This is a Double Page Spread from Vibe Magazine. With background images of 'Solange' in several poses in black and white positioned on top of black lines, makes the page more aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching, it contrasts with the larger colour image, I would like to use this idea on my double page spread as I think such an interesting design would be effective for my magazine.
The images of Solange connotate that she is a loud and lively character, as she is dressed colourfully and also dancing around in different poses. There is a bold font positioned next to the colour image, used to display a direct quote from Solange Knowles, simular to XXL, there is a large sentence at the beginning of the article, the use of blue(which contrasts with the colours of the main image) is used to pick out the artists name. The layout of the article itself is very clear, with the use of three columns per page. The logo in the top left 'Volume' is the same as the title used for Vibe's contents pages, this gives the magazine a more uniformed look throughout.

This is a double page spread from Vibe magazine. there is a large side profile of 'Soulja Boy' who's face/neck is covered in graffiti-style doodles, making the image more artistic and creative. The picture itself is surrounded by a white border, in-keeping with the white background of the right hand page. The colors used on the image (black + red) have then been used in the title/text, making the page look uniformed. This may also give the reader a brief idea on the artists personality. The title of the article is very large and in the centre of the page, there is a lot of space sourrounding it which makes it stand out more to the reader. A graffiti style font has been used which is inkeeping with the style/theme of the artist. There is then a short phrase before above the article, encouraging the reader to read further by asking a question 'Can the king of Ringtones sell his tween following on the more mature Soulja Boy?'. The writing is spaced out over two articles, with the first letter enlarged and in the bold red colour.

Front Cover

Here are a few magazine covers I took an interest in. My theme is Hip-Hop and RnB. I researched a few artists that specialize in this genre and looked at a few magazine covers they featured in. From this, I took some ideas from the conventions such as the positioning of cover-lines, mastheads and colors and the size of images. I then used it on my own cover. This mood-board helped me a lot as it gave me a few ideas. I have noticed that many of these magazines have a head-shot image of the artist. My cover is different as it has a full body shot of the artist.

Here is a flatplan for my final front cover. This has idea has changed from my 'XXL Magazine' style I hoped to do. I have already created the front cover on photoshop and I am pleased with the result. At first I thought the layout looked too 'busy' but I moved the coverlines around and changed the color scheme which then made my magazine cover looked better. However I do not feel that my magazine challenges forms and conventions of media products. During my research, I wanted to see if any other magazines had a similar layout to my current front cover and I found a few. OK Magazine's 'body and soul' special issue had a very close layout in comparison to mine. Despite me not taking any inspiration from OK Magazine. The positioning of the cover-lines and main image are very similar, even the use of banners are accurate. Most magazines that had this type of layout concern  celebrity fashion and gossip, although my product is a music magazine. I have also noticed that music magazines do not really 'cram' their front covers with text unlike most magazines. I feel as if i am drawing towards this.

                                                                            

                                                               

Week 14

This week I have started my double page, on Emeli Sande. I have previously taken pictures of her from a concert I attended. The quality of the pictures are good enough. I have had many thoughts on changing my front cover idea. I have many different pictures of artists I would like to use for my magazine however the pictures I have of Emeli are the clearest, therefore suitable for my magazine.

 

Week 13

This week I went out in search of music magazines related to my genre. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful as they can only be found in America or sold only in specific shops in the UK. I also attempted at taking some pictures of friends and used them as potential models for my magazine for backup just incase I change my mind about anything. I also drew up some flat plans for my double page spread at home because I feel that this may be one of the hardest layouts to think of as there are so many ways you could lay it out. During the holiday, I also done some extra research on events surrounding music and magazines as I do not have assess to photoshop anywhere else.

Week 12

This week I looked at my artists profile. The artist I am studying is Kendrick Lamar. As he is a popular rapper which I had original images of, I thought that it would be a good idea to create a double page spread about him. I also worked my mood-board which focuses on elements such as rap/hip-hop artists and conventions of magazines of this genre. I want to publish this this week or next week so that I am up to date with everything.

Week 11

This week, I completed all my draft for my front cover. I started working on my front cover via photoshop. The training prior to this benefited me as it made me work a lot faster. A few changed were made to my front cover such as the positioning of coverlines. I am glad I  made these changes as my front cover now looks better. I also have a few ideas for my contents page which i will also be working on.

