Research Rationale

Magazine Typography

The mood board clearly shows a variety of fonts, sizes and colours used in various music magazine mastheads. From the moodboard we can see the consistency of the three colours used; black, white and red. These colours are mainly used for music magazines with genres of RnB and Rock, however, for the pop magazines, more bright and vibrant colours are used. From these colours, we are able to make out who the target audience for the magazine is. For example, the ‘top of the pops’ logo uses the colours pink and yellow, suggesting that it is aimed at young girls. There are also many different styles of fonts used for various music magazines.  They are mainly big and bold, which make them stand out and easy to read. For my pop music magazine, I am considering to use bright colours to attract the reader as well as my target audience. The font will be bold and quite girly, as I will be using swirly fonts and colours like, pink and purple. However, I am planning to research more pop magazines, to get a better understanding of what pop magazine mastheads are like, and how I can make my masthead look unique, yet professional.

Magazine Deconstruction

Introduction to Brief

The brief that we have been given is to create the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. I have mixed feelings towards this brief as I feel both confident and nervous at the same time. I initially had a lot of ideas that I was considering carrying out, regarding what genre I would want my magazine to be, as well as who the magazine will be aimed at.  Due to the preliminary task we had done towards the starting of the year, I feel quite confident and prepared for this brief, as I am able to use the skills I had learnt previously, again. These skills would help me to boost my confidence even more, as well as helping to make my magazine seem professional. I am mostly excited about using Photoshop once again, as I have already had experience in how to use it; during the preliminary task we were set. I am considering to create a either an RnB or a pop magazine as these are the genres I normally listen to. Therefore, I will most probably be aiming the magazine at teenagers or young adults, as being a teenager myself; I have an idea of what type of music and magazines they would read. However, despite these ideas, I am still quite nervous as to how things would go during my production work, and turn out in the end. Another thing I need to take into consideration is how I manage my time, as well as producing a professional music magazine, which is of a good quality. On the whole, I am very excited to produce the best piece of work I possibly can and start blogging again!

PRELIM TASK: Audience Feedback

These are the responses I received from the target audience for who the magazine was aimed at. 

Name: Alina Khan 
Year: 12
Feedback: "The magazine gives a professional look and seems attractive. The colour and                       design is idealistic for young people as these are the main things that young                           people look for in magazines".

Improvement: Background colour could be more attractive and appealing.


Name: Rubab Mirza
Year: 12
Feedback: "The vibrant colours and stylish fonts made the magazine look worthy of reading/                     buying". 

Improvement: "The front colour could have more coverlines on it".  

PRELIM TASK: Finished Product

This is my final magazine front cover and contents page. The flat plan I had initially created differs from my final magazine, as I added a few minor changes to make my magazine seem professional. These changes include font colour changes, coverline changes and font size changes to my magazine front cover, and alignment changes to the images and text on my contents page. I decided to carry out the changes on my magazine front cover to make it look the same quality as some of the renowned magazines. I changed font sizes to make the magazine look more attractive and focus on the main coverlines, as this would intrigue my target audience. I then changed the colour of one of my coverlines to make it look more bold and easier to read. I also adjusted the sizes of another coverline and made it the font a bit smaller, as it was not one of the main coverlines and therefore, the size had to be reduced. In order to make my magazine front cover relate to my main coverline, I decided to change my pull quote. The change enabled my main coverline and the magazine cover itself, look relevant to each other. The changes made helped my final front cover to look striking and as the same quality as well-known magazines. The changes I made to my contents page were very minimal as I only adjusted the images and text and made them both vertical, rather than diagonal. I carried out this change to make my magazine look more professional and appealing to my aimed age range.

Due to the alterations I made to my magazine front cover and my contents page, my overall magazine resulted in looking more cohesive and it was obvious to tell that they were from the same magazine. The effect which I had added on both my front cover and my contents page makes my magazine stand out and attract the reader. The colour scheme is kept consistent and all 3 colours have been used. The bold colours which I have incorporated in my magazine help to engage the reader and look eye-catching. I have also integrated a graphic of a black circle in my contents page, which I had previously used on my front cover, to make both the front cover and contents page look interconnected. This is effective as it makes my magazine and its theme look consistent, as well as helps to intrigue the reader. 

PRELIM TASK: Contents Page Image Choices

I have decided to use these 3 shots for my contents page as all 3 pictures make it clear that the models in the images are students. Another reason why these images are ideal to be included in my magazine is due to the target audience who are being aimed and also because they meet the theme of my magazine; balancing social and college life and getting organised. Due to the models' expressions, we can evidently see that they are socialising with one another, which meets my theme of balancing social life. The shot taken in the middle makes it clear that this is a college magazine, as the model is reading a book and looking like she is doing something productive. Although there is no presence of the angle of gaze, I do not see it as a problem as these shots were intended to be taken naturally, in order to show the audience what college students get up to and also to see their natural behaviour. 

