AS Media Coursework Main Task - Font

Fonts

I started by downloading 9 fonts from 'dafont.com'.
I looked under the sections called eroded and distorted. I thought these themes would appeal to the target audience as, like the Kerrang magazine i analysied, they generally enjoy loud music and the eroded and distored effects represents their passion and anger.

MASTHEAD
I will be using font 7 for the Masthead. This is because it is a more Bold/Blocky font and stands out. It is also easier to read than some of the other fonts. The font is simular to the Kerrang font.
(Due to the licence of font 7, i had to choose a new font. The new font is number 10)

I won't be using leading and kerning on any fonts for my magazine. I understand that leading is the adjustment of space between lines, and kerning is adjustment of space between characters of type.

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Flat Plans

(Please note: i had to take photographs of my flat plans as it was always hard to find a free scanner to use)



Cover:

For the cover i decided to make the Masthead very large and go across the whole width of the page. This will make it stand out more.
The tagline says 'Music with attitude', which will relate and appeal to the target audience.
I decided to change the tagline to 'Music with Volume' as the tagline 'Music with attitude' was already in use with another well known magazine and i didn't want to be accused of copying the tagline.
'Music with volume' relates to the name of the magazine, 'AMPLITUDE' (AMPLITUDE: The height of a wave from its trough or crest to its midpoint. As the amplitude of a sound wave increases, so does its volume.)

I decided for the main image of the cover to dominate the cover using the 'Rule of thirds'. This will focus the readers attention firstly to the image. The image will appeal to the reader, and will hopefully make them more likely to purchase the magazine.

My use of colour is similar to other magazine covers i have looked at, in the fact that they use only 1 or 2 colours (not including black and white).

The barcode is where it is so its easy to find, but doesn't distract the reader from the Main Flash.

The top strapline says 'YOUR TOP BANDS'. I used the word 'YOUR' to make it feel more personal and appeal more to the reader.

The bottom strapline has a list of other well-known bands, which the reader may be interested in and may influence to purchase the magazine.




Contents:

I designed the contents page so it was really easy for the reader to find information from the front cover. It has a smaller picture of the Cover with arrows pointing to the different features/sells of the magazine with the page number.
Then underneath, it has all the other articles in the magazine listed with their page number. Its broken down into different sections, including NEWS and REVIEWS.
It will also have a subscription form so readers can subscribe to the magazine.
In the bottom right of the page there is the page number, which will be the same style throughout the whole magazine.

Double page spread:

For the double page spread, i decided to use the same font for the bands name 'ONE DAY OVER' as the cover so that readers will notice the same font and hopefully notice that it is about the same band featured on the cover.

I used a large pull-quote which will features some text from the main article and will make the reader want to read more about the article.

I split the text into 3 separate columns so it makes it much easier to read.

The page numbers are the same style as the contents page.

The main image on the first page fills the whole page, which i found to be common in many double page spreads of my genre.

There is a box on the first page which gives information about the band to the reader, like where they are from and what genre of music they are.

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Analysis of existing magazines

Kerrang

The magazine's name is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar.

All the text on the cover is Sans Serif which gives the text more emphasis.
The text is block and bold which gives the magazine a more modern look. They use simple colours for the text. Mainly black and white, but also beige and one use of red text.
The beige and the white text match the colour of the hoodie in the main image.
These choice of colours make the cover bold and stand out, which appeals to the target audience as they want to stand out. The use of the colour red is associated with energy and passion. This appeals to the target audience as they are 'defined by attitude and passion'.

The Masthead is large, black and bold to make it stand out. The text has a shattered effect which links to their Tag-Line 'Life is loud'. This will appeal to the target audience as they generally enjoy loud music and represents their passion and anger in the shattered effect. On this cover they havent printed their tag-line but the Masthead relates to their tag line because of the shattered effect from loud music.

There isn't much text on the cover. It mainly just informs the reader of what bands appear in the magazine, especially in the Strap Line. The strap line uses an exclamation mark after the word 'PLUS' the make it seems more exciting to the reader.