Week 10

This week, we analysed two different magazine front covers made by students from Harris Academy Purley. One called 'The Reign' and the other, 'Rap Realism'. We looked at elements such as font, color and images used in detail. Doing this gave me more ideas of what I ashould and should not do with my own magazine cover. I have changed my mind about a few things on my magazine such as color. I only want to stick to a minimum of three colors, the main ones being black and white. This week we also had photoshop training. This helped greatley as I can now do more things with my front cover and double page spread although I want to keep it simple. During my analyis of front covers I noticed that using simple font with a simple setting looks much better than different font styles with a 'messy' background. I plan to use this idea on my magazine.

Mise-en-scene analysis.

'The Reign' is an example of a magazine that uses an image to connote different interpretations. The actor used in this image is female which may instantly direct this magazine at females. However the actors costume could also direct the magazine towards males as her outfit is slightly provocative, showing skin with her shirt knotted, this could possibly connote her lack of innocence and confidence. Although, the actors outfit would not be deemed as inappropriate as most of her body is covered up.  The setting is in a studio against white seamless paper used in the studio. This plain effect benefits the front cover as a whole as it does not draw any attention away from the actor, cover-lines and masthead. Also, the use of a plain background also draws even more attention to the actor and text, making the information stand out and therefore engaging as well as attracting the reader to the text. 

More over, the lighting used in the image is subtle but enough to see the image clearly. This effect again  focuses on the actor, making her the centre of attention. Overall, I do not like the the look of the front cover as it looks too 'busy'. Many different styles of fonts have been used with a total of four different colors. I think that if the font styles and colors were toned down, it would look better. 

During some research on music news, I came across a controversial topic about Miley Cyrus. Whilst accepting her award at the EMA's, Miley smoked weed on the stage. Smoking weed in amsterdam is legal, however many people did not appreciate the idea of her doing that. I found this interesting as I have noticed that news like this really interests people. I am now looking to add elements such as these to my magazine.

During my research, I came across XXL Magazine.  A music magazine that focuses on rap and hip-hop music then, now and up and coming. This is the sort of lane I wish my magazine to go in. This particular magazine is interesting as the front cover only uses a single image unlike many other magazines. The effect is still bold enough to make a statement despite the use of a single image. I have decided to use this as my final layout of my front cover as I keep on changing my idea. Although coming up with different alternatives is positive, i feel like I need to start making important decisions for my magazine at this stage such as this one.

Week 9

This week we have a mock exam coming up based upon our work we have done so far and what we plan to do. I have not really prepared for this exam but i plan to do so in gathering all my ideas for my music magazine. I feel like this mock exam will benefit me as talking about my plans will bring more of them (plans) into mind. AT this stage, I have also gathered all my written work into my folder in order. Doing this will keep me organized and allow me to see my progression over the weeks.

week 8

This week I completed my analysis of contents pages of different magazines into further details. Doing this gave me a better understanding of how I could possibly layout my magazine contents page. Comparing the different types of pages also made me see how the layout of a page can determine the whole look of the magazine and suggest what type of magazine it is. Also during this week, I managed to take some more location shots with my camera. Going to events or even taking pictures of friends widened my ideas of what sort of pictures I want to include in my magazine.

Here is a picture I took at the Frank Ocean concert. I'm thinking of using this picture for my magazine as I think I managed to captured a really good clear shot. As the photo captures only a glimpse of Frank Ocean and focuses on the background, I could talk about the setting of the concert in my article.

Week 7

During the half term, I went out and took some pictures. The pictures involved location shots. One of my main locations included a graffiti tunnel in South Bank, Waterloo. The scene was very urban and youthful, I then found it a good location to take pictures of.

Week 6

This week we studied different magazine genres in detail. We looked closely at connotations and opinions of elements such as denotations. We also looked at and compared contents page styles between different magazines as they all range from different styles. We also looked at different marxist perspectives on the magazines. Marxism focuses on capitalism and its effect on people. We matched the magazine images and articles to the different persepctives.

Week 5

This week we gathered our results from our survey. Market research is very important as it lets us know what our audience looks for and finds appeling. I also noticed a correlation between elements such as race and preference to types of music. The questionnaires helped me a lot as it made me change my ideas for the better. From the results collected, I entwined the answers into my plans for my magazine. For example more people liked the name '1996' for a magazine rather than 'Boomboxes and Base' Because of this, I would chose the more popular option, therefore appealing to my audience more.

