not be the main contents image.

This is the image that I will use for my dps. I think it again fits in with the sophisticated black and white theme and it will overall make the dps look fantastic. I will flip the image so I can put the text on the right. I will photoshop it so that his feet go onto the second page, and the writing will wrap around them.

This photo is the same as the last one but his head is facing the camera. I had a choice whether I wanted him to be facing the camera or looking away and I thought that looking away looked a lot better so I chose the other one. But I still really like this one.

I don't really like this photo but Jamal thought it would look cool if he did it. I disagreed but took the photo anyway and proved him wrong. I will not be using this photo, but I thought I would add it in to the photoshoot anyway.

I quite like this photo but what I invisioned for my dps was that he was most stretched out, so it wasn't quite what I was looking for.

This, like the last is nice but not what I wanted for my dps. It is the same as the last but facing the camera.

This image is like the others, but in a slight different position. Not what I want for my magazine, but still apart of my skills development and photoshoot.

This photo is different to all the others because he is facing the other way completely. This is one of the first images I took. I then changed the set because I didnt like how the light was on his back and not his face. I flipped the chair around so the light would hit him better and the photo would look more open.

Flatplans

Press Release

Mood Board

This is my mood board. I put my masthead ideas on in and also the colour scheme of my magazine. In the middle I have put some different poses I want for my my magazine fc, cp and dps. Then on the right I have put some images of existing magazines that are inspiring my magazine and what kind of things I want it to look like.

Playlist Masthead Ideas

These are my first masthead designs and ideas. I decided on the name Playlist for my magazine because it is associated with music, and everyone has playlists on their phone. Playlists are personal to that particular person, so the magazine will relate to anyone and be personal to them, much like a playlist. I decided on blue for the main colour of the magazine because I thought it would appeal to both males and females. 

The first masthead design is quite plain and simple. I first wanted a bold text for it because I thought that would look affective at the top of the page. I quite like the simplicity of it, but I don't think I will use it. I then went for something less plain and bold and more rounded and girly. I quite like this one but my magazine is being targeted towards both genders so I thought this wouldn't attract the male audience. I then thought I would experiment with an outlined text. I quite like how with this, if it had a picture behind it, you will be able to see through it and I think that could look good. This is a definite contender for my final masthead. I then had a look at other magazine mastheads. Billboard is the magazine I am going to style mine like so I found the font and created Playlist with it. The two at the bottom are the old Billboard masthead font and the new one. I really like these.



Reader Profile

This is my reader profile. All of these are things that my target audience are interested in and most of them are to do with music. Results and statistics at the bottom.

Music Magazine Questionnaire Results

These are some of the results from my questionaire. I asked 20 people 10 questions and these were the best results. These results will help me to make some crucial decisions to do with my magazine. The music genre will tell me what genre of music the people I asked like and what I should base my magazine on. Half of the people I asked said that Pop was there favourite genre, so I will do a Pop magazine. The majority of people said that they would prefer the cover to be minimalistic. Although this is different to a typical music magazine, there are magazines out there (Billboard) that are minimalistic. I think this could be effective, but it may not work out the way I am invisioning it. The cover model is a tough call because I would usually use a girl on the front, but I thought that maybe I should try something new and use a boy. Most people said that it should be a boy. So I have a model sorted, I just need to take photographs. The favourite existing magazine question was to know what kind of magazines people like and what I should base mine on. I thought the most popular ones, I could take elements of each and incorporate them into my magazine.

