From the results of the questionnaire I have found that electric blue is the most popular colour as an additional colour from the base of red, black and white, this will suit my target audience well as it is a masculine colour, also they thought that having a mid-shot as the central image of the front cover is a good chose, this backs up the draft I have made previously. One banner instead of two was preferred by most of the people who completed the questionnaire so I am going to keep it with a single banner at the bottom of the page. They also suggested having the column on the left hand side instead of right, this went well with what I have planned as everyone reads from left to right, the majority of the people who completed the questionnaire thought the story of how someone got famous was a better choice, this tells me that I need to develop that draft further and use it or something like it for my finished product. Everyone who completed the magazine thought that it would be a good idea to have pull quotes and inserts on the cover, contents and double page spread to give it a consistent look, this goes well with the plan of a full/cluttered feel to the pages to make it seem like there is a lot of information within the magazine. The majority thought that the contents page should have a balance of images and text, this goes well with the designs I have already drafted and same with the double page spreads. As most answers from the questionnaire suited how I drafted my pages and text already it shows that my analysis of existing rock magazines was useful to get the look and feel of the magazine right.
Friday 16 December 2011
results of second questionnaire (feedback on ideas and drafts for magazine)
Rate out of 10 on the colour scheme of red, black and white for a rock magazine (with an additional colour of either electric blue, bright yellow or lime green)
From the total of 15 people who completed my magazine, the majority thought that the colour scheme of red, black and white with a pop of colour would be a good choice for the rock magazine I am going to be producing, which suggests that I have chosen the right colour scheme to match my genre.
Electric blue | 12 |
Lime green | 1 |
Bright yellow | 2 |
When I asked the people who completed the questionnaire I asked them which colour out of electric blue, lime green or bright yellow would be a good additional colour to be used with the base colours scheme and the majority have said electric blue. This means that I will be using electric blue on the cover, contents and double page spread; it is also suitable for my target audience(teenage to young adult males) as it is a masculine colour.
What is your opinion on using a mid-shot for the central image of the front cover?
Responses were:
· Good
· Ok as you are able to see the person
· I like the idea of a mid-shot
· I think you should be able to see the whole of the artist
· This sounds like a great idea because it will really grab the audience's attention
· Yeah
· Not sure
· I think i would be suitable for the fron cover
· Ok
From the responses I got from the questionnaire, the majority of them have said that it would be a good angle for the front cover which is how I planned, there was one person who said that they would prefer seeing the whole of the artist, this option can be put into consideration when doing the photography and depending on how good the pictures are, I will choose.
Do you prefer having just one banner on the front cover or two?
9 out of 15 thought that it would be a good idea just to have one banner on the front cover, from the draft pages, two of my designs only has one banner and the third one had two (one on the top and one at the bottom), from the results of this questionnaire it suggests to me I should stick with only one.
Do you prefer having the colum of the contents page on the left or right hand side?
From the majority of the people who completed my questionnaire, the majority would prefer having the contents column on the left hand side, this is how I planned for most of my drafts as we read from left to right, this will make it the first thing to be read within the page
Which story/article do you prefer?
12 out of 15 thought that the story of how someone got famous would be a better choice compared to someone doing from an acting career to music, I did a draft for both of them but as the first one was more popular, I will develop the draft a little further for my final magazine.
What is your opinion on the name of the magazine? (Name-Generation, Slogan-the year of music)?
Responses were:
· Good
· Okay
· I like it
· Should be catchy but clear as to what it's about
· Sounds very catchy and imaginative
· Good title
· Catchy
· Great
· Really good, and unique
· Suitable
The majority of the responses I got back for the idea of my magazine name were good as they thought it would be catchy and clear to what it’s about and imaginative, they also thought it is suitable and unique; this shows that my chose of name for my music magazine should work well.
Do you like the use of pull quotes and inserts throughout the cover, contents page and double page spread?
All of the people who completed my questionnaire thought that having pull quotes and inserts on the front cover, contents page and double page spread will be a good idea, I planned it in some of my draft pages, this will give the magazine a consistent look from the beginning and also give the feel of fullness which suggests there is going to be a lot within the magazine.
Do you think the contents page should have a balance of pictures as well as text?
14 out of 15 people thought that the magazine contents page should have a balance of pictures as well as text; this was planned in some of my draft pages as I did not want to give the page to much text as it is not the most appealing thing for the target audience I am aiming for.
Would you prefer to have more than one picture on the double page spread or just one?
10 out of 15 people thought that the magazine double page spread should have more than one picture on it; this will make the page look more interesting, this will also suit the draft pages I have already planned and it is similar to the existing magazine.
