Idea for brief.

My magazine will be based around the genre that I am most interested in, and that will be rock. I have chosen the genre of rock because I will want to put more effort and detail in to the magazine and contents if I’m more interested in the genre of music as it will motivate me to present quality work. It will be based around UK festivals, UK bands, UK venues and UK local bands as you can tell this magazine will be sold in the UK and be only for UK readers. I have chosen UK as I’m based in the UK and I will be able to place more information in the magazine as UK music I am very familiar with but also it will help UK bands given that they will gain free publicity.

Genre.

The genre of my magazine will be based on a rock theme; I think it’s important to write about something you appreciate.  The colour of the magazine will be linked with rock as well as photos, bands and overall text.  I’m going for the genre of rock therefore I believe all parts of the magazine should be rock as it will create a magazine brand an identity that people can relate to and notice on shelves.

Target Audience.

My target audience would be 12 ranging to any age, as anyone should have the right to read a magazine for enjoyment; however some text or contents are for an age 12 and over therefore it restricts a younger audience. But, the way I see it is everyone should read a magazine if they are interested in the magazine therefore both male and females should have the right to read my magazine. Obviously, I am targeting people who also have an interest in the genre of music that is rock as it would be pointless for them to buy it if they didn’t like rock. People should also have a love for live music as, I personally, love live gigs and as the writer will review live gigs for others to enjoy reading.

Major conventions.

I will use all the basics such as: main image, images, masthead, cover lines, quotes (from the interview), barcode, selling point, date, and issue number and drop caps. The features in the magazine will be reviews of a gig I had seen that week and an interview with a musician or band, which the magazine is based on. I want my magazine to be well presented and easily readable for readers therefore all images will link with the right text, there will be page numbers. Using a simple writing style and medium size font won’t take up much of the magazine but will be big enough for anyone to read as the readers are the most important part of the magazine. There will be one main image on the front cover to show the significance of the person the magazine is heavily featured on however other images but smaller will be in the contents pages of other artists as its important to offer more to buyers, each image will have a caption so no confusion is made.

Images.

I will have one big image on the front cover that will dominant the whole cover as it is the most important part of the magazine. However I don’t want to smoother the presentation of my contents pages with loads of images as that will confuse readers as well as me whilst writing about different bands and artist. I will have up to 5 images throughout my magazine so I can show we offer more than just one artist, therefore reader’s will believe they are getting their money’s worth. Images will be mostly black and white as I’m going for a low yet dark lighting theme as I think it relates to my genre of choice, which is rock. Therefore, a lot of effects will be put on the images.

 Potential Difficulties.

A real concern of mine is that the software I will be using may malfunction like usual this software is Photoshop as it has been unreliable throughout the course, as well as the quality of my work may decrease due to the software. Another concern of mine is that the quality of the images I take as I’m not the best at taking photos and have lack of experience in that department. The biggest concern of mine is that the time period I have to finish this work as I’m not really quick and don’t do my best work rushed therefore I should be starting it early to ensure I do my best work.  

I have looked through previous student work and got really suprised of the qualitly of work but also so what not to aim for. This will help me because I can now focus on what not to do and what to achieve for as the qualitly is what is needed out of my work and it has made me fairly confident on what I can achieve.

A magazine I wanted to talk about was a one called 'Copprut' at first it gives an eye catching and glamours impression which puts me (the reader( into a good mood by using lively and vibrant colours. however, this does not reflect the genre of music even though it looks great with vast qualitly blooming out of the pages. it has an identiy problem as the impression you get is it's about fashion i believe the colours, name and the look should represent the contents of the magazine what will be displayed within the magazine this is important as readers can relate and indentify with the magazine. it creats a brand that will seprate from others, it should not leave readers confused as to what the magazines purpose is. I did like the font choice as it was perfectly placed behind the image in a subtle fashionable way. It brings style to the magazine that is sometimes missing from msuic magazines now-a-days. the real highlight of this great work was the contents pages, it was great work offering competitions and a easy indication to readers' where key information could be find this direction is important as it will ease the process of reading for the readers'. she placed images throughout her contents pages which where a strength of hers as it gives the audience a chance to see who will be in the magazine and what type of music it will be based on espically as the front cover doesnt share a lot of light on the genre.