The Main Flash links to the main image in a few ways. Firstly, 'Biffy Clyro' is the name of the band. Secondly, the Subhead says 'unfold the puzzle of life...' and the person in the centre on the main image has formulas written across his hand. He is also posing as if he is thinking about something, trying to 'unfold the puzzle of life...'. They are also standing infront of a blackboard with formulas written all over it.
The 3 dots after 'Puzzle of life...' is an Ellipsis used to indicate an unfinished thought.

One of the main cells grabs the readers attention by having the word 'FREE' in large text, followed by an exclamation mark. The fact it says the word 'FREE' will interest people and might influence them to buy the magazine. It also says 'POSTER SPECIAL' followed by an exclamation mark. The word 'SPECIAL' will influence them even more to purchace the magazine.
They have 2 pictures in this main cell. They are of a popular/ well known band, so most people will want to purchace the magazine to have a poster of them. One of the pictures has 3 frontmen from 3 different bands labelled on the picture. This will appeal to more people.

One of the main cells uses a pun to appeal to readers. It says 'Hayley starts a 'riot!'. 'RIOT' is the name of Paramore's album. Fans of the band will recognize this.

The strapline at the top informs the reader of a 'MASSIVE DOWNLOAD TICKET GIVE AWAY'.
The readers of Kerrang magazine will be inertested in going to the DOWNLOAD festival. People who don't read Kerrang, but wish to go to DOWNLOAD festival may wish to purchace the magazine, just for a chance to get free tickets to the festival.
The word 'MASSIVE' implies there are many tickets to be given away so the reader has more chance of getting a ticket.

The barcode, issue number, date and price are all placed together in the bottom right of the page so its out of the way and doesn't distract readers from the rest of the cover.
All the information is still clear and easy to find if needed.

NME

NME is an abbreviation for 'New Musical Express'.

All the text on the cover is Sans Serif which gives the text more emphasis. The text is large and bold which gives the magazine a modern look.

They use red for just the Masthead (Also a small amount beside the bar code). Red is the main colour of the brand. They make the Masthead stand out by using white and black as a border around the Masthead.

The colours used in the Main Flash and cells are Yellow, Blue and White. These are all bright colours than stand out. The connotations of yellow are: fun, happiness and warmth. Blue has connotations of Calm and Magic.

The language is formal, except for the use of informal language in the top strap line when it says 'GLASTO', which is an abbreviation of the word 'Glastonbury'. The fact that they did this, shows they are trying to appeal to a more younger generation.
There is the use of numbers on the cover. '569 UK gigs listed'. This is in bold red writing by the bar code. This attracts the readers attention as they would look by the bar code for the price of the magazine and then notice there are 569 gigs listed and they may wish to purchase the magazine to read about the gigs.

The main image suggests being carefree and having fun. This appeals to the target audience. They have chosen this band because at the time, they were a very popular band and appealed to a lot of readers. They are posed to suggest being carefree and having fun, which makes the magazine seem more carefree and fun. The clothing they wear is stereotypically 'indie' which is what most readers are of NME.

The mains cells have the name of the band in the article in bolder white font than the rest of the text on the cover. This makes the name of bands stand out. The main cells are written on blue boxes. This is because the main image uses many colours and would be difficault finding a bold colour text to stand out over the image.
One of the Main Cells uses a quote from the band in the article. This gives the reader an insight on what the article is about for that band and might entise the reader to read the article.

Kerrang Contents Page

The contents page has a picture of the front cover on it. Next to this is a paragraph written by the magazine to the reader about this issue.

The text on the page uses the same font and colours as the cover (This contents page is NOT the contents page for the front cover i analysed).
There is an index down the right side of the page with all the main articles and page numbers listed. They are split in categories to make it easier to find the type of article you would want to read about.

There are 9 images of bands on the contents page. The reader will recognize any band they like and then will go to the page listed to read more about that band. One of the images is larger than the rest. This is to make the article stand out as it is probably a more important article.
There is a quote from a band at the top of the page which might attract the readers attention and make them want to read more on the article.
There is a subscription section in the bottom right corner so readers can get the magazine delivered to them every week.