Music Magazine Questionaire

1. What is your gender?

• Male
• Female

2. How old are you?

•   16-18
•   19-21
•   22+

3. What is your favourite music genre?

• Pop
• Rock
• Indie
• Metal
• Alternative
• Other

4. If you were to buy a magazine, would you want the cover to be minimalistic or cluttered?

• Minimalistic
• Cluttered

5. What price would you be willing to pay for it?

• £1.99
• £2.99
• £3.99
• £4.99+

6. What kind of colour scheme would you prefer?


7. What kind of language do you think it should use?

• Chatty/talkative
• Formal
• A mixture of the two

8. How often do you buy magazines?

• Never
• Rarely
• Weekly
• Monthly

9. What gender of model would you prefer on the front cover of the music magazine?

• Male
• Female

10. Out of these, which is your favourite existing music magazine?

• Billboard
• GQ
• Q
• Blender
• Vibe
• Kerrang
• NME

VIBE Magazine Analysis

The masthead is very clear. The bright yellow colour that is used on the font contrasts very well with the grey scale background and because of this we can read it well. The font used is all bold, and the masthead is very predominant on the page, allowing us to recognise this as the title of the magazine.

The cover picture is centred. This is unusual in magazines as photographer often use the rule of thirds when taking pictures, however it is a common theme in VIBE magazine that the model in the picture is dead centre. This attracts the audience directly to them. The Artist in the picture also uses a direct mode of address so that when you are drawn to him he almost 'looks you in the eye' creating somewhat of a 'relationship' with the reader. The coverlines are aligned right and left according to which side of the page they lie on, this is to keep the middle of the magazine free so not to draw attention away from the direct gaze of the cover model.

The plus sign is often used as a semiotic because people often look at a plus sign and think, positive, or more, a higher value. If there is more inside, then the audience is attracted by the use of this symbol and will buy the magazine.

Only one picture is used on the contents page to stop any over crowding of the page due to the magazine being heavily text rather than pictures. The picture is in grey scale with a bright red heart to make it stand out. The model/s have made it look as if the heart is being grabbed by a woman's hand. This is to tell a clear story of the image.

Behind the image is a large V, the same font as the masthead, giving the contents a link to the front cover and having a house style throughout. Something very commonly used in VIBE magazine is the way in which they split the word 'CONTENTS' into 3 different lines. It gives it a 'jagged' look and also connotates to what hip hop is all about. It is about going against regular things in society and by not having the word in uniform they are conveying this convention. Written in a very small font on the picture is the picture credit, notifying the reader who is responsible for the photography so that they know the photographer and stylist for the photoshoot for this picture in the magazine. It is meant to take up minimal space on the magazine and is therefore written in a very small font size in order to not take attention away from the image itself.

The photos on this double page spread are similar to those of that I have already analysed. They take up only one section of the page and are not placed right in the middle, for example. This is a good use of the page furniture by VIBE because as I mentioned earlier, it is very text heavy, and by having the photographs to one side of the page allows them to maximise the amount of space they need for the body copy.

The standfirst is used well here, it is a small paragraph that allows us to get an idea of what the article is about before going into the body copy. The body copy in this double page spread I would say was around 1000 words in a size font between 8-10. Very commonly in magazines you will notice that the first letter of the first paragraph in the article will be maybe 3 lines big. This is known as a drop capital and just lets the reader know where to start reading from which is why VIBE have used one.

For some reason, VIBE magazine choose to ignore the rule of thirds in their photographs. They very often centre their artists and because I have seen this a lot in my research I will look to also ignoring the rule of thirds in my final production.

Billboard Magazine Analysis

Billboard is devoted to the music industry and all its genres. As one of the oldest trade magazines in the world it maintains several internationally recognised music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis. The two most notable charts are the Billboard Hot 100, which ranks the top 100 songs regardless of genre and is based on physical sales, digital sales and radio airplay; and the Billboard 200, the corresponding chart for album sales.

Billboard magazine is published weekly and the first issue was published in 1894. Published by the American entertainment publishing company Prometheus Global Media, it attracts more than 4 million visitors each month in more than 100 countries. Billboard.com's readers rely on the site for music news, videos, charts and more. The magazine is of a high price at £5.50 in the UK, however this high price may be due to the magazine being imported from the U.S. and quality features.

In 2008 it achieved a circulation of 18,385. The target audience of "Billboard" is primarily the U.S.