Would you prefer the double page spread to have...
10 out of 15 people thought that having pictures on both of the pages would be effective, though in my drafts I mainly had one photo on one page and text on the other I am going to alter it a little bit when it comes to making it to see how it fits within the page, if not I am going to stick with the drafts I have designed.
Thursday 15 December 2011
Second questionnaire (feedback on ideas and drafts for magazine)
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.
Research into institutions
Bauer Media group
Bauer is a privately owned company founded in 1879; it is a large publishing and broadcasting company based in Hamburg , Germany
IPC [International Publishing Corporation] media
IPC media is one of the leading sonsumers and digital publishers in the United Kingdom based in London, it was founded in 1963. IPX magazines was raken over by Time inc. and renamed to IPC media in 1998. IPC media has produced over 60 iconic media brands, two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men (almost 26 million UK adults) use/buy print media produced by them. They have a wide range of brands varting from wealth and leisure brands to lifestyle such as country life, horse&hound and Rugby world to Nuts, mouse breaker and NME mainly aimed at males to fashion and real life editorial such as what's on TV, MarieClaire, instyle and woman&home mainly aimed at women. There main target audiences for there brands are mass amrket women, upmarket women and men. They internationally publish music magazines they own such as NME, guitar and bass.
Wenner media inc.
Wenner media inc is based in Los Angeles, founded in 1967 as Straight arrow publishers, magazine publising and printing are uner the private comany. Wenner media owns Rolling Stones magazine and they have been publishing print media covering music and pop culture for more than 4 decades. There usual brands are men's lifestyle and gossip entertainment magazines such as US weekly and Men's journal.
Draft text
Possible album names/cover lines:
Against the reason
Black keys! Frets! And inspiration!
The heroes
Territory
The necessity
There is no river…
Saying prove nothing
Rearrange the past
Come one! Come ALL!
There’s no such thing as a perfect crime
Possible article one:
We have only recently heard of {artist name} but her work has been well known in the industry for more than 4 years. The unknown song writer have produced songs for famous bands and artists such as {band name} and {band name}, but only now she has been introduced to the world. “I don’t really have a specific genre of music I write for but if you had to categorize it I would say it is a mixture of rock, indie and I guess alternative…its about my personal experiences and I guess it is very relatable, they mean the world to me as cliché as that sounds but I have worked very hard on my album”
“Even though I’m only 19, I have been song writing for a long time, some not so great but hey, not everything can be a master piece; it satisfied me up to an extent which questioned me on why I didn’t perform them myself” From opening that new door of opportunity she has already got herself nominated for the breakthrough act of the year and the best British newcomer which is a great achievement for someone so young.
“An upbringing from a well to do family always meant that I was always compared to my older siblings, for being the youngest, my family had high expectations…I was so determined to achieve I put myself under intense pressure during my GCSEs and A-levels. I guess I never really understood where this could get me in life, I had the grades to become a doctor or a lawyer…the possibilities were endless.” It was only during the teenage years where {Artist name} had discovered her profound love and passion for music. The improvisation on the instruments around the house was what triggered the domino effect, though she had never had official lessons on any instruments her incredible skills demonstrated in her future album {Album name} released in February 2012. “this is going to be my first ever album published and to be perfectly honest…I’m nervous…I’ve occasionally uploaded a few of my unpolished pieces onto YouTube but you never really know…I just hope everyone likes my songs as much as I’ve loved writing them”
In certain occasions, there have been musicians who claim they are legit when they have actually just brought their fame with money, but this is definitely not the case with {Artist name}, though her family may have money, it doesn’t necessarily mean she used it. “Well…they did help me get my songs noticed during my song writing days but I would like to say I have achieved what I’ve got and where I am now by myself right from the bottom…by having small evening gigs in places like the Junction to being the warm up artist for other famous bands, no matter how many people showed up, I sang my heart out because all it takes is for one person to enjoy my music to pass the word on. Though that did take a while to lift off, I never gave up and look where I am today, with 5 singles and a future album being released, I couldn’t be happier” {artist name} has also got a world tour soon coming in the new year after her album is released, exclusive tickets available now on our official website: www.generation-of-music.co.uk
For all Generation readers out there, you are in luck as we have the exclusivity of previewing a trailer of one of the new songs on the new album personally picked by {Artist name}, all you have to do is go on this special link provided below, there will also be a 10% discount for all the readers, stay tuned!!!