NME Double Page Spread

There is one main image of the band in the article on the left side of the double page spread. This dominates the left page. The main image and article appeals to the target audience in many ways. Firstly, the name of the band is ' The Teenagers'. The target audience of the magazine are 15-44 year olds and mainly male. Most people in this caterogry are probably teenagers/young adults. The people in the main image are lying down and the person in the middle has his hand behind his head. This appeals to NME's target audience. Also, in the main image, there are posters of girls on the wall. This will appeal to the target audience because they most probably have the same kind of pictures on their wall, or they just enjoy seeing these pictures in the main image. The clothes that the band are wearing in the main image are the same kind of the clothes the target audience would wear. That fact that the band are wearing the same clothes will appeal to the target audience.


Also, at the top left of the left page there is a heading saying what category the article is.
There is also a 'NEED TO KNOW' section about the band in the double page spread. This has a few facts about the band that will interest the reader. Its written in black and white over a blue box to make it stand out from the rest of the article.
It uses pull quotes once in the article. This is written in white text over a blue box to make it stand out from the rest of the text. The readers attention will be draw to this before reading the main text. This might make the reader want to read more about the article. The pull quote says "Of course we're are a sexual band. We're The Teenagers and that's all they think about". This will appeal to the target audience as they are mainly teenagers and they can probably relate to that quote. This might make them want to read more in the article.

There is one smaller picture relating to the article amongst the text. Its a live photograph of the band. It also has a caption about the picture.

On the right side of the double page spread there is a separate article called 'Everyone's talking about'. This is not related to the main band in the double page spread but may be appealing to the target audience of the band. It lists other bands that are popular at the moment and has a small amount of text about each band. One of the bands in this section is seperate from the other bands. It is 'My favourite new band... by Alex Turner'. The article is what Alex has said about the band. This is clear with the use of large, blue speach marks at the beginning and end of the article.

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Target Audience

Facts and figures from - http://www.nrs.co.uk/toplinereadership.html - General magazines - July '08 - June '09


Kerrang target audience:

Demographics
There are 378000 readers of Kerrang who are between the age of 15-44, compared to 39000 readers aged 45+.
This clearly shows that the target audience for Kerrang magazine is 15-44 year olds (most probably the younger generation - Teens and young adults)

There are probably teens/children under the age of 15 who buy Kerrang magazine but they are not recorded in the figures.

290000 readers are Male
127000 readers are Female
This shows the magazine appeals more to Men, but does still attract some Women.

Psychographics
Kerrang is published by Bauer Media - www.bauermedia.co.uk
The magazine comes under 'Mens Entertainment'.

The Audience profile is described as:
'Individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty'.
This shows the audience comes under the Individualists category.

Socio-economic classifications
239000 readers are classified as A B and C1 (These are people with a high status in society who earn a high wage. For example; lawers, doctors and teachers. Also office workers and nurses)
178000 readers are classified as C2 D and E (These are people with a lower status in society who earn a lower wage or are unemployed. For example: Skilled/semi skilled and unskilled manual workers)

NME audience:

Demographics

There are 339000 readers of NME who are between the age of 15-44, compared to 49000 readers aged 45+.

This clearly shows that the target audience for NME magazine is 15-44 year olds.
296000 readers are Male
91000 readers are Female

This shows the magazine appeals mainly to Men, but does still attract some Women.

Psychographics


Socio-economic classifications
250000 readers are classified as A B and C1 (These are people with a high status in society who earn a high wage. For example; lawers, doctors and teachers. Also office workers and nurses)
137000 readers are classified as C2 D and E (These are people with a lower status in society who earn a lower wage or are unemployed. For example: Skilled/semi skilled and unskilled manual workers)

My magazine will designed for the same target audience as Kerrang Magazine, as my magazine will be very similar in look and what the magazine is about (Rock Music)

AS Media Coursework Main Task - Introduction

My task is to design and produce a front cover, contents page and double page spread for a new music magazine (Using Adobe Photoshop and InDesign).
I have decided to focus on rock magazines as i will have a number of ideas while designing the magazine. I feel i will be more creative. Also, i read Kerrang magazine, so i'm aware of how my magazine will need to be to appeal to its target audience.

