Main Task Flat-Plans

 

Front Cover

 

Double-Page Spread

 

Contents Page

Magazine Current Progress

Preliminary Task

 For my background I opted to go for a page size image of the College, I did this as it is a magazine published about the College so it was appropriate to it plastered on the front. I posititioned the camera in a way so that the sun can be seen shining from the top of the College, this is with the intention of creating a is fresh feel and give the impression that the College is bright and full of life. I have opted to place masthead in the top right hand corner - I deliberatly left a space there when shooting the image so the masthead could reside there. The colour blue used in the Masthead is intended to mirror the Gateshead College colours and as blue has the connotations of a calming nature, it gives a nice feel to the magazine and what will be inside. In my headings I used a black text box, with white writing, the WOB effect was used so it is clearly noticable - I also decided to highlight certain words in red to further highlight them - to catch the readers attention. I included all the neccissary components of a magazing i.e: the barcode, issue number, date and price.
For the contents page I tackled the often seen concept of overcrowed, image engulfed pages by choosing a more simplistic design. I have chosen to have the index of pages on the left hand side of the page (as the reader tends to read from left to right) with an image seperated from the text, residing on the right hand side of the page. Also, a series of advertisements are cemented at the bottom of the page - all in all I feel this layout gives off a clear, fresh and simple feel.

However, I did make the mistake on the contents page by differing too much with the font size that it gave off an uneven - out of proportion feel. A mistake I shall not be repeating when it comes to designing my very own music magazine

Double-page spread analysis

 

 

 NME double page spread, in this instance the subject image helps convey a sense of gloom and depression, (which fits in well with the article – interview) Due to the sizing of the photo and the fact it has been positioned on he left side of the page, the audience are immediately draw to it due to how we read from left to right.

Adjacent to the photograph is a quote from the interview in huge font, alternating between the colours black and grey the black highlighting the words that they want to stand out the most. The colour scheme is consistent throughout the page, the colour scheme uses simplistic, neutral colours. All the text on the page is in a very dimly lit grey or black and even though the background is lit with white it is still a very grey like shade to go along with the overall gloomy feel generated by image and the interview itself.

The image and article are also seperatated which is convient for the readers and gives off a sophisticated feel.

 

 

 

 

The image of Jay-Z takes up one page of the double page spread and as a result it establishes his presence on the article - a visual representation of what the article on the right will be about. 

 

This double page article left page is a whole image of the artist featured in the magazine and the right page is of the article, this makes the double page article look sophisticated and mature as it separates the text from the artist, the reader’s will see the image of the artist first and decide whether they want to read the next page.

The left page is very plain as it little text. In the image he is wearing sunglasses inside, concealing his eyes which could be an indiciated that regardless of what the page on the right says there is still more than meets the eye to the image, very mysterious. On the right page, the colour scheme is very plain, the only thing which stands out is the large drop capital featured behind the article text in red, something which compliments the red artificial light used on the subject in the image.

On the right top hand corner there is a sub heading of the artists name, albeit in small text. The columns consist of small text and of a large quantity, giving more sophistication to the text and may appeal more to the older reader as younger readers do not particularily want to be inundated with text.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The text is much more organised and in a consistent sans serif font, with a bold "I" to signify the start of the article. This is almost the house style for NME, judging by their logo. Her name is highlighted in red in the blurb like text underneath the quotation, emphasising that the article is about her.

 

This magazine spread uses three main colours, black, white and red. For all the readers that know of Lily Allen will know what type of charecter she is; very loud, bold and 'in your face.'

 

The main image on this double page spread is of Lily Allen (who this article is about.) This image is near the right hand side of the article, leaving the rest of the page to hold the text, however she slightly interferes with the text, mirroring her 'in your face' personality.

 

Her body language and facial expression shows that she has something too say, this is supported by the headline 'people think im an attention seeker, but im just honest' this headline is obviously a quote from what Lily herself has said. This headline is shown to be made out of letters from newspapers, giving the impression that they are the one ssaying that

 

The subheading is bold compared to the actual article itself, having 'Lily Allen' in red compared too the rest of the sub-heading which is in black shows the reader what this article is about. The article is set out in colunms, making it easy to read but still holding all the infomation it needs.

