To the left, is the front cover of the magazine created for my preliminary task, using Abobe InDesign and Photoshop.

I had created this front cover from stratch, producing the mass head and stories, as well as taking the photograph myself.

I had organised the titles of my stories along the left hand side of the picture as i thought they would be most visible and eye catching to the reader. I also think the choice of font colour helps to make this more effective.

I decided upon choosing the name "Shazam?!", as i believe it is quite a eye catching title and, with the use of the question and exclamation marks, make it more grammatically effective. I decided upon placing the name at the top in the centre of the page, as this is the first place where the readers eye would look when picking up the magazine. I chose this place as if the title was elsewhere then the reader might get confused and will not be inclined to purchase the magazine.

For the main story, i placed it in the centre at the bottom of the page underneath the picture I chose this as, after reading the title, the reader will usually scan the page to see what is featured. Thus having the main story at the bottom of the page, and also in a bold font, the readers attention will be drawn to the story.

I also think that my front cover picture is fairly effective in representing the message of the main title. I think that the black background helps to magnify to two students and the oscar which they hold. 

I think the dress sense may be slightly incorrect though. having the students possibly dressed in suits would have been more acceptable. But i think that having the students in their normal clothing, helps to show that they are everyday people who have managed something amazing.

Another problem which i have noticed in my preliminary cover is that one of the models has red eye. This, can be easily doctored in photoshop and will be rectified in the final project.

the picture i will be using for my prelim

I believe this picture will be especially effective for my preliminary task.
I say this as I believe that the picture is well composed and in the style of a front cover.

market research ftw

I decided upon looking up some sales figures for magazines of a similar style to what mine will be like and it's competition from a rival music magazine of a slightly similar genre.

These tables are taken from www.abc.org.uk

Below are the results of Kerrang! magazine and NME;

Kerrang!; his summary report refers to the period 01-Jan-2008 to 30-Jun-2008.
This report was approved by the ABC on 26-Sep-2008.

Heading	Total	UK & R.O.I	Other
Total Average Net Circulation Per Issue:	60,290	56,714	3,576
Newstrade and Other Single Copy Sales:	54,480	51,437	3,043
At Basic Cover Price:	54,480	51,437	3,043
Single Copy Subscription Sales:	5,810	5,277	533
Actively Purchased:	60,290	56,714	3,576

NME; This summary report refers to the period 01-Jan-2008 to 30-Jun-2008.

This report was approved by the ABC on 14-Aug-2008.

Heading	Total	UK & R.O.I	Other
Total Average Net Circulation Per Issue:	56,284	51,300	4,984
Newstrade and Other Single Copy Sales:	47,974	44,837	3,137
At Basic Cover Price:	47,713	44,576	3,137
Single Copy Subscription Sales:	8,287	6,445	1,842
Actively Purchased:	56,261	51,282	4,979

From these figures, Kerrang! magazine is more commerically viable than NME, but not by much .

For both of these magazines, there seems to be a "hardcore" group of readers would have subscribed to these magazines. This shows to me that there is a wide audience which my magazine could possibly appeal to.

Good times 

Research

so, basically, i have been looking through the copious amount of rock and "metal" music magazine which i have accumulated over the past through years, looking for ideas about how i might design my magazines, but also to figure out on the content.

Usually, on the front cover, these magazines would have either use, an up and coming band who have created a buzz about themselves or a quite popular band for the cover.

I have decided upon using a conventions similar to the kerrang! magazine format as i think it is quite effective and well set out.

So, firstly, i decided upon trying to design on myself..

(im trying to convert the front cover design i made myself, so bare with me. )

Magazine Analysis;

The use of front covers

Front covers are especially useful for magazines as, firstly, they attract the potential readers attention, trying to get them to purchase the magazine. These front covers always have a picture of a band or something to do with music, to easily show what the magazine is abo

ut. For example, the band's will usually be posing in a certain wa

y and dressed accordingly to there musical styles so not to cause confusion.

These front covers are usually visually appealing, laid out in a specific style according to what magazine you pick up. These magazines are usually set out in the below style;

A full page picture, usually of a a famous band, to catch the readers attention, but also to alert them to the style of music which features in the magazine.

With every magazine, the logo is the most prominent image on the page. This is create a strong brand name, so that people will remember to buy next week's issue if they are interested.

Various boxes filled with pictures and text which are visually striking on the page through the use of bold writing and strong font colours.

The Front cover on the right, is an example of this.

Double page Spreads;

Conventions of a double page spread;
Usually, Double page spreads usually have a large picture on one of the pages, which is usually companied by text, which will take up most of the available space which was left.

I have taken this double page spread out of a Kerrang! magazine, as i think these pages are quite effective, as they seem effective.

I find these two pages are especially well laid out and are very well presented. the contrast between the black and white pictures, the full page colour picture on the right, and the white background with the thunderbolts are especially eye catching.
When the reader looks at this double page spread, their eyes will be drawn toward the picture on the right first, then towards the left, with the black and white pictures and text.

Initial Ideas - Print based project ;]

So, here i am, sitting in my wonderful media lesson, wondering about, what i should actually do.

Obviously, i have chosen the Music magazine project in the style of Kerrang! and Metal Hammer, if you saw me, you'd realise why.
I think it would probably be aimed at a young teenage audience, both male and female, who listen to similar music as i do.

I think the magazine will not end up being specialised to one specific type within my chosen genre. I will probably being a general rock music magazine looking at styles from classic rock to Death metal. I will mostly feature up and coming bands, like local bands, as there is usually an interest into how they are doing. But i will make up a band or two just for the contents page.
This would be my unique selling point. By making my niche market slightly more broader,as i will have a local and maybe even national appeal, i think that this magazine, if it was actually published, would be able to attract peoples attention.

Graphics wise, i will probably end up enlisting the help of some friends who have taken photography to help with the band pictures.
Also, it looks like I'm going to have to pull photoshop out of somewhere so i can design some logos for the magazine to make it look more official, but if all else fails with that, i will hopefully be able to get a Graphic Design student to help me out as well.


Hopefully, all goes well and i don't end up shooting myself in the foot. Metaphorically obviously, I'm not that stupid.



;]x Michael.