This task is a development of my skills from the preliminary task: http://marcuslurring.blogspot.com/2009/10/introduction.html

iv) Evaluation

COVER

CONTENTS PAGE

COVER

I like the use of colour because the red and yellow text go well together. The text is also bold which makes it more eye-catching and look more modern. The use of black text seems boring but i had to use that colour to make it stand out over the main image. The background colours in the main image are quite neutral so the text stands out. In places the text is hard to read because of the colours in the main image. The text fits well around the person in the main image. The use of exclamation marks after every sentence makes the magazine seem more exciting to the reader and will grab their attention.
I am pleased with the Masthead. The 'eye' as the dot on the 'i' will give the magazine will appeal more to the target audience of this magazine. Also, it will draw the attention of people who look at the magazine. The issue number is clear and easy to find at the top of the page above the Masthead. The 'i' in 'issue' is lower case to make the magazine more informal, which will also appeal to the target audience. The bar code is easy to find but isn't in the way of the cover. There is no price on the cover. The 'recommendations' in the strip line doesn't give any information on what it recommends. Overall i am pleased with the final outcome of the Cover.

CONTENTS PAGE

The text on the contents page is the same font as the cover and is iconic to the magazine. There is an 'On The Cover' section so readers can easily find the information about the Main Cells from the cover. There is a picture of the cover with arrows pointing to the Main Cells to make it even easier for the reader. All the other articles in the magazine are listed down the righthand side of the page in an index, which is easy to read. There is also a featured artice on the contents page with a picture of a band and the page number to read more about this article. There is also a subscrition form so readers can subsribe to the magazine. The page number is on the bottom left of the page so the reader knows what page they are on. This also follows the colour of the Masthead.
Overall, i am pleased with the contents page.

iii) Photographs

Photographs

I chose the bottom photograph.

This is because she is looking at the camera, unlike the 1st picture, which will make it look like she is looking at the reader of the magazine.

The Mise-en-scene of the 2 photographs made it difficult when producing the cover of the magazine as there are many different colours in the background.

I chose this place as it was outside the main entrance to the college and there were no other people around at the time. Also, i liked the effect the trees have because they draw your attention to the center of the centre of the page.

In the 2nd photo i had to crop the image to make her more central and also to remove the bottom of the photograph so you could not see her hands.

ii) Flat Plans

Cover

I used quite simple/bold large text for the masthead to make it clear and stand out.

The text for the Masthead, Main Flash, Main Sells is Sans Serif.

The rest of the text is Serif in this Flat Plan but will be Sans Serif in the finished magazine.

The MastHead is in Large, Bold, Red text across the whole width of the page.

The letter 'i' is emphasized by making it block text and seperate from the word 'STUDENT'.

The letter 'i' is in lower case and the dot on the 'i' is a picture of an Eye. This will make the magazine look more appealing and less boring to its target audience.

The Main Flash grabs readers attention with the word 'AHOY!'. It comes across as a greeting and will attract the reader. The use of exclamation marks makes the text seem more exciting and important.

The Main Sell 'WIN!' is simple. The word itself will attract the readers attention as they will want to Win. Again, the exclamation mark makes it more exciting.

The Main Sell 'FIND OUT HOW POPULAR YOU REALLY ARE!' emphasizes the word 'YOU' making it personal to the reader.

The date and Issue number are in white text (on a black background) above the MastHead. This makes it clear and easy to find, but doesn't distract the readers from the rest of the cover.

The Barcode is in the top right corner next to the issue number so its out of the way but easy to find.

Contents Page

In the top right corner it says 'I-CONTENTS'.
The typography is the same as the MastHead on the cover, but the word 'STUDENT' is changed to 'CONTENTS'. It also has the picture of an eye as the dot on the 'i'.

The Main Flash and the Main Sells are listed in a yellow box to the left titled 'ON THE COVER'.
This makes it easy for the reader to find out what page those articles are on.

All the other articles in the magazine that weren't on the cover are listed down the right-hand side of the contents page.


There is a picture on the left hand side which will be about a certain article in the magazine and will have a caption and some text underneath it, including the page number.

There is also subscription information in the top left corner.

i) Introduction

I've been asked to design a cover for a Sussex Downs magazine using Adobe InDesign and using my own photographs of a student in medium close-up. I also need to produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page.
My target audience will be students between the ages of 16 and 19 (both Male and Female).