Here, I produced a questionnaire concerning my next task. Producing a music magazine. I asked questions such as 'How old are you?' and 'Are you male or female?' Questions like this allowed me to get to know the person answering the question on a personal level. By doing this, it allows me to spot any trends or patterns I could apply to my magazine. Therefore appealing to my target demographic easily. I then went on to ask more music related questions such as 'What genre of music do you listen to the most?' and 'What interests you the most about magazines or magazines in general?' These questions allow me to see what is more popular amongst my target audience. I could then apply these ideas and points onto my music magazine. The two images above shows my questionnaire and the ones that have been filled out. All together, 15 people completed my questionnaire. I included males and females in my questionnaire so the answers are not biased in any way. Also, I want my music magazine to appeal to both sexes.

Week 3

During this week, I looked at different software's I could use such as Survey Monkey which is an online survey generator, Prezi which is an advanced more 'fun' version of PowerPoint and Bubble.US. which is an online mind map you can create. I decided to look up Prezi into further detail. I found this particular website interesting. This was because i'm used to using PowerPoint which is more simple and frankly quite boring. However Prezi allows you to choose from different themes and animation styles. It also allows you to make your presentation seem 3D. The other two websites will also come in handy as mind maps and surveys will become much more relevant later. Also during this week, I started on creating my presentation on ideas for my music magazine. Although i'm still in the process of editing previous work, I think that it is a good idea to think ahead.

Here is a picture I took of Frank Ocean at a concert. (This particular image on this post seems blurry, the actual image isn't. Sorry.) I came across this picture and thought it would be a good idea to use it as my front cover for my next task. Even though I may change my mind, I feel that this is the best option as capturing a good shot of a celebrity is rare. Also, I am correcting and editing work concerning my preliminary task, however I'm also thinking of ideas for my final task which is to produce a music magazine.

Week four

This week we started looking our main task. This week we created a survey which helped us narrow down the interests of our chosen demographic for our music magazine. We used SurveyMonkey which is a website which allows you to create online surveys. Using this software shows that we were able to use a range of softwares. I also used Prezi. This allows you create online powerpoints with added animations. I used this to map out some ideas I had for my music magazine. I looked at what sort of images I would use as well as text and layout.

I was given the task to analyse the different features of a given magaine cover. Here is what I came up with, this is an issue of Ebony Magazine.

The image on the front of the cover is of an African/American singer and song writer, Jill Scot.

This image has been chosen as it is appropriate to the masthead of the magazine, Ebony.

With ebony meaning a very dark or brown colour, it seems to link with the main image of Jill Scott and her son as the magazine mainly features current black iconic figures. Also, the main image has been chosen as it is a positive one, Jill and her son are seen smiling sending out a positive message even without the need of reading the text.  

Ebony is a monthly magazine for the African-American market and demographic. A new issue is released every month and the front cover features African/American.

The Ebony magazine has been running for 60 and more years. Around 40% of African-Americans read EBONY. This helps them connect to their community and culture. Approximately 7 out of 10 African/Americans will have read at least one issue of Ebony, thus making it the most widely read monthly consumer magazine in Black America.

The singer/songwriter featured on this particular issue is Jill Scott.

Jill Scott (born April 4, 1972), is a Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter, actress and poet. Since 1999 Jill Scott has made a reputation and has become an icon for being a classic, with the help of her 2000 multi-platinum selling debut, ‘Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1’

The shot in the magazine is of Jill Scott and her son. Jill is seen behind her son, holding him in a playful way as he is leaning to this side smiling. The image looks very playful. Jill is wearing a pink blouse which looks very feminine. Both Jill and her son are seen smiling, which conveys a positive, happy message.  The image is set against a plain white background as the main focus is of Jill and her son, although cover lines are peppered all over the page.  The colors used on the front cover of this magazine are black, light brown and pink. The brown used in the text links in with the whole idea of ebony, being dark brown colors. The pink used in the text adds femininity to the cover of the magazine despite the main focus is of a female. The lighting used in the image is very clear; a very small part of the image is hidden behind the masthead very much like most magazines.