Secondly, I looked at a magazine called image, that to me was a confident piece of work. They kept all the basics well and didnt go too complicated which didnt put the piece of work in risk of being worried but more technical work was needed to boost the marks. I think it is a good start to be inspired by as i think it's a piece of work i think i could improve. One good point is you could tell by the first impression the genre, contents and the image of the magazine important for the target audeince. The key information was showcased greatly as the barcode was perfectly placed in the left hand side not too big and easily showed the date and issue number, this is great detail that matters to the overall look. Attention to detail ive gathered from previous work is very important as to others it shows you care about the look of magazine and spent time on it however it looked like the both magazines i looked at hardly spent any time on the coverlines as I don't think they were postioned greatly. all in all the magazine 'Image' does offer an isight to my mind as it displays the genre i would like my magazine to portray but with a better name as 'Image' does not represent the genre of Rock effectivly.

After looking over two pieces of work, i have concluded that i should achieve better and by achieving that past students work will help me by showing me the areas of imporvment. but what it has shown me the most is i must do the simple things such as: masthead, key information, contents, page numbers and coverlines. they should all be good as i should not miss the basics outy as i could lose simple marks that are easy to pick up. Also, to always stick to the image of your genre, i will keep my whole magazine sticking to one style that can be connected to the contents of the magazine and the context within.

Institution research

1). INSTITUTION: IPC MEDIA

DETAILS: IPC Media are the leading publishing company with more than 60 iconic brands roaming around our super market shelf. owned by Time Warner Company  they really do own a large chunk of the market share. As they are the leading publishing company in the UK that engage with 26 million adults in Britian.

PUBLICATIONS: IPC Media most popular magazines consist of NME, LOOK, TEEN NOW, and NUTS.

2) .INSTITUTION: Bauer Media Group

DETAILS: Within Britian the Bauer Media Group a,Germany company ran by a family for over a 100 years is now grown and expanded into Europe with great sucess and is still ran by the family, is the market leader in a popular magazine segment with a market share of 29 precent meaning everytime 100 magazines are bought in the uk 29 of them will be published by Bauer. in the UK alone, two associated Bauer Media companies publish a total of 90 magazines. more than any other publisher in the UK.

PUBLICATIONS: Closer, Take A Break, Q Magazine and Empire.

3). INSTITUTION: UKMAGZ

DETAILS: The largest based publisher in the uk alone producing more than 2,000 magazines over 3 centuries. The purpose of the magazine is to provide education and entertainment that is enjoyed by millons throughout the UK. It provides information on art, lifestyle, reading, music fashion, sport and films etc. It mostly has everything to offer anyone.

PUBLICATIONS: Mojo, Clash and Time style and fashion.

4). INSTITUTION: Dennis

DETAILS: Dennis Publishing is privately owned by Felix Dennis. One of the leading independent publishers in the world, founded in 1974 with a yearly turnover of 85 million the recession has not affected them at all. Operates the business both in the UK and America.

PUBLICATIONS: The Week, Auto Express and Men.s Fitness

5).  Clash Magazine LTD.

DETAILS: Only published 12 times a year that only specifies in music and fashion. The publishing company is based in the UK and only sold in the UK. The publication is based around the larger Clash brand, which extends to live events around the country and festival partnerships

PUBLICATIONS: Clash.

Personally my choice of publisher would be UKMAGS. Although they do not offer the greatest of advertisment or added value, but they are based only in the UK and are owned by the UK citzens. this is the biggest factor to my choice because it boosts only british people as it creats jobs for british workers and all money goes towards british companys. boosting the economy in todays hard times is important for the UK so we should all do what we can. Also they have great experience with other music magazine so i know that they wont be troubled by publishing a music magazine as they already are experienced in that field as well as others, it is always good to have good variety.

coursework stage 1 planning

Type of magazine: A music magazine focusing on the genre of rock. Focusing on live music and up and coming talent, those are yet to be discovered.

Name of magazine: I have not yet came up with a name that represents the contents of the magazine perfectly but ideas I am thinking of go as follow: ‘hollow’, ‘Traynor, ‘todays past’, ‘Pluto’, ‘salt’, ‘reflex’.

Audience: Both males and females aged between 13 to mid-20 as the magazine will focus on today’s music. Looking towards the future with no specific genre as both sex can enjoy it.

Audience intrests and attitudes: The key interest the audience must have is to have an interest in the genre of music, which is rock. Also, people attitudes must be optimistic as this magazine will look towards the future of music, bands that aren’t well known but hopefully will be known in the future for their abilities. The audience may like live gigs as this magazine focuses on live music.

