Detailed Contents Research

Specific Contents Research

This is one way I am considering laying out my contents page as I feel that it gives it an interesting indie look, which is the look I am going for my magazine. It also has a clear picture of the artist. In addition, it contains all of the information needed to know what is in the magazine that would interest the reader. It also has the numbers of the pages next to the writing to show what page it is on. It would attract the target the target audience as it contain pictures of artists that are of their generation. In addition, the colours seem to be quite dim which shows that is not for young people.

However, in some ways I do not really feel that this music magazine contents page is appropriate for a music magazine due the title looking a bit confusing to read as it is not in a straight like. In addition, the picture covers up too much of the page, which makes the writing too small to read. It also seems to be a bit dull which doesn’t grab the attention of the reader.

I would prefer to lay out my contents page like this as I feel it is the most appropriate for my target audience. In addition, the colours that have been used in this magazine are very similar to my magazine, which shows that the type of magazine seems to be quite similar. In addition, I like the way this contents page has been set out with a large picture, which is the main picture to the right of the writing, and a smaller picture at the bottom of the page. In addition, I like the way the writing has been laid out on the left side of the page going downwards with big writing for the main point and a small amount of little writing. It contains all of the numbers needed to show the reader where the articles are. The title of the contents page is also a lot easier to read than the previous magazine.

However, the only problem I have with this magazine is that I do not understand why they have a review at the bottom of the contents page as no other magazine has this. In addition, it seems to be a bit boring.

General Contents Research



When researching for music magazine contents pages, I saw this. In some ways, I thought this was a good contents page as it has a clear picture of the artist on the side. It also contains all of the information that is beside the picture of the artist with clear number of what page it is on.

However, in many ways I do not think that this magazine contents page is a strong one, as it does not say anywhere that it is a contents page and if it does, it is not very clear. In addition, the colour of the writing blends in with the background apart from the yellow writing. It also seems quite dim and there could be a lot more to improve on the contents page.

I also saw this contents page when researching. I prefer this contents page as it has a clear title saying it is the contents page. It also has all of the information needed with the numbers next to them. In addition, the colour of the writing is clear and easy to read with the background. In addition, the picture next to the writing is big and clear like the previous contents page.

However, with this contents page I do not actually think it look like a contents page, I feel it looks more like a poster. In addition, even though the title is easy to see, it is not very easy to read, as the letters seem to be jumbled up.

I also saw this contents page when researching. I prefer this contents page a lot more than the other two as this is clearly a contents page. This is because it clearly has ‘contents’written on the top of the page and it has a clear picture of an artist that takes up most of the page. It also has another picture at the bottom of the page to make it seem more interesting. It also has all the writing beside of the picture with the number showing which page it is on. The different sizes of the writing show, which is more important and makes it look more interesting.

However, I do feel that this contents page seems to be a bit overcrowded with writing at the bottom as well on the side.

Comparing Front Covers

As you can see, I have made many improvements on my magazine. This includes changing the title, writing and colours. I kept the picture of my model the same as I like the way she was placed and I like how big she was. I changed the title because first I thought it did not look like a proper magazine title but now I feel that it looks professional. I also looked back at my research and noticed they add the website of the magazine and so I decided to put that under my title. I changed the colours of the writing as I realised that adding the pink made it look more childish whereas my magazine’s target audience is for older people. I thought the same about the type of font as I thought it was childish and so I changed it to look more professional. I then noticed there was empty space that needed to be filled and so I did this by adding more text and an advert. I am pleased with the way my magazine cover has improved and I feel that it looks more professional and matches my target audience.

Final Edits for Front Cover

When looking at my magazine front cover then looking back at my research, I noticed numberous things wrong with my magazine cover including all tof the things above.

 

The first things I changed I added white into the letter to make them stand out more and I changes the colours at the bottom of the page by swapping them around to make it fit more and stand out. However, I still feel that the title is not appropriate for my type of magazine due to my target audience and therefore that is the biggest thing I have to change.

 

I changed the title by playing around with the fonts and looking back at my research and came to the conclusion that this was the best way to have my title as I feel that even though it is simple, it is effective.

 

The next thing I changed was the font and the colours of the writing as I felt that, the fonts were clashing which made the front cover not look professional. However, I then noticed that there was a lot of empty space that needed to be filled.

 

I filled the empty spaces by adding some more writing of what was included in the magazine and added something about ‘V-Festival’ by saying they could win tickets.

 

I then added an issue number, a price and the website of the magazine. I did this to fill in the spaces and I realised looking back to my research that many music magazines did this; therefore, i wanted to put it on my magazine so it looks more professional. I also spread out the writing in the yellow star so it filled in the empty space.

 

I felt that the font and the colours used for ‘Lily Love is Back’ was not very appropriate for my magazine and it made the magazine look unprofessional. To change this I looked at different fonts I could use and played around with the colours and felt that the way it is set out now is the best for my magazine.

Looking at the bottom of the page I noticed that that was the only thing on the page that was pink and so I changed the pink to red which is the main colour of the magazine.

 

FINAL FRONT COVER

Proof for First Draft Cover Page

The first thing I had to do to create my music magazine cover was to place my chosen picture where I think the most appropriate place for it is. I looked at my research and decided that the best place to put my picture is the right side of the page and for it to cover half of the page.

I then noticed that all magazine covers tent to have barcodes on the front. I knew this be going back to my cover research and evaluating it.

I then placed my title that I had previously made before in the place that i thought would be most appropriate. I then thought, looking at the title that it some how did not seem to match the magazine I am trying to portray and so I played around with the settings and decided to thicken out the letters and make the ‘V’ bigger than the rest of the letters.

I then looked back on my research and noticed that most magazines have a circle or a shape similar to it somewhere on the page in a different colour to the rest on the page. so I decided to do it in a star shape in yellow to stand out and put some information on it. I then put it in the bottom left corner because using the method of the rule of thirds I noticed that there is too much in the top right corner and I added it to the bottom left to even it out.

I then noticed on my research that one magazine that I was basing my magazine on included a banner somewhere on the magazine so I then thought I would personalise a banner to put on my magazine using colours that would go with my magazine that would also stand out and would not be the same colour as the title. I also used the same font as the title so it would not clash.

I noticed that there was a lot of empty space on my magazine and also looked back on my research and noticed that all music magazines somehow included writing on it in different sizes and colours showing how important they are and also eye catching. I used titles and stories that I thought would interest my target audience as it contains celebrity gossip as well as music.

I then found that using my research, most music magazines had the name of the singer or artist on the front next to them and so I did the same thing and used colours already on my magazine and also lined it with the star I had previously placed there.

FINAL FIRST DRAFT OF MUSIC MAGAZINE COVER