Front Cover Conventions I will Use

Hey Everyone,

So I thought that today I would let you all know what conventions I want to use for my front cover now that I have finished all my analysis of my style models. I think I will use the idea of using the colour of my magazine title for other important pieces of information throughout my magazine such as story heading on the front page or page numbers on my contents page. I will also use the idea of making the main article a lot larger than the other articles on the front cover so that people are drawn into it. I will use a bar-code as I will have to since it is a main convention of a magazine and it wouldn't look the same without one. I would also like to make my front cover look quite busy to give it more of a professional touch and finally using the idea of creating a special story or a plug somewhere on the cover.

NME Analysis

For my last front cover analysis I chose to do another addition of NME. This cover is a bit more normal compared to the other NME cover I analysed. It’s also different from all the other magazines I have analysed as it isn't a very busy front cover, it has kept the main focus on the main picture and then just added a title and sub title to go with that picture as well as a one more story insight at the top of the cover. I really like how they've used the picture as the whole cover, you can see the background quite clearly which gives the picture some depth as it doesn't look just like a flat background but a real place. The band are also all staring straight at you which is quite engaging and makes you attracted to the cover. They have added a plus at the bottom right hand corner of the cover which looks almost like a sticker, it’s the only thing on the magazine other than the title of the magazine that is a really bright colour which means you are going to be automatically attracted to it which is clever as its advertising something inside the magazine so this will make you want to read more about it because it’s so bold. It appeals to it audience very well as they have abbreviated the name of the band down to its initials which shows they are a very well know band and that if you know who they are from their initials likelihood is that you’re going to like other bands that are similar which suggests they might have other articles similar to them which will attract their target audience. From this analysis I will take on board the idea of putting the artist on a 3D or real background to give it that professional touch, I will also keep in mind the idea of having the picture as the whole background of the cover as I think that looks really good. I think I like magazine covers that have more information on them than this one so I don’t think I will keep mine too simple and probably add more stories around the outside or just name bands to fill up some of the space a bit and to attract people to want to read more. I will keep in mind the idea of having an interesting story in a completely different colour to the rest of the magazine to make sure that it stands out as I think this is a really good idea and gives a unique style.

Q Analysis

For my fourth analysis I chose to do another cover of Q magazine. This cover picture is similar in a way to the last Q cover I analysed as they are messing about pulling faces just like Robbie was on the last issue of Q I analysed. The main thing I liked about this cover is how they've made the band look like they are interacting with the words on the cover as they have been positioned behind the words and been made to look like they are kicking the words on the cover. They've then made the words on the cover slanted to make it like they've been hit and put off balance. This really gives the cover some depth and doesn't just make it look flat; I think this gives a professional touch. They've used the same three colours again by only using the red for band names and then the white for other writing to keep the cover simple to read even though there’s a lot going on and make sure that the writing stands out against the darker colours of the background. They've also done the same thing that MOJO did by having the bands heads in front of the title of the magazine as they are confident that people will know and recognize their magazine without needing to read it. They've used a plug at the top of the magazine with a special in it to catch your attention and make you want to buy the magazine to read about the special inside. The cover of the magazine that they are saying is their special is the only thing on the cover that is a different colour to the rest of the magazine; this also makes it stand out as its eye catching. You can tell what target audience this magazine is for just by looking at it, the names of the bands on the front give it away as well as the style that the bands dressed in. The things that I am going to take on board from this analysis is that I don’t have to make the photo on the front of my cover look serious, I could have my model laughing at something or make it look like they’re interacting with the rest of the cover to try and give my own magazine cover some depth. I won’t be considering the idea of creating a special on the front on my magazine as this would mean that I would have to create a special to go inside the magazine and that would be adding work to the cover, contents and double page spread that I am already going to be creating. Although if I do choose to have an add on to the front or I want one particular thing to stand out I will use the idea of making that one thing a different colour to the rest of the colour scheme that I have used.

MOJO Analysis

Hey Everyone,

For my third analysis I chose to do MOJO as it has a different look from the two magazine covers I have already looked at. The thing that I think stands out the most on this cover is the use of the blue. They've used a plain blue background as well as blue of the subtext on some of the stories; they've also used a blue cover on the free CD. The other main thing that stands out is how they have put the bands heads in front of the title of the magazine. This tells us that the magazine are confident that people know there magazine and their brand and don’t need to rely on being able to read the full name of their magazine. They've used plugs at the side of the cover to give you a bit of in tell into the magazine and make you want to read more about what’s inside. For the main image of the band on the front of the cover, they have placed the main person more in the foreground compared to the rest of the band which draws you straight into the picture. I think the positioning of the front cover has been used really well as you can tell what’s more important than other things. They have placed writing over the bodies of the band members and then placed other writing as well as their heads in front of the MOJO title; this gives the cover some depth and doesn't make it look just flat. It’s also quite a busy front cover compared to the other covers I have looked at so for which I quite like and it shows that there’s a lot inside the magazine. Things that I will take on board from this magazine will be the idea of layering my cover, by putting writing in front of pictures or pictures in front of writing to give a bit more depth and to make sure my cover doesn't just look flat, I also think this makes it look more professional. I might also take on the idea of making my cover look quite busy as it also gives a more professional look. I also like the idea of the one bold colour, which is similar to the other front covers, which I am going to take on board as I also, think this adds to the professional look of the front cover as well as it being eye catching and makes things stand out.