Outlet, where to buy the magazine: Supermarkets are a key seller of music magazines as people most often visit a supermarket for a magazine or just for groceries but they come out with a magazine. Also, this magazine will be available in record stores and music stores in general.

Key information: No website is yet made or named but this is a quick example, www.reflex.com price would be £1.50 with the issue, date and barcode at the bottom left hand side of the front cover.

Selling point: The selling point is that this magazine gives you what you want. We don’t dive into other genres of music it specialises on one genre. You buy this magazine because you want to read about rock and you will. Competitions will be a weekly theme.

Theme: The running theme is live gigs, one on one interview with young talent that’s trying to make it in the music industry and the overall theme of the genre rock.

Image front cover: Upon the front of the magazine there will be my masthead underneath a main image of the band that will be the focal point of that week’s issue. The image will cover the majority of the cover but there will be sub headlines of other topics that will be featured in the magazine. Also across the main image there will be a headline complimenting the image and capturing people’s eye. And underneath there will be a quote that will feature within the interview.

Images inside: Images inside will be featuring many images of the band both playing live and not. But also will feature other artists that are featured in the magazine.

Preliminary task- front cover and contents

This effort was okay but will need greatly improved it was just for me to get to terms with the software and what i could do for my actual magazine. The imporvements i will need are noticeable the colour scheme is evdient, a theme is shown and i did not blend the images greatly into the page, as you can see it was a quick job done quickly without care. therefore time and effort will improve detail. it does not include the basics such as masthead and date issue etc, therefore on my music magazine I will make sure to do the basics. overall i just need to improve on all areas and spend more time on my music magazine to get everything right.

Contents page deconstructions 3

Structured in a sensible organisation that is easy to follow, NME contents page offers great pieces of key information and most importantly directs us easily to what we want. With an uncomplicated read NME is going once step further to ensure customer satisfaction. Even offering a discount offer which will save customers money when purchasing magazine. So, you really care as a customer, your loyalty is really actually rewarded. They even make it easier to gain this deal by giving options of how to obtain this deal by either phone or the internet. The little steps they place within the magazines can keep ever lasting effects for readers.

The sub-headline ‘The Uk’s no.1 gig guide’ really shows us that they pride themselves on being the best they can be and the best they can be so happens to be the best in UK a great achievement as there is a lot of competition with the music magazine industry this will make for sure that NME will stand out on shelves and will be customers first choice music magazine to purchase as it is proven to be the best.

Now to talk about the main headline and image of this contents page, it focuses on an iconic venue that is going to come to an end. NME see this as the most important story as it is the biggest part of the page. But, also customers of all ages can be the target of this week’s issue as this venue voted by NME as one of the best venue in the world that 3 decades have had the enjoyment of. This means old and young people can share a moment to pay tribute to a venue dedicated to live music. Likewise, to the readers devoting their time and money to music. It is a statement that NME covered this as it shows me that the best magazine covers the best stories.

As well, they simply state all bands that will be featured in this week’s magazine, very important to customers as they want to check if their favourite bands are in and if they are not it will more than likely be pointless to buy for them. To me, it also shows the range of target audience NME have as withy a whole index dedicated to bands it shows they care about bands. Bands that are for everyone no matter what your music type this keeps all customers no matter how different their music taste is, they can read NME.

The main colours of these contents page sticks with the traditional colours NME have portrayed over the many years (since the 50’s), black, red, and white. This colour pallet are the colours decades of buyers have come to know and identify with, so it is crucial that the magazine sticks to the traditional colour scheme as it identifies them away from all other competition

Lastly alongside the far left of the contents page, they show readers how much information, articles as they are getting for their money jam packing everything into their magazine to ensure their customers their money is well spent. The more you see the more you think NME really do care about their customers as they want to give you everything and expand your knowledge of music and what’s happening in the world today.

photoshop skills development

Firstly, i got an image of Jarvis Cooker, duplicated layer of the background, selected the layer in which i used the magic wond tool to delete the background that I didnt want so i could pace the masthead behind the main image. After the magic wond tool I then completed the look withan earser to make it look more professional leaving no marks behind. secondly, I then went onto add text whihc would become the masthead in ordinary settings but slightly large. that then went on to behind his image as i placed the text layer in between the two layers ( background and main image). Thirdly I edited to suit my style so I changed the colour to blue and the boarder to black. in whihc i added another text layer showing audiences where I would put the cover lines as well as copying and pasting the barcode onto the cover.

