EVALUATION QUESTION ONE

The title of my magazineThe masthead for my magazine is ‘WAVES’ with ‘magazine’ located directly next to WAVES to add extra detail to the magazine and a goal of mine was to add some uniqueness to the magazine therefore the word magazine being intentionally added gives it a signature in the competing market. WAVES has been purposely written in capitals throughout the magazine’s cover, contents and double pages in order to accentuate the title and act as an indirect marketing technique in order to visually attract the intended audience and possible consumers I deliberately selected during my initial research and planning task. The masthead follows the same codes and conventions as popular music magazines such as CLASH and fader who share the same target audience and visual messages as WAVES. Both my title and big name magazines like CLASH have a prominent masthead appearance on the cover which subconsciously causes the consumers eyes to be attracted to the title upon the first glance therefore will have a monumental effect on the audience I hope to attract. The reason I decided to call the magazine ‘WAVES’ is because it does have a clear link to music through the concept of soundwaves pulsing through one’s body when they listen to music yet still remains relevant to the music genre I have chosen as a wave is typically thought as relaxing much like Indie pop. The message behind my masthead is to keep a minimalistic, simple yet bold and original, whilst remaining within the typically conventions to a certain extent. From my perceptive, I believe this relates my target audience and Indie pop genre due to the fact it has the clear signs of individuality and breaking the boundaries but does still have that versatile look that won’t overwhelm or over exaggerate the clear focus, style and message being given from the magazine and its contents. The positioning, font and sizing of my masthead is very similar to typically mastheads from other magazines as it is located at the top of the page from magazines such as CLASH and Fader, showing that WAVES conforms to conventions within the magazine media industry. However, upon finishing my magazine I made the decision to make my masthead a pink tone colour matching an item of clothing shown by one of the girls in my cover image which contradicts the conventions slightly but does add a distinctive impression.

Graphology/page layout Throughout my magazine I decided to stick solely to two specific fonts; ‘Aharoni’ and Arial as they seem the most appropriate for the overall appearance I wanted out of my magazine as the Aharoni typeface has a modernistic look that was ideal for my title as it made an impression without being over bearing and unnecessary with the simplistic Arial typeface for the smaller features and details to remain simplistic and minimalistic to complement the positive negative space that has been shown throughout my cover, contents and double page spread. I didn’t want to add too many contrasting typefaces as it would distract from the minimalistic look of my magazine, and loss the professionalism it should have. A key thing that I thought was important for me to remember when choosing and selecting typefaces that matched the indie pop genre I wanted to recreate was Chris Frost’s advice ‘don’t use too many typefaces. Too much variation will end up looking a mess. It’s best to limit yourself to one font, and variations of it’. My mast head is deliberately the biggest text on the page as it is the main focus on the cover in terms of what will attract the reader’s attention if it was to be sat on a shelf in a shop the masthead will be visually obvious. The fact my title does have a salmon pink colouring adds personality to the cover and gives it an extra touch which although is seen as quite unconventional in terms of the actually colour choice it matched the idea I had and have relevance to my target audience and genre so I made it a deliberate theme to have WAVES consistently in that shade whenever it was mentioned in the magazines as a trademark , I took inspiration for the unique colour choice from Fader magazine who typically have a coloured text box to mark the F and have the rest of the title typically in white or black, this links to how the word ‘WAVES’ in coloured whereas ‘magazine’ is in black. On my cover the next biggest text was the cover line stating the band’s name/main story located in the centre of the image slightly to the left in white, followed by the cover lines informing of a few featuring artists and stories to be found the magazine yet is intentionally made smaller to keep within the minimalistic theme with little text to distract from the image and title. Below the image I added a smaller cover line that give basic information about the issue number, website and month so it is clear my magazine is a monthly published magazine and add extra to the cover. The name of my band ‘The Violets’ is positioned on the image of the band as a selling point for the magazine as consumers can look at the cover as instantly understand that the cover stars are called ‘The Violets’ therefore will trigger an interest in the magazines contents. I think the colour complements on another because although it is pink is still remains neutral and breaks up the white and make it look more unique. Within the double page spread it added a violet tone to the title ‘Painting the town Violet’ and the pull quotes added which links to the band’s name and also incorporates a subtle pop of colour. I purposely made each part of the text being separated from one another to cause the consumers eye to subconsciously follow the text follow. In terms of my barcode I tried to keep it subjected to the theme so instead of making the barcode massively large I measured to a barcode that could be incorporated into the cover without ruining the space, however I did have to relocate the barcode a few time to ensure the size and page (22 W, 44 H) had a good proportion so it was able to look as professional as possible. Although I didn’t measure a bigger barcode from a Fader cover I found it took up too much of the space in a way that rather than making it look realistic appeared to fill to much space making it lose its authentic appearance which was a deterrent for me to continue trying bigger barcodes. I found that a larger majority of my visual inspiration came from magazines like Fader, CLASH and Loud and quiet rather than the more typically music magazines like MOJO and Kerrang, as I favoured the idea of having negative space incorporated throughout my magazine like Fader and Clash tend to do therefore certain styles were big influences of mine. I preferred my magazine to have borders and clear headings so that it was a visual representation to distinguish my magazine from others. For the contents page layout, I found myself taking inspiration from Fader because of the pictures having thick black borders, and CLASH’s summary of the artist style but added columns that suited the style and genre I had planned for. I decided to have a single image of the band featured on the front at the centre of the contents page with the writing and information located below it in line with everything so it was seamless to read and executed with full professional intention. I tried to stick to the conventions set by other magazines therefore each of my headings matched with CLASH however I decided to try several typefaces but decided on making my subheadings the same typeface as my title as it meant that the page layout ensured the heading subconsciously followed the ‘Z’ shaped created through my positioning and layout. But to ensure that the actually text could be readable for a variety of different consumers I ensured the information was in lowercase Arial typeface as it is a versatile font that complemented the magazine therefore was made into the article/ interviews typeface also. My contents featured a lot of white space which can be noted as unconventional from a mainstream magazine however it isn’t unheard of and I decided that it was a theme that complemented the genre I was trying to represent.