PRELIM TASK: Contents Page Layout

PRELIM TASK: Cover Layout Decisions

Cover Layout from Maleeha17

PRELIM TASK: Example of Photograph Manipulation

This is an example of a photograph manipulation, of my main image: 

BEFORE:

This is a screenshot of my front cover before any manipulations were applied. The image was fairly clear which enabled the reader to easily read the text on the magazine cover. Despite this, the main image looked as though it was lacking something which would intrigue the reader, and look unique. I therefore decided to play around with the image by changing the contrast levels, to make the image pop and look better than it did before. When I selected the option for level changes, there wasn't any beforehand changes made automatically to the contrast of the image, as the image had simply been copied and pasted onto Photoshop. This meant that there were different shades and tones of lighting in the image and resulted in the shot not looking as professional as it should have; it did not look like the main images we see on real magazines, as they look very flawless and attention grabbing. This was another reason why I decided to bring about a change in my main image, because I wanted to make my magazine cover look the same quality as well-known magazines e.g vogue. 


AFTER: 

This is the same image after it had been manipulated by the change in contrast. I made the colours seem more bolder and prominent by changing the levels which decreased the grey tint in the image, making it not seem dull. By changing the contrast, the colours seemed to pop out and made the magazine look professional. After making the changes to the contrast, I referred to my colleagues and asked them what their view was towards the how the main image looked. From this, I was able to get feedback from my peers, as they were viewing my magazine as a reader and were also able to criticise my work. The reviews I received helped me get to the conclusion that the changes I had made had worked well, and helped me get the idea of my magazine cover meeting with the expectations of the target audience I intend to aim this magazine at. The contrast changes I made also helped to make the fonts on my magazine cover more visible and vibrant, as well as becoming more eye-catching for the reader. 

PRELIM TASK: Masthead Font Decisions

These three font types were the initial fonts which I had thought of using as my masthead, as they immediately caught my eye. I liked all three of the fonts as they all differ from each other and helped me decide more accurately as to what font I should go for, and which of the fonts would meet the basis of my college magazine theme. Therefore, I chose to use the first font as my masthead because not only does it look elegant, but also compliments the the title of the magazine itself. In my opinion, I feel that this font looks good when incorporated with the rest of the texts on my magazine cover, because it is comepletely unique as compared to the other fonts used on the front cover. This would, therefore, help to intrigue my reader as well as to make the masthead stand out. 

Although the second font fitted in with the theme of my magazine, it looked very childish and not at all something that would be on a magazine cover, aimed at sixth formers. The font, overall, does give a feel of it being included in a school/ college magazine, however, I don't think it can be used as a masthead. Another reason why I did not choose this font is due to the 'T' in the word, looking as though it has been cropped or cut off, which results in the word itself not looking aligned.  

The third font was one of my favourites as I thought it would give a unique touch to my front cover. However, this did not go to plan because when I incorporated this font with the other fonts on my magazine cover, they did not look too appealing; the masthead font looked very sharp and overpowered the other fonts. Consequently, I decided not to go ahead and use this particular font as it would result in not grabbing the attention of the reader or, the reader would lose focus from the main body of the magazine itself. 

PRELIM TASK: Final Shot

I have decided to use this image as my final shot as the lighting in this picture is natural and the angle of gaze of the model, gives the reader a personal feel towards the magazine. I chose to use this image in my front cover, as the background of this picture is not too vibrant and does not cause the reader to lose focus from the main image of the model. The model is holding a textbook as well as wearing her student pass which meets the brief of the magazine, and clearly shows that she is a student. The model's makeup is also quite light and looks very natural, which further makes it apparent that she is a sixth form student. The bright red used on the textbook is quite bold and stands out, which is why I have decided to use red as one of my main colours, in my colour scheme. This shot can also help me to experiment with colours and enable me to make the right decision as to what I would want my final colour scheme and front cover to look like, as well as my contents page. 

PRELIM TASK: Flat Plan

Here is my initial plan of what I want my magazine front cover and contents page to look like: 

PRELIM TASK: Shot List

http://prezi.com/ialr5hbad-oi/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

PRELIM TASK: Reader Profile

Hi! My name is Mariam and I’m 16 years old. I have just started college in Bradford and study media, economics and IT. My interests and hobbies are mostly socialising with friends, using social media and listening to music but I also enjoy doing activities which involve teamwork, as this would help me in my coming years. I find it quite difficult to divide my time between my social life and my college life as the work burden is quite heavy and the subjects I have chosen are quite demanding. However, I am very determined and will put in all my effort in order to achieve the grades I desire.

In my free time, I love to shop and spend time with friends and family. I mostly buy makeup, shoes and jewellery and keep up with the latest fashion by watching catwalks and reading magazines like the ‘Vogue’ and ‘Glamour’. I really love music and my favourite genre is RnB and Hip Hop; I keep up-to-date with all the latest hits and albums.

At college, I am considered to be a very determined and hard-working student and I take this as a compliment and feel very proud about it. I am looking forward to the year ahead and hope to leave college with outstanding grades.

PRELIM TASK: Magazine deconstruction

This is a deconstruction of the 'Teen Vogue' magazine.  

PRELIM TASK: Initial Ideas

Hi! My name is Maleeha and I'm an AS Media student. The brief that we have been given for our preliminary task is to produce the front and contents page of a new school/ college magazine using Photoshop, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up. The magazine front cover should include a masthead, some sort of graphics and cover lines. 

My initial ideas regarding the magazine are that I will mainly be aiming it at 6th form students and include cover lines related to how they should get organised for the new year, if they are finding it difficult to settle in what they should do and how they should balance their social life and school life. The name I have thought of for my magazine is 'Thrive' as it relates to what I want my magazine to be about. I have not decided the colours I will be using for my magazine yet, however, I'm planning to use bold colours to fit my target audience.