contents page deconstructions 2

The contents page of Q, a more pricey music magazine than the completion, is mainly aimed at students to older generations, as it mostly focuses on more older bands than modern bands,
people of an older age, don’t need a variety of colour of for the magazine to be over exaggerate, this is why Q have kept the style plain and simple but in an older style to attract a certain audience that are more interested in the contents than the actual style. The magazine complements the style of the buyer, classy, simplistic and mature. The layout of the magazine is unconventional because they aren’t a long list of information or directions and there isn’t a grid template. In my opinion, I think it is done very well, as the design is simple but effective as it’ll confuse no one. Staying with their unconventional style they haven’t dedicated a page to subscriptions they’ve only briefly described it. As the deal isn’t important they don’t want to keep hassling money they want the readers to enjoy the contents of the magazine. It doesn’t have an editor’s note either.

The contents page, has only one image that overpowers the page, this is unusual for contents pages. I think Q do this so they can concentrate on the main cover star, as this issue is mainly focused at the person. This will help readers as they can focus primarily on the musician rather than getting distracted losing their trail of thought whilst looking at an overpowering use of images that really don’t have a big impact on the magazine. This establishes who the real star of the magazine is and that is the musician in the main image. The reasons why many people would have bought the magazine for as he will have a huge fan base.

Q magazine uses a house style of colours red, black and white. They have done this because they don’t want to confuse their readers by changing the colour scheme of their magazine each week. They need to keep it the same so it keeps the magazine traditional and keeps intact their reputation and their identity. Branding the magazine is important, so keeping the same colours each week will help establish them on the shelves and as a brand. When people see red, white and black they will know it is Q magazine.


The quotes used within the sell lines are a powerful message that entices the audience. Due to the fact the quotes are humours but outrageous topics. This is nearly breaking the rules however, this is the reasons customers want to read on and buy it as it seduces them into wanting to know more. The quote ‘I fart in your direction’ brings conflict within the magazine, this makes the audience question so much and to find out the answers they must buy Q.

contents page deconstructions 1

The contents page is one of the most crucial elements that goes into a magazine, as it makes the costumers aware of what’s in the issue, what they will be getting out of it and directing them to certain pages that they want to read. This is helpful as it is away of communication between the editor and the costumers. As we can see value for money is being displayed through the contents page as it is jam packed with information, interviews and overall articles, at least the costumer will feel satisfied after knowing their money is being well spent.

The main image we see is from a living legend ‘slash’ who is iconic in the rock industry, mostly being known as the guitarist for Guns n Roses, many fans of guns and roses will be wanting to see their favourite guitarist however he has many admires around the world for his guitar abilities. Even though he is old it doesn’t scare of their young audience as he’s bring out new music for all fans to hear and as well as that they blend old musicians with new to give the readers a variety of choice. Allowing them to discover new music to them that they can thank Kerrang for; Kerrangs readers are mostly of a young with bot female and male being attracted to the magazine. This is shown through the sell lines.

Underneath the top assets of the page there is the strap line ‘Kerrang!’ they keep a reminder to the fans of what magazine they are reading so they can establish themselves on the shops shelves and identify them with an identity that people can associate with. Creating a brand means you create regular customers who come to the magazine just for the brand name ‘kerrang!’ this is helped by the use of black as it is seen as a heavy rock, gothic and metal genre look which most of their audience’s will be so we can easily identify a kerrang magazine by the colour black.

No matter who you like they have loads of bands that our featured in the issue this helps satisfy costumers as they tell us which bands will be featured and there is loads to choose from so there is a little something for everyone. This allows the audiences to discover new music and bands and allowing bands to get publicity that is much needed top make it in the music industry.

Within the contents page there is a brief column by the deputy editor which I think it amazing that the editor would like to interact with the audience and tell them what will be featuring through the magazine. This relationship is cemented by his signature this thoughtful expression will mean a lot to readers as they will be fans of the magazine and the work he does.