Costumes, props, iconography used to reflect genreMy cover band and main focus for the magazine ‘The Violets’ was deliberately dressed in colours that corresponded with one another with two pink tones with the block of black breaking it up so although it still came across as casual had a clear link which made for a visual pleasing image overall. I featured block colours in order to add personality to each image featured and found that from having these simplistic looks with pops of personality it allowed me to use those colour in my magazine overall; with the pink for a metallic jacket worn by one of my models I was able to establish a colour for my title that worked well with the image without overpowering or distracting from the image. I found that the fashion choices reflected the type of clothing would have imagined the consumers the magazine was aimed at would wear due to the fact they are casual and authentic yet had the indie look with the ripped jeans, band t-shirts with choker features and ADIDAS shoes and jacket therefore had that appeal. From the magazines I looked at I noticed that there was a vague line between black and white clothing choices and bright colours therefore I wanted to keep in the line as I did try to accentuate colours whilst still having that natural feel to it which matches the demographic I wanted to mainly attracted. For the final images I wanted to have a modern, typically indie style that wasn’t ‘fake’ or obviously staged but was instead a classic shoot with fashion choices that met my Indie Pop genre. Because my covers main focus is the image, it meant that the style was appropriate for the genre of music, had a visually pleasing effect and incising my readers though the iconography. Though the choices of clothing I felt that in my opinion each outfit worn has a feminine appearance that didn’t necessary attract the male gaze but did have a balance of masculinity to encourage a wider audience profile.

Camerawork and framing of images: The shots used for the double page was typically mid-shot, long shots and three close up shots adding an individual contrast between each of my band members on my double page single. The fact these shots have been used for the magazine follows the codes and conventions made from other music magazines such as CLASH; the fact my cover image is centred in the middle of the cover means it shows the similarity of conventions set by CLASH and adds a unique look to it. It was important for me to manipulate each of the shots taken and chosen to focus on facial expression and emotions in order to add personality to each image and allow the reader to get the feeling they are creating direct eye contact with the cover star so they have a connection with what they are seeing therefore have the obligation to buy it because of that camera technique. For my double page spread, the image of the band together was located to the left off centre on the two pages which allowed space for a column and title, so it remains looking realistic but with a black border to add a clear link between the cover, contents and double page spread with breaks the boundaries slightly complementing the intended audience’s visual preference. I added a slightly faded effect to the individual close up shots and the magazine to ensure that although each shot had a contrast in style and appearance they have an equal lighting so it appears more professional and has a stylish overall look, showing skill in Photoshop and add interest to the piece. A key concept for me when taking the pictures was to ensure that each image is framed equally and had a poster like look to them so that when looked at in detail or briefly during a browse of the magazine left a visual impression on the consumer. For each of my images captured for drafts, test shots and final images were all taken on the Nikon D32100.