Possible article two:
We have all hear of {artist name} from the popular TV drama {TV drama name} but her true passion for music has always been greater. “Don’t get me wrong I loved acting and all the co workers were great but I was never satisfied, I always knew I could achieve more” Her part within the TV drama slowly reduced until she left as a character, as she had already had a fan base from her acting career she wasn’t too nervous about releasing songs. Same as many, she started off by doing covers and with help from her band members she started writing her own lyrics. “I have always been interested in music from a young age, though I never expressed it as much as I have now, I am glad I made the move of leaving my acting career behind” the journey of 3 years have taken {artist name} to start fresh, even though she was very appreciative of her existing fans, she did not want them to like her music or buy her album because they liked her but because they liked the music and the meaning behind them. “The first album released was more successful than I thought it would be, I would have been happy knowing one person enjoy and can relate to my music” One million albums have been sold worldwide, the platinum album is quite an achievement for such a new comer.
{Artist name} voice is very distinct with a hint of classic rock, which is a great originality to have. Generation was lucky enough to have autographed albums by {artist name} to give away, for more information go and visit www.generation-of-music.co.uk
Monday 12 December 2011
Initial drafts of the magazine
Draft cover page one, two and three:
With draft number one, the title the cover lines and inserts are at near the route of the eye and on or close to the hotspots, this will catch the most attention on the page to draw the reader in, the colour scheme of red black and white will stand out. The central image will be in the middle of the page with the cover lines and inserts over the top of it, with the angle of the image, the writing should not cover any focus areas of the photo. The banner is at the bottom of the page which is the last things you see according to the route of the eye, apart from the things near the hotspots, the banner will be most memorable, and this will attract the readers to the magazines with the extra features visible to them. The central image is underneath the masthead of the front cover, as will be a new magazine; I did not want anything to be covering the title to keep it clear and noticeable.
With draft number two, it is very similar to the first draft with the altered layout of the cover lines and the barcodes. The banner and the title is still in the same place which makes the magazine memorable as it is the first and last thing the reader will see. The second draft is different to the other two as there are not inserts, the other two are like existing magazines giving a cluttered, full look to it where as this one has clean cover lines which gives an organised effect like Rolling Stones magazine. Different from the first draft, the central image is over the title slightly, this will not be covering up a lot of the title so it will still be easy to read.
With draft number three, there is a double banner; these are popular with certain music magazines such as kerrang which also gives the cluttered, full effect. There are less cover lines but has inserts, the main cover line will make up about two thirds of the left hand side, this will give it the most attention as it will also have a larger font.
Overall on all three cover pages:
The banners on the front covers will have names of the other features within the magazine, this will help give the magazine a full/cluttered feel and to attract the audience even if they are not interested in the main feature. On the initial drafts of the front cover 1 filled with cover lines and inserts as existing magazines of similar genre often use this technique to make it feel the magazine is full f information and interesting articles. The use of many cover lines and inserts to give the front cover a full/ cluttered effect such as successful existing magazines of the genre I am making, the insets and cover lines on or near the route of the eye, major context such as the central image and cover lines are on r near hot spots to catch the reader’s attention. Two of the three has a barcode at the bottom right hand corner, according to the route of the eye, it will be one of the most memorable things for the reader (where the price will go) The three initial drafts are very similar as tried to use the technique of existing magazines with the same gene as the one I am making.
Draft contents pages one, two and three:
Within draft number one, there is a clean large masthead with a column on the left hand side, having the column on the left hand side will draw the attention first as we read from left to right. Also having a small section of the main story within the magazine is a technique used by Rolling Stones to draw the audience in to make them want to read more about it by leaving it on a cliff hanger, it is also near the hotspots within the page which will attract the audiences eyes. There is also a small features column underneath the small story; this will be the most memorable thing on the page as it will be the last thing the reader sees. The pull quote gives the contents page the consistency from the front cover; it will also make the page look interesting with a pop of different colour from the rest of the writing. The pull quote pulls the reader in to read on about the article it is from, it is a technique used by often by Kerrang.
Within draft number two, the column is on the right hand side, as we read from the left to the right I have placed the features and images on that side and with images and pull quotes and features in the centre of the page, they are all on hotspots which makes them the parts that attract the readers eyes the most. This makes the page look more interesting with the use of images as it is aimed for teens to young adults, a lot of text within the page is not the most appealing thing to them.
Within draft number three, the column is on the left hand side, but it is different to the two other drafts before as it is a lot wider, it gives the effect of fullness which will interest younger readers as they do not want to spend that much money on something they can get bored of easily. There is still a small section of the main story which is to make the reader want to read on and the image and features underneath. The image is the last thing you see within the page which will make it memorable on what they want to read about within the magazine and the features is on a hotspot which will catch the readers attention.