In the contents pages they give you benefits such as you can win a competition to win prizes, as well as offering costumers for their loyalty reduced prices if they subscribe. And after all that they even give you a gig guide so you won’t miss out on any band you wanted to see. All this thought will only make the consumers happy. I think it is a well-planned and thorough contents page. And if that is not enough to pass the time other than reading about music you can do the quiz. It offers so much. It even offers smaller images of images within the magazine and images of bands this will seduce the reader as they will be in for no scary surprises when opening the magazine fully.

magazine cover deconstructions 3

My first point about this issue would be the use of colours. The dominant colour scheme on this cover would be red, white and blue. Colours we associate with United Kingdom, through Carl’s career he has been linked to United Kingdom for not only being English but being very proud, this comes across through the cover. Merely showcasing his lifetime in music only through the use of colours. This British man is known worldwide, so along with NME, the nation are proud of him, his background, and that he has stayed loyal to his country.

This issue seems to be back tracking years, diving into the past of a lot of music and bringing it back onto the modern scene, for NME’s older audience this signals great news and as for their younger audience they can learn the roots of some of their favourite bands, and what inspired what they listen to as well as discovering bands which a magazines purpose is, to display all genres of music and to bring new musicians into the readers lives. With NME their target audience is anywhere from teens to an older generation. They have a mix of young and old, this is evident through the sell lines ‘Elbow Return’ meaning a band that were once together are now back as for the other sell line ‘ The future of Libertines’ a hot topic that the world wants to know the answer to. Will the libertines ever come back? A lot of people are wishing on it. So NME are the people that will answer all of people’s answers regarding the topic. This will seduce any audience but mainly libertine fans, they will come in their thousands and but the issue just to find out the answer will the Libertines ever grace the music scene once more. As well to show the contrast between new and old opposite to a sell line announcing the return of a band another sell line states that there is new guitar heroes ‘Britain’s new guitar heroes’

The main image, is in the centre of the cover, as it is the main attraction of the magazine the unique selling point so it has a right to be the biggest part on the magazine covering most of the cover. But the masthead is above the image. As NME also has the right to stand out as it is an iconic brand that has identified itself into the music world through many years more years than most of the musicians the issues today focus on. Therefore NME has an identity that all ages and generation can identify with. Let’s look to Carl the image of him creates intensity within the cover, as his eyes focus in on you, with his bright blue eyes we know this isn’t a warm hearted interview, in which we can tell there will be a lot of hot topics discussed. I believe this issue will create a lot of girls to buy it, just for the rock star on the front with bright blue eyes.

The main cover line has quoted Carl Barat “ I have a right to stay my story” therefore we know we are getting Carl’s point of view the point of view many are interested in. We know if he’s finally going to tell his story that it is controversial and opinionated and as we know the public love a good gossip and like to hear opinions however unkind they are.

at the bottom left of the page a sell line says plus so we k now we are getting quality for money, and in today’s economy state this is crucial as less people are spending on items they don’t need, however NME provide a bargain in which they make us believe it is a bargain my cramping as much as possible into the magazine. People have a right to get their money’s worth. Normally magazines are a last minute purchase whilst waiting in a queue to get served. However this cover makes you want to go out and buy it.

inspirational texts/mood board

preliminary task flat plans

This time I laced the main image on top of the page for the effect that it will get the viewers attention first as it is the most important part of the magazine and that is the person who the main image will be about should be the focal point and the main attractive of the weeks issue.

In the centre of the contents page I placed the text ' in this weeks issue' this is centre to anything that is involved in the magazine so it should be the heart of the contents page to show the key information to all readers to navigate them to other stories and contents. This is key to share all genre of contents so we can deliver something for everyone.

Upon the bottom, I placed competions and deals, this is a chance for the magazine to connect with aduiences to deliver something different from the ordinary magazine. Also theres an image of a different band so we can create many audeinces through different genres and intrests this will hopefully not make the magazine bisaed.

Preliminary task flat plans

I placed the masthead at the top of the magazine to capture the peoples eyes first, in which they could identiy the brand and know exactly what this magazine is and what it stands for. This helps to brand the magazine company and hopefully cappeal to the target audience.

The main image will be straight in the middle of the front cover for an effect of the audience to see who this issue will be dominently about, this will appeal to he or she's fans. The main image including the main coverline is the selling point of the magazine and is usally a unique selling point. Upon the main image there will be a quote to display what kind of interview will be featured within this weeks magazine, this will attract people with expectations of a great interview. In which they will not be dissapointed.

