Monday 28 November 2016

Mockup 1 modifications

I have modified the first mock, trying two different layouts (the positioning of headline, strapline and pug as well as removing it one of the mocks). This involved moving the main image slightly to allow for testing of these layout sketches.



Sunday 27 November 2016

Photoshoot Plan - Front Cover

Time & Date
Shot type
Location & Lighting
Props, costume, hair
Character used
Preferred time and date - 6/12/16, lunch time
MS
A room with a white or grey background, potentially the drama room but other rooms are possible. Lit so there IS NO shadow of the character.
No props
Not 'casual' but not 'smart' clothes. In between. Potentially wearing jeans. The shirt or t shirt must not have any identifiable branding visible*.
The whole body is looking directly at the camera. 
Preferred time and date - 6/12/16
MS
A room with a white or grey background, potentially the drama room but other rooms are possible. Lit so there IS A shadow of the character.
Potentially a microphone. Not 'casual' but not 'smart' clothes. In between. Potentially wearing jeans. The shirt or t shirt must not have any identifiable branding visible*.
Standing looking at the camera, but the rest of the body is not looking directly at the camera.
Preferred time and date - 6/12/16
MS
A room with a white, grey or blue background. Potentially the drama room, but if required another room. Shadow or no shadow, doesn't affect the image.
No props. Not 'casual' but not 'smart' clothes. In between. Potentially wearing jeans. The shirt or t shirt must not have any identifiable branding visible*.
Standing looking at the camera, but the rest of the body is not looking directly at the camera.
*If required, any branding on the shirts can be edited out of the image in Sketch or other software at home.

Monday 21 November 2016

Brand values and ideology for M4U

My magazine is called M4U. It is aimed towards fans of pop, rock, alternative and indie music - ranging from the 1970s to the present time. It values all of the potential audience's opinions and views on music. In addition, M4U will support established and new artists and promote their work, to allow them to get their music out to the intended audience. In addition to this, it values all ways of getting hold of or accessing music - physically, such as a CD or digitally, such as on streaming services. As well as this, it supports, promotes and values music events - such as gigs/concerts and festivals. The intended audience for the magazine is for 18-65 year olds, allowing the younger audience to learn about and appreciate older music and artists and how it has influenced newer music as well as allowing older members of the audience the ability to learn more about newer music. M4U values how people access the magazine as well, selling it in shops, online, and via subscription - to allow the magazine to cater for as many people as it possibly can. M4U also values bringing music, and the magazine, to the masses - allowing new artists to get out there and established artists to continue their work - by offering a fair price for the magazine.

Monday 14 November 2016

Music Magazine Photography Plan

Photography for the main image.
Look of the person: The person needs to be looking confident, as they are going to be a new artist, and showing confidence shows that they will be good at it.
Background: The background can be any colour except cream or red, due to the masthead colour. The background could be red with the masthead colour changed to either black or white, which are the other two colours that should be prominent throughout the magazine. Not taken in school environment as unrealistic.

Sunday 13 November 2016

Masthead Feedback

Feedback 1 (second across from top): It's incredibly eye catching, stands out to the audience.

 Feedback 2 (bottom right): Stands out as each letter is different, though the could have better choice of colour. 

Feedback 3 (second rown, far right): Stands out well, and the colours suit the font used.

 Feedback 4 (third row, far right): Font is bold and easy to see, however it could use a more vibrant colour.

 Feedback 5 (third row, far right): Stands out and is prominent.

Feedback 6: I do like the one in the bottom right but I feel for that to be a success it'd need to be brighter. And third row down middle is another good one but the colour could be a tad lighter. But if I had to choose one I think it'd be bottom right but with a lightish red colour because it's big, it's bold and it's unusual so I think it'd stand out well.

 Feedback 7 (second row, centre): Terrible. Due to transparent centre it won't stand out enough over the top of images.

 Feedback 8 (first row, left): Don't really like this as the 4 doesnt seem similar enough to the rest of the text.

 Feedback 9 (first rown, right): Doesn't seem different enough to the masthead below it, other than lack of border and shadow.

 Feedback 10 (bottom, left): Font stands out, but the colours don't go well. Too much grey.

Thursday 10 November 2016

Brand identity and ideology of Q Magazine


Q Magazine values a variety of music, such as rock and pop. When it was first created, its creator even made this clear when they said "Magazines tend to bracket people by taste, or what they assume that taste to be. This is a magazine that doesn't." As can clearly be seen from the front covers, it covers a variety. There are famous artists from multiple genres. They value their audience and want to be a magazine for all.  Q believes that all music is important and that everyone should be able to find out about that music in one place rather than just sticking with one genre or style or having to purchase multiple magazines. The magazine has a specific colour scheme, using largely red, black and white - although other colours are used. This is because they feel that they should be recognisable as Q and they make their brand easy to recognise. The masthead is always located in the same place, and the colours rarely deviate. This means that they have a house style and that allows Q to be recognised by the way their front covers, contents pages and article pages look. It is consistent and it look professional - as opposed to each page and issue using different colours and fonts, which would too childish for the audience that Q are aiming themselves at. In addition, it is not designed to be particularly specific to a specific genre (the house style and masthead). It's designed to be general to allow it to work with a variety of styles and genres in music - as that is the intention of the magazine as a whole. 

Background: Q Magazine was released in 1986, which is when the above quote from the creator (not the specific publisher, probably the first editor) was made. This shows that they have kept their values since the magazine was first published - therefore 30 years. In turn, this shows that they are very committed to sticking to their values and beliefs that they have had right since the start. 

Monday 7 November 2016

Masthead Ideas for Music Magazine


These are my masthead designs for the M4U music magazine. I particularly like the masthead on Row 4, third across. This is because this masthead seems different compared to the other mastheads, with the text being different lengths. I do however feel that a different, brighter and more clear colour could be used to allow the magazine to stand out more.

Below is a list of the fonts that have been used for the mastheads.

Fonts (l-r)
Row 1:
1 - Lucida Grande
2 - Lifestyle M54
3 - Kannada MN

Row 2:
1 - Euphemia UCAS
2 - Blackout
3 - AppleGothic

Row 3:
1 - Ingrata Regular
2 - Prototype
3 - Kakawate Font

Row 4:
1 - Pocket Thrilled FP
2 - The Outbox St
3 - Stentiga

Later addition to Mastheads (03/17):

Thursday 3 November 2016

Music magazine name ideas and introduction

I haven't specifically chosen a genre, it part due to my own interests and the fact that there will be people out there who like to have multiple interests - or maybe specifically in artists. As in, an artist may start with genre and then their style changes over the years - e.g, they may have started with rock and as time progressed their music gets more into the pop genre or vice versa. This means that people with a variety of tastes in music or who like an artist who has changed will be able to just have one magazine. In addition, this means that the magazine will cater for a much wider audience.

Name possibilities

  • Music4U
  • M4U
  • Variety Music Now
  • MaxMusix
  • MaxMusic

Contents page for school magazine