 

Contents page deconstruction

The masthead used for the contents page of NME is not the magazine's masthead, this could imply that the brand is so well known that it is not neccissary to place it on every page. The contents page is clearly identififed by the text 'Inside this week' it is also that of a large, bold font. The general sophisticated, neat layout of the whole page adds quality to the magazine, thus mirroring its intended audience (older)

This contents page consists predomintely of images. A subscription box is also placed in the bottom right corner - the last place a reader would look, relating to how we read from left to right, top to bottom.This is solely used with the intention to make the reader want to subscribe.

 

 Text is used minimally in this page with NME instead opting to channel all information mainly through images for reader convenience. The text on the page also makes use of a few different fonts, with bold and italics used frequently, causing it to stand out to the reader. The use of larger texts and placement proves a means that the page has equal amount of text/images when in truth, it does not.

 

 

 

 

 

Rocksound magazine; the layout of this magazine is different to the first NME magazine.

The first recognisable difference is this content page includes seperate columns, one for images and one for text, compared to NME magazine which was plastered all around. The left column consists of text, BOW text. The contents have been split into 4 different sections, Regulars, Exposure, Features and reviews this allows the readers to easily find an article they want to read. Although both content pages have similarities, they both have simple and effective colour schemes (red, white and black).

The masthead is also placed onto this page, in comparision to NME where it is not, this could be perhaps because this magazine is not as well known.

This magazine used more red for each sub-heading whereas the NME magazine used more black, this has gave each magazine a different look so they may appeal to different readers, i.e younger readers as the colour scheme is not very sophisticated and quite adolenscent.

 

 

 

 

 KERRANG magazine. The first noticeable difference compared to Rocksound is that this content page includes more images, similar to nme but not quite to the same effect as text plays more of a part here and is quite small.

The masthead clearly identifies what this page is 'Contents' in a large yellow text, accompanied by it's own border and background so not to blend in with the background.

This contents page is more broken down as each page has a brief description of what it will it include, something that stands out compared to the others.

It is also laid out in chronological order, 1 - 2 etc, compared to NME where it is just scattered around in no order.

The colour yellow is noticably used quite frequently, this is to make sub-headings stand out among the crowd of images and text.

This page also features a message from the editor which gives quite a personal feel.

 

 

 

 

Front page deconstuctions

The masthead is in a red bold font. The masthead partially covers the main image which may suggest that the brand of the magazine is more important than the features inside.

The main cover line is in the centre of the front cover and is much larger than the rest of the text on the front page (excluding the masthead); this gives us an insight of what is within the magazine. This also matches the red from the masthead.

The sub-head works similarly to the cover lines as it tells us what is to be found within the magazine and also tells us why the main cover line has been used.

The image is in the centre of the page - the main vocal point of the magazine.

The cover lines are in a smaller font size than the main cover line and are to the sides of the main cover line, these also give us an insight of what to fin within the magazine, these have no connections to the main cover line.

The barcode is there to help the publisher know how many copies are sold and also within the barcode there is the essential information such as the date, the price of the magazine and the issue number.

Colour scheme: the colour scheme for this issue is a restricted palette; it is made up of 4 colours: blue, black, white and yellow. The blue is a bright electric blue which stands out from the black background.

The masthead is blue which links in with some of the other text and the free CD which is advertised in the bottom left corner, also the masthead is covered which suggests that the title isn’t as important as it may already be well known.

The cover lines are placed to the side of the page as these are also the key features of the magazine; however they aren’t the main subject of the magazine so the text and the images are smaller. The text is following the colour scheme set out, which is green and white.

The main image covers the masthead. This could be an indication that the image is more important than the masthead and that the masthead is already well-established so it is not necessary for it to be on show.

Barcode and essential information: this is important because it allows the publisher to know how many copies of the magazine is sold, also above the barcode is the essential information in a smaller font as it isn’t as important as the rest of the information on the page, within the essential information it mentions the price, the website linked into the magazine, the date and the issue number

The colour scheme is quite limited as it is sticking to 2 definite colours: green and white.

The masthead is of a large font and bold white text; however, it is also it is slightly covered by the main image on the magazine. This indicates that the masthead isn’t as important as the subject image – could be because the magazine is already established

The main image is in the centre of the page and takes up the majority of the page, if not the whole page, this gives a strong indication of what the main feature of the magazine will be and what will be inside.

The colour scheme is kept to a simple basic primary colour setting, with the addition of a bit of black and white, the un-sophisticated scheme is a strong indication that the magazine is aimed at a younger audience