Coverlines, I ave placed on the bottom of the magazine to share more information that will feature. This will make readers believe they will be getting their moneys worth. As this magzine others so much more than any other competiton out there. This is important as the magzine will stand out from anything else. As we offer the best product with much more value for money.

magazine cover deconstruction 2

Lily Allen, known for her unqiue voice blending sweetly with the genre of pop has made her become a cult hero among the pop charts. So now lets begin getting into depts of this front cover.

Q is a music based magazine with a whole range of media coverage that excels the perception of only music. This is evident as it incites the readers to dive into the magazine by unveiling the 25 greatest rock movies. This breaches further into a whole different audience, for people who are interested in the filming industry however it creates a middle boundary for two interests, people who are into the genre rock music and others who are into movies these two interests can combine into a new audience for this article in the Q magazine.

The target audience of Q is teenagers’, young adults stretching to middle aged age group both female and male. This cover alone seems to be dominantly focusing on a male audience as it is a very revealing cover, one that is seductive but in a subtle way. Yet triggers the hormones of a lot of male or even female audiences’, this very attractive image of Lily Allen is the main image centred in the middle of the front cover to capture the eyes of people passing by or glazing upon the magazine. The style of the magazine is modern and simplistic. Sticking to a set colour pallet and using the same font in a range of sizes and colours creates a clean, organised looking cover. I believe that the magazine appeals to male and females, this issue especially, but targets a youthful audience with minimal text and sometimes complex and interesting. The cover suggests that we may see more of Lily Allen if we look into the pages of the magazine, however her body language such she’s protecting herself and doesn’t want anyone to see her exposed. This brings the emotion of sympathy in as we can only feel sorry for this pop star constantly in the spot light of the public eye. On the other hand she has to wild animals placed by her sides protecting her, these vicious and life threatening animals is a testament to her character as she is strong and has overcome so many struggles in life and comes out still fighting and strong as a panther.

 The main colours are blue, white and red this is linked with union jack flag especially as the sub headings display British bands that have dominant legacy’s around the world such as; Oasis, U2 and Stone roses. Plenty of bands covering a lot of genres to cater for any musical audience. The main stand out colour is black that contrast with the white naturally great, giving the cover an old fashioned look with modern stars featured on the cover. Q stay along the lines of the new dawn of music but keep their musical roots which audiences, band and the world of music respect as people don’t forget bands they once loved. It can be seen as old stars passing the torch onto new stars. As you know with Q magazine you will discover new exciting bands but the reason you went to the magazine is because they feature bands you already love. The font of lily Allen is basic but creates mass effect as it’s spread across the whole cover with the title of sexy beast in colours of blue and white that symbolizes tranquillity, peace with no harm what so ever this is opposite of the meaning of the word ‘beast’ this plays humours irony upon the cover. Although she is described as a beast she is naturally a lovely person that is indicated by the colour choice and font. There are no harmful indications through text. ‘Sexy beast’ is a use of both oxymoron and metaphor, it displays both sides of her character one that is seductive and desirable but one that is harmful like an animal, and this takes the human out of her. The masthead is top right corner of the page, this is where it is naturally is. It forms an image and brand audiences’ can identify with this, this is used to make the magazine noticeable as our eyes go firstly to the right hand corner. When we see Q we know what we expect, and that is music. Q is in red and white, a very romantic and caring colour, suggesting a bond between the magazine and audience. It’s a fact red is the first colour a human eye sees does this mean Q is the first magazine we see upon a shelf. Maybe this is the answer to their success.

The camera shot is a worms eye view, displaying a dominant figure of Lily Allen, in a powerful situation as we are looking up to her, like all her fans may possibly do. The audience now sees her from an idolising angle. This can only mean Lily Allen is at the top of her game, the biggest stage of her career being successful in the music industry. This would mean she is gaining more fans that would buy Q just because she is featured on it. On the cover there is repetiton through the word ‘wicked’ being said twice to describe Lily Allen are we in for a devilish interview with the hot topics of her life this may excite readers as Q are going to give what other magazines aren’t, clear truthful factual pieces of controversial topics of Lily Allen being described by her.