Article, header ect font and styleMy double page featured an article and interview styled piece which has inspiration from Oh comely and Loud and Quiet magazine, as it had a column aligned on one side of the page introducing the interview in an article style with open ended questions marked it bold so they are prominent on the page on the other side with simple pull quotes to break up the text slightly and add a seamless feel upon reading. I chose to focus on this style type as I believe it connotes a more casual approach to a double page feature rather than a formal style article or interview which doesn’t match the audience WAVES is intended for nor does it seem appropriate for the style of magazine I have created. The typeface ‘Arial’ was used throughout my article in order to link each piece together as it made the article appear seamless as it can be easily read and relates to the contents description as it is the same typeface. I followed the same styling as Oh Comely with the image and text being on one page with clear separate between them followed by a full page of writing on the other with colour and quotes to add texture to the piece because I found this matched the overall theme of my magazine really well and allowed me to be creative with the layout as the article/ interview style were unconventional in terms of how it the style was achieved. One unconventional thing I added to achieve the look of my article was by having my heading ‘Painting the town Violet’ at the bottom of my page rather than the traditional top in the same font as my text ‘Arial’ because it suited the unconventional layout and added some originality to the double page.

Genre and how the magazine cover, contents and spread suggests it:My magazine followed the indie pop genre as it had the neutral relaxed tones with pops of colour to add personality and interest to it much like what the stereotypically combination of pop and indie, with bright colours and unique colour schemes that will trigger the attention of my audience. The overall layout has a unique look because of the large border with sparse text that breaks the boundaries and isn’t typically see on the market for the indie pop genre therefore it does have a clear link to the indie pop genre as it combines the two music genres together in a clear way which was an aim to act as a selling point. A key theme was showing simplistic creative images that complement the genre, text and remain professional in how I create the magazine’s cover, contents and double page. This is a technique that will make the consumers feel inclined to buy the magazine because it will clearly appeal to them and their music preference.

Colour scheme:For my magazine I used at magazine like Fader and Clash for inspiration on types of colours I want incorporate into my final magazine as I knew from the start I wanted a colour that could be made into the sole focus on much like Fader does. It was clear from magazines I had looked at that getting the ideal colour scheme was important for the consumer to determine what type of music magazine is will be, for example magazines like Kerrang and Rolling stones tend to use primary colours like red and blue to give a visual representation of the magazine type, which is typically rock whereas magazines like OH Comely and CLASH tend to favour pastel colours and monochromes therefore it was important for me to find a contrast between pop and indie in terms of the colours. I waited until the photo shoot to determine a final colour scheme. In my research and planning stage, I mentioned how I hoped to achieve a gender neutral colour scheme that had prominent colours that complemented one another and fitting the overall genre of indie pop without making it too feminine, too basic or too overwhelming so it didn’t fit with the conventions followed or the type of artists I wanted to feature. For the final colour scheme I decided to feature the salmon pink sourced from one of the jackets to add the colour I wanted based on the previous colour analysis’s I made on other magazines on the market with monochrome colours to accentuate the pink, so it appears relaxed, calm and natural whilst still having a colour to allow it to stand out. Purple became another prominent colour in my double page to accentuate the fact the band’s name is ‘The Violets’ therefore it was a play on the name again to break up the black and white theme from the interview text which was featured in standard black. Upon reflection I think my final colour scheme is pink and purple that are although typically classed as the brighter colours on the spectrum, appear still muted so adds a pop rather than distracting from anything seen, with blacks, whites and greys to keep it neutral and appropriate for the intended audience and musical genre.

Cover inspirationFor my cover I took most of my inspiration from CLASH, Loud and Quiet and Fader because I found that each one had the same idea in terms on focusing on the image in order to attract the audience, with simple cover lines and basic writing. I wanted to feature a colour that would stand out on a shelf which is what I found magazines like Fader consistently do throughout each issue they release.

Contents inspirationMy contents had a lot of inspiration taken from CLASH magazines contents as the style and layout corresponded with the white space theme I wanted to achieve. I liked how the information was set out in a way that was informative, detailed and directly straight to the point to ensure that the layout looks professional and conventional with other magazines but still stays in line with the layout I wanted. A key thing that drew me to this contents was the fact after referring to the cover star/ cover stars they gave a brief summary of that artist allowing the consumer to get an insight into the tone of the magazine, who the band is so they are appear to get an idea about the magazines contents. I like that unlike many magazines I doesn’t feature ‘contents’ as soon as you end the page at the top but instead had the magazine title as the main cover line so the pages feel linked and allows that connection to be made, therefore I used the convention in my own magazine and I felt it really suited the style of contents made. I added the black border to add extra dimension to the page, allowing the consumer to get a visual image of the style and made a unique statement through the picture.

Double page spread inspirationA lot of my double page inspiration was from the magazine Oh Comely as I found myself preferring the idea of having my text together on one page with a column located next to the idea rather than having an image and then my interview as it didn’t see as though it would have any relation to my cover and contents. I liked the idea of having my idea still a focus but positioned in an unconventional style which matched the genre and theme much better than other typically layouts I had seen. Although my double page started slightly unconventional, I did ensure that each column on the second page of my double page had clear columns which fits the classic conventions so it remains professional.