Double Page Spread Mock-up

This is my double page spread mock-up and it is what I hope my final piece will look like. I have tried to stick to the codes and conventions of double page spreads by adding features like 'pull quotes' , a 'header' and a 'stand first'. I will also use my knowledge of what I have learned from analysing other contents pages and continue trying to make a symbiotic link between this and my other two pieces. I have not include my body copy because I am not sure if I will keep the layout the same and if to put more or less images.

Contents Page Mock-up

Before creating my final contents page, I drew a mock-up to be able to see how I can place the content like pictures and text and experiment what colours I would use in my final design. I also was able to apply what I learned from analysing other magazine contents pages.

Cover Mock-up

Before making my final magazine cover, I drew a mock-up version to get a better idea how I can structure the different features, what other information and text I could put on the cover and experiment with different colours and fonts.

Location Research

Looking through other music magazines, I was hoping to get a better understanding of the locations where most images were taken for artists that appear in the magazines. I did this to help me get ideas on possible locations I could use for my rock band's photo shoot. 


At first I was thinking of doing an English country side shot. I would be a celebration of Britishness and an image in hard light would make the subject e.i. the band, look more natural and almost flawless. This could give an impression that these guys are naturals at what they do. But I chose not to use this location because the band members' looks and clothes would not have not in with this serene scene. They would have stuck out too much instead of looking like they fit right in.




Next I thought why not shoot at a pub. It's another location that celebrated Britishness and the band members would fit into the scene more. Rock music magazines tend to celebrate their music through the use of stereotypical British locations e.g. countryside, pubs or famous landmarks. But then I thought that maybe this location would suit an older target audience seeing as the band members are even under the legal drinking age. So other people might not like the idea of kids in pubs acting like adults, so I chose to look into another location.





The third location that I thought about using is something urban with graffiti. The graffiti creates an effect of rebellion which screams of youth culture.  I liked the idea of under a bridge because that way, it makes it seem like it's the band's personal hangout spot, like your trotting on their territory. It would also be referencing today's youth culture of having these special hangouts. The band members would also fit right in to the scene. Even though for covers the background would usually be plane, I hope I could use this for a smaller related image.





Lastly, I decided to use this kind of location for my double page spread's main image. It had everything I wanted including hard lighting which will give the band members a glowing look; the nature may not be in the countryside but it still looks like a classic English park; and the gazebo will help to make the members look like they fit in. The shape of the gazebo will make the members have a fell of intelligence and not just be a classic stereotype of youth. And even though the style of the gazebo and the style of the band may look completely opposite, I think it will create a nice contrast.

Comments on Font Ideas

I uploaded all of my font ideas onto a forum and asked people to tell me which they think is the best for a rock music magazine. After people wrote their ideas, I decided to take screen shots of them.
In the end, most comments liked font no. 3. I also liked it because of the gritty scratched up look and the rebellious danger kind of feel. It was also easy to read and compared to the others, was most reflective of my target audience.

Music Questionnaires Analysed

After giving out all of my questionnaires, I got them all back and analysed the results.
I discovered that my target audience, besides from liking rock, another popular choice was POP, metal, indie and R&B so maybe my magazine can occasionally stray away to artists that are in rock and some of the other preferred genres. I also discovered that some of the most popular types of rock were alternative rock, hard rock and soft rock so maybe I could give my magazine a slightly rough but cool feel for the brand identity.


From 1-10, music affects my target audience life on average of about 7, so I know music does play a role in my target audiences' lives and moods, if not a major one. It also shows my target audience have a genuine interests and passion in music and would enjoy my magazine.


As for favourite artists, there is a wide variety amongst my target audience, but one thing is definitely clear, that the reason why the audience like those artists is either because the artists inspire the audience with their music and make them feel special or reflect their personality, or the audience likes the band's uniqueness  or the strong meaning behind the lyrics. Some of the most popular choices were 


I also found out the half of my questioned audience play an instrument. Most commonly guitars, bass and drums. I could possibly have adds for best places to buy quality instruments. 


I discovered that my target audience attend gigs either frequently or sometimes. Some of my target audience don't always have time to attend them, and some say that live music is usually not as good. But people who get the chance to attend like the fact that you get to hear live music and be with friends in an exiting. They also like that you get to meet the bands face to face and meet like minded people at the gigs.  


I also discovered that my target audience on average read music magazines sometimes and that they are willing to pay anywhere from £2.50 - £5.00 for a quality music magazine. I can use this information to set a price for my magazine.


My results show that the main things my audience enjoy about music magazines are the articles,  music news, photos and freebies. I will use this information and turn them into possible sell lines I can display on my cover e.g free posters/CD. I can also use this information in the contents page to decide how many pages to do on each or the features.


Lastly, I found out that the features of a magazine that are most likely to grab the audiences attention are a mixture of the title, the main image, colours used and text. I will make sure that my magazine cover has colours that can stand out and text that can grab peoples interests. I will also make the main image look as professional as I can and the same will go for my mast head, which will be made big and bold so it can stand out well.


Hopefully this information I have gathered will help me in improving my design for my 3 pieces.

Font Ideas

These are some of the fonts I chose that I think would make good fonts for my magazine's masthead. I have also written what I like and don't like about them and why would they be good or not as font for the masthead.

 I like this font because it flows and has a surreal look. But I think it would be too hard for people to see off the shelves because it’s not that bold. It also looks a bit too feminine, and my magazine is aimed more at men. This means if they see the magazine’s cover, it might not appeal to them as much.

I like this font because it’s bold and has a more rocky feel. It would be easier to spot of the shelves and I think it would appeal to men which are my primary target audience. But I think that this font to more suitable for heavy metal magazines and does not fit my magazines personalty like I would want it to.

 I like this font because it stands out well and has a rough, slightly violent feel. It has a similar look to Kerrang magazine but the scratchy texture is less severe. I think this would appeal to my target audience and has that rebelliouse rock n roll attitude. But it looks a bit too square and doesn’t have it’s own charater which could cause readers to get bored of it.

I like this font because it’s similar to the first font, but it’s bolder and has a more rough effect. I think this would appeal to both the male and female audience without appearing too feminine.  My only concern is that it might not bold be enough to catch attention and the effect on the text makes it a bit hard to read by taking out parts of the letter.

I chose this font because it is bold and would stand out well on shelves. I think it would appeal well to the target audience and has the right style that would fit in well with my magazine. The rough effect is just the right amount so that it doesn’t make the text less readable and I like that the ‘E’ looks like its being pushed out. However I wonder if this font might appeal a bit too metal music instead of rock, but I still find it attractive.

I chose this font because I think the style of the text is what I would like my magazine to have.  I like the style of the ‘A’ and the overall rough and worn out effect of the text makes the font achieve an attitude. I think I would appeal well to my male target audience and just enough to the female target audience. The effect on the text could be a little too much and I don’t like the ‘A’ being solid but that may help to make the text stand out.

Double Page Spread Analysis

I analysed two double page spreads form two music magazines that have a similar style of music to mine. I did this so I could get some ideas of what my double page spread could feature about and so that I could get used to the features and their names of a double page spread. 

Contents Page Analysis

I analysed two contents pages from two different magazines similar to my style of music. I did this to analyse how a contents page helps it's readers to navigate through the magazine and what feature I could include in my own contents page.

Magazine Cover Analysis

I analysed the front covers of two of similar style magazines as my own. I hoped that this would help me get to know the conventions of a cover page, see what kind of similarities and differences they have and analyses how they both try to attract readers attention.