There is a blue plus sign to say Q have so much more to offer you, this seems that the readers get their money’s worth as they are getting value for money, which is a big plus on their behalf especially in this decreasing economy where money is dominant and tight. People don’t like to spend often and much. With this magazine the strap lines display more articles and bands that are in the magazine, this is a teaser for what will be in the magazine.

magazine cover of deconstructions 1

‘Monsters’ known to the music industry as the name Lady Gaga calls her millions of fans that will be running to their local shops and supermarkets wanting a piece of their idol on the front of a magazine that doesn’t normally follow pop stars careers. But, Lady Gaga is hard to get away from as she is constantly in the limelight for both good and band. This means good business to NME as they are expanding their audience for this issue both pop and rock listeners will buy this issue. The popularity of Lady Gaga will be a huge success to this issue as profit margins may just increase in ‘monster’ strides through her fan base. This magazine targets new readers as well as the usual readers. The image is in direct mode of address, where the person in the image is looking straight at the reader. The direct gaze helps simulate interaction with each individual reader. The image of Lady Gaga is a medium shot, and takes most of the space on the front cover. On the other hand this should not put off weekly long term buyers as there is something for everyone as we can see through the straplines a list of bands ranging through many genres of music. I believe NME has something for everyone.

The masthead the logo usually positioned right hand corner at the top of the page is there to promotes a brand as that is the first thing we see when looking upon magazines. However, Lady Gaga’s head is covering part of the NME logo indicating that Lady Gaga is bigger than the brand NME. Especially as all eyes are on her revealing body whilst she is seductively indicating to audiences that she is sexual as she is placing her hand upon her breast, maybe NME is trying to create another target audience for this issue on the verge of a ‘Loaded’ type of cover, that would bring in young men.

Three main colours dominate the cover; blue, yellow and black. A pattern occurs that the colour blue highlights the most crucial words such as: Lady Gaga, NME and may other artist in the sub headings. I believe Lady Gaga is now at the most powerful stage of her career she may be the big star like a sun the use of yellow indicates to us she is the bright spark in today’s pop music and can be compared to as big as the sun in terms of the charts. Yet the blue keeps her on her feet and not get too carried away, as the blue captures the real true information and the real Lady Gaga, this issue will unveil the true Lady Gaga. The colour of black gives the issue the mysterious look to it that we don’t know what to expect from this raunchy pop star.  Although I think this is the intended purpose as NME don’t want to reveal the whole magazine in their cover. They leave the audiences wanting to dive into the magazine especially as the cover lines offer people so much more which they need to learn so much more about.

The sub heading teases the audience by explaining very little of what is in the issue. However it explains the enigma. In this issue they’ve used bands like RadioHead especially when Radiohead are beginning a backlash that will stir some trouble, people by nature like controversy, also used are  Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines this allows NME to gain many audiences. As fans of bands want to know what is inside about them.

Key information allows the audiences to gain key factual information of the brand and issues such as barcode, price, date and issue number. This classification helps identify a magazines image. The word unzipped gives NME a sexual impact other than only music, the effect is simple it creates a sexual heat between readers as they want to see Lady Gaga ‘unzipped’.

The cover has a very raw quote, asking the audience a question, this stops readers in which they have to think the answer and to know the answer they need to read the whole story and in doing so they have to buy NME. This quote works as an advertisement for what kind of interviews there is inside; ‘ I AM NOT FULL OF SH*T, ARE YOU?’ this power question with a swear word within contains a powerful image of NME and the way it wants to be identified as and that is not your average magazine. The way it is in capital letters draws the audience’s attention that there is serious issues involved in this issue, the importance factor adds value to the magazine.

music that links to the genre and theme of my magazine

I have done some research on the following music I would like to base my music magazine on this is the following type of music you will be seeing in my magazine.

key features of a magazine cover

masthead: usually at the top left corner, normally associated as a brand, that is positioned so it is the first thing someone reads when looking at the cover of the magazine normally is the logo coverlines:draws the audience into the magazine with less than 5 words normally short and catchy but factual. could be seen as the teaser of the front cover sub-head: goes in to detail of what is in the magazine found under the main cover lines. Basically it explains the enigma. main images: Is the main selling point of any magazine it's the mian attratcion using branding a unqiue selling point that fans and audiences want to capture, it will be mainly found dead centre in an image which is effective because it hits the audiences eyes with impact.The main image is the brand of the magazine the look it wants to promte as its identiy. colour scheme: the palette is restricted to a few contrasting colours for a max impact. key information: this is the part that consumers need to know the issue date the price and what the shop owners need the barcode

I will do

Print Brief

I will complete two linked tasks. The set brief is as follows: Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally I will produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP. Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine (if done as a group task, each member of the group must produce an individual edition of the magazine, following the same house style). All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate(s), minimum of four images per candidate.