Week Two :

Week Two : During week two, I scanned my flatplans so that I could post them on my blog. I also created my contents page and front cover electronially althogh the layout changed, for the better. Also, I took pictures of students and teachers to add to my magazine. I completed both pages and evaluation of them. Overall, I am happy with my work although I think there are slight improvements to be made.

Week One :

Week one : I started creating my flatplan ideas for my school publication. I also spent time on working on things such as colour schemes so that I would have a rough idea of what I would do once I start working on it electronically. Also, I looked at other school publication magazines for ideas and inspiration. This really helped me because I'm not used to looking at school publications, without this, I do not think I would of been able to come up with as much ideas. On week two, I would be creating my publication on the computer using publisher.

Week 3

During this week, I focused on finishing my preliminary task.  After creating roughly four flat plans, I decided on keeping my final one which was then later used for my school publication. For my school publication, I had to make sure that the front cover suited my target demographic. The school I focused on was an all girls school, Harris Girls Academy East Dulwich. The main theme color for this school is blue. Thus making my main color scheme and theme for the publication mainly different shades of blue and white. As well as color scheme, I made sure elements such as cover-lines were appropriate to the target demographic which was parents and students. By doing this, it attracts more readers as well as making the school appealing. Also, I used a formal tone, however some of the language used on the cover-lines came across as chatty. Doing this makes the publication more interesting to read. It also gives the impression that the school values the students ideas and interests. 

Here I have different font style ideas for my masthead. I decided to keep the masthead blue in order to match with the main theme colour, blue. I decided to go with the forth one down as I thought it looked the morst formal adn suited the oage more. I experimented with different shapes, sizes and colours. This helped me a lot with my design as it saved a lot of time.

Here is my colour chart. This helped me to see what colours would go together well. My main theme colour was blue, I used different shades in the chart so I can decide on what would work well on my contents page and front cover.

Here is my final contents page. It looks very similar to my front cover as I didn't want 'too much' going on. The main theme colour is still different shades of blue as that is the school's theme colour. However, i feel that the comical and interesting taglines make the page stand out. There are other pieces of information on the contents page such as class of the term and an inspirational quote from a teacher. Adding all of this to the main front cover would of made it look too busy. I also think this benefits the contents page as it makes it more interesetig.

Here is my flat plan for my final front cover. Although I did not initially produce the flat plan for my final cover, I thought it would be a good idea to make it and compare it to the actual final front cover. It is more simple yet effective.

Here is my final front cover. I slightly changed the layout to the page whilst in the process of completing my front cover.
So far, I am happy with the changes I have made. I think it looks clearer as well as better. I decided to remove the background for the main image (of the 6th form student) as I looked at other school publications as well as other magazines. I noticed that most magazines and school publications do not have a background to their main image. Instead, it isn on a plan background. However, the other pictures do. I showed this on my final front cover and I am happy with the decision I made. I added a speech bubble to a picture on my front cover to add a comical element to it, although it still related to the theme of the publication, school. This may appeal to younger dempgraphic rather than older students and parents.

Here, I created flatplans before creating it on the computer for my contents page and front cover for the school publication. By doing this, it allows me to have a breif insight into what my final pages would look like. As you can see, my front cover has more going on in comparison to my contents page. I changed my mind on the layout of my front cover and contents page many times, I created roughly three flatplans before I came to a conclusion on this one. I feel that the idea of creating a flatplan before creating my pages electronically helped me a lot, it saved me a lot of time and I knew what I was doing.

Here is my second draft of the front cover. I've kept it simple yet decorative. Four images would be placed on my cover, each with short captions. The masthead is in a bold dark blue cover as it needs to stand out. Also, elements such as competitions have been added to the front cover to engage younger readers as well as parents and carers.

Here is my contents page with colour. I decided to keep the colours as simple as possible as most of the page would be filled with text, too much colour and text would make the page look 'messy' and it would not look like a school magazine. The layout of the page is still the same but with a light blue background as blue is the schools theme colour. I've given the masthead a darker, bolder blue.

Here is my first draft of my contents page but with no colour. Contents pages are usually much simpler in comparison to other pages, it's only for letting the readers know what page to turn to along with other bits of information. I decided to add information such as 'class of the week', 'head boy and girl weekly say' and a 'weekly quote' this would make my contents page more interesting and more fun to read. The extra information such as the weekly quote would be updated every week. This would also give the younger readers something to look forward to as they might be featured on the contents page.