Overall on draft contents page:
Similar to existing rock magazines, I used column, to give it a consistency for having inserts having relevant images on the contents page as it is aimed at teens to young adults, too much text will make the page seem like it takes a long time to read. A small section of the main stories to be placed on the contents page to attract the readers to read on. Whichever design I end up choosing at the bottom corner of each page would have the magazine logo with the page number, this will give it a consistent look and with the route of the eye, it is the last thing the reader sees so the logo will be memorable.
Draft of double page spread one, two and three:
Within draft number one, the main image within the double page spread is on the left hand side, as we read from left to right, the image will be the first thing the reader sees with the caption in a small font at the bottom right hand corner to explain to the readers what the picture is. The image will appeal to the genre of music and the target audience to make the reader want to read the rest of the article/story. The use of pull quote is used as masthead; this does not only draw the attention of the reader by knowing it is from the article but also because it is the largest text within the page to catch the reader’s attention. The stand first is used to draw the reader into the article, it goes above the actual article, it is optional to have it over the image on the other side if preferred. The images underneath the article can be used to show what’s relevant from the article so that it links better. The kicker will be a different font from the rest of the text which can incorporate the artist’s personality to the article.
Within draft number two, it has the main image on the left hand side just like the first draft but instead of having three little images on the right hand side of the page, there is only one. The image is next to the pull quote which acts as the masthead. There will still be a stand first underneath the masthead and to attract the readers to the rest of the article.
Within draft number three, the main image is on the right hand side, different from the other two drafts. The article starts on the left hand side, where you naturally read. The insert and the pull quote is used to give the consistent look from the cover and contents page, the pull quote is in the middle of the actual article, it will be a different colour and larger than the rest of the text to make it stand out and one of the first things that catches the readers eyes when they start reading the article. The stand first is used to attract the readers to the rest of the article.
Overall draft double page spread:
The double page spreads are similar to existing magazines, having a large main image on one of the double page spread; this gives a good balance between the amount of text and images. Smaller images on the other side so it doesn’t seem like there is too much text. The kicker which will be a different font to the rest of the text will represent the artist according to their style. Using pull quote and stand first at the top of the page s it can be used as the masthead (title). Inserts within the double page spread is used to give a consistent look throughout the whole magazine, it also makes the page look fuller so that it doesn’t bore the reader with too much text or too much images that it looks cluttered.
Friday 9 December 2011
Draft of colour scheme
From the analysis of the existing magazine, it suggested that black and white were very popular colours to use on the front cover and throughout the magazine, I have decided that I would like to use the colours red black and white as the base colours of the magazine and add a touch of a brighter colour to make it stand out.
Red that is noticeable and connotes caution and warning signs which is generally associated with “Stop”, this colour would be good for catching the reader’s eyes.
Black mixed with other colours can often have a strong statement, working with the red, it will catch the reader’s attention and make lighter colours and images stand out.
White works well with black and red; it will also give the layout a clean finish. It is a very versatile colour just like the black which will go with almost any colour I end up choosing for the magazine.
Yellow is an energetic colour which will reflect on the genre of music included in the magazine, though yellow is difficult to read off a white background, it will stand out if used with the red and black. In one of the magazines I analysed, yellow was used with the red, black and white and gave a very effective strong look to the cover.
Lime green is a very bright colour that would stand out from the black and white. Similar to one of the magazines I analysed, I liked the idea of having the consistent colour with a pop of bright which made certain cover lines and pull quotes stand out within the page.
Electric blue is stereotypically a colour associated with males, as my magazine is aimed at males this colour would work nicely with the red, black and white as the pop of colour will make certain features stand out. Compared to the lime green and the bright yellow, it may not stand out from the black as much though I believe it will work with the base colour scheme I have chose.
Draft font styles
From the analysis of the existing music magazines, it suggested to me that they all like using San serif fonts which gives of a strong and masculine look. I decided to look for fonts that connotes masculinity and strong power behind the music as it would compliment the genre of magazine (Rock) i will be producing.
This font would make a good title for the magazine cover lines as it is easy to red as well as giving a rough effect to suit the music within the music genre. The second one is the same type of font just a slightly altered style as it doesn’t have the background, the one without the background may be better to use for the masthead as it can either have the central image in front or behind without blocking off too much of the image. It front style gives a sense of danger and edginess, which supports the style of music, included in the magazine.
This font is clear and easy to read, the straight edges instead of usual curves, it is very masculine compared to Serif fonts, as my magazine is aimed at males this will suit the target audience as well as give an effective style to the masthead.
This font is clear and easy to read, it has straight edges instead of curves like the one above, it extends out or emphasize on certain lines to add to the simplicity. It is very masculine which is suitable for the target audience I am aiming for.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)