The colour theme for the front cover is black and white. They have done this because Ariana's signature colours are black and white. I think it makes it look classy and refined. The hint of pink that is used makes those things stand out. The Masthead is black to match the image and the theme. Billboard have only recently started placing the masthead vertically down the left hand side. Before it was horizontal at the top like any normal magazine. This way is different and is effective. It gives more room for the photo to be the main subject. It doesnt cut off the top of the image like they usually do. It is very bold and large to stand out. The coverlines are very minimal on this. They ave done this to make people want to open the magazine to find out whats inside instead of throwing everything on the cover and giving things away. There is more mystery this way. The cover lines that they have used are very small and there are only two. This is so they don't detract attention away from the main story. Although you can't read them from far away, you don't necessarily need to know about them if all you are interested in is the cover story. The image is a medium close up. It shows Ariana from the waist up to her head. She is wearing an obscure space helmet on her head to relate to the story of her having a double life. It could also relate to the first coverline 'THE SCIENCE BEHIND A SUMMER HIT' because 'science' has connotations of space and astronauts. Ariana has become one of the hottest pop artists this year, so that means she has a lot of fans. She is very popular this year, Billboard are bound to sell out this issue. There are millions of teenage girls dying to be her so they aspire to her. The way she is dressed is something different, but because it it Ariana it is not surprising. We can't see much of the outfit she is wearing so we cant tell what it actually looks like. This makes the reader want to open the magazine to see if there is a full image of what she is wearing. The link between the photo and the story coverline is pretty clear. They have used pink for 'double life' to match the pink of her lipstick. This could be to show that the life under the helmet being hidden is pink and sweet and then the other life with the helmet on is serious and dynamic, and the pink enhances that. Overall, I think the front cover is minimalistic but it stands out and is very effective.

For the contents page, we see the sweet innocent life of Ariana. The pink lipstick again is a link to the front cover, so synergy is used there. There is not much white on this, whereas the front cover had a lot of white. The background is grey. This could be to show the mixture of the black and white and how she has two sides but can almost pull them both off at the same time. The position she is in looks secretive. She looks like she is in the sweet life but she is hiding the strong and dynamic side. The contents is again small, similar to the coverlines on the cover. This is because the main attraction/story is Ariana therefore the image takes up most of the space. Unlike normal magazines where the image on the contents is quite small and there is usually more than one picture. It is clear that the image is dominating the actual contents. The title 'contents' is much like the masthead on the cover. It has the same font and is placed horizontally, but on the right instead of the left. It is a good size because it doesn't cover up too much of the image and it isnt anywhere near as big as the masthead so it doesnt look like a second front cover. The image is a similar size, if not bigger than the image on the front cover. This is to show the double life of her in two similar pictures. If this image was on the front it wouldn't be as effective because you can't see the double life whereas on the cover you can clearly see the sweet side being hidden under the helmet.

This particular magazine is aimed at Ariana fans, so Billboard think that the people buying it will only care about the main story, if anyone else who didn't like her bought this they would be shocked because the other stories/articles are in tiny writing on the contents page next to a huge photo of Ariana Grande. So you can tell the issues of Billboard really do concentrate on one artist at a time. I think that the contents is effective for the whole main story, but rubbish for anything else. E.g. The Billboard top 100, reviews and articles about any other artists, etc. In the bottom left hand corner there is an 'ON THE COVER' bit where it states the photographer, date of photoshoot and where it took place. This just gives the reader information of where she was at that time.

The main story or 'double page spread' is actually a 3 double page spread. The first is the main image for the article/interview. With the heading and the standfirst. It also states the writer and the photographer. The image is a full image of her to show off her outfit which is the same as she wears on the cover. The image goes on both pages spread across. Again, the colour scheme is black and white but this time the whole image is in greyscale. So we can't even see the pink lipstick anymore. This is to keep the black and white theme wihtout showing off too much skin to ruin the colours. The image is again showing the double life of Ariana, hiding the sweet side. The same as on the cover. The dress she is wearing is quite short but you can't tell exactly how short it is because she is kneeling down like that. The matching helmet, dress and shoes gives the whole image synergy. It is all held together by the black polka dots on white pattern. The white symbolises the strong side of her because in the sweet pictures she is wearing black. The position she is in links with the heading because it looks like she is crawling perhaps bravely to her new world. She has quite a sweet smile on her face, which contrasts with her slight derogatory pose.