NME Analysis

Hey Everyone, 

For my second front cover analysis I chose to do the Haim issue of NME. I chose to do this issue because I think the cover looks really eye catching. I love the play on words “HAIM GET THE PICTURE?” that goes along with the picture as she’s taking a photograph of them. They've also put the photo of them into a box as if it’s almost like a photo booth picture which they took themselves that’s them been put on the cover crookedly to give it a bit of style and originality from the normal straight picture. In fact nothing on the cover is straight apart from the title of the magazine, all the text boxes are slanted and some of the writing written around the side is on its sides, I think this again adds to the unique style o the magazine and might be trying to reflect the band by saying they are quite unique too or maybe just a little bit mad. They've also done a similar thing to Q by using the red and black colour scheme but this time on the white background so everything stands out.  They've used to typical convention of a magazine which is the bar code in the bottom right hand corner, which is also slanted on an angle to keep with the theme of the cover. I think the way this cover has been set out is really eye catching and fits in with their target audience. From this cover I’m going to take on board the idea of trying to do something original and something that stands out with my magazine and not just a typical front cover that everyone will expect. I’m also going to keep on board the same idea as before about keeping the minimal colours and using just one bold colour to highlight the important information. I might also use the idea of a play on words and try and link the cover title with whats happening in the picture if I feel that this would be appropriate on my cover. I will also need to use the bar-code as it’s a typical convention of a magazine and has to be on the cover somewhere.

Q Analysis

For my first front cover analysis I chose to do a fairly recent issue of Q. I chose this issue because I really like the way they have styled the cover. Q’s name is always in white with the red square background which means you always know that this is a Q magazine from its branding. For the rest of the writing around the cover, they have also used red to highlight the main bands appearing inside the magazine or inside the speech bubbles. They have also put Robbie in a red jumper to tie him into the colour branding of the magazine. The rest of the colour scheme is quite plain, with colours like black and grey to make sure that the red really stands out. A typical convention of a magazine is to have plugs down the side of the cover to give you a preview of what’s inside the magazine, for example “Inside Arcade Fire’s mind-bending cabaret” They give you a small chunk about the story inside but have highlighted Arcade fire in the bigger sized font as well as making it red.  They’ve also used a banner at the top of the magazine announcing the Q awards, putting in at the very top of the magazine is a great way to make sure it catches the eye of their audience. The main thing I like about this issue of Q is the way they’ve styled the main title and the some text from the story to make it look almost like a cartoon, using the speech bubbles and boxes over the main stars name to make it look comic like. His expression also fits into this, it’s quite shocked or surprised, maybe because he’s telling all his secrets or something exciting’s inside, either way it makes you what to find out more about it. These ideas are quite different from other issues of Q its more relaxed as well as still looking professional. From this magazine I think I might consider using the banner on the top of my magazine, I think it makes it look a bit more professional as well as giving you a bit more information about the magazine. Since I also like the idea of the comic theme I think I might try and use something similar on my cover to give it a bit more of an edge, but to still try and make sure it looks professional. I also like the idea of having a main colour around the title of the magazine and then using that colour for other important parts of the magazine cover, so once I've created my magazine title and start designing a logo I will keep this in mind. I will also keep in mind the idea of making the stars names bigger and bolder than the other text on the page to make sure they catch the eye of my audience.

New Task

Hey Everyone,

Over the next five posts I'm going to be analyzing previous successful music magazine front covers which are similar to the style and genre of magazine that I want to create. I'm going to discuss the colours, the target audiences, their branding and other things I think they have done well to make them so successful, I am then going to link my analysis of the cover and try and link it to my work and how I may or may not use certain things that they have. Hope you enjoy reading about them :)

Initial Ideas

Hey Everyone,

So before I can actually start making my music magazine I have to decide what I want to call it, who I want to be on the cover, what I want it to look like, what genre it's going to be, and so on. Which is why we where told to create some sort of mind map so we could jot down a few initial ideas on what I want my magazine to look like, so here it is :)

School Contents Page

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, its half term and I've been down to Devon to visit my family, it takes a long time to drive there and after being there for a day I became ill, just my luck L So unfortunately I haven’t had much time to post on my blog for a while but I plan on filling you in with all my work and ideas from the last few days, starting with my contents page of my school magazine.

So here’s my contents page of my school magazine, I tried to follow the typical codes and conventions of a school contents page just like I did for my front cover,  using things like page numbers and small images to go along with the stories. The pictures I used, I took myself to help illustrate the stories that would be inside the rest of the magazine. I used a large picture of the school to give the magazine a familiar feeling and hopefully encourage people to read on. I used the same blue dotted line as I did on the front cover to keep the style of the magazine as well as my branding identity.

I’m hoping the ideas and experiences I got out of making my school magazine will help me when it comes to making my music magazine.

Front Cover of School Magazine

This if my final designs for the front cover of my school magazine. I tried to follow the classic codes and conventions of a normal school magazine, such as bright colours, bold titles and plugs of inside stories as well as they don’t have prices or bar-codes. The only requirement for my magazine was that the picture on my front cover had to be a mid-close up of my model. I used my friends’ sister as my model and had her pose with some trophies to give a bit of an inside to the story that was about her to show that she had won these trophies for the school. For my title I used “Howay the Bay” as it was friendly and a typical thing use of Geordie dialogue. I used a dotted line above and below the title to give it a professional touch, I also used this same effect on my contents page as part of my brand identity. 

Stay tuned to see my contents page :)

Preliminary Task

Hi Everyone,

            Last week, before starting my music magazine I had to create a school magazine as a preliminary task.  I had to create a front cover and a contents page, taking my own photos and designing it all myself. It was great fun, and gave me a good insight into how to create a magazine.

Introduction

Hey Everyone,

 I'm Hannah and welcome to my daily media blog which will show the development and evolution of my Music magazine. I'll keep you updated on all my new ideas and photos throughout the project. Hope you enjoy following my project :)