The heading is in a completely different font from the previous fonts. This is 1. Because it was probably designed by the writer themselves or 2. To mark the main event for the whole magazine. The word 'world' in the heading is in a larger font than the rest. This is to emphasise that her new world is big. It could also be because the helmet she has on her head is a sphere, much like the world is. The helmet has many different connotates to it. I think the main connotation is that it is hiding or sheilding the other side of her, the sweet side as I have mentioned is on theinside and it is covered up by this hard, protective shield which is her strong side.

The standfirst mentiones how she is conquering her fear of futuristic pop. This ties in with the helmet. Space is considered as futuristic, Ariana's style is black and white and kind of 'gogo girl like'. The colours she wears would be considered as futuristic in my eyes. She is bringing the 60s back into the future and adding her own twist into it. Lizzy Goodman, says that she is a 'micromanaging workhorse'. This means that she is completely taking over what she already has and is making it her own. She is doing everything her way and she is doing it well.

My overall impression is that it's stylist, bold and sophisticated. It is a good start to a spread.

This is the first two pages of the interview itself. The main image is back to the sweet side of Ariana. It is in colour like the contents page with the grey background. The other images relate to what is being said I am guessing. The pictures on the left are of her with her mum and brother, Frankie. The top one is when they were younger and on Halloween, the one below is of them just a couple of years ago on the red carpet. They relate to the text because it is talking about family. These are good because it shows that she is very family orientated.

The pull quote that is used on this page is also used on the front cover. This is to highlight and emphasise the amusing quote. The text that is used for the interview is quite small. It is small because there is a lot to fit on the page. The images used on the right are a timeline if you like, of her career so far. The bottom left of the four is from when she was in the broadway production of 13, that was when her talent was first put into practise. Then the top left is her and co star Jennette McCurdy's Nickelodeon TV show 'Sam and Cat', which was cancelled earlier this year due to disagreements. The next one along is of her and her recent ex Jai Brooks and then lastly is her at her best, performing. These images are good because it shows all of her progress from day one to now.

In the main image, she is wearing what looks like a very short black dress, but it could be a playsuit. Ariana has a tendancy to wear very short skirts and wears high heels to make her legs look longer, as she's only 5 ft tall. Her body again in this, like the last image, contrasts with her face because she looks sweet in the face then she is in another degrogatory pose with her legs. It makes her look controversial and 'double sided'.

My overall impression of this is that the image is showing the diversity of her sweet side and the other images relate well to her past and progress.

The last double page of the spread carries the interview on. The image for this is landscape and has a setting of a sofa. Ariana is wearing a dress with see through panels in the middle. This is to look like she is wearing less and shows off more skin. This is her sweet and her strong side mashed together I think because she isn't wearing the helmet, but the is wearing white. Which goes back to the representing her strong side and black her sweet side. In the bottom right hand corner ther eis a section 'Ariana's favourite scary movies'. This links back to last page where there was the pull quote and the picture from Halloween. It links to the pull quote because she likes scary movies and her mum thought she would be a serial killer when she was younger. In the top left hand corner there is a section 'Divas of influence'. This is basically just letting the reader know who Ariana likes and who influenced her to be who she is today. There is a pull quote in the same blue as the heading on the first double page which is also used in the sections in the two corners. These are important parts that wants to be read and stand out. In the middle where the pages are separate, there is tiny text which I cant make out but what I would imagine to be mentioning the photographer again and something said about the images.

My overall impression is that this double page is different to the last one, so it isnt repetitive or in any way similar. This gives the whole spread variety and change which gives it a better look that it all looking the same.